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Reading Roundup
February 2026 |
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Check out What's Coming Soon! |
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A Better Life
by Lionel Shriver
In a provocative novel addressing contemporary immigration by the sharply observant Lionel Shriver, a New York family takes in a Honduran migrant--who may or may not be the innocent paragon she claims to be.
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Brawler: Stories
by Lauren Groff
Ranging from the 1950s to the present day and moving across age, class, and region-from New England to Florida to California-these nine stories reflect and expand upon a shared theme: the ceaseless battle between humans' dark and light angels-- Provided by publisher.
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Cleopatra
by Saara El-Arifi
Cleopatra tells her own story in this evocative and sensuous historical epic..."Death will silence me no longer. This is not the story of how I died. But how I lived."
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Family Drama
by Rebecca Fallon
A vibrant debut and powerful meditation on family, motherhood, and the cost of holding on to your dreams, Family Drama is a story told in double-helix, with intertwined timelines that explore the different versions of ourselves we share with the world and with each other.
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Fireflies in Winter
by Eleanor Shearer
A gripping novel about two women fighting for survival in the icy wilderness of Nova Scotia, and the love that simultaneously sustains them and threatens their very existence.
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Kin
by Tayari Jones
Vernice and Annie, two motherless daughters raised in Honeysuckle, Louisiana, have been best friends and neighbors since earliest childhood but are fated to live starkly different lives.
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Laws of Love and Logic
by Debra Curtis
A woman finds herself torn between her first love and her devoted husband in this extraordinary debut novel that asks the question: Can one heart hold two great loves?
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More Than Enough
by Anna Quindlen
High school English teacher Polly Goodman can talk about everything and anything with the women in her book club, which is why they've become her closest friends and, along with the support of her veterinarian husband, the bedrock of her life.
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Trad Wife
by Saratoga Schaefer
A traditional wife influencer allows a demonic creature to impregnate her in this unnerving horror novel.
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Christine's Library Journal Reviews
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The Good Fortune of Miss Robbins
by Melanie Dickerson
This review by librarian Christine Barth was first published in the Jan. 2026 issue of Library Journal.
Dickerson (The Peasant's Dream), known for her young adult fairy-tale retellings set in the fictional Hagenheim, has turned her attention to chaste Regency romances for adults in recent years. This novel features Charlotte Robbins, a well-educated orphan hired as a governess for the wealthy earl of Brookhaven. A chance encounter on the roof on her first night of employment cements an unlikely bond above Charlotte's station.
Hoping for a more likely match-perhaps the head gardener or the vicar-Charlotte cares for the earl's orphaned nieces and nephews until an unexpected windfall from a mysterious uncle comes her way. Thrust into London society, Charlotte has everything she has ever dreamed of, but she is not as happy as she anticipated. In addition, she must use great discernment regarding would-be suitors looking more at her newfound dowry than her good qualities.
VERDICT: This rags-to-riches tale will satisfy readers looking for a happily ever after. For more nuanced Regency narratives, check out Carolyn Miller's "Regency Brides" books or Erica Vetsch's "Serendipity & Secrets" series.
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Claire Holloway Is Winging It: A High-Flying Romance
by Angela Ruth Strong
This review by librarian Christine Barth was first published in the Jan. 2026 issue of Library Journal.
Claire Holloway is ready for her new career as a flight attendant to take off. Moving to Seattle to live in a crash pad with nine other flight attendants, however, along with learning all the strict rules for in-flight service, have her stressing about making a mess of things.
Her one hope is being transferred back to San Francisco to be with her boyfriend, who will almost certainly propose soon.
But then several chance encounters with Nathan Stuart, the handsome copilot across the street, help make Claire realize that adventure is available for those who seek it. Nathan is happy to show newbies the ropes in the airline industry, but he wants nothing to do with romance after his failed engagement. If only he could stop his mind from straying to Claire and stop himself from joining the flight crew she's assigned to.
VERDICT: Strong (Husband Auditions) draws readers in with witty banter and quirky characters and keeps them with her depictions of real-life struggles of modern Christians. Drawing heavily on Strong's own experience as a flight attendant, this peek into the cockpit and the galley is a delightful read.
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What Is Left of the Night: A World War II Novel
by Mark Buchanan
This review was first published in the Jan. 2026 issue of Library Journal.
Early 20th-century rural France has clean air and plentiful farms, but when pacifist pastor Andre Trocme moves there, he misses the intellectural stimulation of Paris. Soon he is too busy to be bored as he feeds, clothes, and hides the people hunted by the Nazis in what will become on the greatest rescue operations of World War II.
Meanwhile, Hannah's escape from a concentration camp transport train has enraged a Nazi colonel who will not rest until she is dead. The entire town of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, including not-yet-famous author Albert Camus and American spy Virginia Hall, must decide how far they will go to show love to their neighbor.
VERDICT: Buchanan ("The David trilogy") delivers a thought-provoking examination of the role of Christians in war and what true religion really means. Using larger than life characters from history, he weaves a philosophical tale of danger, intrigue, and sacrifice. Those who wish to read beyond the usual World War II narrative will enjoy Buchanan's latest, along with Amy Lynn Green's The Lines between Us and Elizabeth Musser's From the Valley We Rise.
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Mystery, Adventure, Thriller
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Cry Havoc
by Jack Carr
Amidst the turbulent backdrop of 1968, Navy SEAL Tom Reece navigates a clandestine mission across Vietnam and beyond, uncovering a Soviet plot that threatens to reshape global power in a high-stakes tale of espionage, betrayal and brutal realism.
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And Now, Back to You
by B. K. Borison
Two competing meteorologists are forced to find common ground in this opposites attract, When Harry Met Sally inspired romance.
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The Ex-Perimento
by Maria J. Morillo
A woman enlists the help of her favorite musician to win her ex-boyfriend back in this sparkling romantic comedy set in Venezuela.
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The Bird of Bedford Manor
by Michelle Griep
Juliet Finch's poaching career is cut short when landowner Henry Russell catches her illegally hunting on his land. To atone for her sins, he puts her on the hunt for his sister's stalker. . .but Juliet may just become the prey herself.
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Book of Forbidden Words
by Louise Fein
A new historical novel about an encrypted manuscript that unleashes a chain of consequences across 400 years, set in a world of banned books, fear of new ideas, and the dangers of censorship.
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Gods Beneath the Ice
by Alexandra Kennington
Heartbroken and grappling with unwanted powers, Revna must work with the person she swore to forget if she's to lead her people and unravel the secrets behind her new magic in this page-turning conclusion to the Blood & Souls Duology.
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The People's Library
by Veronica G. Henry
From critically acclaimed author Veronica G. Henry comes a thought-provoking science fiction fantasy set in near-future Cleveland that follows a reluctant curator of digital human consciousness who must uncover twisted secrets and navigate ethical quandaries and dangers when anti-technology rebels attack the futuristic library.
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All We Once Had
by Katy Upperman
Piper and her older sister could not be more different. Tati assumed guardianship when their parents died, and in Tati's eyes, Piper is a troublemaker with no direction. Piper knows what she wants, but it isn't the buttoned-up life that her sister has in mind. Usually, Piper can lean on her best friend...except they aren't speaking, just when Piper could really use a confidant. Escaping to their apartment complex's pool for some space, Piper is stunned to see Henry. Her Henry. The boy who, three years ago, she met at this same pool.
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Stolen Midnights
by Katherine Quinn
A palace darling and a thief join forces after he unwittingly steals a necklace with the power to change their world forever.
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