February 2026 list by Donalee Jacobs |
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Ambush of the Heart
by Mary Connealy
As Owen Riley and his fellow marshals escort Delaney Bridger to Fort Russell, a gang of outlaws ambushes them, bringing death and devastation to their party. Romance sparks between Owen and Delaney as they fight for survival on their perilous wilderness trek toward the fort. Can they overcome the obstacles and find a future together?
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The Belle of Chatham
by Laura Frantz
In the midst of the American revolution, sisters Maebel and Coralie Bohannon find their loyalties divided as war reaches their home. Mae falls for an American general while suspecting Coralie--still tied to a British officer--of espionage. When betrayal strikes, Mae must risk everything on a dangerous journey for those she loves, all in the name of liberty.
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The Book of Alice: Poems
by Diamond Forde
From award-winning author Diamond Forde comes a stunningly powerful poetry collection exploring lineage and the legacy of survival as seen through the life of her grandmother Alice-a Black woman born in the Jim Crow South-using the King James Bible as a narrative framework.
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The Book of Blood and Roses
by Annie Summerlee
Rebecca Charity is a vampire hunter undercover at a Scottish university, searching for the Book of Blood and Roses, a lost compendium of ways to kill vampires. If she finds it, she'll be one step closer to avenging her parents, who were slain by those creatures of the night. But when Rebecca arrives, she finds her new roommate is Aliz Astra, scion of one of the most powerful vampire families. When one moonlit night Aliz rescues her from a vampire attack, she accidentally makes Rebecca her familiar. And now they must work together to break the curse, but as they get closer to solving the mystery, Rebecca and Aliz get closer too. But can a vampire hunter ever fall in love with a vampire?
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Catch Her If You Can
by Tessa Bailey
Madden Donahue, the newest catcher for the Yankees, has been in love with Eve Mitchell for years, but the burlesque club owner always turns him down. Now that Eve is guardian of her sister's children, Madden proposes a fake marriage for the health benefits. Eve has secretly harbored feelings for Madden all along and finds herself accepting Madden's proposal -- on the condition that their marriage remains strictly private. She's not about to let her profession and reputation destroy Madden's career. But Madden won't let Eve get away that easily, and it's up to him to convince Eve that their connection is far more than a business arrangement.
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Cross Your Heart and Hope He Dies
by Jenny Elder Moke
Jenny Elder Moke returns with another riotous mystery rom-com that delights in rich people behaving badly. Juliette Winters is busy saving her publishing company from ruin with the book deal of the century. Warren Ellingham has guaranteed Juliette exclusive rights to his memoir, which promises to expose the secrets of his ultra-exclusive country club. But when Warren drops dead and the memoir is stolen, Juliette suspects murder and enlists the help of Doctor Charlie Hawkins. As the investigation heats up, so does the tension between Juliette and Charlie. But if she doesn't uncover Warren's killer soon, the thing that was supposed to secure her future might just be the thing that ends it.
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The Elsewhere Express
by Samantha Sotto Yambao
Raya had dreamed of being a songwriter, but when her brother died, she gave up on her dream and started living his instead. One day on the subway, as her thoughts wander, she's swept off to the Elsewhere Express. There she meets Q, an intriguing artist who, like her, has lost his place in the world. Together they find a train full of wonders, from a boarding car that's also a meadow to a bar where jellyfish and whales swim through pink clouds. Over the course of their strange night on the train, they also discover a mysterious stranger has brought with him a darkness that threatens to destroy the train. But in investigating the stowaway's identity, Raya also finds herself drawing closer to the ultimate question: What is her life's true purpose--and is it a destination.
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Escape!
by Stephen Fishbach
A debut novel following a has-been reality TV star and a disgraced producer who get one last shot at redemption. Kent Duvall, a faded reality show winner, just wants to find his way out of his depressing life and back to his highlight reel. When a scandal is captured on camera at a charity event, he gets his shot, on a new jungle survival show with seven other contestants. The contestants' goals seem simple -- survive the wild, build a raft, win treasure. But Beck Bermann, a producer who suffered her own public shaming, sees them as characters in her redemption arc. As breakout camps sabotage each other and rival producers struggle to control the storyline, the question becomes less about who will win than who will make it out in one piece.
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Evelyn in Transit
by David Guterson
Evelyn Bednarz is easily bored, asks odd questions about faith and time, and sees through conventions others take for granted. Seeking to be true to herself, she hitchhikes across the American West taking odd jobs. In distant Tibet, another life unfolds as remote from Evelyn's as can be: the life of a boy named Tsering, raised as a Buddhist monk in the mountains of Tibet, who eventually becomes a high lama. And yet, their lives are strangely linked—as Evelyn discovers when a trio of Buddhist lamas show up at her door to announce that her five-year-old son Cliff is the seventh reincarnation of the illustrious Norbu Rinpoche, recently deceased. The lamas' visit sets off a family crisis and a media firestorm over Cliff's future.
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The Fair Weather Friend
by Jessie Garcia
It's always sunny in Detroit for Faith Richards. The popular TV meteorologist, endearingly referred to as 'The Fair Weather Friend' by her viewers, has the world by the tail. But one night, Faith leaves work on a dinner break and never returns. Her body is found the next morning. The town is reeling, suspects emerge, and long-buried secrets are uncovered. While her allies rally, her list of adversaries also grows. Little does anyone know that only the deepest secrets will expose the truth.
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The Final Score
by Don Winslow
Bestselling crime writer Don Winslow returns with this collection of six short novels, each a callback to previous works but completely original and standalone. Stories include a renowned robber's final heist, a teen facing dire consequences for delivering illegal booze, and a family man in prison for a mistake finds himself in a fight to survive. The Final Score is a propulsive, perceptive, and deeply immersive book of crime writing -- the ultimate testament to Don Winslow's prowess as a living legend of the genre.
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The Future Saints
by Ashley Winstead
Since the tragic death of their manager, the Future Saints has been in a downward spiral and Theo has been sent to coax a new album out of them, or let them go. Theo is struck by Hannah, the group's lead singer, who has replaced their California pop with gut-wrenching rock. When the new music goes viral, Theo puts his career on the line to give the Saints one last shot at success. But Hannah's increasingly destructive antics become a distraction and undermine Theo at every turn. Hannah isn't ready to move on or prepared for the fame she's been chasing, and the weight of her problems jeopardize the band and her growing closeness with Theo. The Future Saints's big break is here -- if only they can survive it.
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Graceless Heart
by Ibañez Isabel
As a sculptress, Ravenna Maffei has always shaped beauty from stone but she has a terrible secret. Desperate to save her brother, she enters a competition hosted by Florence's most feared immortal family, revealing a dark power in a city where magic is forbidden. Now a captive in the cutthroat city of Florence, Ravenna is forced into a dangerous task where failure meets certain death at the hands of Saturnino dei Luni. But as he draws her closer, Ravenna realizes the Pope's war against magic is closing in, and as trusting the wrong person becomes lethal, she must survive the treacherous line between a pope's obsession and the seductive immortal who might be the end of her.
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Halcyon Years
by Alastair Reynolds
Yuri Gagarin is a private investigator, who picks up small cases from his community, runs into trouble with the local police, and generally ekes out a living as best he can. He's aboard the Halcyon - a starship, hurtling through space, carrying thousands of passengers. Only his usual investigative work - catching cheating spouses, and small time con artists - is about to take a turn. He's hired by a mysterious woman called Ruby Red to look into a death in one of Halcyon's most elite families . . . and then warned off the case again by a second mysterious woman called Ruby Blue. Caught between the two, he's about to be embroiled in a murder mystery in which -- at any moment -- he could be the latest victim.
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The Infamous Gilberts
by Angela Tomaski
The Remains of the Day meets The Royal Tenenbaums in this darkly funny debut novel about a wealthy, eccentric family in decline and the secrets held within the walls of their crumbling country manor. Thornwalk, a once-stately English manor, is on the brink of transformation. Its keys are being handed over to a luxury hotelier who will undertake a complete renovation. Through the keen eyes of an enigmatic neighbor, the listener is taken on a guided tour into rooms filled with secrets and memories, each revealing the story of the five Gilbert siblings. Spanning the eve of World War II to the early 2000s, this contemporary gothic novel weaves a rich tapestry of English country life.
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It Should Have Been You
by Andrea Mara
You press send and your message disappears. Full of secrets about your neighbors, it's meant for your sister. But it doesn't reach her - it goes to the entire local community WhatsApp group instead. As rumor spreads like wildfire through the picture-perfect neighborhood, you convince yourself that people will move on, that this will quickly be forgotten. But then you receive the first death threat. The next day, a woman has been murdered. And what's even more chilling is that she had the same address as you - 26 Oakpark - but in a different part of town. Did the killer get the wrong house? It won't be long before you find out.
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The Jaguar's Roar
by Micheliny Verunschk
In 1817, explorers Spix and Martius returned from their three-year voyage in Brazil with an Indigenous boy and girl, I e-e and Juri. Kidnapped from rival tribes as part of the colonialist trend of collecting living specimens on scientific expeditions, the two tragically perished shortly after arriving in Europe. Intertwining their story with a narrative set in contemporary Brazil, we meet Josefa, a young woman grappling with her own identity when she encounters I e-e's image in an exhibition. Through its poignant exploration of memory, colonialism, and belonging, this novel stands out in Brazilian literature, offering listeners a profound reflection on the enduring impact of history on personal lives.
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Love and Other Brain Experiments
by Hannah Brohm
An academic-rivals-to-lovers rom-com set at a New York conference about two neuroscientists who are forced to pretend they're dating, leading to unexpected chemistry and a heartfelt journey of self-discovery.
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Murder Your Darlings
by Jenna Blum
Simone Sam Vetiver is a recently divorced mid-career novelist finishing a lukewarm publicity tour while facing a deadline for a new book when she receives fan mail from bestselling author William Corwyn, renowned for his female-centric novels. When William and Sam meet and his literary sympathy is as intense as their chemistry, both writers think they've found The One. But as in their own novels, things between Sam and William are not what they seem. William has multiple stalkers, including a scarily persistent one named The Rabbit. And when writers turn up dead, including from The Darlings support group William runs, Sam has to ask: Is it The Rabbit--William's #1 Stalker? Can William be everything he seems?
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On Sundays She Picked Flowers
by Yah Yah Scholfield
In this sinister and surreal Southern Gothic debut, a woman escapes into the uncanny woods of southern Georgia and must contend with ghosts, haints, and most dangerous of all, the truth about herself. Over the next thirteen years, Jude blossoms from her bitter beginnings into a wisewoman, a healer. But her hard-won peace is threatened when an enigmatic woman shows up on her doorstep. The woman is beautiful but unsettling, captivating but uncanny. As the woman stirs up memories of her escape years ago, Jude must confront the calls of violence rooted in her bloodline. Haunting and thought-provoking, On Sunday She Picked Flowers explores retribution, family trauma, and the power of building oneself back up after breaking down.
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Paper Cut
by Rachel Taff
Lucy Golden is infamous for the murder she committed while escaping a California cult twenty years ago. Online trolls are asking increasingly threatening questions about the legendary crime. So when a hotshot documentarian makes her case the subject of his next film, Lucy sees a chance to silence doubters once and for all. But as filming begins, she must return to the California desert and come face-to-face with her torrid history. But the past is never what it seems, and long-buried secrets soon collide with present-day threats. Can Lucy stop her critics from digging up the truth before it's too late? And how far will she go to protect the story she's been telling--and selling--all along?
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The Shark House
by Sara Ackerman
Hawai'i, 1998. When a string of rare shark attacks unsettles the once-peaceful Kohala coast, marine biologist Minnow Gray is called in to investigate. Known for her uncanny connection to sharks, she is the island's best hope for uncovering why the attacks are happening and for determining whether the same great white still haunts the coastline. Witness to an unspeakable tragedy involving a white shark and her own father, Minnow has carried a darkness with her ever since. She knows, deep inside, that unlocking the memories of that long-ago morning is the only way to truly heal. And as she searches for answers, the past and present collide, revealing shocking and unexpected truths that cut deep as the sea itself.
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Such a Clever Girl
by Darby Kane
Fifteen years ago, the Tanner family vanished without a trace. The mystery of their disappearance seems destined to remain unsolved -- until Aubrey Tanner returns. Now thirty-years-old, Aubrey arrives in town with secrets etched in her silence. Why did she come back? As the past resurfaces, a teacher, a cafe owner, and a psychologist are drawn together by memories they'd rather forget. Each holds a piece of the puzzle -- and a dark secret of their own. When a new disappearance sends shock waves through the town, the women must confront the truth or risk becoming the next victims of a past they cannot escape.
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Sunk in Love
by Heather McBreen
Roslyn and Liam met nine years ago and have been the perfect couple ever since. Through every up and down, every milestone, they've been each other's rock. Until now. Heartbroken and unsure how to tell her family she's called it quits with everyone's favorite son-in-law, Roslyn keeps the impending split to herself. But when Roslyn's grandparents ask if Liam can officiate their vow renewal aboard a Hawaiian cruise, Roslyn and Liam decide to fake it. After five years of marriage, they can figure out how to pretend for jungle hikes and mai tais, right? But when reality and make believe starts to blur, and old feelings begin to resurface, Roslyn and Liam have to decide whether it's sink or swim for their marriage.
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This Book Made Me Think of You
by Libby Page
When Tilly Nightingale receives a birthday gift from her husband, it couldn't come as more of a shock as Joe died five months ago. When she goes to pick up the present, Alfie, the bookshop owner, explains the gift -- twelve carefully chosen books with handwritten letters from Joe, one for each month, to help her turn the page on her first year without him. AsTilly becomes immersed in the pages, and a new chapter begins to unfold in her own life. Monthly trips to the bookstore and heartfelt conversations with Alfie give Tilly the comfort she craves and the courage to set out on a series of reading-inspired adventures that take her around the world. But as she begins to share her journey with others, her story -- like a book -- becomes more than her own.
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A Very Novel Murder
by Ellie Alexander
Opening a detective agency above her beloved bookstore seems like the perfect business plan--until Annie Murray's first case involves a suspicious death right on her doorstep. June Munrow, an elderly resident of Redwood Grove, is convinced that Kelly Taylor's drowning wasn't the tragic accident everyone believes it to be. June hires the Novel Detectives to uncover the truth. As Annie delves into Kelly's life, she discovers a tangled web of secrets involving Kelly's complicated relationships, a peculiar landlord, and her mysterious roommate. The deeper Annie digs, the more puzzling the case becomes. Can Annie piece together the clues and solve her first official case--before she gets into deep water herself?
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Whiteout
by Lynette Eason
Brace yourself for a snowbound adventure in this 2-in-1 novella collection from your favorite romantic suspense authors as an avalanche forces two couples to face down their enemies in a ski resort shut off from the outside world.
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Vigil
by George Saunders
Jill Doll Blaine hurtles toward earth to yet another soul she must comfort, console, and usher into the afterlife. But this charge isn't like the others. K. J. Boone will not be consoled, because he has nothing to regret. He lived a big, bold, epic life, and the world is better for it. Isn't it? On his final evening, visitors begin to arrive (worldly and otherworldly, alive and dead), clamoring for a reckoning. With wisdom, playfulness, and explosive imagination, George Saunders, author of Lincoln in the Bardo, takes on corporate greed, the toll of capitalism, the environmental perils of progress -- and, in the process, spins a tale that encompasses life and death, good and evil, and the thorny question of absolution.
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With Love from Harlem
by Reshonda Tate
From The Queen of Sugar Hill author ReShonda Tate - a new novel inspired by beloved Harlem jazz performer Hazel Scott and the equal parts exhilarating and tumultuous relationship that changed the course of her life.
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Women of a Promiscuous Nature
by Donna Everhart
One February morning, 24 year-old Ruth Foster is forced by the local sheriff to visit a health clinic, where she must undergo testing in order to preserve decency and prevent the spread of disease. Though Ruth has never shared more than a chaste kiss with a man, by day's end she is one of dozens of women held at the State Industrial Farm Colony for Women. Superintendent Dorothy Baker oversees the women's medical treatment and training until they're deemed ready for parole and fit for society. Those who don't comply and conform face solitary confinement, grueling work assignments, and worse. But some refuse to be cowed. Some find ways to fight back - at any cost.
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