May 2025 list by Donalee Jacobs |
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Austen at Sea
by Natalie Jenner
Two pairs of siblings, devotees of Jane Austen, find their lives transformed by a visit to England and Sir Francis Austen, her brother and keeper of her memories and surviving artifacts.
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The Bright Years
by Sarah Damoff
One family. Four generations. A secret son. A devastating addiction. A Texas family is met with losses and surprises of inheritance, but they're unable to shake the pull back toward each other in this big-hearted family saga perfect for readers of Mary Beth Keane and Claire Lombardo.
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Brighter Than Scale, Swifter Than Flame
by Neon Yang
The masked guildknight—Yeva—was thirteen when she killed her first dragon. With her gift revealed, she was sent to the imperial capital to train as a dragon-slayer. Now a legendary dragon hunter, Yeva must go to Quanbao to slay a dragon, where dragons are loved and worshipped. While searching for the beast, she is welcomed into the palace by Quanbao's monarch, Lady Sookhee. Though wary, Yeva finds herself opening up to the queen. As they grow closer, Yeva must decide who—or what—she is willing to betray: her own heart, or the sacred duty that she has called home for so long.
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Broken Souls and Bones
by L J Andrews
To save her friend, Lyra reveals her magical abilities and is forced to become the King's melder, forging an alliance and unexpected romance with the brooding guard Roark as they uncover a sinister truth and fight their dark destiny.
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The Curious Inheritance of Blakely House
by Joanna Davidson Politano
Clockmaker Sydney Forrester inherits the estate of a mysterious industrialist, the estranged uncle she never met. The unusual house, brimming with unfinished inventions of the most clever sort, seems to be trying to tell her something. With the help of an unlikely ally, Sydney works to uncover the secrets of the estate-including who murdered its late owner.
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Detective Aunty
by Uzma Jalaluddin
When her grown daughter is suspected of murder, a charming and tenacious widow digs into the case to unmask the real killer in this twisty, page-turning whodunnit—the first book in a cozy new detective series from the acclaimed author of Ayesha at Last.
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The Guilt Pill
by Saumya Dave
Maya Patel has it all--a start-up, a doting husband, influencer status, and a new baby. Or does she? Because behind closed doors, Maya's drowning. Her newborn's taking a toll on her marriage, her best friend won't return her calls, and her company's hanging on by a thread. If she could just be a better boss, mother, wife, daughter, friend... Maybe she wouldn't feel so guilty all the time. When Liz Anderson introduces her to the "guilt pill," a supplement that erases female guilt, it seems the perfect antidote, but as Maya falls deeper down the pill's rabbit hole, her ruthlessness threatens everything she's built--and the family she's worked so hard to protect.
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Happy Land
by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
When Nikki visits her estranged grandmother in North Carolina, she uncovers a hidden legacy tied to a forgotten kingdom of freed people, unraveling her family's secrets and her own identity while fighting to protect their endangered heritage.
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Home of the American circus
by Allie Larkin
After an emergency, Freya Arnalds bails on her life as a bartender in Maine and returns to her hometown of Somers, New York, to live in the house she inherited from her estranged parents. Despite attempts to lay low, Freya encounters childhood friends, familial enemies, and old flames—as well as her fifteen-year-old niece, Aubrey, who is secretly living in the derelict home. As they reconnect, Freya and Aubrey lean on each other, working to restore the house and come to terms with the devastating events that pulled them apart years ago. Set in the birthplace of the American circus, this deeply moving novel is an exploration of broken families, the weight of the past, and the complicated journey home.
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House of Blight
by Maxym M. Martineau
Edira Brillwyn holds a rare, lifesaving power that can cure disease and heal injuries. But magic always comes with a cost, and saving anyone sacrifices a sliver of her own life. When the Fernglove family discovers her secret, Orin, the head of the family, works with her to find a cure for a deadly illness. Together they research a cure while Orin slows the sickness and Edira hones her magic. His kindness and honesty surprises Edira, as does her undeniable attraction to him. But other family members are suspicious of her power and the longer Edira stays at the more the family's pristine exterior begins to crack. Until Edira discovers a terrifying secret and must choose who she can save and at what cost.
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Julie Chan is Dead
by Liann Zhang
A young woman steps into her deceased twin's influencer life, only to discover dark secrets hidden behind her social media façade.
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The Keeper of Lost Art
by Laura Morelli
During World War II in a Tuscan villa, young Stella befriends Sandro, an orphaned artist, as they protect hidden masterpieces like Botticelli's *Primavera* amid family tensions, encroaching German troops, and the mounting peril of war.
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The Matchmaker
by Aisha Saeed
In Atlanta, third-generation matchmaker Nura Khan thrives in her career while navigating her complicated feelings for her pretend fiancé, Azar, but her success is jeopardized when a couple's wedding falls apart, leading to a series of suspicious and threatening events that challenge her safety and her business.
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The Manor of Dreams
by Christina Li
A haunting novel about the secrets that lie in wait in the crumbling mansion of a former Hollywood starlet, and the intertwined fates of the two Chinese-American families fighting to inherit it.
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A Mind of Her Own
by Danielle Steel
Born in 1900s Paris, Alexandra's life is shattered by World War I and the Spanish Flu, leading her to a journalism career where she meets a fellow reporter battling his own losses, sparking a cautious yet powerful connection.
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The Missing Half
by Ashley Flowers
Nicole Monroe, still haunted by her sister Kasey's unexplained disappearance seven years ago, teams up with Jenna Connor, whose sister vanished under similar circumstances, as they unravel buried secrets and risk everything to uncover the truth about their missing loved ones.
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Murder at Gulls Nest
by Jess Kidd
The bestselling author of Things in Jars returns with the first in a cozy mystery series set in the 1950s about a former nun who searches for answers in a small seaside town after her pen pal mysteriously disappears. Nora Breen asks to be released from her vows when she stops receiving letters from her former novice. Haunted by a line in Frieda's letter, Nora travels to Gulls Nest, a charming hotel in Gore-on-Sea in Kent. Nora hides her identity and pries into the lives of her fellow guests. But when a series of bizarre murders rattles the occupants of Gulls Nest it's time to ask if a dark past can ever really be left behind.
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Murder Runs in the Family
by Tamara Berry
Amber Winslow's life has taken a turn for the worse. When an impulsive decision forces her to flee her former life carrying nothing but the clothes on her back, she heads to the sunny state of Arizona...and to the luxury accommodations of her grandmother's retirement community. But as soon as she sneaks her things into Seven Ponds--a place she technically doesn't qualify for and definitely can't afford--she finds that her Grandma Jade is about to be arrested for murder. With the help of the other retirees and her grandma's true crime podcast friends, Amber must work to find the real killer.
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My Friends
by Fredrik Backman
Twenty-five years ago, in a seaside town, three teenagers found refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on a pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, to dream, and to love. Out of that summer emerges a painting. When Louisa acquires the painting she embarks on a cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting's birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she'll find.
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My Name is Emilia del Valle
by Isabel Allende
In 1800s San Francisco, young writer Emilia, daughter of an Irish nun and a Chilean aristocrat, journeys to South America with talented reporter Eric to uncover the truth about her father—and herself.
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One Death at a Time
by Abbi Waxman
After cranky ex-actress Julia Mann finds a dead body in her pool in Los Angeles, her Gen Z sobriety sponsor Natasha Mason is eager to clear Julia's name and help keep her sober, but all Julia wants is to be left alone.
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One Golden Summer
by Carley Fortune
Alice spent one summer at a cottage with Nan when she was seventeen--it's where she took a photo, the image that changed her life. When Nan falls and breaks her hip, Alice comes up with a plan: another summer in Barry's Bay. But as soon as they settle in, their peace is disrupted by a familiar yellow boat, and the man driving it. Charlie Florek was nineteen when Alice took his photo from afar. Now he's all grown up and manages to make Nan laugh and Alice long to be seventeen again. But when she looks up and sees his piercing green gaze directly on her, she begins to worry for her heart. Because Alice sees people--that's why she is so good at photography--but she's never met someone who sees her right back.
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Overgrowth
by Mira Grant
Since she was three years old, Anastasia Miller has been telling anyone who would listen that she's an alien disguised as a human being, and that the armada that left her on Earth is coming for her. No one has believed her. Now, with an alien signal from the stars being broadcast around the world, humanity is finally starting to realize that it's already been warned, and it may be too late. The invasion is coming, Stasia's biological family is on the way to bring her home, and very few family reunions are willing to cross the gulf of space for just one misplaced child.
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The Road to Tender Hearts
by Annie Hartnett
When lottery winner PJ Halliday reads the obituary of his old romantic rival, he realizes his high school sweetheart, Michelle, is single again. PJ decides to drive across the country to Arizona to win Michelle back. Before he can hit the road, tragedy strikes, leaving PJ the guardian of his brother’s grandchildren. Anyone else would be deterred from the planned trip, but PJ continues on in this darkly comic and warm-hearted novel about an old man on a mission to reunite with his high school crush—bringing together his adult daughter, two orphaned kids, and a cat who can predict death.
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Serial Killer Games
by Kate Posey
Dolores has been dying to spot a serial killer in the wild and is sure office temp Jake is one, and when Jake's curiosity about Dolores evolves into flirtation, he wonders if he's found someone for him, until she asks him to dispose of a body.
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The Staircase in the Woods
by Chuck Wendig
Twenty years after a childhood friend vanished on a mysterious staircase in the woods, a group of former high school friends reunites to uncover the truth, facing the dark secrets and horrors that await beyond the staircase.
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Time Loops & Meet Cutes
by Jackie Lau
Noelle Tom shouldn't have eaten those dumplings at the market. But the old woman at the stall said they'd give her what she needed most. Except now she's reliving the same Friday. Noelle has no idea how being trapped in a time loop is the "thing she needed most," and a trip to the food stall doesn't help... because there's no sign of it. Then she meets Cam. While the brewery owner seems to have no memory of their encounters, he might be the key to getting un-stuck. As she grows attached to Cam, Noelle becomes more worried that she'll never escape the loop and he'll never recall her name. And if she does ever get out, can they be together in the "real" world.
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Tough Luck
by Sandra Dallas
After escaping an orphanage, Haidie Richards and her brother Boots journey to Colorado Territory, encountering treacherous challenges, unlikely allies, and the truth about their father, while Haidie devises a daring plan to claim their future.
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Two Seconds Too Late
by Dani Pettrey
Skip tracer Riley MacLeod and PI Greyson Chadwick must catch a desperate woman on the run before a hitman reaches her first. Staying one step ahead of danger, their investigation reveals a hidden truth that rocks them to the core. In their race against the clock, all they can hope is that they're not too late.
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What Happens in Amsterdam
by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Dani Dorfman made it to her thirties without knowing what she wants to do with her life. So she applies for a job in Amsterdam, never imagining she'll actually get it. Except she does. By the end of her first week she's adrift and alone. Then she crashes her bike into her ex-boyfriend. Wouter van Leeuwen was a Dutch exchange student, a forbidden love that ended in a breakup. Years later, Wouter needs to be married to inherit his family home and when Dani's job falls apart, she needs a visa. As the marriage of convenience pushes them together, Dani must decide whether her new life is another mistake--or if it's worth taking a risk on a second chance.
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