Staff Picks
June 2025
 
 
 
Reviews and Recommendations from Our
Adult and Teen Services Staff

Fiction
Misty recommends:

The Housemaid
by Freida McFadden

“Welcome to the family,” Nina Winchester says as I shake her elegant, manicured hand. I smile politely, gazing around the marble hallway. Working here is my last chance to start fresh. I can pretend to be whoever I like. But I’ll soon learn that the Winchesters’ secrets are far more dangerous than my own…
Winner of the 2023 International Thriller Writers award for Best Paperback Original.
 
Kristin recommends:

Miss Benson's Beetle: A Novel
by Rachel Joyce

A teacher and her unlikely assistant leave post-World War II London to search for a rare insect that may not exist, discovering the transformative power of friendship along the way. By the author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. "Full of humor, adventure, love, and a bit of mystery, this is a delightfully captivating read from beginning to end" (Booklist).
Roseanne recommends:

Here One Moment: A Novel
by Liane Moriarty

An ordinary flight becomes extraordinary when passengers learn of their predicted deaths from a mysterious woman known as “The Death Lady,” leading to a race against time for some and a chance to redefine their time left for others. "Unputdownable and entirely affecting" (Library Journal). "Moriarty has outdone herself" (Publishers Weekly).
 
Mallory recommends:

Unfortunately Yours: A Novel
by Tessa Bailey

To access her trust fund, Natalie Vos must get married, and, with no prospects, proposes to a man she wants to kill and kiss in equal measure, failing vineyard owner August Cates, but their sham wedding turns into something more due to their unfortunate, unbearable, undeniable attraction.
"Bailey's fans won't be disappointed with this hilarious, heartfelt follow-up to Secretly Yours" (Library Journal).
 
Abby recommends:

Long Bright River
by Liz Moore

A policewoman races to find her missing sister, a homeless addict, amid a vicious killing spree in a Philadelphia neighborhood, in a story that alternates between the investigation and memories of their shared childhood. "Filled with strong characters and a layered plot, this will please fans of both genre and literary fiction" (Publishers Weekly).
 
Laura recommends:

Cinnamon and Gunpowder
by Eli Brown

Its 1819 and renowned chef Owen Wedgewood has been kidnapped by the notorious pirate captain Mad Hannah Mabbot. Owen's life will be spared if he is able to provide an exquisite meal each week for the ruthless captain. A pirate story with heart and a social conscience, and a foodie thread with truly inventive cooking. Rousing adventure and charming characters, this is an entertaining, smart and sexy read. "Brown is able to make his narrative both sizzling and swashbuckling" (Kirkus Reviews).
Astrid recommends:

Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel
by Shelby Van Pelt

After her husband dies, widow Tova Sullivan starts working at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, where she forms a special bond with a giant Pacific octopus who holds the key to solving the mysterious disappearance of her 18-year-old son, Erik, over thirty years ago on the Puget Sound. "Poet and short story writer Van Pelt has written an irresistibly wonderful, warm, funny, heartbreaking first novel, full of gentle people (and one octopus) bravely powering through their individual scars left by lives that have beaten them up but have not brought them down" (Library Journal).
 
Carly recommends:

Quicksilver
by Callie Hart

From USA Today Bestselling Author Callie Hart comes a highly addicting enemies-to-lovers Romantasy with razor-sharp banter, heart-stopping action, and blistering hot romance that you won’t be able to put down! Do not touch the sword. Do not turn the key. Do not open the gate.
BPL Contemporary Literature  Book Discussion:
Come join us on the second Tuesday of the month. We meet in the Conference Room at 7:30 pm. Registration required. 
 
Here are the next dates and titles (we are taking off the month of July): 
  • 08/12/2025   The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
- Please see the Library website for updates about book discussions - 
 
Batavia Public Library
10 S. Batavia Ave.
Batavia, Illinois 60510
630-879-1393

www.bataviapubliclibrary.org/