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Must-Read Books December 2024 |
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The daughters' war
by Buehlman, Christopher
Defying her family's wishes and joining the army's untested new unit, the Raven Knights, Galva marches toward a once-beautiful city overrun by the goblin horde, accompanied by fearsome black birds that may hold the key to stopping the goblins in their war to make cattle of mankind.
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| Pearly Everlasting by Tammy ArmstrongIn a 1920 Canadian logging camp, Pearly Everlasting is born, and her parents also take in an orphaned bear cub, Bruno, raising the duo as siblings. In the 1930s, a new camp boss causes trouble for Bruno, and he's sold off. But Pearly goes after him, even though it means heading alone to places she's never been. This atmospheric novel by an award-winning poet is "warmly enchanting" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| This Will Be Fun by E.B. AsherThis cozy romantasy revolves around former friends and lovers, a reunion at the queen's wedding, and dark secrets from the past forcing the heroes to dust off their old weapons and save the world one more time. Will Beatrice, Elowen, Clare and Galwell be able to put old wounds aside and live happily ever after? "[A]n enchanting tale of self-discovery and second chances" (Booklist) for fans of Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth and Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne. |
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Twisted knight
by Bromberg, K.
"Kings of Sin meets It Ends With Us in a gritty, heated romance from New York Times bestselling author K. Bromberg. Holden They thought they'd managed to get rid of me once and for all. They thought I'd just forget what they did to my brother. But I'm going to make sure that they never forget. If only I can stop thinking about her. Rowan No one sees me. Behind my brother, I'm a ghost, managing the family business that he claims to run. But I'm tired of second fiddle. I'm tired of pretending. I'm going totake what's mine. The only problem? Well, he just came back to town"
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The instrumentalist
by Constable, Harriet
A novel of music, intoxication and betrayal is inspired by the true story of Anna Maria della Pietà, a Venetian orphan and violin prodigy who studied under Antonio Vivaldi and became his star musician—and biggest muse. A first novel.
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The haunting of Moscow house
by Gilmore, Olesya Salnikova
In a gothic horror tale set in post-revolutionary Russia, two once-aristocratic sisters race to uncover their family's long-buried secrets, in a house haunted by a past that is dangerous—and deadly—to remember. By the author of The Witch and the Tsar.
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Daydream
by Grace, Hannah
Academic superstar and fellow junior, Halle Jacobs, befriends Henry Turner when he accidentally crashes her book club and the pair work together to overcome their collegiate challenges in the third novel of the series following Wildfire. Original.
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The funeral cryer
by Lèu, Wenyan
Accepting the mundane realities of her life, the Funeral Cryer, avoided by fellow villagers because of the stigma attached to her job, when things could not be bleaker, takes a leap of faith that changes everything for the better.
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| The Beast Takes a Bride by Julie Anne Long Inspired by "Beauty and the Beast," this 8th Regency romance in Julie Anne Long's bestselling Palace of Rogues series stars estranged spouses Alexandra Bellamy and Colonel Magnus Brightwall, who reunite after a five-year separation to rescue their reputations -- and perhaps awaken their passions. For fans of: Anna Harrington's Lords of the Armory novels. |
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| Pony Confidential by Christina Lynch Narrated by both a grumpy pony and his former owner, Penny, who's just been jailed for a murder she supposedly committed when she was 12, this thoroughly charming novel follows Pony as he travels cross country plotting his revenge on the girl who broke his heart. But then Pony discovers Penny didn't sell him years ago and sets out to prove her innocence. Fans of Spencer Quinn's Chet and Bernie mysteries will appreciate this humorous, thought-provoking tale that has a bit of bite. |
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| The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden After a string of terrible dates, Sydney Shaw finally meets her ideal man -- a charming doctor. But when a young woman is murdered, part of a series of coast-wide killings by a man who dates his victims, Sydney grows uneasy, suspecting her “perfect” boyfriend might be more dangerous than he seems. |
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| The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami Featuring his signature genre-blending originality, Haruki Murakami's first novel in years (which is partially based on an old short story) begins with two teens in love: a girl who says her real self exists in a walled city and the boy she imagines the city with. She goes missing, and the boy grows up, always looking for her. Read-alikes: Miye Lee's The Dallergut Dream Department Store; David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas; Gabriel García Márquez's Love in the Time of Cholera. |
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The final act of Juliette Willoughby
by Lloyd, Ellery
Fifty years after runaway heiress artist Juliette Willoughby perished in an accidental studio fire in Paris, two Cambridge art history students stumble across proof that the fire was no accident, which threatens the very foundation of Juliette's aristocratic family and revives rumors of the infamous curse that has haunted them for generations.
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| The Rivals by Jane PekCrime fiction fan Claudia Lin and her business (and maybe more) partner Becks run an exclusive small agency vetting online dating matches with help from their tech expert Squirrel. In this "excellent" (Kirkus Reviews) follow-up to The Verifiers, they also again investigate a murder after a client dies and it seems to be related to online dating services secretly using AI for nefarious reasons. Read-alike: L.M. Chilton's Swiped. |
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Honey
by Lodato, Victor
A rebellious youth turned L.A. art queen confronts her twilight years, family secrets and a fiery late-life romance as past demons and the thirst for revenge resurface in the form of her drug-addled grandnephew Michael. 35,000 first printing.
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| Time of the Child by Niall Williams As Christmas 1962 approaches, a 12-year-old boy finds an infant in a churchyard one cold night and quietly delivers her to his small Irish town's doctor. Dr. Troy nurses the baby back to health (secretly, lest rumors begin about his unmarried daughter), and then he hatches a complex plan that might help everyone. Set in the same location as the author's 2019 novel This Is Happiness, this "lovely Christmas miracle of a book" (Library Journal) can be enjoyed on its own. |
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| Gather Me: A Memoir in Praise of the Books That Saved Me by Glory Edim In her heartfelt and affirming latest that includes a reading list, Well-Read Black Girl book club founder Glory Edim shares how favorite books of her youth helped her through a fraught childhood marked by the dissolution of her Nigerian immigrant parents' marriage, an unstable home life, and her mother's depression. Try this next: The Toni Morrison Book Club by Juda Bennett; Read Until You Understand: The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature by Farah Jasmine Griffin. |
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The Missing Thread
by Dunn, Daisy
Reconceiving our understanding of the ancient world by emphasizing women's roles within it, from Cleopatra to Boudica, Sappho to Fulvia, and countless others, an award-winning classicist documents how women of antiquity are undeniably woven through the fabric of history, and in this monumental work, finally take center stage. Illustrations.
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The jazzmen
by Tye, Larry
Based on more than 250 interviews, this meticulously researched history of Black America in the early-to-mid 1900s through three longtime kings of jazz—Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Count Basie—who opened America's eyes and souls to their magnificent music, writing the soundtrack for the civil rights movement. Illustrations.
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| Pig Town Party by Lian Cho A mysterious invitation leads a curious, over-confident child to an extravagant masquerade party in Pig Town, where all the inhabitants are anthropomorphic pigs. Deliciously absurd farce ensues, illustrated in exaggerated mixed-media art that’s sure to elicit plenty of giggles. |
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Benji Zeb is a ravenous werewolf
by Moulton, Deke
As Benji Zeb and his family work to hide their true identities as werewolves, Caleb the school bully reveals he's a werewolf, too, and needs Benji's help controlling his shifting, a situation that forces Benji to deal with his growing feelings for Caleb. Simultaneous eBook.
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The poisons we drink
by Baptiste, Bethany
When her mother is murdered, Venus, who brews illegal love potions to support her family, is offered the chance to punish her mother's killer in exchange for brewing poisonous potions to enslave D.C.'s most influential politicians and soon finds the line between magic and power blurring. Simultaneous eBook.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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