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Book Chat's Recommendations December 2025 |
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Nesting by Roisín O'DonnellLonglisted for the Women's Prize - An Instant Bestseller in Ireland and the UK In this beautiful, urgent, and ultimately uplifting novel by a rising Irish literary star comes a heart-pounding, life-affirming story about one woman trying to leave her marriage and start over.
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The Librarians by Sherry ThomasThis delicious murder mystery is a must-read for any library lover --New York Times bestselling author Shelby Van Pelt Murder disrupts four quirky librarians' lives when they try to hide among books to keep their secrets.
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The Letter Carrier
by Francesca Giannone
A woman arrives at a small Italian town in the 1930s, with her husband and baby, and is the permanent outsider. She decides to become the town postmistress, the first female to hold that position. An epic novel that spans decades--
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The river is waiting : a novel
by Wally Lamb
Corby Ledbetter, grappling with addiction, prison life, and the tragedy that shattered his family, finds unexpected kindness and connection behind bars, as he seeks redemption and hopes for forgiveness from those he's hurt the most.
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The Correspondent
by Virginia Evans
Sybil is seventy-three years old, in the winter of her life. Sybil has always made sense of the world through writing letters and through this epistolary novel we see how she comes to terms with her past and present and learns forgiveness--
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The stolen life of Colette Marceau
by Kristin Harmel
Decades after losing her mother and sister during a wartime raid in Nazi-occupied Paris, jewel thief Colette Marceau is drawn back into her past when a long-missing diamond bracelet resurfaces, prompting a search for truth, justice, and long-buried family revelations.
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The Phoenix crown : a novel
by Kate Quinn
Offered patronage by Henry Thornton, a charming railroad magnate, in 1906, Gemma, a silver-voiced soprano, and Suling, a Chinatown embroideress, when Henry disappears, along with the fabled Phoenix Crown, are brought together five years later in one last desperate quest for justice. Original.
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Promise Me Sunshine
by Cara Bastone
Grieving the loss of her best friend, a young woman's life is turned upside down when she meets a grumpy stranger who swears he can help her live again.--
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Good Material: A Read with Jenna Pick
by Dolly Alderton
Jen has dumped Andy, and he's handling the breakup in exactly the way all his friends and family might have expected: very, very badly. Crashing at his mother's house and obsessively photographing his hairline, Andy embraces the rites and rituals of every breakup-the ill-advised decision to move onto a houseboat, the forced merriment of a lads' night out, the accidental late-night text to the ex-all resulting in a never-ending shame spiral. Even as Andy tests the waters of a new relationship, he finds himself drawn back to Jen, revisiting old texts and emails, trying to figure out what truly went wrong.--
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The Christmas Guest: A Novella
by Peter Swanson
Ashley Smith, an American art student in London for her junior year, was planning on spending Christmas alone, but a last-minute invitation from fellow student Emma Chapman brings her to Starvewood Hall, country residence of the Chapman family. The Cotswold manor house, festooned in pine boughs and crammed with guests for Christmas week, is a dream come true for Ashley. She is not only mesmerized by the cozy, firelit house, the large family, and the charming village of Clevemoor, but also by Adam Chapman, Emma's aloof and handsome brother. But Adam is being investigated by the local police over the recent brutal slaying of a girl from the village, and there is a mysterious stranger who haunts the woodland path between Starvewood Hall and the local pub. Ashley begins to wonder what kind of story she is actually inhabiting. Is she in a grand romance? A gothic tale? Or has she wandered into something far more sinister and terrifying than she'd ever imagined?
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Kiss Me at Christmas
by Jenny Bayliss
Christmas can officially get stuffed because Harriet Smith is not feeling bright and merry this year. She hasn't for a while. So when her college-aged daughter opts for Manhattan's winter wonderland instead of Christmas at home, Harriet finds herself seeking solace in a wine-soaked one-night stand. But how Harriet will spend the holidays is swiftly decided for her after she takes the fall for some students who break into the town's old Winter Theater. To get the students off the hook, the theater's elderly owner requests that Harriet direct the washed-out stage's final Christmas performance. And Harriet will do anything to help the kids--even work with the owner's lawyer who, as it turns out, is her less-than-impressed one-night stand--
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The Plum Tree
by Ellen Marie Wiseman
A deeply moving and masterfully written story of human resilience and enduring love, The Plum Tree follows a young German woman through the chaos of World War II and its aftermath. Bloom where you're planted, is the advice Christine Bölz receives from her beloved Oma. But seventeen-year-old domestic Christine knows there is a whole world waiting beyond her small German village. It's a world she's begun to glimpse through music, books--and through Isaac Bauerman, the cultured son of the wealthy Jewish family she works for. Yet the future she and Isaac dream of sharing faces greater challenges than their difference in stations. In the fall of 1938, Germany is changing rapidly under Hitler's regime. Anti-Jewish posters are everywhere, dissenting talk is silenced, and a new law forbids Christine from returning to her job--and from having any relationship with Isaac. In the months and years that follow, Christine will confront the Gestapo's wrath and the horrors of Dachau, desperate to be with the man she loves, to survive--and finally, to speak out. Set against the backdrop of the German homefront, this is an unforgettable novel of courage and resolve, of the inhumanity of war, and the heartbreak and hope left in its wake. Advance Praise For Ellen Marie Wiseman'sThe Plum Tree The Plum Tree is a touching story of heroism and loss, a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the power of love to transcend the most unthinkable circumstances. Deft storytelling and rich characters make this a highly memorable read and a worthy addition to the narratives of the Holocaust and Second World War. --Pam Jenoff, author of The Ambassador's Daughter A haunting and beautiful debut novel. --Anna Jean Mayhew, author of The Dry Grass of August In The Plum Tree, Ellen Marie Wiseman boldly explores the complexities of the Holocaust. This novel is at times painful, but it is also a satisfying love story set against the backdrop of one of the most difficult times in human history. --T. Greenwood, author of Two Rivers An unusual point of view on the Holocaust. [The Plum Tree] is a story of star-crossed lovers in a time of genocide. . .The details are exquisite and very thorough. Young adult readers will find it refreshing to read a different perspective toward WWII Germany. The terrors of the war will ignite compassion and disbelief. --VOYA Magazine
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The Lost Passenger
by Frances Quinn
An immersive historical drama about a young mother who starts a new life with her son in New York after faking their deaths on the Titanic-the U.S. debut of an acclaimed British novelist--
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On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
by Ocean Vuong
If you want to be brilliant, you have to be seen first, and to be seen is to allow yourself to be a prey. A letter from a son to an illiterate mother. The first novel of Wang Ouxing, the youngest Eliot Prize-winning poet in history. In 2019, authoritative media's annual selection of novels on the list was awarded the MacArthur Genius Award. After publication, it astounded the international literary world and was on the best-selling list of the New York Times. The Oscar Best Picture Blue Boy under the Moonlight production company will soon be adapted to the big screen.
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This Is Happiness
by Niall Williams
I am such a fan of Niall Williams. -Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of Tom Lake A profound and enchanting novel set in the rural Irish village of Faha, from bestselling Time of the Child author Niall Williams, about the loves of our lives and the joys of reminiscing.
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Great Circle
by Maggie Shipstead
After being rescued as infants from a sinking ocean liner in 1914, Marian and Jamie Graves are raised by their dissolute uncle in Missoula, Montana. There--after encountering a pair of barnstorming pilots passing through town in beat-up biplanes--Marian commences her lifelong love affair with flight. At fourteen she drops out of school and finds an unexpected and dangerous patron in a wealthy bootlegger who provides a plane and subsidizes her lessons, an arrangement that will haunt her for the rest of her life, even as it allows her to fulfill her destiny: circumnavigating the globe by flying over the North and South Poles.A century later, Hadley Baxter is cast to play Marian in a film that centers on Marian's disappearance in Antarctica. Vibrant, canny, disgusted with the claustrophobia of Hollywood, Hadley is eager to redefine herself after a romantic film franchise has imprisoned her in the grip of cult celebrity. Her immersion into the character of Marian unfolds, thrillingly, alongside Marian's own story, as the two women's fates--and their hunger for self-determination in vastly different geographies and times--collide. Epic and emotional, meticulously researched and gloriously told, Great Circle is a monumental work of art, and a tremendous leap forward for the prodigiously gifted Maggie Shipstead.
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Starry Night
by Debbie Macomber
'Tis the season for romance, second chances, and Christmas cheer in this new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber.
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Sandwich
by Catherine Newman
Look for Wreck, the new novel by Catherine Newman--a deeply moving story of laughter and heart, about marriage, family, and what happens when life doesn't go as planned--Coming October 2025. INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERSandwich is joy in book form. I laughed continuously, except for the parts that made me cry. Catherine Newman does a miraculous job reminding us of all the wonder there is to be found in life.--Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of Tom LakeIf you like my novels, you will love love love this . . . . I stand in awe, it's just perfect.--Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Swan SongA total delight.--Kate ChristensenFrom the beloved author of We All Want Impossible Things, a moving, hilarious story of a family summer vacation full of secrets, lunch, and learning to let go.For the past two decades, Rocky has looked forward to her family's yearly escape to Cape Cod. Their humble beach-town rental has been the site of sweet memories, sunny days, great meals, and messes of all kinds: emotional, marital, and--thanks to the cottage's ancient plumbing--septic too.This year's vacation, with Rocky sandwiched between her half-grown kids and fully aging parents, promises to be just as delightful as summers past--except, perhaps, for Rocky's hormonal bouts of rage and melancholy. (Hello, menopause!) Her body is changing--her life is, too. And then a chain of events sends Rocky into the past, reliving both the tenderness and sorrow of a handful of long-ago summers.It's one precious week: everything is in balance; everything is in flux. And when Rocky comes face to face with her family's history and future, she is forced to accept that she can no longer hide her secrets from the people she loves.
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Sleeping with Schubert
by Bonnie Marson
It seems that the legendary composer Franz Schubert is alive--well, sort of--in the twenty-first century: His soul has taken up residence in the body of Brooklyn lawyer Liza Durbin. Even more astonishing, so has his prodigious gift. A mediocre pianist at best as a child, Liza can suddenly pound out concertos and compose masterly music out of the blue. But how can a brilliant male Austrian composer from the nineteenth century coexist in the everyday life of a modern American woman? And how can Liza explain what's happened to her without everyone thinking she's gone off the deep end? Fortunately, the evidence is tangible, and Liza is soon brought into the esteemed halls of Juilliard under the tutelage of the revered--and feared--Greta Pretsky, a humorless woman whose only interest in Liza is her channeling of Schubert. Greta's greedy for her next big star, and the entire New York City press is whispering of Liza's brilliance as the public awaits her debut at Carnegie Hall. Even Liza's boyfriend, Patrick, seems more in love with her than ever. Yet as Liza yields to Franz's great passion, her own life and identity threaten to elude her. Why was she chosen as the vessel for this musical genius--and when, if ever, will he leave? Their entwined souls follow a path of ecstasy, peril, and surprise as they search for the final, liberating truth. A strikingly original novel, Sleeping with Schubert plays on years of speculation regarding Franz Schubert's Unfinished Symphony. Bonnie Marson's extraordinary imagination supposes that Schubert cannot truly die until the mystery is solved--even if it means being resurrected in the body of a deceptively ordinary woman. Filled with drama and humor, this irresistible novel explores love, genius, and identity in ways that will engage and amaze readers.
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West with giraffes : a novel
by Lynda Rutledge
Inspired by true events, this part adventure, part historical saga and part coming-of-age love story follows Woodrow Wilson Nickel as he recalls his journey in 1938 to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo.
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Outlawed
by Anna North
The terrifying, wise, tender, and thrilling (R.O. Kwon) adventure story of a fugitive girl, a mysterious gang of robbers, and their dangerous mission to transform the Wild West. In the year of our Lord 1894, I became an outlaw. The day of her wedding, 17 year old Ada's life looks good; she loves her husband, and she loves working as an apprentice to her mother, a respected midwife. But after a year of marriage and no pregnancy, in a town where barren women are routinely hanged as witches, her survival depends on leaving behind everything she knows. She joins up with the notorious Hole in the Wall Gang, a band of outlaws led by a preacher-turned-robber known to all as the Kid. Charismatic, grandiose, and mercurial, the Kid is determined to create a safe haven for outcast women. But to make this dream a reality, the Gang hatches a treacherous plan that may get them all killed. And Ada must decide whether she's willing to risk her life for the possibility of a new kind of future for them all. Featuring an irresistibly no-nonsense, courageous, and determined heroine, Outlawed dusts off the myth of the old West and reignites the glimmering promise of the frontier with an entirely new set of feminist stakes. Anna North has crafted a pulse-racing, page-turning saga about the search for hope in the wake of death, and for truth in a climate of small-mindedness and fear.
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Bog Queen
by Anna North
National Bestseller In the gorgeous new novel by the New York Times bestselling author of Outlawed, a strangely well-preserved Iron Age body turns up in an English bog, and the American forensic anthropologist on the case is thrust into an absorbing, complex mystery (People magazine).
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The hunting wives
by May Cobb
Moving to a small Texas town, Sophie O'Neill is immediately drawn to socialite Margot Banks who invites her into a secret clique called the Hunting Wives, with which she becomes obsessed until she finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation with no way out.
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The road to tender hearts : a novel
by Annie Hartnett
Sixty-three-year-old lottery winner PJ Halliday sets out on a cross-country trip to reunite with his high school sweetheart, bringing along his estranged brother's orphaned grandchildren, his drifting adult daughter and a death-predicting cat.
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These Summer Storms
by Sarah MacLean
These Summer Storms is a ... novel about a wealthy New England family's long-overdue reckoning--and the one week that threatens to tear them apart--
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A Killer Wedding
by Joan O'Leary
Wildly witty and wickedly fun, A Killer Wedding is a juicy debut whodunit about toxic family dynamics hidden beneath the surface of billionaire-level wealth that reads like The Devil Wear Prada protagonist played a game of Clue at a White Lotus Hotel--Provided by publisher.
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Wild Reverence
by Rebecca Ross
Born in the firelit domain of the under realm, Matilda is the youngest goddess of her clan, blessed with humble messenger magic. But in a land where gods often kill each other to steal power and alliances break as quickly as they are forged, Matilda must come of age sooner than most. She may be known to carry words and letters through the realms, but she holds a secret she must hide from even her dearest of allies to ensure her survival. And to complicate matters, there is a mortal boy who dreams of her, despite the fact they have never met in the waking world--
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A Stranger in the House
by Shari Lapena
You're home making dinner for your husband. You expect him any second. The phone rings--it's the call you hoped you'd never get. You jump in your car and race to a neighborhood you thought you'd never visit. You peer into the dark, deserted building. You brace yourself for the worst. And then, you remember nothing else. They tell your husband you've been in an accident. You lost control of your car as you sped through the worst side of town. The police suspect you were up to no good. But your husband refuses to believe it. Your best friend is not so sure. And even you don't know what to believe--
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Black cake : a novel
by Charmaine Wilkerson
Two estranged siblings try to reclaim the closeness they once shared while trying to piece together their late mother's life story and fulfill her last request of sharing a traditional Caribbean black cake“when the time is right.”
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Secret lives
by Mark De Castrique
"Everybody has something to hide At 75-years-old, Ethel Fiona Crestwater is used to being underestimated. She looks like someone's grandma, though she's never married or had children; petite and a bit frail, she's not a threat to anyone. Or is she...? Ethel runs a boarding house for government agents, and when someone murders one of her boarders, she springs into action-much to the surprise of her distant cousin Jesse, who has recently come to stay with her while he attends university. As he watches her photograph the crime scene, conceal evidence, and speed-dial the Secret Service Director, Jesse realizes that there's much more to Ethel than appearances suggest. But when Jesse is assaulted and the gym bag full of cash Ethel had hidden is stolen from the basement, the pair decides it's time to launch their own unofficial investigation. With no one to trust but each other, these double-first-cousins-twice-removed form an unlikely bond, and learn that the only thing truly worth risking your life for is family"
This is the first book in the Secret Lives series featuring Ethel Crestwater. The third book was published in November 2025.
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The Thursday Murder Club
by Richard Osman
First published in hardcover in Great Britain by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Books, a division of Penguin Random House Ltd., London--Copyright page.
This is the first book in the Thursday Murder Club series. There are currently 5 books in this series.
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Mailman: My Wild Ride Delivering the Mail in Appalachia and Finally Finding Home
by Stephen Starring Grant
Steve Grant was laid off in March of 2020. He was fifty and had cancer, so he needed health insurance, fast. Which is how he found himself a rural letter carrier in Appalachia, back in his old hometown [of Blacksburg, Virginia]. Suddenly, he was the guy with the goods, delivering dog food and respirators and lube and heirloom tomato seeds and Lord of the Rings replica swords. He transported chicken feed to grandmothers living alone in the mountains and forded a creek with a refrigerator on his back. But while he carried the mail, he also carried a whole lot more than just the mail, including a family legacy of rage and the anxiety of having lost his identity along with his corporate job. And yet, slowly, surrounded by a ragtag but devoted band of letter carriers, working this different kind of job, Grant found himself becoming a different kind of person. He became a lifeline for lonely people, providing fleeting moments of human contact and the assurance that our government still cares--
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