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For the Love of the Quest by Alexandra Ammon ParthunLady Edith Darling is supposed to live a quiet life in her family's manor. She is not supposed to go unchaperoned on a quest to find Excalibur. But Edith won't let that stand in her way, especially not when she's on this mission to honor her beloved grandmother's dying wish. Determined to prove her grandmother right, Edith packs her satchel with Arthurian legends, pastries, and her grandmother's ashes and runs off to hire a mercenary. Thomasin Shaw leads the most feared gang in London. For years, she had the constabulary safely in her pocket, until a scandal involving the chief inspector's wife was brought to light. Now he's demanding an enormous sum of money--without which Thomasin will lose the protection of the police along with her criminal empire. But when the rich Lady Edith waltzes into her life seeking an escort for a treasure hunt, Thomasin sees a willing kidnapping victim and a massive ransom. As Edith's clues lead them to underground chambers booby-trapped with arrows, doors locked with arcane puzzles, and even Arthur's fabled round table, Thomasin finds herself swept up in the quest--and in Edith herself. Edith is also drawn to Thomasin, despite the ruthless mask she wears. But the chief inspector won't let Thomasin forget her crimes, and Edith's father is intent on bringing her home. Every legendary quest has an ending, but finding Excalibur might not be enough to make this a happy one. |
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The Shampoo Effect: A Read with Jenna Pick by Jenny JacksonWhen Caroline Lash arrives in Greenhead, Massachusetts, she falls head-over-heels for Van Whittaker, a fleece-wearing, litter-collecting kayak enthusiast with long, floppy hair and the personality of a Border collie. Born and raised in this picturesque coastal village, Van runs with the same crowd he did as a kid: His ex-girlfriend, Bailey, a beautiful girl who attracts men like moths to a flame; Augusta, old money, horsey, and snobbish; and Fran, surrounded by brothers and sons, too fed up with boys to ever consider marrying one. Together, the group runs wild through the marshes, beaches, and bars of Greenhead, drinking on houseboats, spending long afternoons sunbathing with their children, and playing games the way they always have. But when Bailey discovers that she is pregnant with Van's baby, the delicate balance of the group's friendship is thrown off. Soon Caroline is cast out of the circle and what she does next--in a potent mix of fury and heartbreak--exposes long-held secrets and works the entire town of Greenhead into a lather. Dazzlingly funny, sexy, and as juicy as it is astute, The Shampoo Effect is a story of late-night parties, early mornings with small children, the dawn of midlife, and a group of old friends finally growing up despite all their best efforts to the contrary. |
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Hazel and Fox have it all: two children, a beautiful home, and a late-night habit of eliminating people who deserve it. Yet work-life balance is hard when you want to kill bad men but raise good kids. With a school mum tyrant on Haze's case, and Fox struggling with performance anxiety after a botched kill, things are spiraling. Therapy isn't helping, and bullet journaling has taken on a whole new meaning. . . But when they accidentally draw a dangerous group to their doorstep, the couple must pull it together--and fast. Because surviving in suburbia is no longer just a challenge. Now it's a real fight for their family's lives. And it turns out, self-help starts with staying alive. |
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Little Wild by Laura EvansSuffolk, 1937. As the English countryside swelters in a historic heat wave, preparations for a party at Snare House are in full swing. The Winthers’ only daughter, Joanie, is returning from a summer in Europe, a flying visit before she leaves for university in Oxford. Only Margaret, long-time ward of the family and Joanie’s closest friend, knows the Joanie won’t be going to Oxford. Instead, the two will be leaving the stultifying society they know to live together in London, as lovers.
Then the pair is discovered, and everything goes wrong. Banished to a cabin in the nearby woods, Margaret is alone with her estranged father. As summer curdles into fall and magpies throng the forest, Margaret begins to lose herself. Her dreams turn dark and terrifying, and she wakes from them with dirt on her soles and scratches on her back. Everything suggests that a perverse power is awakening within her—perhaps the very one which led to her mother’s ostracism and eventual death. If she can harness it, Margaret may be able to secure an approximation of the love she’s always craved—but at what cost?
Little Wild is at once a feminist fairy tale, a haunting meditation on the dangers of desire, and a gripping debut from a talented new voice.
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The Winged Game by Sophie KimCarriwitchet, the violent, rugby-esque game played atop winged beasts, was once Taissa Cho's whole life, and she was once the United Kingdom's most promising player. Until her nemesis, rival player Kion Locke, destroyed her career in a single moment. Expelled from the sport in disgrace, Taissa has spent the last two years dreaming of nothing but revenge and relishing watching Kion's team plummet to the bottom of the league. So when Taissa is offered the chance to redeem herself and her career, she can't refuse--even if the offer is coming from the very man who ruined everything in the first place. It's close to a dream come true . . . except for that pesky clause in her contract that demands she and Kion enter a fake relationship in order to garner some much-needed positive PR for the team. This could not be a worse match. Taissa and Kion only have two things in common: their love of the game, and their undying hatred for each other. Yet as a mysterious illness befalls the winged creatures of the entire league--putting both the beasts' lives and the very sport itself at stake--the athletes find themselves partnering up in other ways, determined to crack the case of the eerie sickness. As their investigation takes them on a whirlwind adventure, Kion and Taissa are prepared for anything . . . Anything, that is, but their fake-for-the-cameras relationship to maybe, just maybe, become something real after all. |
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The Missed Connection by Tia WilliamsSasha Cruz knows types. As a booked-and-busy casting agent, she’s always casting — at happy hour, the post office, the grocery store, everywhere. She’s all about finding the perfect person to slot into the perfect role. What she doesn’t do, however, are relationships. Too much energy, not enough time. Men find her intimidating, and she likes it that way.
But when Sasha’s seated next to a mysterious, broodingly handsome Italian man on the way to a work trip in Paris, sparks fly – but they miss the chance to exchange contact information. Now, convinced that she’s lost out on her soulmate, Sasha is on a manhunt to find Seat F.
Sasha enlists her work friend for help in the search, but when she accidentally emails the entire global company, colleagues around the world begin looking for Seat F, too – with some finding love along the way. Meanwhile, Sasha takes matters into her own hands, hiring a smoldering detective who complicates matters in unforeseen ways.
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| Vera Stein Is Fine by Julie MurphyWelcome to Starlight Palms, a favorite retirement facility among Hollywood actors and industry professionals tucked away just outside of sunny Palm Springs. Filled with forgotten scream queens, eccentric screenwriters, and heartthrobs of the past, it has a brand-new resident: Vera Stein, age forty.
Vera knows she’s missed her chance at a life worthy of the silver screen, just like she missed her chance at ever finding true love. But Vera isn’t one to take chances. She’s spent most of her adult years caretaking for her dying mother and her movie star boss’s ego. Now abruptly houseless and jobless, Vera has nowhere to land, so to grandmother’s house we go!
The Starlight Palms Senior Living Center is midcentury Hollywood down to its pastel-painted bones. This desert gem isn’t lacking in saucy plot twists (swinging seniors, anyone?) or a leading man: Elias Buckley, the on-site doctor and Vera’s former ill-fated college fling and—for reasons that will stay in Vegas—legally her ex-husband according to the state of Nevada.
It’s not long before Vera falls into a job as the activities coordinator and under the spell of a certain smart-mouthed doctor… Suddenly all those empty years in LA look less like mistakes and a lot more like backstory. With a fresh start at her fingertips, Vera begins to see that even with all the detours she’s taken, there’s still a Hollywood ending (and maybe even a happily ever after) in sight… |
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We Are Gathered Here Today by Bobby FingerAt 36, Finlay Hightower has attended countless incredible, cringe-worthy, and disastrous wedding celebrations with his best friends. Their secret to surviving wedding chaos? The Hour of Disrespect—a pact to reserve judgement to one hour after the couple’s Big Day, protecting the wedding glow and leaving only with the good memories.
But this next wedding will test their decade-old tradition in more ways than one. Now, one of their own is getting married—Fin’s beloved cousin, Elaine—at a Wild West-themed venue in the sweltering Texas summer heat that is as meticulously itineraried as it is kitchy. Reserving opinions won’t be easy, and on top of that Fin has a secret that threatens his officiant he’s just gotten engaged to the man of his dreams, and a sense of unease has him questioning if he believes in the institution of marriage at all.
As Fin joins the rambunctious and increasingly unhinged “queer table”, old friendships are tested and new relationships are formed. Will each guest hold back their particular views on love, commitment, and the wedding before Elaine can say “I do”? And if not, could those confessions ultimately give Fin the courage to uncover his truth? Also available in LARGE PRINT |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Michigan City Public Library
100 E. 4th Street
Michigan City, Indiana 46360
219-873-3044mclib.org/ |
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