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New Adult Fiction and Nonfiction February 2026 Part 1 |
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Cloud Library
Cloud Library lets you access a variety of audiobooks and eBooks through your online browser, as well as through the easy-to-use App. You can download these eResources to your mobile devices, including Kindle Fire and Kobo eReader, letting you access them any time you want. Just click on the logo to learn more.
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The Ballad of Falling Dragons (Standard Edition)
by Sarah A. Parker
The Ballad of Falling Dragons is the much-anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestselling phenomenon When the Moon Hatched, featuring an immersive, vibrant world with mysterious creatures, a unique magic system, and a love that blazes through the ages. Moonbeam. A moonfall is coming. Raeve's thirst for vengeance continues to burn, as does her love for Kaan Vaegor--a staunch beacon from a past she's yet to face. With Rekk's blood still fresh on her hands, she learns the world will face its most devastating moonfall yet, forcing her to pick a path: Chase death. Or life. Desperate to save his kingdom from ruin, Kaan's crown has never felt so heavy. His many larks to scattered friends and family remain unanswered, and time is running out. As allies merge and enemies surge with bloodlusting agendas of their own, secrets brew hot enough to burn, but none so mighty as the truth nesting within the icy depths of Raeve's long forgotten past. Something ... Other. Something with the knowledge to change it all.
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The Book Witch
by Meg Shaffer
She can hop into any novel, but she just can't stay there. Come along with the Book Witch in this magical and inspiring love letter to reading from the USA Today bestselling author of The Wishing Game. Meg Shaffer continues to surprise and delight me with each book she writes.--Laurie Gilmore, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Pumpkin Spice Caf Rainy March is a proud, third-generation Book Witch, sworn to defend works of fiction from all foes real and imaginary. With her magical umbrella and feline familiar, she jumps in and out of novels to fix malicious alterations and rogue heroes like a modern-day magical Nancy Drew. Book Witches live by a strict code: Real people belong in the real world; fictional characters belong in works of fiction. Do not eat, drink, or sleep inside a fictional world, lest you become part of the story. Falling in love with a fictional character? Don't even think about it. Which is why Rainy has been forbidden from seeing the Duke of Chicago, the dashing British detective who stars in her favorite mystery series. If she's ever caught with him again, she'll be expelled from her book coven--and forced to give up the magical gifts that are as much a part of her as her own name. But when her beloved grandfather disappears and a priceless book is stolen, there's only one person she trusts to help her solve the case: the Duke. Their quest takes them through the worlds of Alice in Wonderland, King Arthur, and other classics that will reveal hidden enemies and long-buried family secrets.
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The Bookbinder's Secret
by A. D. Bell
Every book tells a story. This one tells a secret.A young bookbinder begins a hunt for the truth when a confession hidden beneath the binding of a burned book reveals a story of forbidden love, lost fortune, and murder. Lilian (Lily) Delaney, apprentice to a master bookbinder in Oxford in 1901, chafes at the confines of her life. She is trapped between the oppressiveness of her father's failing bookshop and still being an apprentice in a man's profession. But when she's given a burned book during a visit to a collector, she finds, hidden beneath the binding, a fifty-year-old letter speaking of love, fortune, and murder. Lily is pulled into the mystery of the young lovers, a story of forbidden love, and discovers there are more books and more hidden pages telling their story. Lilian becomes obsessed with the story but she is not the only one looking for the remaining books and what began as a diverting intrigue quickly becomes a very dangerous pursuit. Lily's search leads her from the eccentric booksellers of London to the private libraries of unscrupulous collectors and the dusty archives of society papers, deep into the heart of the mystery. But with sinister forces closing in, willing to do anything for the books, Lilian's world begins to fall apart and she must decide if uncovering the truth is worth the risk to her own life. * This stunning edition includes full-color designed endpapers, unique foiled front and back case stamps, and special interior design elements. While supplies last *
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The Bookstore Diaries (Deluxe Limited Edition): A Novel of Secrets, Drama and Second Chance Love
by Susan Mallery
Preorder now to get a deluxe limited edition of The Bookstore Diaries This special-edition hardcover will include beautifully designed endpapers and gorgeous sprayed edges This summer, the town's juiciest secrets are revealed in New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery's joyful and sparkling new novelJax has a slight issue with control--as in, she needs it. Always. Too bad she has power only over the Painted Lady Bookstore, the Victorian mansion turned bookshop she inherited. No one else listens to a word she says. Her ex gets engaged for questionable reasons. Her beloved sister, Ryleigh, wants to move away to find a husband. And the handsome contractor Jax has chosen to convince Ryleigh to stay is only interested in Jax. Still, she's living the bookworm dream--until an unhappy accident erases the names from the bookshop lockboxes where the town keeps their diaries. Which means the only way to find a diary's owner is...to read it. As secrets spill and scandals surface, life at the Painted Lady Bookstore gets a lot more colorful and chaotic. But for a woman who's always had to take charge, Jax will see that losing control--especially with the right wrong guy--can set you free.Don't miss these other great reads from Susan Mallery: Otherwise Engaged Beach Vibes The Boardwalk Bookshop Once Upon a Holidate One Big Happy Family
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The Chambermaid's Key
by Genevieve Graham
From #1 bestselling author Genevieve Graham, the reigning queen of Canadian historical fiction (Kristen Harmel, #1 New York Times bestselling author) comes a dazzling novel set at an elegant hotel in Toronto in 1929 about a young chambermaid, a handsome waiter, and a murder that will reverberate for a century. Welcome to the Dominion, where secrets lurk behind every locked door. 1929: Rosie Ryan wants nothing more than to escape the poverty of The Ward, Toronto's roughest neighbourhood, and become a chambermaid at the brand-new Dominion Hotel. Until she meets Damien, that is--a charming and ambitious waiter who promises her a better life--and adds him to the top of her list. The Dominion offers her a chance to do well, but behind the gleaming chandeliers and polished marble lurk dangerous secrets involving its most notorious guest, a wealthy gangster who's about to profit from The Crash that will decimate the economy. When a friend is murdered, Rosie finds herself tangled in a web of betrayal--one that just might cost her everything. Present Day: City building Inspector Bridget Kelly is assigned to scrutinize the recent renovations at the elegant old Dominion Hotel, a task she relishes as a lover of history and architecture, and that gets even better once she starts working with a brilliant and fascinating archivist. But when a routine inspection uncovers mysterious boxes, locked doors, and secret corridors, bringing to light a long-buried clue to a decades-old murder, her inspection is thwarted, and threats rise round her on every side. Bridget soon realizes someone doesn't want the truth to surface--and they'll do anything to keep it buried. Spanning nearly a century, The Chambermaid's Key is a gripping dual-timeline novel about ambition, betrayal, and the secrets that bind us across generations.
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The Fake Matchmaker
by Sonya Singh
From the nationally bestselling author of Sari, Not Sari comes a delightful enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance about how love is sometimes only a click away. While her brothers are finding their soulmates and planning the rest of their lives, Manisha Patel is moving back in with her parents, dodging calls from her cheating Aquarius ex-boyfriend, and avoiding questions about her love life. Worse, she's being forced to help out her father's friend's son, and Manisha would rather be doing anything else. Rohit Khanna may be incredibly hot and have great style, but he's also arrogant, rude, and (allegedly) a cheater, and Manisha wants nothing to do with him.But these things turn out to be the least of Manisha's worries when she gets the heartbreaking news that her dream of one day having a family might slip through her fingers. Then, a stroke of genius: What if there was a fake matchmaking service where Manisha was the only client? One single profile, countless eligible bachelors for Manisha to choose from. It's the perfect plan to find a husband and live happily ever after. . . . Isn't it?
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The Fourth Princess: A Gothic Novel of Old Shanghai
by Janie Chang
From the internationally bestselling author of The Porcelain Moon comes a haunting Gothic novel set in 1911 China. Two young women living in a crumbling, once-grand Shanghai mansion face danger as secrets of their pasts come to light, even as the mansion's own secret threatens the present.Shanghai, 1911. Lisan Liu is elated when she is hired as secretary to wealthy American Caroline Stanton, the new mistress of Lennox Manor on the outskirts of Shanghai's International Settlement. However, the Manor has a dark past due to a previous owner's suicide, and soon Lisan's childhood nightmares resurface with more intensity and meld with haunted visions of a woman in red. Adding to her unease is the young gardener, Yao, who both entices and disturbs her.Newly married Caroline looks forward to life in China with her husband, Thomas, away from the shadows of another earlier tragedy. But an unwelcome guest, Andrew Grey, attends her party and claims to know secrets she can't afford to have exposed. At the same party, the notorious princess Masako Kyo approaches Lisan with questions about the young woman's family that the orphaned Lisan can't answer.As Caroline struggles with Grey's extortion and Thomas's mysterious illness, Lisan's future is upended when she learns the truth about her past, and why her identity has been hidden all these years. All the while, strange incidents accelerate, driving Lisan to doubt her sanity as Lennox Manor seems unwilling to release her until she fulfills demands from beyond the grave.
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The Herb Knot
by Jane Loftus
'An impressive unputdownable debut' The Historical Novel SocietyThe Hundred Years' War comes to life in this spellbinding tale of love, betrayal and conspiracy ...
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The Hired Man
by Sandra Dallas
The Dust Bowl sweeps a handsome stranger into a small Colorado town to dangerous effect1937. It's been seven years since the dust storms started in Colorado. Folks can barely remember a time when the clouds were filled with rain instead of dirt, and when the fields were green instead of brown. High school student Martha Helen Kessler and her family are luckier than most; they still eke out a living from the land. Even so, evidence of the Dust Bowl's grim impact on families, especially on the women who bear the brunt of their husbands' frustration and their children's hunger, is everywhere. When Martha Helen's compassionate mother insists they take in Otis Hobbs, a handsome drifter who saves a local boy from a vicious storm, she quickly discovers a darker side to their rural community. Suspicion, jealousy, and prejudice grip their neighbors - and emotions reach a frenzy after Martha Helen's best friend, Frankie, disappears and is then found murdered. Ultimately, Martha Helen is forced to make sense of her conflicting feelings and loyalties in order to help find retribution and to reconcile the difference between the law and justice. Full of period detail and Sandra Dallas's trademark focus on the lives of women, The Hired Man entertains and ultimately surprises.
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The Lady of the Lake
by Jean Menzies
Lady Viviane leaves the lakes of the far North for the splendor of Camelot, determined to capture the heart and hand of the young Prince Arthur. But it is Arthur's sister, Morgan, who truly captures Viviane's attention. Fierce, intelligent, and headstrong, Morgan envisions a different future--one she and Viviane might forge together in a world built for knights and kings.Yet Camelot is a kingdom of secrets, where nothing is as it seems. When Arthur draws the legendary sword from the stone and claims his destiny, dark forces are set in motion. As power shifts and loyalties fracture, Arthur's closest allies will do everything they can to tear Viviane and Morgan apart.Can their love survive the intrigue, betrayal, and ancient magic at work in Camelot?
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The Last Page
by Katie Holt
A bookseller with a dream of running her beloved bookstore vs. the owner's out-of-touch grandson who inherits everything. Game on. From the author of Not in My Book comes another irresistible, bookish contemporary romance. Ella has grown up at The Last Page, a charming local bookstore in New York City where she now works. Her first kiss was in the women's health section. A boyfriend dumped her in comedy. The owner is like a second father to her and has begun training her to take over the store. So when he unexpectedly dies and his estranged grandson is left everything in the will, Ella is devastated. Henry doesn't know the first thing about running a bookstore. With his aging mom back in Tennessee, he plans to stay in New York just long enough to ensure things are running smoothly and then head back home. What he never could have counted on was the beautiful, funny bookseller who loves The Last Page more than any place in the world--and who sees him as the villain who's come to ruin her life. But when it becomes evident that the store is in deep financial trouble and Henry and Ella are both at risk of losing everything, they have no choice but to put their differences aside and team up--despite the inconvenient chemistry blossoming between them. Fans of Christina Lauren and Ali Hazelwood will adore this rivals-to-friends-to-lovers bookish romance
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The Library After Dark
by Ande Pliego
A bookseller must escape the infamously haunted library that holds her darkest secrets, but with a murderer in her tour group, escaping alive is not as simple as it seems, in this twisty locked-room thriller from bestselling author of You Are Fatally Invited. Not all fairytales were meant for children. Aria Stokes is finally feeling settled--she lives in a tiny New York apartment, works as a bookseller at a local shop, and has even taken a leap of faith in love by indulging her attraction to bookstore regular Jasper. And he seems to already know her so well. As a Valentine's Day surprise, Jasper gets the two of them tickets to an exclusive, after-dark tour of the Daedalus Library--the grandiose establishment famed for its immersive genre-based reading rooms and, more notoriously, its rumored hauntings. While Aria normally loves all things ghastly, this place holds more dark secrets than she'd prefer Jasper to know. Like that the last time she was here, she left a body behind. But when the automatic-door entry malfunctions and Aria, Jasper, and the five other people in their tour group become trapped in the library, they are forced to venture through the storied rooms and hidden passageways of the Daedalus in search of escape . . . and Aria quite literally has nowhere to hide from the shadows of her past. Then the group learns there's a murderer in their midst. Now, as she tries to break out of the library's intricate reading rooms, Aria has to decide who she can trust--and what secrets are best kept buried--if she wants to make it out alive.
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The Moonlight Runner
by Karen Robards
The legendary Karen Robards brings her formidable talents to bear in The Moonlight Runner, an epic tale of love and female heroism. -Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of Last Twilight in ParisIn the wake of the Great War, a young woman joins the Irish rebellion and risks everything for her country in this sweeping story of love, bravery and the relentless pursuit of freedom from New York Times bestselling author Karen Robards.Ireland, 1918. In a world brutalized by the Great War and devastated by the Spanish flu, twenty-two-year-old Rynn Carmichael is suddenly pulled into the war of independence when Donal O'Reilly, the boy she has loved for most of her life, takes up gunrunning in support of the rebellion.Raised in a small Irish village on the shores of Donegal Bay, Rynn is working as a nurse in a convalescent home for soldiers wounded in the Great War when she overhears a British officer gloating over the trap that has been set for Irish gunrunners bringing a boat full of smuggled arms ashore. Knowing that Donal must be involved, she rushes out at midnight to warn the incoming boat, only to find herself caught up in a terrifying and tragic series of events that take her from the glittering ballrooms of London to the narrow back alleys of Dublin as she and those she loves fight for their lives and their country.
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The Poet Empress
by Shen Tao
Wei Yin is desperate. After the fifth death of a sibling, with her family and village on the brink of starvation, she will do anything to save those she loves. Even offer herself as concubine to the cruel, dissolute heir of the blood-gutted Azalea House--where poetry magic is power, but women are forbidden to read. But in a twist of fate, the palace now stands on the knife-edge of civil war, with Wei trapped in its center--with a violent prince. To save herself and the nation, she must survive the dangers of court, learn to read in secret, and compose the most powerful spell of all. A ballad of love--and death--
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The Mountains We Call Home: The Book Woman's Legacy
by Kim Michele Richardson
In this standalone and companion novel to the The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek series, our heroine for the ages, legendary book woman, Cussy Lovett, returns home. A powerful testament of strength, survival, and the magic of the printed word, The Mountains We Call Home is wrapped into a vivid portrait of Kentucky life: examining incarceration and criminalization, exploring the effects on the poor and powerless, and tracing the societal consequences of fractured family bonds, along with nostalgic glimpses of a bustling, multifaceted Louisville, and heartwarming portraits of reading efforts in every facet of life. Meticulously researched and richly detailed with a new cast of absorbing and complex characters, this beautifully rendered, authentic Kentucky tale is gritty and heartbreaking and infused with hope, spirit, and courage known only to those with no way out-- Provided by publisher.
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Felicia's Favorites
by Danielle Steel
A heartwarming new novel from Danielle Steel, whose countless #1 New York Times bestselling novels have made her one of America's favorite storytellers.
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Five
by Ilona Bannister
Five lives. Five stories. Four will live--one will die. Who it will be? In this slow-burn masterpiece of psychological fiction, the choice is all yours.Five is a gripping, chilling story that asks difficult questions about judgement, forgiveness, and the notion of cause and effect.--Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of All the Colors of the Dark Have you ever tried to pass the time by imagining the lives of the strangers standing next to you? Ilona Bannister's Five introduces readers to five seemingly random people waiting for a train. But these are not just any five people. From the beginning we know that one of them is going to die soon. Very soon. In five minutes the next train to London will arrive, killing one of them. But before this happens you will learn their stories. None of these people are saints. Readers might fall in love with the beautiful young man who is on the verge of gambling his life away. They may pity the cantankerous old woman who has fallen to the ground yet is refusing help. Perhaps readers will look away from the child throwing a tantrum. Or judge his mother, who must surely be to blame. And some will be curiously compelled by the successful and damaged businessman orbiting them all. These are the candidates for this morning's misfortune. But they don't know it. Only you know. And you, our complicit reader, will not be able to resist deciding who deserves to walk away, and who deserves only five more minutes to live. An incredibly original novel that breaks the fourth wall and asks the reader to be judge, jury, and executioner, Five looks at some of the most complicated issues of contemporary life: motherhood, disability, addiction. Every stranger has a story. And in Ilona Bannister's skillful hands, five people's stories come together to create an unforgettable novel.
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Lake Effect
by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Nest and Good Company comes a wry and tender portrait of two families forever changed by one lovestruck decision that will reverberate for decades.It's 1977 and an air of restlessness has settled on the residents of Cambridge Road in Rochester, New York, a place long fueled by the booming fortunes of Kodak and Xerox and, for some, the mores of the Catholic church. When Nina Larkin is given a copy of The Joy of Sex by her newly divorced friend, she can no longer dismiss the nearly nonexistent intimacy of her marriage. Just as her oldest child, Clara, is falling in love for the first time, Nina finds herself longing for the forbidden: a midlife awakening. An intoxicating fling with a prominent neighbor brings Nina a freedom she never thought possible--but also risks the reputations of both families and unravels Clara's world, just as she stands on the threshold of adulthood.Years later, Clara, now a successful food stylist in New York City, has never been able to move past the long-ago scandal. Drawn back home by the pull of a family wedding and wrestling with her own demons, she makes a pivotal decision that turns her life upside down. Written with Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney's signature humor and insight, Lake Effect is a wise and probing look at love and desire, mothers and daughters, loss and grief, and what we owe the people we love most.
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The Let That Sh*t Go Guide to Life: Say Nope to Nonsense and Live a Kickass Life
by Monica Sweeney
A path to ditch the bullsh*t and live lighter Life's too short to be doing emotional heavy-lifting all the time The Let That Sh*t Go Guide to Life is a place where positive profanity and not giving a f*ck are the keys to living a more peaceful, self-assured life. Inside, you'll find a dose of the funny stuff alongside helpful advice to understand the stress that zaps its way into your day, call out the chaos that you can let go of, and give you the helpful shove to embrace the good sh*t that truly matters. There's no perfect way to scatter your stress like glitter, but you can enjoy: - A friend-to-friend approach to unpacking all of the heavy sh*t you're carrying- A place to look inward with humor and humility, and outward with sass but not suspicion- An opportunity to let go of what you can't control and feel jazzed up about what you can Hop around the pages of this book to uncover which areas of your life--whether it's work, goal-setting, love, friendship, or just not being so f*cking hard on yourself--can be a little bit lighter, a little bit more joyful, and a little more yours. You don't have to have it all figured out, the rules might just be a bunch of BS, and the horizon line is right over there.
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The Myth of the Perfect Mom: From Postpartum Perfection to Everyday Joy
by Erin Schlozman
Let go of impossible standards and embrace a more joyful, authentic postpartum experience with this self-help guide for new moms. Are you tired of feeling like you have to do it all as a mom? Do you ever think, Life was easier before kids or Why is this transition so hard? After becoming a mother, priorities change, self-compassion changes, ambition changes...everything changes. And on top of all of these dramatic life shifts and the exhaustion of parenthood, mothers are expected to climb the Mount Everest of adulthood: be the best mom, the happiest mom, the most perfect mom. But perfection is impossible to achieve. The good news? You don't have to be everything for everyone. The Myth of the Perfect Mom breaks down the harmful myths surrounding what it takes to be a great mom and nine other myths that weigh new mothers down in postpartum. Therapist and owner of 4th Trimester Wellness, Erin Schlozman, provides compassionate, practical guidance for creating a postpartum life rooted in connection, grace, and self-acceptance. The Myth of the Perfect Mom places the spotlight on the new mom's emotional and psychological well-being and development because motherhood is as much about the birth of a mom as it is about the baby. Schlozman addresses ten different myths of being a perfect mom, including the following: Your birth should have been executed perfectly.Moms should feel bonded to their babies immediately.Postpartum bodies are ugly.You're either ambitious or a good mom, but you can't be both.The Myth of the Perfect Mom gives mothers the permission and the guidance to move past outdated ideals, be kind to themselves, and stop trying to be perfect so that they can parent in the way that is most authentic to them.
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Westlock Libraries
#1, 10007 100 Avenue Westlock, Alberta T7P 2H5 (780) 349-3060 info@westlocklibrary.ca www.westlocklibrary.ca/
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