| The Long March Home by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca LeeAt war: In 1941, three best friends enlist -- including a 16-year-old lying about his age -- and are sent to the Philippines for basic training. Then the Japanese invade. Forced on the Bataan Death March, the trio fight to survive while flashbacks depict their lives back home in Alabama.
Is it for you? Well-researched and action-packed, The Long March Home has realistic violence, mild profanity, and talk of mature subjects.
Reviewers say: "stunning...a must-read literary triumph" (Booklist). |
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| After the Shadows by Amanda CabotHome again: After her abusive husband is killed in a bar fight in 1882, young Emily Leland returns to Texas Hill Country, where her mother has just been buried and her preacher father seems to have died by suicide.
What happens: Taking in a few people after a mysterious fire destroys a boarding house, Emily grows close to Craig, a schoolteacher and single dad. With his help, she seeks answers about her father's death.
Why you might like it: After the Shadows sensitively addresses difficult topics and offers a suspenseful, faith-filled love story. |
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| A Novel Proposal by Denise HunterRoping a romance: New York City author Sadie Goodwin loves writing westerns, but no one is buying them. So, despite having never been in love, she must figure out how to pen a swoon-worthy romance.
Summer of love? Staying at a friend's South Carolina beach house to write, sunny Sadie meets her grouchy neighbor. They soon become partners when she needs his help with a project and he needs a fake date for a wedding.
Read this next: For more bookish romances, try Melissa Ferguson's Meet Me in the Margins or Pepper Basham's Authentically, Izzy. |
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| The Thing About Home by Rhonda McKnightUnfollowed: After her husband asks for a divorce mere minutes before their lavish renewal ceremony, social media influencer Casey B. posts a video of her meltdown. It goes viral, and not in a good way.
What happens: Escaping to South Carolina's Lowcountry, she reconnects with her relatives, especially her religious 99-year-old grandmother, and learns about her ancestors' enslavement. She also takes an interest in the family farm and its handsome manager.
Don't miss: the vividly drawn setting; the descriptions of Lowcountry food. |
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| The Vanishing at Castle Moreau by Jaime Jo WrightWelcome to... Wisconsin's seemingly haunted Castle Moreau, where in 1870, orphaned Daisy Francois works as a housemaid for an eccentric author of gothic novels, and in the present day, desperate Cleo Clemmons is hired to help a wealthy, elderly hoarder clear things out.
For fans of: Gothic tales with multiple timelines and fascinating characters who rely on God.
Reviewers say: a "twisting, fast-moving plot" (Publishers Weekly); "delightfully creepy...nothing is quite as it seems" (Library Journal). |
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Books You May Have Missed
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| All That It Takes by Nicole DeeseStarring: Val Locklier, a single mom who dreams of being a documentary filmmaker; and Miles McKenzie, a busy outreach pastor.
What happens: After moving to Washington State to work for her friend Molly's nonprofit, Val rents a place from Molly's brother, Miles. As Val and Miles grow close, they face challenges and try to figure out if there is room in their lives for romance.
Series alert: Though this is the sequel to All That Really Matters (which told Molly's story), newcomers will still enjoy this "exceptional inspirational love story" (Booklist). |
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| The Weight of Air by Kimberly DuffyA strongwoman in need of strength: With her strongman father, Mabel MacGinnis grew up working for Manzo Brothers Circus in Europe. But after her dad's sudden death in 1911, she loses her confidence.
Second chances: After learning that the mother she thought was dead is alive in America, Mabel and her acrobat friend Jake cross the ocean and discover an aging aerialist in need of help.
Want more of the Big Top? Try Jaime Jo Wright's The Haunting of Bonaventure Circus or Kristy Cambron's The Ringmaster's Wife, both of which also handle difficult themes sensitively. |
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| Critical Threat by Lynette EasonStarring: Grace Billingsley, who grew from a troubled teen into a FBI behavioral analyst dedicated to her job; and Sam Monroe, a prison psychiatrist and FBI agent...who's the son of a captured serial killer.
The cases: After the bodies of three middle-aged women are found in similar circumstances, Grace and Sam investigate who this new serial killer is and if the murders are somehow related to Sam's dad.
Series alert: Although this is the fast-paced 3rd in the Extreme Measures series, this romantic thriller can be enjoyed on its own. |
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| When the Meadow Blooms by Ann H. GabhartTorn apart: In 1925 Kentucky, widow Rose Meadows has spent two years in a sanatorium recovering from tuberculosis, while her two daughters have been in an orphanage with an abusive headmistress.
Reunited: When she's finally well enough to leave, Rose has no money and no home. But desperate 15-year-old Calla, worried about her mom and delicate nine-year-old Sienna, has written to the uncle she's never met, and the reclusive farmer agrees to take all them in.
Why you might like: Dealing with grief, healing, and second chances, this heartwarming character-driven historical novel has faith elements interwoven throughout and a bit of romance. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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