All Books Considered

Nantucket Christmas Stroll by Nancy Thayer Blurb from Goodreads : During their annual Christmas celebrations, a Nantucket family faces surprising news and unexpected decisions in this warm and inviting holiday novel by New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer. The Nantucket Christmas Stroll is the most wonderful time of year on the island, filled with holiday cheer and festive decorations. Excited holidaymakers crowd the streets, Santa arrives on a Coast Guard boat, carolers serenade with classic Christmas carols, and shop windows glitter with treasures, twinkling lights, and merry displays.  At the heart of this celebration is the Parsons family and the sparkling house party they host each year. Brick Parsons and his wife, Jane, eagerly anticipate the arrival of their three adult children, Lydia, Florence, and Lucas, who are all coming home for the holidays. Lydia, a successfu...

Murder Bites by Mimi Montgomery Blurb from Goodreads : Margot Cartwright is not exactly blending in with the residents of Glenville, South Carolina. An unwilling transplant from Washington, D.C., Margot feels like a fish out of water among the Lululemon-wearing, tiny-dog-owning, non-New Yorker-reading locals who are clamoring to have their fur babies star on Pawsh, a reality TV show about couture canines. (Sure, Margot loves her dog, but Sid Vicious is far too cool of a mutt for a show like that!) She even feels like an outcast amongst her family, and after she’s caught channeling her inner “Robin Hood” by stealing her neighbors’ pro-Pawsh signs, further cementing her title as the neighborhood pariah, she thinks things can’t possibly get any worse, right? Wrong. When the local dog walker is killed in a bizarre incident involving an over-the-top Halloween display featuring multiple Home D...

 Perverts: Stories by Mac Crane Blurb from Goodreads : A full-frontal confrontation of the ways we perform desire and shame—from the downright bizarre to the frighteningly relatable—by the award-winning author of A Sharp Endless Need An employee at a hunting ground where people pay to act out hate crimes prepares to meet their girlfriend’s parents for the first time. A self-destructive client engages in an affair with their therapist, careening their relationship toward its inevitable breaking point. At a theme park where men pay to ogle women dressed as sirens, a mild-mannered boat attendant gets engaged to the star performer. And in the title story, a pregnant internet sex worker blackmails her clients into attending a disastrous party.    Nothing is off limits for Mac Crane as they rework classic stories of rejection, isolation, and connection to suggest that the so-call...

We Are Gathered Here Today by Bobby Finger Blurb from Goodreads : At 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 ma...

The Jills by Karen Parkman Blurb from Goodreads : Virginia is a Jill—a cheerleader for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills—living the life of her she spends her weekdays practicing, her weekends cheering, and her nights hopping between bars and clubs with her teammates, including the fearless, charismatic Jeanine, whose friendship has given Virginia confidence in spades and helped her forget her troubled past with her estranged sister, Laura. One Sunday, Jeanine fails to show up for a game, and calls and texts to her go unanswered. Virginia embarks on an investigation into Jeanine’s disappearance, aided by a network of Jills, ex-boyfriends, seedy fixtures of Buffalo’s criminal underground, and unexpected figures from her past. But as her search grows increasingly dangerous and spirals into obsession, disturbing questions about who Jeanine really was begin to emerge. Soon, Virginia finds herself wond...

The Star Society by Gabriella Saab,  Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld Blurb from Goodreads : Uncover the captivating tale of two extraordinary sisters in The Star Society, a thrilling historical novel that transports readers from the shadows of the Dutch Resistance to the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. Inspired by the indomitable spirit of Audrey Hepburn, this gripping story follows Ada and Ingrid as they reunite after World War II, embarking on a journey of justice, survival, and secrets amid the backdrop of the Red Scare in Hollywood. A new name, a new country, and a coveted title as Hollywood's newest rising by 1946, actress Ada Worthington-Fox has discarded the life she left in war-torn Arnhem, where she worked for the Dutch resistance before Gestapo imprisonment prompted her to flee after release. But that life is thrust back into the spotlight when Ingrid--the sister she believe...

History Lessons by Zoe B. Wallbrook Blurb from Goodreads : A college history professor must solve her superstar colleague's murder before she becomes the next target in this funny, romantic debut mystery, perfect for readers of Janet Evanovich, Kellye Garrett, and Ali Hazelwood. As a newly minted junior professor, Daphne Ouverture spends her days giving lectures on French colonialism, working on her next academic book, and going on atrocious dates. Her small world suits her just fine. Until Sam Taylor dies. The rising star of Harrison University’s anthropology department was never one of Daphne’s favorites, despite his popularity. But that doesn’t prevent Sam’s killer from believing Daphne has something that belonged to Sam—something the killer will stop at nothing to get. Between grading papers and navigating her disastrous love life, Daphne embarks on her own investigation to find ...

Lush by Rochelle Dowden-Lord Blurb from Goodreads : Four wine experts, each at a crucial point in their lives, arrive at a French vineyard estate for an unforgettable experience-but not the kind they expected. Avery gave up her hard-won but exploitative sommelier job to come, while wine prodigy Cosmo is trying to disguise that his life is in freefall. The chemistry between the pair is unmistakable, but so are the signs of danger. Millionaire Sonny owns a tacky wine brand and can't help aggravating Cosmo, while caustic magazine writer Maëlys hovers with her pen poised. It seems at first that these four have little in common except for their love of wine and their belief in its transformative power. But, as the quartet awaits the penultimate night of the trip, when they will taste the only bottle of one of the rarest wines in the world, it becomes clear that each of them grapples with a private crisis. Each projects their ultimate hopes and fears onto the cont...

Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder by Bellamy Rose Blurb from Goodreads : A spoiled heiress must investigate her grandmother’s death in order to gain back her trust fund, all while discovering how to be her own person and maybe even in falling in love in this rom-com meets murder mystery. When Pomona Afton, Upper East Side hotel heiress, stumbles out of a gala and upon the scene of her grandmother’s murder, her first thought is that the society queen won’t be missed for her kind, cookie-baking ways. In fact, she was mean, greedy, and paranoid—so paranoid that she secretly slipped a clause into her will mandating that, should she die an unnatural death, all the family assets get frozen. And if the “unnatural death” isn’t explained? Those accounts stay frozen. Practically overnight, Pomona is locked out of her penthouse with no other option than to move in with a Gabe, the irritable (...