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Deeply researched and perfect for fans of Jayne Anne Phillips’s Night Watch, this action-packed coming-of-age tale, set in post–Civil War Appalachia, is part suspenseful mystery, part incisive examination of this nation’s history of racial violence. Dora Minor, a quirky and fiercely courageous girl, grows up in a remote Virginia mountain community in a family of outliers, thanks to their Quaker beliefs that all people are born equal. After her mother’s death, her indomitable, pipe-smoking grandmother Alma—a revolutionary in her own right—becomes her primary caregiver and protector. With a fierce moral compass, Alma helps shape Dora’s worldview and guides her to question the status quo. When Dora’s father partners with formerly enslaved Ginny Dudley to open a school for Black children in a place where none would otherwise exist, it sparks a violent backlash. After her father’s death and then a lynching, Dora, with Alma at her side, are forced to look at their community in a new light. Alongside Ginny’s husband Randolph and her closest friend Watcher James, a preacher guided by Nature spirits, Dora confronts hard truths about her neighbors, her father’s death, and, finally, the mysteries of her mother’s life—all of which ultimately leads to healing. A post–Civil War novel that opens just as Reconstruction is falling apart, What the Trees Remember depicts a time of extreme social unrest and the birth of the Jim Crow era as experienced by strong women constrained by the limitations of the time they live in. Through the devastating loss of loved ones, the destruction of the comfortable life they’ve known, and Nature’s wrath, Dora and Alma strive to rise above their trials by drawing strength from the natural world and never losing faith in themselves. Author: Abigail Cutter Publication Date: June 16, 2026 -
Fans of Under the Tuscan Sun and House Lessons will love Gutted, a witty, big-hearted tale of trading city lights for leaky pipes—and discovering that sometimes the best renovations happen on the inside. What if the only way to rebuild your life is to begin by tearing down the walls? When a successful designer, entrepreneur, and lifelong city dweller hesitantly agrees to follow her husband’s dream of country living, she doesn’t expect to be undone by a sagging Victorian farmhouse and the relentless wind howling through uninsulated walls. But as holes are patched and rooms slowly take shape, something surprising happens: space opens up. Not just in their crumbling home, but in her heart. Told with humor, vulnerability, and the insight of a woman rebuilding more than just a house, Gutted: How an Old House Remodeled Me is a love story—not only between a wife and her husband but also between a woman shaped by fast-paced living and a slower, quieter way of life. With each creaky floorboard and stripped layer of old wallpaper, Maida Korte discovers unexpected beauty, remembers buried dreams, and finds strength in the women who came before her. For anyone who has ever wondered what lies beyond the edge of timelines and control, this is a warm, wise, and deeply human invitation to slow down, dig deep, and make peace with change—one shingle at a time. Author: Maida Korte Publication Date: June 23, 2026 -
For fans of novels featuring strong, smart female protagonists, the first in a series about the novice female American spies in North Africa and the Mediterranean that changed the tide of World War II. In 1942, during the height of World War II, Wild Bill Donovan, the director of the United States’ first spy agency, believes women are the key to winning the intelligence battle with the Nazis. To that end, he partners fledgling agent Kit Thomas with British MI6 agent Mark Williams and sends them to one of the most perilous places in the world—Massawa, Eritrea—to investigate the theft of millions of military payroll dollars. In Massawa, Kit and Mark discover a conspiracy by Nazi sympathizers, known as the Vichy, to shut down the only Allied naval base on the Red Sea—which is an essential resource in stopping the Nazi invasion of North Africa. As they work to reveal the conspirators, Kit and Mark engage in a dangerous and tempestuous dance of trust versus mistrust. Author: Pam Webber Publication Date: June 23, 2026 -
For fans of Little Fires Everywhere, a novel that explores the ambiguities of motherhood and salvation through the anguished relationship between a troubled, undocumented Mexican teenager and the grieving, upper-middle-class mother who takes her in. After the drug overdose of her teenage son, Helen, a privileged white woman, takes in Mia, a troubled and undocumented Mexican teenager. Although they initially fill each other’s voids, Helen’s lofty expectations of Mia eventually test that bond and Mia, tortured by guilt and starved for affection, runs off with Diego, an MS13 gang leader. While Helen, bereft over losing another child, tries to reconstruct her life, Mia’s life with Diego spirals into a nightmare: Just after she has his baby, he goes to jail for multiple murders. As each woman moves forward through her own challenges, Helen confronts her deep-seated prejudices, while Mia battles her own demons in search of self-identity and meaning in her life. A haunting and suspenseful cautionary tale, Borrowed Child is about what happens when a well-meaning inclination toward “salvation” goes awry. Author: Marguerite Welch Publication Date: July 14, 2026 -
A haunting, emotionally charged novel about the burden of being a woman, the grip of childhood trauma, and a mother’s fight to reclaim her life before losing her daughter—and herself—forever. When Delia lands a coveted spot with a prestigious New York ballet company, she steps into a world of beauty, betrayal, and brutal ambition—while her mother, Victoria, is left behind to confront the wreckage of her own unrealized dreams and long-buried trauma. A cryptic prophecy shadows their lives and as Delia’s path toward womanhood is marred by injury and manipulation, Victoria embarks on a tender, midlife metamorphosis—rekindling her own desire and learning, too late, that letting go is not the same as giving up. Told with lyrical grace and unflinching honesty, this haunting, feminist portrait of art, sacrifice, and rebirth reminds us: life dances on, a tragic ballet. Author: Janette DeFelice Publication Date: July 14, 2026 -
For fans of The Many Lives of Mama Love and the many women struggling with addiction while raising families, a candid recovery memoir chronicling one suburban New Jersey mother’s journey from secret vodka binges to sobriety. Liz Jannuzzi’s life is unraveling: a failing marriage, three young children to care for, and a vodka bottle hidden behind the coffee maker. Her alcoholism, a family legacy that has already claimed her brother’s life, threatens to destroy everything she loves. When a shocking confession about an affair forces Liz to admit to her drinking problem, she reluctantly attends her first AA meeting. There, surrounded by women who understand her struggles, she’s given a lifeline: “You never have to feel this way again.” She commits to getting sober—and through the Twelve Steps, she confronts the wreckage of her past while rebuilding her marriage and reclaiming her role as a mother. With unflinching honesty and unexpected humor—never once shying away from the messiness of recovery (the awkward amends, the persistent cravings, the haunting grief that alcohol once numbed)—Liz takes readers through her journey from hiding empty bottles to celebrating milestones of sobriety. In doing so, she illuminates the complex challenges of motherhood and marriage and offers hope to anyone struggling with alcoholism. Raw and heartfelt, Sober Mom is a powerful testament to resilience and the possibility of transformation, one day at a time. Author: Elizabeth Jannuzzi Publication Date: July 21, 2026 -
For fans of Roisín O’Donnell’s Nesting, an intense, suspenseful story of a young mother’s fight to save herself after the man she thought was her white knight turns out to be just as dangerous as the man he helped her escape. After twenty-one-year-old Emily Miller flees her ex-husband, Lee, with the exterminator she hired to kill hornets in her backyard, she finally feels safe. Jake Clayton offers Emily and her daughter a beautiful place to live where neither Lee nor her mother, who wants custody of Jenna, can find them. Unlike Lee, Jake has a steady job, doesn’t drink (she’s never met a man who doesn’t), and doesn’t hit. And he doesn’t think Emily is too much—too mouthy (Lee), too large (her mother), too extra. Isolated in a cabin in the Santa Cruz mountains with only a three-year-old for company, Emily distracts herself from the liquor cabinet and from worrying that Lee will track her down by planning a surprise for Jake: a reunion with the sisters he hasn’t seen since foster care. But the deeper she digs into Jake’s past, the less he seems like the man she trusts—and when she learns Lee has disappeared, she suspects Jake could have done . . . something. But that’s ridiculous, right? Sure, Jake is bossy about where she goes and who she sees. Sure, he has a temper. But murder? That’s just her being dramatic—like Lee and her mother always say she is. Right? Author: Catherine Marshall-Smith Publication Date: July 21, 2026 -
A heartwarming dual-perspective memoir for fans of The Ride of Her Life and Horse Crazy, The Brat and the Bullfighter explores how a misunderstood Lusitano stallion and an uprooted Army brat find healing, belonging, and each other. Some horses don’t just change your life, they save it. Arty’s blood runs hot. White hot. A white Lusitano stallion with bullfighting in his bones, he was born on a prestigious Brazilian farm and sold through an elite auction to a private ranch in California. There, human misunderstanding dims his brilliance. Rider after rider mistakes his sensitivity for defiance, eroding his confidence and trust. As an Army brat, Erin relates. She grew up always moving—the perpetual new kid, never quite belonging, rarely feeling understood. Her love for horses was her only constant. So, when Arty’s owner recognizes he needs something different and offers to sell him to her, she can’t refuse. What follows isn’t a fairytale. Erin questions everything: her choices, her ability, whether she’s helping or hurting him. But when unexpected loss shatters her, Arty steps forward to light a path through darkness. Told from both human and horse perspectives, The Brat and the Bullfighter is a dual coming-of-age memoir about trust, love, and the bond that forms between two souls who, in finding each other, finally find home. Author: Erin O’Malley Publication Date: July 28, 2026 -
For fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, an epistolary memoir about two young women’s friendship across continents and decades—an enduring connection kept alive by the simple act of written correspondence. When Ruth’s family migrates from Brazil to North America in 1964, she and her best friend, Elana, are forced to separate. They decide to keep in touch via written correspondence—an exchange that ultimately persists for twenty years. From São Paulo, Elana writes candidly with warmth, dedication, and support, easing Ruth’s assimilation to first Canada, then the United States. Lonely and uprooted, Ruth derives solace from the friendship and the correspondence. As both girls mature and embark on a life in different countries and cultures, their bonds transcend their differences. They remain friends for life. Fifty years after parting, Ruth and Elana re-read aloud the letters that they exchanged as young women. The experience of hearing their words written in letters and sent like a bridge across the continent and half a lifetime is a revelation that stuns the friends: the antecedent voice spoken in the concrete voice of the present. Author: Ruth Zelig Publication Date: July 28, 2026 -
For fans of Connie Willis, Lucy Lyons, and Janet Evanovich, a debut cozy mystery with a speculative bent, set in Ann Arbor, that’s replete with wormholes, incorrigible pets, and delightfully quirky characters. When Allie Caldwell gets a rambling middle-of-the-night call from her very excited aunt Mel, she initially curbs her concern; her aunt has always been a bit eccentric, after all. But when Mel disappears before telling anyone what has her so worked up, Allie drops everything –even her better judgement—to fly to Ann Arbor and find her. In the ensuing days, Allie inexplicably ignores her gut instincts (and some weird dream-based warnings from angry flying squirrels) and accepts help in the search from her aunt’s handsome, enigmatic neighbor George Bennet. In order to discern how virtual reality goggles, innovative migraine research, hidden treasure, attack drones, and a neighborhood trellis are all connected to the case, they’ll need to survive bungled bids of help from Allie’s well-meaning brother, hidden agendas from multiple neighbors, constant interruptions from Mel’s itinerant Chihuahua and his exuberant pit bull puppy pal—and even some attempts on their lives. Author: D. E. Carr Publication Date: July 28, 2026 -
For fans of Pachinko and Half of a Yellow Sun, an intimate debut novel about immigration, marriage, and vengeance politics told through the eyes of four Bengali teenagers in two vastly different time periods. In 1970s Sylhet, eleven-year-old Sumaya is the daughter of a wealthy Bengali aristocrat who lives unaware of the Liberation War against West Pakistan and the cost of independence she will soon pay. In the same city, fifteen-year-old Murshed lives without hope for the future, knowing that his father’s religious and political stance has painted his family as razakar—traitors—a death sentence if West Pakistan loses the war. Then, one day, their paths cross and a single encounter upends both their lives forever. Forty years later, Sumaya’s third daughter, Hinna, and Murshed’s eldest son, Burhaan, lock eyes at a family gathering. The two, reunited flames, live vastly different lives: Hinna has grown up in America, far from the chaos of the war but stuck in an endless cycle of tradition. Burhaan has lived his entire life in Sylhet, attempting to start over despite the never-ending vengeance against razakar families. But drawn to each other as they are, they soon find out that plans for Hinna’s future are already in motion. Connected by the far reaches of tyranny and tradition, these families discover what’s found and lost—dreaming of a Bangladesh free from dictatorship and holding the silent hope of paradise. Author: Samiha Hoque Publication Date: August 4, 2026 -
Dan Millman’s Way of the Peaceful Warrior meets Dave Eggers’s The Circle in this exhilarating tale, which marries visionary and political fiction together into a nail-biting, high-stakes thriller. Cybersecurity whiz Jedd finds himself held captive, strapped to the ground in a dark tunnel, without food or water. June’s campaign website has been hacked and she is viciously attacked by protesters. Darah flashes back to the terror of life under the dictatorship in the States, when her mother was deported. Just when this group of friends thought they had defeated their enemies, they’re faced with not one but multiple immediate threats. Rumors and accusations are flying, and the future of the democratic nation of California is at stake. Can they figure out who is telling the truth and who is lying before it’s too late? A taut combination of political, techno-thriller, and metaphysical fiction that’s scaffolded on three realities—the ancient wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita, our current post-truth world, and the near future—this sequel to The Die is a fast-paced story about friendship, courage, and how to restore and revitalize truth. Author: Jude Berman Publication Date: August 4, 2026 -
For fans of My Dark Vanessa and The Secret History, a gripping campus thriller about a determined young professor who challenges a corrupt academic system, confronts a predator in power, and refuses to stay silent—even when her quest turns deadly. A brilliant young professor. A powerful advisor with everything to lose. A university campus hiding deadly secrets. It’s 1998, and Dr. Lacey Redd is on the verge of tenure—and under the thumb of her department chair, the arrogant and celebrated Dr. Geoffrey Hart. When Lacey begins to suspect Hart of falsifying his research, she quietly teams up with a tech-savvy colleague to uncover the truth. But before they can break the case, her partner turns up dead in the campus library. As Lacey digs deeper, she uncovers something even darker: Hart has been preying on female graduate students for years. When he attacks her at a department party, Lacey fights back—leaving him injured and exposed. A new department head steps in, and with Hart out of the picture, it seems justice has finally been served. But someone on campus is still watching. And they’ve decided Lacey knows too much. Author: Cheryl Miller Dellasega Publication Date: August 4, 2026 -
Perfect for fans of Mona Awad and Maria Semple, this gripping, offbeat journey through modern-day Los Angeles is a genre-blending, darkly humorous exploration of suburban life, conspiracy theories, and spiritual awakening. A page-turning psychological trip for anyone who’s ever wondered if all their crazy ideas . . . might actually be right. Joan is a middle-aged punk rocker turned housewife who’s seen too many TikToks to trust the official narrative. The moon landing? Faked. Weather? Controlled. Food? Poisoned. Her suspicions ignite when a strange new neighbor—possibly a dead astronaut with ties to secret ops—arrives on her block. As Joan spirals deeper into the rabbit hole, she begins to question everything: her marriage, her sanity, and her soul’s purpose. Armed with a mystical book and a fading voice that once shook LA punk clubs, she sets out on a spiritual journey through canyon trails, desert portals, and shadow realms to expose the truth—and reclaim her power. Author: Alexandra Fleder Publication Date: August 11, 2026 -
For fans of Jodi Picoult and Bonnie Garmus, an illuminating novel about a mother struggling to raise a healthy neurodivergent child with a husband worn down by depression. When Julie Crawford’s whirlwind four-year-old is kicked out of preschool, suspected of having ADHD—likely genetic—her husband moans from his recliner that “even my genes are failures.” At work, Julie is a high school math teacher who requires her students to solve complex problems. But faced with an unsafe daycare home and no other daycare openings, a husband who hates the idea of labeling their son as a “problem,” and a supervisor who’s angry at the amount of time she’s taking off school, she’s at a loss for how to come up with a solution to this particular dilemma. Julie’s struggle to help her son ultimately demands a number of mindset shifts: a willingness to become a student and ask for help, a humble acceptance of her errors, a burgeoning strength to reckon with a dominant father and retreating husband—and the self-confidence to trust her instincts when it comes to deciding on the best next steps for her son. Author: Lorelei Brush Publication Date: August 11, 2026 -
In this thriller, star investigative reporter Samantha Fuller joins a feisty Cape Cod fisherwoman to foil a wind farm developer’s evil plot to poison precious ocean scallop beds—and finds herself facing off against right-wing climate deniers. In Provincetown, MA, feisty scallop fisherwoman Isabella Ferreira goes up against a sleazy wind farm developer, Olaf Svensson, who wants to install wind turbines in the ocean right off the coast of Cape Cod. At a nearby scallop hatchery, marine biologists Leif and Astrid Borgen are already using the new gene editing technique CRISPR to insert a growth hormone gene into scallop embryos to make them bigger and thus more profitable—all of which is legal. But unbeknownst to the hatchery owner, Svensson is also paying the pair to insert another gene—one that causes PSP, paralytic shellfish poisoning. If this works, no one will ever eat scallops from this site again, thus freeing it up for Svensson’s turbines. Enter Pulitzer Prize–winning Boston Times reporter Samantha Fuller. Together with Isabella, she slowly uncovers Svensson’s deadly plot—but not before hundreds of people die. Along the way, love blossoms, tragedies occur, and the subtleties of the pro- and anti-wind power groups are exposed. Author: Judy Foreman Publication Date: August 11, 2026 -
Stefan, once a Saxon warrior and now sheriff of Codswallow, has fought to reclaim his shire from the forces of his estranged wife. But peacetime brings its own reckoning, and Stefan finds himself unprepared for the challenges of parenthood. After a confrontation with his son exposes Stefan’s darkest emotional wounds, he impulsively rides off accompanied by Caelym, an enslaved Druid priest. Trading stories by campfire, the two men discover that they have both betrayed the same woman, Princess Aleswina. United by remorse, they take on the all-but-impossible odds of doing battle against the murderous king who holds her prisoner. In this fifth and final installment of The Druid Chronicles, Stefan and Caelym must set aside their differences and atone for their pasts as they fight for justice in an unjust world. Author: A. M. Linden Publication Date: December 15, 2026 -
In 1878, young Mame Sutton escapes her oppressive father through a quick marriage to the charming stage manager of a New York theatre, while her younger sister Lizzie makes the same escape by eloping with a young Jewish jeweler. Which sister has made the better choice? Life for Mame in a theatrical boarding house in 1878 offers new kinds of friendships and unexpected challenges. Through the tales of the theatre workers, she gets a backstage look at the Gilded Age of the Astors, Goulds, and Rockefellers, but she has no share in the freedom given to the ladies of the stage. Her husband’s view of a wife’s role is as narrow as her father’s idea of a daughter’s role was. How can Mame break free? For Lizzie, marriage into the Cohen family offers warmth and support, but also cultural differences and expectations which she finds hard to master. Her husband, though loving and tolerant of her mistakes, is financially dependent on his family. Lizzie longs for a life apart from the Cohen world. When disasters shake their worlds, can the sisters help each other onto new paths? Author: Allyson Johnson (cohort leader) Publication Date: November 10, 2026 -
What if an ancient ritual could transform the way you live today? In her beloved first book, Braided, Dr. Beth Ricanati shared how making sacred bread, challah, every Friday for over a decade transformed her life. Now, in The Braided Prescription, she shares insights from her subsequent challah workshops with groups all over America and even abroad, distilling what she’s learned into seven attainable and powerful practices for managing stress in our daily lives. Blending personal stories, scientific research, and timeless wisdom, Ricanati demonstrates how these seven practices can restore presence in a distracted world, strengthen bonds with family and community, and teach resilience through imperfection. With warmth and wisdom, she shows how the weekly ritual of making challah bread can help us mend what feels frayed, anchor what feels uncertain, and create space for what truly matters. For readers from every walk of life—including those who have never made dough or even seen yeast—The Braided Prescription is a powerful reminder that small acts, repeated with care, can lead to profound transformation. Author: Beth Ricanati, MD Publication Date: September 1, 2026 -
Growing up on a remote island with her mother, twelve-year-old Skye is endlessly curious about the natural world—tracking tides, seabirds, starfish—and dreams of becoming a marine biologist. But more than anything, she longs to reunite with the father she’s never met and finally feel her family is complete. When her summer takes an unexpectedly turn and she and her mother travel across the country to care for her ailing grandparents, Skye realizes that opportunity may be closer than she ever imagined. She has spent years collecting clues from her mother’s reluctant disclosures, and she is nearly certain her father still lives in her mom’s hometown. Wide-open Wyoming is nothing like Skye’s seaside home in Maine: Instead of fishing dinghies and flip-flops, she finds horses, cowboy boots, and dusty rodeo arenas. As she navigates this unfamiliar world, Skye befriends nine-year-old Tuck Foster, who eagerly helps her investigate a list of possible father candidates that fit Skye’s clues. Along the way, she cheers on bull riding, mucks stalls, shoos chickens, and learns to saddle and ride horses. She also grows close her kind-hearted grandmother and curmudgeonly grandfather, who teach her lessons about family, home, grit, and resilience. In her final days out West—and on the verge of uncovering the truth—Skye discovers what completes a family isn’t a specific place, size, or way of life. It’s love. Author: Brooke Carnwath Publication Date: September 1, 2026 -
At fourteen, Caren Rabbino loses her leg to childhood cancer. The surgery saves her life—but it also fractures her relationship to her body, her family, and the world that suddenly reads as “other.” In the years that follow, she navigates phantom limb pain and relentless pressure to “fix” herself, even as she tries to pass as normal to protect status, safety, and social mobility. She searches for belonging through work, art, and travel, while grappling with sexuality, objectification, and the particular loneliness of being visibly different. Only after years of avoidance does she step into community—teaching yoga to an amputee group and discovering a grounded, hard-won form of embodied knowledge that cuts through shame and self-protection. Asymmetries is a candid story of survival and self-definition, asking what it means to inhabit a changed body—and to be seen, on purpose. Author: Caren Rabbino Publication Date: November 17, 2026 -
Baltimore, 1986. Julia and Matt are newlyweds, in love and eager to begin graduate school. Julia longs to leave behind haunting memories of her mother’s devastating decline in Maryland, but she unexpectedly learns the truth her father has hidden: Her mother died of a fatal genetic illness. Julia now faces a 50 percent chance of inheriting the same fate, and every child she longs to have will carry the same risk. When an unplanned pregnancy rocks their careful plans, Julia and Matt face agonizing uncertainty and impossible choices. Desires and convictions pull them toward starkly different paths, each possibly leading to misery. As the couple struggles to protect the fragile, fierce love that first bound them together, they face the cost of secrets and the ache of betrayal—but they also discover the hope of forgiveness. Author: Carol Efron, MD Publication Date: October 27, 2026 -
Amber Mettle is a Chicago journalist with a rescue instinct—especially for animals. When she follows her restless husband to Los Angeles for a fresh start, she tries to keep an open mind. But before she can find her footing, she finds herself blindsided by betrayal—no job, no future, no sense of direction. And then, just as she's beginning to rebuild, tragedy strikes. A catastrophic wildfire reduces her home to rubble and claims her beloved pets, thrusting her into a relentless battle with insurance companies, mortgage lenders, and opportunistic grifters. But Amber's story doesn't end in ash. Following the fire, guided by haunting premonitions and signs from the animals she couldn't save, she channels her grief into action. Fueled by love, an unwavering sense of justice, and an eccentric cast of characters who bring unexpected humor to even the darkest moments, she fights to hold the people responsible accountable—and discovers that even in devastation, hope can take root. Author: Carri Karuhn Publication Date: November 10, 2026 -
Nestled in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, Beulah has always seemed steady—rooted in tradition, shaped by generations, and slow to change. But in 1986, the ground has shifted, and no one feels that more than fifteen-year-old Barrett Childress Owens. Between her parents’ unraveling marriage and a school full of kids she can’t connect with, she feels invisible in her own hometown. When Lacy Gunderson, the captivating new girl everyone is curious about, suddenly vanishes, the town’s calm surface fractures. Search parties comb the woods. A police investigation begins. Rumors multiply. Families close ranks. And Barrett begins to sense how much the adults around her choose not to say. As Beulah clings to its usual rituals—including the annual Miss Kudzu pageant, which has shaped local girlhood for decades—Barrett is forced to navigate a community where loss lingers in the air and secrets are carefully kept. Her journey through the uncertainty reshapes her understanding of friendships, family, and the complex place she calls home. A rich coming-of-age story with a pulse of mystery and a budding romance, What Happened in Beulah explores the fault lines of a small town and the courage it takes to face the truths people would rather bury. Author: Christy Scott Cashman Publication Date: October 20, 2026
