Six years ago, Cinnamon Scott was a young writer on the rise in New York City. But since the sudden loss of her parents, she's been stuck in place. Despite their tragic loss, she and her older sister, Rosemary, have always had each other to lean on. But now, with Rosie living in London and about to give birth to twins, Cinnamon feels more lost than ever. When Rosie is put on bed rest, Cinnamon flies to her sister's side, where she's temporarily living at The Savoy. She’s immediately swept away by the beauty and history of the legendary hotel and its famed American Bar. When the late-shift bartender tells her the story of Ada Coleman, the woman who crafted the cocktail recipes The Savoy popularized in its famous handbook a century ago, Cinnamon is inspired by the bartender's vivid stories of Ada's fearlessness and can't understand why Ada's name is nowhere to be found.
Avery is a grad student in New York working on a collection of cultural reports and flailing financially and emotionally. She dates older men for money, and others for the oblivion their egos offer. In an act of desperation, Avery takes a job at a right-wing dating app. The "white-paper" she is tasked to write for the startup eventually merges with her dissertation, resulting in a metafictional text that reveals itself over the course of the novel. Meanwhile, her best friend, Frances, an effortlessly chic emerging filmmaker from a wealthy Southern family, drops out of grad school, gets married, and somehow still manages to finish her first feature documentary. Frances' triumphant return to New York as the toast of the art world sends Avery into a final tailspin, pushing her to make a series of devastating decisions.
Seventy-five-year-old former FBI agent Ethel Fiona Crestwater knows everyone in DC law enforcement --- and is smarter than all of them combined. When a former colleague asks Ethel for help, she agrees without a second thought. But the favor throws Ethel back 18 years, to the botched sting operation that resulted in the murder of an innocent young woman by a Russian gangster --- and nearly ended Ethel’s own life, too. Soon, Ethel and her young tech-whizz sidekick Jesse, her double-first-cousin-twice-removed, find themselves in the crosshairs of some very bad --- and very desperate --- men who will do anything to get their hands on the state secrets they’re seeking. Ethel will have to use all the skills she’s learned during her long career if she’s to save the day, and keep both herself and her beloved cousin alive.
In BLACK-OWNED, longtime NBC News reporter Char Adams celebrates the living history of Black bookstores. Packed with stories of activism, espionage, violence, community and perseverance, the book starts with the first Black-owned bookstore, which an abolitionist opened in New York in 1834. After its violent demise, Black booklovers carried on its cause. In the 20th century, civil rights and Black Power activists started a Black bookstore boom nationwide. Malcolm X gave speeches in front of the National Memorial African Book Store in Harlem --- a place dubbed “Speakers’ Corner” --- and later, Black bookstores became targets of FBI agents, the police and racist vigilantes. Still, stores continued to fuel Black political movements. Amid these struggles, bookshops were also places of celebration.
Although they started out as roommates at Harvard, Sara, Bee, Dina, Allie, Wesley and Claudine soon became family. They had their whole bright lives ahead of them --- until their senior year, when a shocking tragedy changed everything. Twenty years later, five of the roommates still indulge in a secret tradition they’ve kept alive since their campus days: the Circus, a harmless elimination-style “killing” game played across the private rooms and hidden alleys of New York City. The game is a nod to their younger selves and a tribute to the sixth roommate they lost too young. But this year, Sara wants out of the game --- until she discovers there is a small fortune awaiting the winner of this final round. As the Circus unfolds, Sara begins to suspect that the others aren’t playing by the rules.
Meet Adam and Jules. Married for nearly 25 years and stuck in a rut, their future looks, well, boring. Then Adam stumbles across a box of old mixtapes he and Jules made for each other when they were young and falling in love. He dusts off his vintage stereo, inserts one of the cassettes, presses “Play”...and the unbelievable happens. With the power to travel back in time, Jules and Adam can recapture the headiness of falling in love. But they soon realize that visiting the past could be as dangerous as it is addictive, because the temptation to change just a few tiny things is irresistible. As the consequences start to spiral out of control, can they find a way back to their messy and imperfect, yet glorious, real life? Or will they lose each other forever?
Cassia Park believes in soul mates. It’s her family business, Park women have peered into clients’ past lives to find their one true love, their fated. This magical secret is why One & Only Matchmaking has a 100% guarantee...for everyone but Cassia. For 10 years, Cass has been searching for her fated, a man named Daniel Nam. But he’s still nowhere to be found. And so, on the eve of her 40th birthday, Cass impulsively has a fling with Ellis. He’s 28, indecently handsome and not destined to be the love of her life. But she’s surprised by their connection up to the moment he introduces her to his boss...Daniel Nam. As she battles between fate and chance, a family secret is revealed that will make her question everything she’s ever known. Cassia will have to decide if she’ll follow her fate...or make her own.
A blow to the head with a block of amethyst has left multibillionaire Nathan Barrister dead --- while nearby, a vault, its door ajar, sits filled with priceless paintings, jewelry and other treasures. Lieutenant Eve Dallas’s husband, Roarke recognizes at least two stolen pieces among the hoard. But only one item seems to be missing. Then it’s revealed that the vault had actually belonged to the victim’s late father --- and no one in the household knew it was there until a recent remodeling project exposed it. To protect the family name and business, they explain to Eve, they’d been looking for a way to return the ill-gotten gains anonymously and avoid the police. Now it’s up to Eve and her team to find out if those secrets got Nathan killed --- and if it was a crime of passion or revenge.
Natalie has only ever wanted to find “the one.” The perfect man, the happy family she never had. But each time she thinks she is finally getting somewhere, she’s bitterly disappointed. Then along comes James and Natalie thinks her luck has finally turned. Maybe he’s the one she’s been waiting for all along. Maybe he won’t wind up dead. But the harder Natalie tries to be a “normal” wife, the more world-upending truths are brought to her door, leaving her unsure of who she really is and much less what she’ll do...leaving her to question whether there is a monster within her or whether there is a villain toying with her from the outside. What’s the secret story behind Natalie’s dead exes? Will she and James survive their marriage? And do either of them deserve to?
Jackson Clark and Delilah Stewart have had their fair share of run-ins over the years, often ending in disaster. While Jackson thrives on routine and organization from the comfort of his radio booth, Delilah loves the spontaneity and adventure out in the field. When they’re partnered against their will to cover a historic snowstorm, they find themselves scrambling to figure out how to work together. Eager to be taken seriously as a journalist, Delilah offers Jackson a deal: If he can help her ace this assignment, she’ll help him rediscover his long-lost fun side. With unexplored chemistry burning beneath their clashes, the unlikely partnership quickly tumbles into an easy and surprising friendship. But when other feelings start to enter the equation, can Jackson and Delilah withstand the storm? Or does what happens in the mountains stay in the mountains?
Tell us about the books you’ve finished reading with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from December 19th to January 9th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of THE FIRST TIME I SAW HIM by Laura Dave and SKYLARK by Paula McLain.
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Coming Soon
Curious about what books will be released in the months ahead so you can pre-order or reserve them? Then click on the months below.
December's Books on Screen roundup includes the films The Housemaid, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw, 100 Nights of Hero,The Chronology of Water and Not Without Hope; the series premiere of Paramount+'s "Little Disasters"; the season premiere of "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" on Disney+ and Hulu; the season finales of HBO's "IT: Welcome to Derry" and Apple TV+'s "Down Cemetery Road"; the midseason finales of "Tracker" and "Watson" on CBS; and the DVD/Blu-ray releases of Karen Kingsbury's The Christmas Ring and Black Phone 2.