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The Spectacular by Fiona Davis

December 2023

When I heard that Fiona Davis had written a book set at Radio City Music Hall, I decided to hold off on reading it until November when the Christmas Spectacular kicked off there. Pun intended. I am glad I did. THE SPECTACULAR opens in 1956 when 19-year-old Marion Brooks seizes an opportunity and auditions for the Rockettes. And she is selected. Her father, Simon, is furious. He had plans for her --- she would marry her boyfriend, Nathaniel, and they would continue to live in Bronxville. Instead, she moves into a rooming house with other Rockettes and theater folks and embarks on a grueling yet invigorating schedule to perfect the tightly choreographed routines.

The Manor House by Gilly Macmillan

December 2023

I first read Gilly Macmillan when she wrote THE NANNY and have looked forward to each of her books since then. With THE MANOR HOUSE, she once again does not disappoint. Here we have a young couple who has won the lottery; I know many of us have dreamed of this. Nicole and Tom move into The Glass Barn, with state-of-the-art features and a design that is the envy of a lot of people. They have cool cars, and we know that their lives feel very grand.

We are kicking off this year’s Holiday Author Blog series with New York Times bestselling author Laurie Frankel, whose fifth novel, FAMILY FAMILY, releases on January 23rd. While promoting her most recent movie, a film about adoption, India Allwood does something she knows you should never, ever do --- she tells a journalist the truth. When Laurie was in high school, she worked in a mall bookstore unboxing and shelving books. Although the job lasted only a few weeks, it exposed her to a variety of books and gave her the itch to write one of her own. Fortunately for her many fans, that itch has never gone away.

Laurie Frankel

Laurie Frankel is the New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of novels such as THE ATLAS OF LOVE, GOODBYE FOR NOW, and the Reese’s Book Club x Hello Sunshine Book Pick THIS IS HOW IT ALWAYS IS. Frankel lives in Seattle with her husband, daughter and border collie. She makes good soup.

December 8, 2023

Yesterday morning, I woke up to snow flurries drifting down from the sky. That was a perfect way for me to start my annual 27th birthday celebration.

For about a year, I have been eyeing up something called an Aeroski, which is a piece of exercise equipment that simulates skiing. It even comes with VR goggles. Well, it was on some super sale over Thanksgiving, and the post-turkey coma meant that, yes, I ordered it. It’s pretty cool to work out on...and, no, I am not donning ski clothes to use it. I have 30 days to see if I like it, so let’s see how this goes.

End-of-the-Year Contest 2023

Congratulations to the winners of our 2023 End-of-the-Year Contest! One reader received all 44 of Carol Fitzgerald's Bookreporter.com Bets On picks from 2023, while 11 others won four of these titles. You can see all the winners below, along with 2023's Bets On selections.

If you would like to know more about these books, be sure to check out this video and podcast where Carol talks about each of her 44 picks.

  On Wednesday, December 6th, we hosted a very special “Bookaccino Live” event where eight Bookreporter reviewers talked about their three favorite books of 2023. Our guests were Kate Ayers, Harvey Freedenberg, Pamela Kramer, Rebecca Munro, Eileen Zimmerman Nicol, Ray Palen, Norah Piehl and Stuart Shiffman. Their selections cover a wide variety of genres, and there may be a few titles here that you didn’t have on your radar that you will want to check out.

Week of December 25, 2023

Paperback releases for the week of December 25th include WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN NOW? by Alafair Burke, the highly anticipated follow-up to Mary Higgins Clark’s iconic novel, WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN?, featuring the children of Nancy Harmon facing peril once again as adults; PAYBACK IN DEATH, the 57th installment in J. D. Robb's In Death series, in which a retired colleague of Lt. Eve Dallas falls victim to a staged suicide; ALL GOOD PEOPLE HERE, Ashley Flowers' propulsive debut novel about a journalist who uncovers her hometown’s dark secrets when she becomes obsessed with the unsolved murder of her childhood neighbor --- and the disappearance of another girl 20 years later; and the paperback original ON THE PLUS SIDE, a sparkling romantic comedy by Jenny L. Howe in which the new guest on a plus-size makeover show has her style --- and her love life --- transformed.

Weeks of December 11 and 18, 2023

Paperback releases for the weeks of December 11th and 18th include Paul Harding's THIS OTHER EDEN, a spellbinding novel inspired by the true story of Malaga Island, an isolated island off the coast of Maine that became one of the first racially integrated towns in the Northeast; NO ONE LEFT TO COME LOOKING FOR YOU by Sam Lipsyte, a page-turning suspense novel that also serves as a love letter to a bygone era of New York City where young artists could still afford to chase their dreams; DIAMONDS AND DEADLINES by Betsy Prioleau, the first major biography of the glamorous and scandalous Miriam Leslie, titan of publishing and an unsung hero of women’s suffrage; and A LIFE IN LIGHT, Mary Pipher's memoir in essays reflecting on radiance, resilience and the constantly changing nature of reality.

Week of December 4, 2023

Paperback releases for the week of December 4th include THE HOUSE OF WOLVES, an unforgettable family drama from James Patterson and Mike Lupica, in which Jenny Wolf’s murdered father leaves her in charge of a billion-dollar empire --- and a family more ruthless than the Roys ("Succession") and Duttons ("Yellowstone"); BEFORE WE WERE INNOCENT by Ella Berman, this month's Reese's Book Club pick, a captivating thriller revolving around a summer in Greece for three best friends that ends in the unthinkable when only two return home; QUEENS OF THE AGE OF CHIVALRY, Alison Weir's epic narrative that chronicles the five vividly rendered queens of the Plantagenet kings who ruled England between 1299 and 1399; WEIGHTLESS, a poignant and ruthlessly honest journey through cultural expectations of size, race and gender --- and toward a brighter future --- from journalist, editor and pop-culture critic Evette Dionne; and the paperback original A DIFFERENT KIND OF GONE by Catherine Ryan Hyde, a gripping novel about justice, lies and impossible choices as the truth behind a teenage girl’s disappearance becomes something to conceal.