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Editorial Content for Spells for Forgetting

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Rebecca Munro

Adrienne Young, whose young adult books include the bestsellers THE LAST LEGACY and NAMESAKE, has written her first novel for adults. SPELLS FOR FORGETTING is a lush, atmospheric work of magic and mystery. Read More

Teaser

Emery Blackwood’s life changed forever the night her best friend was found dead and the love of her life, August Salt, was accused of murdering her. Years later, she is doing what her teenage self swore she never would: living a quiet existence on the misty, remote shores of Saoirse Island and running the family’s business, Blackwood’s Tea Shoppe Herbal Tonics & Tea Leaf Readings. But when the island, rooted in folklore and magic, begins to show signs of strange happenings, Emery knows that something is coming. The morning she wakes to find that every single tree on Saoirse has turned color in a single night, August returns for the first time in 14 years and unearths the past that the town has tried desperately to forget.

Promo

Emery Blackwood’s life changed forever the night her best friend was found dead and the love of her life, August Salt, was accused of murdering her. Years later, she is doing what her teenage self swore she never would: living a quiet existence on the misty, remote shores of Saoirse Island and running the family’s business, Blackwood’s Tea Shoppe Herbal Tonics & Tea Leaf Readings. But when the island, rooted in folklore and magic, begins to show signs of strange happenings, Emery knows that something is coming. The morning she wakes to find that every single tree on Saoirse has turned color in a single night, August returns for the first time in 14 years and unearths the past that the town has tried desperately to forget.

About the Book

A deeply atmospheric story about ancestral magic, an unsolved murder and a second chance at true love.

Emery Blackwood’s life changed forever the night her best friend was found dead and the love of her life, August Salt, was accused of murdering her. Years later, she is doing what her teenage self swore she never would: living a quiet existence on the misty, remote shores of Saoirse Island and running the family’s business, Blackwood’s Tea Shoppe Herbal Tonics & Tea Leaf Readings. But when the island, rooted in folklore and magic, begins to show signs of strange happenings, Emery knows that something is coming. The morning she wakes to find that every single tree on Saoirse has turned color in a single night, August returns for the first time in 14 years and unearths the past that the town has tried desperately to forget.

August knows he is not welcome on Saiorse, not after the night everything changed. As a fire raged on at the Salt family orchard, Lily Morgan was found dead in the dark woods, shaking the bedrock of their tight-knit community and branding August a murderer. When he returns to bury his mother’s ashes, he must confront the people who turned their backs on him and face the one wound from his past that has never healed --- Emery. But the town has more than one reason to want August gone, and the emergence of deep betrayals and hidden promises spanning generations threaten to reveal the truth behind Lily’s mysterious death once and for all.

Audiobook available, read by a full cast

Editorial Content for Before I Do

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Norah Piehl

Sophie Cousens’ new rom-com, BEFORE I DO, opens with an indelible image: a bride, dazed and confused, staggers out of the wedding chapel 20 minutes before her wedding ceremony was due to end. Clearly some kind of crisis is unfolding inside. But what is it? And why does the bride appear, on some level, to be relieved, or at least not surprised that everything is ending in disaster?

"BEFORE I DO is funny, surprising and genuinely romantic, with a hard-won yet delightful happily-ever-after."

Teaser

Head-in-the-stars Audrey is about to marry down-to-earth Josh. Though they are polar opposites, they have a healthy, stable relationship. But romance should be unpredictable and full of fireworks, and as the big day approaches, Audrey has found herself wondering if Josh really is "The One." So when Josh’s sister shows up to the rehearsal dinner with Fred, Audrey’s "What If? guy" --- the man she met six years ago and had one amazing day with --- Audrey finds herself torn. When everything that could go wrong with the wedding starts to go wrong, Audrey has to ask herself: Is fate trying to stop her from making a huge mistake? Or does destiny just have a really twisty sense of humor?

Promo

Head-in-the-stars Audrey is about to marry down-to-earth Josh. Though they are polar opposites, they have a healthy, stable relationship. But romance should be unpredictable and full of fireworks, and as the big day approaches, Audrey has found herself wondering if Josh really is "The One." So when Josh’s sister shows up to the rehearsal dinner with Fred, Audrey’s "What If? guy" --- the man she met six years ago and had one amazing day with --- Audrey finds herself torn. When everything that could go wrong with the wedding starts to go wrong, Audrey has to ask herself: Is fate trying to stop her from making a huge mistake? Or does destiny just have a really twisty sense of humor?

About the Book

A heartwarming and playful novel about the ones we love and the ones we lose by the New York Times bestselling author of THIS TIME NEXT YEAR.

What would you do if "the one that got away" turned up the night before your wedding?

Head-in-the-stars Audrey is about to marry down-to-earth Josh. Though they are polar opposites, they have a healthy, stable relationship; Josh is just what Audrey needs. But romance should be unpredictable and full of fireworks, and as the big day approaches, Audrey’s found herself wondering if Josh really is "The One."

So when Josh’s sister shows up to the rehearsal dinner with Fred, Audrey’s "What If? guy" --- the man she met six years ago and had one amazing day with --- Audrey finds herself torn. Surely Fred’s appearance the night before she is due to get married can’t be a coincidence. And when everything that could go wrong with the wedding starts to go wrong, Audrey has to ask herself: Is fate trying to stop her from making a huge mistake? Or does destiny just have a really twisty sense of humor?

Audiobook available, read by Emma Sidi

Editorial Content for Little Eve

Book

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Sarah Rachel Egelman

A marvelous blend of horror, gothic and domestic drama themes collide in LITTLE EVE, the award-winning novel by Catriona Ward, which is now available in the US. Slimmer than her previous efforts, SUNDIAL and THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET, this book finds Ward more viscerally graphic and committed to the strange. Read More

Teaser

On the wind-battered isle of Altnaharra, off the wildest coast of Scotland, a clan prepares to bring about the end of the world and its imminent rebirth. The Adder is coming, and one of their number will inherit its powers. They all want the honor, but young Eve is willing to do anything for the distinction. A reckoning beyond Eve’s imagination begins when Chief Inspector Black arrives to investigate a brutal murder, and their sacred ceremony goes terribly wrong. And soon all the secrets of Altnaharra will be uncovered.

Promo

On the wind-battered isle of Altnaharra, off the wildest coast of Scotland, a clan prepares to bring about the end of the world and its imminent rebirth. The Adder is coming, and one of their number will inherit its powers. They all want the honor, but young Eve is willing to do anything for the distinction. A reckoning beyond Eve’s imagination begins when Chief Inspector Black arrives to investigate a brutal murder, and their sacred ceremony goes terribly wrong. And soon all the secrets of Altnaharra will be uncovered.

About the Book

From Catriona Ward, the international bestselling author of THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET comes LITTLE EVE, a heart-pounding tale of faith and family, with a devastating twist.

“A great day is upon us. He is coming. The world will be washed away.”

On the wind-battered isle of Altnaharra, off the wildest coast of Scotland, a clan prepares to bring about the end of the world and its imminent rebirth.

The Adder is coming and one of their number will inherit its powers. They all want the honor, but young Eve is willing to do anything for the distinction.

A reckoning beyond Eve’s imagination begins when Chief Inspector Black arrives to investigate a brutal murder and their sacred ceremony goes terribly wrong.

And soon all the secrets of Altnaharra will be uncovered.

Audiobook available, read by Carolyn Bonnyman

Editorial Content for The Strange Inheritance of Leah Fern

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Jana Siciliano

Leah Fern grows up in a carnival, nicknamed the “Youngest and Very Best Fortuneteller in the World.” For all her young years, she finds herself holding people’s hands and displaying an empathy that few others can muster --- and she is rewarded well for her powers. Read More

Teaser

Born in a carnival trailer, Leah Fern begins her life as "The Youngest and Very Best Fortuneteller in the World." When Leah is six, her mother --- magician Jeannie Starr --- leaves her at the home of Edward Murphy, a kindly older man with whom Leah shares one fierce wish: that Jeannie Starr will return to them. After 15 years as a small-town outcast, Leah decides to end her life on her 21st birthday. But the intricate death ritual she has devised is interrupted by a surprise knock on her door. Her mysterious neighbor, art photographer Essie East, has died and left Leah a very strange inheritance. Through a series of letters, Essie will posthumously lead Leah on a journey to nine points on the map, which will reveal the story of Leah's mother.

Promo

Born in a carnival trailer, Leah Fern begins her life as "The Youngest and Very Best Fortuneteller in the World." When Leah is six, her mother --- magician Jeannie Starr --- leaves her at the home of Edward Murphy, a kindly older man with whom Leah shares one fierce wish: that Jeannie Starr will return to them. After 15 years as a small-town outcast, Leah decides to end her life on her 21st birthday. But the intricate death ritual she has devised is interrupted by a surprise knock on her door. Her mysterious neighbor, art photographer Essie East, has died and left Leah a very strange inheritance. Through a series of letters, Essie will posthumously lead Leah on a journey to nine points on the map, which will reveal the story of Leah's mother.

About the Book

A luminous coming-of-age story about a fiercely lonely young woman's quest to uncover the truth behind her mother's disappearance.

Born in a carnival trailer, Leah Fern begins her life as "The Youngest and Very Best Fortuneteller in the World," taking strangers' hands and feeling the depths of their emotions. Her mother, Jeannie Starr, is a captivating magician, but not always an attentive mother; when Leah is six, Jeannie upends their carnival life with an unexpected exit. With little fanfare and no explanation, she leaves her daughter at the home of Edward Murphy, a kindly older man with whom Leah shares one fierce wish: that Jeannie Starr will return to them.

After 15 years as a small-town outcast, Leah decides to end her life on the occasion of her 21st birthday. But the intricate death ritual she has devised is interrupted by a surprise knock on her door. Her mysterious neighbor, the curmudgeonly and reclusive art photographer Essie East, has died and left Leah a very strange inheritance. Through a series of letters, Essie will posthumously lead Leah on a journey to nine points on the map, spanning from an island in Wisconsin to an island in the Arctic Circle --- a journey that, the first note promises, will reveal the story of Leah's mother. 

Driven by a ferocious resurgence of hope, Leah embarks on this bizarre treasure hunt, Essie's ashes in a jeweled urn in the passenger seat of her truck. Along her way, she visits islands, libraries, diners and defunct ice cream parlors, meeting a charming cast of eccentric characters and immersing herself in wonders of the natural world.

An enchanting novel about the transcendent powers of the imagination, the magic of the threshold between past and present, and the courage it takes to love, THE STRANGE INHERITANCE OF LEAH FERN explores the unlikely, at times adversarial, and ultimately redemptive relationship between a young woman who has forgotten how to live and a dead woman who summons her to remember. 

Editorial Content for Billie Starr's Book of Sorries

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Rebecca Munro

From Edgar Award nominee Deborah E. Kennedy comes BILLIE STARR’S BOOK OF SORRIES, a suspense novel set in the small town of Benson, Indiana, where everyone knows everyone and rumors, judgment and secrets serve as currency. Read More

Teaser

In a small town where everyone knows everyone’s business, down-on-her-luck single mother Jenny Newberg is on a first-name basis with the debt collector at the bank, who is moving toward foreclosure. She is constantly apologizing to her precocious young daughter, Billie Starr, who is filling a book with her mother’s sorries. Then a pair of strangers in black suits offers her a hefty check to seduce someone known as the Candidate. But nothing ever goes as Jenny plans, and she is swept into the Candidate’s orbit. Surrounded by a wide universe of new ideas, she realizes how constrained her life has been by the expectations of everyone around her, and she starts to see how much more she might be capable of.

Promo

In a small town where everyone knows everyone’s business, down-on-her-luck single mother Jenny Newberg is on a first-name basis with the debt collector at the bank, who is moving toward foreclosure. She is constantly apologizing to her precocious young daughter, Billie Starr, who is filling a book with her mother’s sorries. Then a pair of strangers in black suits offers her a hefty check to seduce someone known as the Candidate. But nothing ever goes as Jenny plans, and she is swept into the Candidate’s orbit. Surrounded by a wide universe of new ideas, she realizes how constrained her life has been by the expectations of everyone around her, and she starts to see how much more she might be capable of.

About the Book

Sometimes, a woman has to rescue herself.

Jenny Newberg, Queen of Bad Decisions, is about to make another one. In a small town where everyone knows everyone’s business, down-on-her-luck single mother Jenny is on a first-name basis with the debt collector at the bank, who is moving toward foreclosure. She is constantly apologizing to her precocious young daughter, Billie Starr, who is filling a book with her mother’s sorries, and it seems to Jenny that no apology will ever be enough.

Then a pair of strangers in black suits offers her a hefty check to seduce someone known as the Candidate. Finally, something will go her way.

But nothing ever goes as Jenny plans, and she is swept into the Candidate’s orbit. Surrounded by a wide universe of new ideas, she realizes how constrained her life has been by the expectations of everyone around her, and she starts to see how much more she might be capable of. And when her world is rocked to its core and Billie Starr may be in danger, Jenny is forced to do what she once thought impossible: trust in herself and her own power to make things right.

Shimmering with rage and sparkling with subtle humor, BILLIE STARR'S BOOK OF SORRIES showcases Edgar Award-nominee Deborah E. Kennedy's singular voice and shines a light on the town of Benson, Indiana, where lakes, grudges and family rifts run deep --- but so does a mother’s love.

Audiobook available, read by Elizabeth Dwyer

October 14, 2022

I had such a fun time last weekend at the Morristown Festival of Books. On Saturday, my longtime friend, Beverley Wilson, took the train out from the city to Morristown (which she pronounced as easy to do). Lisa Hickman, our Contest Coordinator, had come to town on Friday night to catch the terrific opening event with my husband Tom and me --- Frank Bruni, who was interviewed by Katy Tur --- and she stayed with us that night.

Never Meant to Meet You by Alli Frank and Asha Youmans

October 2022

NEVER MEANT TO MEET YOU is the second book from the writing team of Alli Frank and Asha Youmans. Their first, TINY IMPERFECTIONS, was a 2020 Bets On selection. Remembering how funny it was, I could not wait to see what they would write next. From chapter one, I found myself laughing.

Marjette Lewis is a kindergarten teacher in a tony private school. Right before the school year starts, Marjette’s next-door neighbor, Noa Abrams, loses her husband, and Marjette is not quite sure what to do. The woman is sitting shiva, and Marjette knows that food would be a great thing to bring. So she fries up some chicken and brings it next door in what may be the first time fried chicken made its way to shiva.

The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews

When newly divorced Ivy Perkins buys an old farmhouse sight unseen, she is definitely looking for a change in her life. The Four Roses, as the farmhouse is called, is a labor of love --- but Ivy didn't bargain on just how much labor. The previous family left so much furniture and so much junk that it's a full-time job sorting through all of it.

Interview: Rita Zoey Chin, author of The Strange Inheritance of Leah Fern

Oct 13, 2022

THE STRANGE INHERITANCE OF LEAH FERN, Rita Zoey Chin’s debut novel, is a luminous coming-of-age story about a fiercely lonely young woman's quest to uncover the truth behind her mother's disappearance. In this interview conducted by Michael Barson, Senior Publicity Executive at Melville House, Chin talks about the differences between writing this book and her memoir, LET THE TORNADO COME IN; the aspects of the story that she couldn’t grasp at first and how she finally got a handle on them; the one piece of advice she would give to aspiring novelists; and what readers can expect from her second novel.

November 2022 Bookaccino Live Event