Editorial Content for The Charm Offensive
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
I think a lot of us, as readers, look in specific corners of the library for our revelations. We sit with Plato in The Cave. We take road trips with Kerouac. We tell ourselves to transform alongside Kafka. We don’t necessarily expect ourselves to find our grand “Eureka” moments between the pages of a queer rom-com with a sherbet-colored cover and a reality TV show premise. And that, I think, is the magic of THE CHARM OFFENSIVE by Alison Cochrun. Read More
Teaser
Dev Deshpande has always believed in fairy tales. So it’s no wonder then that he’s spent his career crafting them on the long-running reality dating show “Ever After.” As the most successful producer in the franchise’s history, Dev always scripts the perfect love story for his contestants, even as his own love life crashes and burns. But then the show casts disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw as its star. Charlie doesn’t believe in true love and only agreed to the show as a last-ditch effort to rehabilitate his image. As Dev fights to get Charlie to connect with the contestants on a whirlwind, worldwide tour, they begin to open up to each other, and Charlie realizes he has better chemistry with Dev than with any of his female co-stars.
Promo
Dev Deshpande has always believed in fairy tales. So it’s no wonder then that he’s spent his career crafting them on the long-running reality dating show “Ever After.” As the most successful producer in the franchise’s history, Dev always scripts the perfect love story for his contestants, even as his own love life crashes and burns. But then the show casts disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw as its star. Charlie doesn’t believe in true love and only agreed to the show as a last-ditch effort to rehabilitate his image. As Dev fights to get Charlie to connect with the contestants on a whirlwind, worldwide tour, they begin to open up to each other, and Charlie realizes he has better chemistry with Dev than with any of his female co-stars.
About the Book
In this witty and heartwarming romantic comedy --- reminiscent of RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE and ONE TO WATCH --- an awkward tech wunderkind on a reality dating show goes off-script when sparks fly with his producer.
Dev Deshpande has always believed in fairy tales. So it’s no wonder then that he’s spent his career crafting them on the long-running reality dating show "Ever After." As the most successful producer in the franchise’s history, Dev always scripts the perfect love story for his contestants, even as his own love life crashes and burns. But then the show casts disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw as its star.
Charlie is far from the romantic Prince Charming "Ever After" expects. He doesn’t believe in true love, and only agreed to the show as a last-ditch effort to rehabilitate his image. In front of the cameras, he’s a stiff, anxious mess with no idea how to date 20 women on national television. Behind the scenes, he’s cold, awkward and emotionally closed-off.
As Dev fights to get Charlie to connect with the contestants on a whirlwind, worldwide tour, they begin to open up to each other, and Charlie realizes he has better chemistry with Dev than with any of his female co-stars. But even reality TV has a script, and in order to find to happily ever after, they’ll have to reconsider whose love story gets told.
Audiobook available; read by Vikas Adam and Graham Halstead, with Cassandra Campbell
Editorial Content for The Women of Troy
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Reviewer (text)
Pat Barker picks up from THE SILENCE OF THE GIRLS with her latest novel, THE WOMEN OF TROY. In this most recent entry, Troy has fallen. The women have been seized, like spoils, by the Greek soldiers. Objectively speaking, not much happens during this time. In this liminal stretch of the war’s aftermath, Troy has been sacked, but the Greeks are unable to sail home. As the Trojan women mourn husbands and fathers and sons, they await their uncertain fates. Read More
Teaser
Troy has fallen, and the victorious Greeks are eager to return home with the spoils of an endless war --- including the women of Troy themselves. They await a fair wind for the Aegean. It does not come, because the gods are offended. The body of King Priam lies unburied and desecrated, and so the victors remain in suspension, camped in the shadows of the city they destroyed as the coalition that held them together begins to unravel. Old feuds resurface, and new suspicions and rivalries begin to fester. Largely unnoticed by her captors, the one-time Trojan queen Briseis, formerly Achilles' slave, forges alliances when she can, with Priam's aged wife, the defiant Hecuba, and with the disgraced soothsayer Calchas, all the while shrewdly seeking her path to revenge.
Promo
Troy has fallen, and the victorious Greeks are eager to return home with the spoils of an endless war --- including the women of Troy themselves. They await a fair wind for the Aegean. It does not come, because the gods are offended. The body of King Priam lies unburied and desecrated, and so the victors remain in suspension, camped in the shadows of the city they destroyed as the coalition that held them together begins to unravel. Old feuds resurface, and new suspicions and rivalries begin to fester. Largely unnoticed by her captors, the one-time Trojan queen Briseis, formerly Achilles' slave, forges alliances when she can, with Priam's aged wife, the defiant Hecuba, and with the disgraced soothsayer Calchas, all the while shrewdly seeking her path to revenge.
About the Book
A daring and timely feminist retelling of THE ILIAD from the perspective of the women of Troy who endured it --- an extraordinary follow up to THE SILENCE OF THE GIRLS from the Booker Prize-winning author of The Regeneration Trilogy.
Troy has fallen and the victorious Greeks are eager to return home with the spoils of an endless war --- including the women of Troy themselves. They await a fair wind for the Aegean.
It does not come, because the gods are offended. The body of King Priam lies unburied and desecrated, and so the victors remain in suspension, camped in the shadows of the city they destroyed as the coalition that held them together begins to unravel. Old feuds resurface and new suspicions and rivalries begin to fester.
Largely unnoticed by her captors, the one time Trojan queen Briseis, formerly Achilles' slave, now belonging to his companion Alcimus, quietly takes in these developments. She forges alliances when she can, with Priam's aged wife the defiant Hecuba and with the disgraced soothsayer Calchas, all the while shrewdly seeking her path to revenge.
Audiobook available, read by Kristin Atherton
Editorial Content for Inseparable
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Reviewer (text)
Simone de Beauvoir was born in Paris and stayed there for most of her life. The Existentialist philosopher, novelist, essayist, editor and groundbreaking feminist is known perhaps most importantly as the author of THE SECOND SEX. While maintaining a relationship with the bullish philosopher king Jean-Paul Sartre, she published several autobiographical works, as well as highly acclaimed novels (including THE MANDARINS, winner of the Prix Goncourt). Read More
Teaser
From the moment Sylvie and Andrée meet in their Parisian day school, they see in each other an accomplice with whom to confront the mysteries of girlhood. For the next 10 years, the two are the closest of friends and confidantes as they explore life in a post-World War I France, and as Andrée becomes increasingly reckless and rebellious, edging closer to peril. Sylvie sees a France of clashing ideals and religious hypocrisy --- and at an early age is determined to form her own opinions. Andrée is inclined to melodrama and romance. Despite their different natures, they rely on each other to safeguard their secrets while entering adulthood in a world that did not pay much attention to the wills and desires of young women.
Promo
From the moment Sylvie and Andrée meet in their Parisian day school, they see in each other an accomplice with whom to confront the mysteries of girlhood. For the next 10 years, the two are the closest of friends and confidantes as they explore life in a post-World War I France, and as Andrée becomes increasingly reckless and rebellious, edging closer to peril. Sylvie sees a France of clashing ideals and religious hypocrisy --- and at an early age is determined to form her own opinions. Andrée is inclined to melodrama and romance. Despite their different natures, they rely on each other to safeguard their secrets while entering adulthood in a world that did not pay much attention to the wills and desires of young women.
About the Book
A novel by the iconic Simone de Beauvoir of an intense and vivid girlhood friendship that, unpublished in her lifetime, displays “Beauvoir's genius as a fiction writer” (Wall Street Journal).
From the moment Sylvie and Andrée meet in their Parisian day school, they see in each other an accomplice with whom to confront the mysteries of girlhood. For the next 10 years, the two are the closest of friends and confidantes as they explore life in a post-World War I France, and as Andrée becomes increasingly reckless and rebellious, edging closer to peril.
Sylvie, insightful and observant, sees a France of clashing ideals and religious hypocrisy --- and at an early age is determined to form her own opinions. Andrée, a tempestuous dreamer, is inclined to melodrama and romance. Despite their different natures they rely on each other to safeguard their secrets while entering adulthood in a world that did not pay much attention to the wills and desires of young women.
Deemed too intimate to publish during Simone de Beauvoir’s life, Inseparable offers fresh insight into the groundbreaking feminist’s own coming-of-age; her transformative, tragic friendship with her childhood friend Zaza Lacoin; and how her youthful relationships shaped her philosophy. Sandra Smith’s vibrant translation of the novel will be long cherished by de Beauvoir devotees and first-time readers alike.
Audiobook available, read by Julia Whelan and Gabra Zackman
Editorial Content for Bullet Train
Book
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Reviewer (text)
I always want to be among the first to read international bestsellers when they are made available in English. Such is the case with Kotaro Isaka’s BULLET TRAIN. Already a huge hit in its native Japan as well as around the globe, the book has been optioned for a film starring Brad Pitt. When I read an article that compared the story to everything from Quentin Tarantino to the Coen Brothers, I was sold. Read More
Teaser
Nanao, nicknamed Lady Bird --- the self-proclaimed “unluckiest assassin in the world” --- boards a bullet train from Tokyo to Morioka with one simple task: grab a suitcase and get off at the next stop. Unbeknownst to him, the deadly duo Tangerine and Lemon are also after the very same suitcase --- and they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard. Satoshi, “the Prince,” is also in the mix and has history with some of the others. Risk fuels him as does a good philosophical debate...like, is killing really wrong? Chasing the Prince is another assassin with a score to settle for the time the Prince casually pushed a young boy off of a roof, leaving him comatose. When the five assassins discover they are all on the same train, they realize their missions are not as unrelated as they first appear.
Promo
Nanao, nicknamed Lady Bird --- the self-proclaimed “unluckiest assassin in the world” --- boards a bullet train from Tokyo to Morioka with one simple task: grab a suitcase and get off at the next stop. Unbeknownst to him, the deadly duo Tangerine and Lemon are also after the very same suitcase --- and they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard. Satoshi, “the Prince,” is also in the mix and has history with some of the others. Risk fuels him as does a good philosophical debate...like, is killing really wrong? Chasing the Prince is another assassin with a score to settle for the time the Prince casually pushed a young boy off of a roof, leaving him comatose. When the five assassins discover they are all on the same train, they realize their missions are not as unrelated as they first appear.
About the Book
A dark, satirical thriller by the bestselling Japanese author, following the perilous train ride of five highly motivated assassins --- soon to be a major film from Sony.
Nanao, nicknamed Lady Bird --- the self-proclaimed “unluckiest assassin in the world” --- boards a bullet train from Tokyo to Morioka with one simple task: grab a suitcase and get off at the next stop. Unbeknownst to him, the deadly duo Tangerine and Lemon are also after the very same suitcase --- and they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard. Satoshi, “the Prince,” with the looks of an innocent schoolboy and the mind of a viciously cunning psychopath, is also in the mix and has history with some of the others. Risk fuels him as does a good philosophical debate...like, is killing really wrong? Chasing the Prince is another assassin with a score to settle for the time the Prince casually pushed a young boy off of a roof, leaving him comatose.
When the five assassins discover they are all on the same train, they realize their missions are not as unrelated as they first appear.
A massive bestseller in Japan, BULLET TRAIN is an original and propulsive thriller that fizzes with an incredible energy and surprising humor as its complex net of double-crosses and twists unwind. Award-winning author Kotaro Isaka takes readers on a tension packed journey as the bullet train hurtles toward its final destination. Who will make it off the train alive --- and what awaits them at the last stop?
Audiobook available, read by Pun Bandhu
Editorial Content for Monster Hunter Bloodlines
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Well, here we are again. Summer is reaching its last legs, trying to hold on against the encroachment of autumn as September rolls by. October looms, bringing hoodie weather, fire pits and Halloween. And what goes better with all of those things than good old-fashioned monsters? Read More
Teaser
The chaos god Asag has been quiet since the destruction of the City of Monsters, but Monster Hunter International knows that he is still out there. When Owen and the MHI team discover that one of Isaac Newton's Ward Stones is being auctioned off by Reptoids who live deep beneath Atlanta, they decide to steal the magical superweapon and use it to destroy Asag once and for all. But before the stone can be handed off, it is stolen by a mysterious thief with ties to MHI and the Vatican's Secret Guard. It's a race against time, the Secret Guard, a spectral bounty hunter and a whole bunch of monsters to acquire the Ward Stone and use it against Asag. For as dangerous as the chaos god is, there is something much older --- and infinitely more evil --- awakening deep in the jungles of South America.
Promo
The chaos god Asag has been quiet since the destruction of the City of Monsters, but Monster Hunter International knows that he is still out there. When Owen and the MHI team discover that one of Isaac Newton's Ward Stones is being auctioned off by Reptoids who live deep beneath Atlanta, they decide to steal the magical superweapon and use it to destroy Asag once and for all. But before the stone can be handed off, it is stolen by a mysterious thief with ties to MHI and the Vatican's Secret Guard. It's a race against time, the Secret Guard, a spectral bounty hunter and a whole bunch of monsters to acquire the Ward Stone and use it against Asag. For as dangerous as the chaos god is, there is something much older --- and infinitely more evil --- awakening deep in the jungles of South America.
About the Book
In a business like monster hunting, it's all about setting priorities.
The chaos god Asag has been quiet since the destruction of the City of Monsters, but Monster Hunter International knows that he is still out there, somewhere --- plotting, waiting for his chance to unravel reality.
When Owen and the MHI team discover that one of Isaac Newton's Ward Stones is being auctioned off by Reptoids who live deep beneath Atlanta, they decide to steal the magical superweapon and use it to destroy Asag once and for all. But before the stone can be handed off, it is stolen by a mysterious thief with ties to MHI and the Vatican's Secret Guard.
It's a race against time, the Secret Guard, a spectral bounty hunter and a whole bunch of monsters to acquire the Ward Stone and use it against Asag. For as dangerous as the chaos god is, there is something much older --- and infinitely more evil --- awakening deep in the jungles of South America.
Audiobook available, read by Oliver Wyman
Editorial Content for Gone for Good
Book
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Reviewer (text)
The Lovelorn Killer terrorized the Chicago area when he murdered seven innocent women before disappearing into the sunset. These ritualistic killings included torture and blinding his victims prior to leaving them for dead. He shared his sick process by way of love letters written to those he had killed, which he sent to the local newspaper. Read More
Teaser
The Lovelorn Killer murdered seven women, ritually binding them and leaving them for dead before penning them gruesome love letters in the local papers. Then he disappeared, and there hasn’t been a trace of him in 20 years. Grace Harper, who uses her snooping skills as part of an amateur sleuth group, believes that the Lovelorn Killer is still living in the same neighborhoods in which he hunted. If she can figure out how he selected his victims, she will have the key to his identity. Detective Annalisa Vega lost someone she loved to the killer. Now she's at a murder scene with the worst kind of déjà vu: Grace Harper lies bound and dead on the floor, surrounded by clues to the biggest murder case that Chicago homicide never solved.
Promo
The Lovelorn Killer murdered seven women, ritually binding them and leaving them for dead before penning them gruesome love letters in the local papers. Then he disappeared, and there hasn’t been a trace of him in 20 years. Grace Harper, who uses her snooping skills as part of an amateur sleuth group, believes that the Lovelorn Killer is still living in the same neighborhoods in which he hunted. If she can figure out how he selected his victims, she will have the key to his identity. Detective Annalisa Vega lost someone she loved to the killer. Now she's at a murder scene with the worst kind of déjà vu: Grace Harper lies bound and dead on the floor, surrounded by clues to the biggest murder case that Chicago homicide never solved.
About the Book
GONE FOR GOOD is the first in a new mystery series from award-winning author Joanna Schaffhausen, featuring Detective Annalisa Vega, in which a cold case heats up.
The Lovelorn Killer murdered seven women, ritually binding them and leaving them for dead before penning them gruesome love letters in the local papers. Then he disappeared, and after 20 years with no trace of him, many believe that he's gone for good.
Not Grace Harper. A grocery store manager by day, at night Grace uses her snooping skills as part of an amateur sleuth group. She believes the Lovelorn Killer is still living in the same neighborhoods that he hunted in, and if she can figure out how he selected his victims, she will have the key to his identity.
Detective Annalisa Vega lost someone she loved to the killer. Now she's at a murder scene with the worst kind of déjà vu: Grace Harper lies bound and dead on the floor, surrounded by clues to the biggest murder case that Chicago homicide never solved. Annalisa has the chance to make it right and to heal her family, but first, she has to figure out what Grace knew --- how to see a killer who may be standing right in front of you. This means tracing his steps back to her childhood, peering into dark corners she hadn't acknowledged before, and learning that despite everything the killer took, she has still so much more to lose.
Audiobook available, read by Kelsey Navarro
September 17, 2021
This was one very brisk week --- the five days flew by.
Yesterday Tom and I went to an appointment together, and as we sat in the waiting room, I was busy answering emails. Tom had forgotten his book in the car, so I handed him an advance copy of Robert Dugoni's book that I was reading and had been enjoying, THE WORLD PLAYED CHESS. He was completely absorbed in it as quickly as I had been. So he sauntered off to read more of it last night as I continued to work on the couch. Luckily I have a finished copy upstairs, so I can pick up where I left off.