Editorial Content for Hot Air
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Marcy Dermansky’s HOT AIR is a short and sharp novel that manages to pack in five distinct points of view as the lives of the characters collide --- or perhaps crash into each other --- for a handful of intense days. Read More
Teaser
Joannie hadn’t been on a date in seven years when Johnny invites Joannie and her daughter to dinner. His house is beautiful, his son is sweet, and their first kiss is, well, it’s not the best, but Joannie could convince herself it was nice enough. But when Joannie’s childhood crush, a summer-camp fling turned famous billionaire, crash-lands his hot-air balloon in Johnny’s swimming pool, Joannie dives in. Soon she finds herself alighting on a lost weekend with Johnny the bad kisser, Jonathan the billionaire, and Julia, his smart, stunning wife. Does Joannie want Jonathan? Does Julia want her husband? Or Joannie? Or Joannie’s beautiful little girl? Does Johnny want Julia? Does Jonathan want Joannie, or Julia, or maybe his much younger personal assistant, Vivian, who is tasked to fix it all?
Promo
Joannie hadn’t been on a date in seven years when Johnny invites Joannie and her daughter to dinner. His house is beautiful, his son is sweet, and their first kiss is, well, it’s not the best, but Joannie could convince herself it was nice enough. But when Joannie’s childhood crush, a summer-camp fling turned famous billionaire, crash-lands his hot-air balloon in Johnny’s swimming pool, Joannie dives in. Soon she finds herself alighting on a lost weekend with Johnny the bad kisser, Jonathan the billionaire, and Julia, his smart, stunning wife. Does Joannie want Jonathan? Does Julia want her husband? Or Joannie? Or Joannie’s beautiful little girl? Does Johnny want Julia? Does Jonathan want Joannie, or Julia, or maybe his much younger personal assistant, Vivian, who is tasked to fix it all?
About the Book
A joyfully unhinged story of money, marriage, sex and revenge unspools when a billionaire crashes his hot-air balloon into the middle of a post-pandemic first date.
Joannie hadn’t been on a date in seven years when Johnny invites Joannie and her daughter to dinner. His house is beautiful, his son is sweet, and their first kiss is, well, it’s not the best, but Joannie could convince herself it was nice enough. But when Joannie’s childhood crush, a summer-camp fling turned famous billionaire, crash-lands his hot-air balloon in Johnny’s swimming pool, Joannie dives in.
Soon she finds herself alighting on a lost weekend with Johnny the bad kisser, Jonathan the billionaire, and Julia, his smart, stunning wife. Does Joannie want Jonathan? Does Julia want her husband? Or Joannie? Or Joannie’s beautiful little girl? Does Johnny want Julia? Does Jonathan want Joannie, or Julia, or maybe his much younger personal assistant, Vivian, who is tasked to fix it all?
A tale of lust and money, and lust for money, HOT AIR is as astonishing as it is blisteringly funny, a delirious, delicious story for our billionaire era.
Audiobook available, read by Emily Woo Zeller
Editorial Content for Witness 8
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
As a longtime fan of legal thrillers, I have always been interested in the backgrounds of their authors. Some have actual experience in the courtroom, a few have been judges, and it may surprise you to learn that several of the most successful ones are not even lawyers. Read More
Teaser
A former resident of the ultra-elite Manhattan upper class, Ruby Johnson now works as a maid in the type of houses she used to live in. Unassuming, she sees everyone’s dirty secrets from the inside of their beautiful, renovated brownstones. But when Ruby witnesses a murder, she has wicked plans in mind that don’t involve telling the authorities the truth. Eddie Flynn, a streetwise ex-con-artist-turned-defense attorney, is the only lawyer in New York City willing to take on hopeless cases. And none is more hopeless than John Jackson’s --- the gun that killed his neighbor was found, with Jackson’s DNA, in his own home. Flynn and his unconventional team will need to use every trick they know to keep an innocent man from being locked up. But to save his client’s life, Eddie must first protect his own, as the scariest organized criminals in the city are out for his head.
Promo
A former resident of the ultra-elite Manhattan upper class, Ruby Johnson now works as a maid in the type of houses she used to live in. Unassuming, she sees everyone’s dirty secrets from the inside of their beautiful, renovated brownstones. But when Ruby witnesses a murder, she has wicked plans in mind that don’t involve telling the authorities the truth. Eddie Flynn, a streetwise ex-con-artist-turned-defense attorney, is the only lawyer in New York City willing to take on hopeless cases. And none is more hopeless than John Jackson’s --- the gun that killed his neighbor was found, with Jackson’s DNA, in his own home. Flynn and his unconventional team will need to use every trick they know to keep an innocent man from being locked up. But to save his client’s life, Eddie must first protect his own, as the scariest organized criminals in the city are out for his head.
About the Book
This riveting psychological thriller from master of twists Steve Cavanagh, author of the “unguessable and unputdownable” (Alex Michaelides, #1 New York Times bestselling author) KILL FOR ME, KILL FOR YOU, asks: What if the witness was more twisted than the killer?
Something is wrong with Ruby Johnson.
A former resident of the ultra-elite Manhattan upper class, Ruby now works as a maid in the type of houses she used to live in. Unassuming, she sees everyone’s dirty secrets from the insides of their beautiful, renovated brownstones. But when Ruby witnesses a murder, she has wicked plans in mind that don’t involve telling the authorities the truth.
Eddie Flynn, a streetwise ex-con-artist-turned-defense attorney, is the only lawyer in New York City willing to take on hopeless cases. And none is more hopeless than John Jackson’s --- the gun that killed his neighbor was found, with Jackson’s DNA, in his own home. Flynn and his unconventional team will need to use every trick they know to keep an innocent man from being locked up. But to save his client’s life, Eddie must first protect his own, as the scariest organized criminals in the city are out for his head.
Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell and Megan Miranda, WITNESS 8 is a fresh knockout page-turner from an author who is “the real deal” (Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author).
Audiobook available, read by Adam Sims
Editorial Content for Sister Europe
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
With books like NICOTINE and AVALON, Nell Zink has a well-deserved reputation for fiction that often features less than lovable characters in more than unusual situations. That’s the case in her latest, SISTER EUROPE, the story of an oddly matched sextet (plus a poodle named Mephistopheles and a detective who stalks their movements) who wander through an extended evening in Berlin in 2023. Read More
Teaser
Naema, an elderly princess dedicated to her pet causes, is in a bind. Struck by a malady that maroons her in Montreux, she’s unable to host an exclusive gala dinner in Berlin to honor author Masud al-Huzeil for his lifetime achievement in Arabic literature. Not only is she unable to attend, RSVPs have been slow to materialize. Masud invites his old friend Demian, a native Berliner, who in turn invites his two best friends: the troubled, innocent Livia and an American publisher, Toto. But Toto doesn’t come alone. In tow are his younger internet date and Demian’s 15-year-old daughter, Nicole. Not to mention the cop who’s been trailing Nicole since she left the red-light district. Presiding over the affair is Naema’s infinitely rich, endlessly disaffected grandson, Prince Radi, whose pass at Nicole culminates in an epic midnight food run that changes all their lives.
Promo
Naema, an elderly princess dedicated to her pet causes, is in a bind. Struck by a malady that maroons her in Montreux, she’s unable to host an exclusive gala dinner in Berlin to honor author Masud al-Huzeil for his lifetime achievement in Arabic literature. Not only is she unable to attend, RSVPs have been slow to materialize. Masud invites his old friend Demian, a native Berliner, who in turn invites his two best friends: the troubled, innocent Livia and an American publisher, Toto. But Toto doesn’t come alone. In tow are his younger internet date and Demian’s 15-year-old daughter, Nicole. Not to mention the cop who’s been trailing Nicole since she left the red-light district. Presiding over the affair is Naema’s infinitely rich, endlessly disaffected grandson, Prince Radi, whose pass at Nicole culminates in an epic midnight food run that changes all their lives.
About the Book
An irresistible and poignant novel about the upper echelons of Berlin society, a grand literary celebration, and the after-party that upends the night and carries a group of guests deeper into the city.
Naema, an elderly princess dedicated to her pet causes, is in a bind. Struck by a malady that maroons her in Montreux, she’s unable to host an exclusive gala dinner in Berlin to honor the author Masud al-Huzeil for his lifetime achievement in Arabic literature. Not only is she unable to attend, RSVPs have been slow to materialize, and she’s reduced to begging the ancient award winner to find some attendees at the last minute. Masud invites his old friend Demian, a native Berliner, who in turn invites his two best friends: the troubled, innocent Livia and an American publisher, Toto, who will do anything for a free meal.
But Toto doesn’t come alone. In tow are his younger Internet date --- she’s stood him up often enough to be nicknamed “the Flake” --- and Demian’s 15-year-old daughter, Nicole. Not to mention the cop who’s been trailing Nicole since she left the red-light district. Presiding over the affair is Naema’s infinitely rich, endlessly disaffected grandson, Prince Radi, whose pass at Nicole culminates in an epic midnight food run that changes all their lives.
With sophistication and tenderness, Nell Zink weaves a vividly colored tapestry of a milieu at odds with itself, taking her trademark ambiguity, daring and humor to new heights.
Audiobook available, read by Lisa Flanagan
Editorial Content for I Would Die for You
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Inspired in part by her teenage devotion to the ’80s band Duran Duran, Sandie Jones’ new novel, I WOULD DIE FOR YOU, features a different boy band and a groupie who was even more obsessed with the band than she was. While Nicole Forbes is the main character, and her first-person narration tells the story of the "present" in Coronado, California, in 2011, the other thread is about her family in London in 1986 and revolves around her sick mother and her sister, Cassie. Read More
Teaser
California, 2011: A writer knocks on Nicole Forbes’ door asking for her personal insight into the downfall of the biggest British band of the 1980s. The same day, her daughter goes missing. The school claims her aunt picked her up…but she doesn’t have an aunt. Convinced of a link between the two, Nicole is forced to revisit long-abandoned memories from her past to protect everything she now holds dear. London, 1986: Sixteen-year-old Cassie is obsessed with Secret Oktober, the hottest band of the moment. Harboring an intense crush on the leading man, Ben Edwards, she will do anything she can to capture his attention. But when Ben discovers her older sister, Nicole, singing at a local bar one night, he can’t help but feel drawn to her, setting in motion a collision course that could tear their family apart.
Promo
California, 2011: A writer knocks on Nicole Forbes’ door asking for her personal insight into the downfall of the biggest British band of the 1980s. The same day, her daughter goes missing. The school claims her aunt picked her up…but she doesn’t have an aunt. Convinced of a link between the two, Nicole is forced to revisit long-abandoned memories from her past to protect everything she now holds dear. London, 1986: Sixteen-year-old Cassie is obsessed with Secret Oktober, the hottest band of the moment. Harboring an intense crush on the leading man, Ben Edwards, she will do anything she can to capture his attention. But when Ben discovers her older sister, Nicole, singing at a local bar one night, he can’t help but feel drawn to her, setting in motion a collision course that could tear their family apart.
About the Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of the Reese's Book Club Pick THE OTHER WOMAN and THE GUILT TRIP comes an electrifying next novel.
California, 2011: Nicole Forbes lives a quiet life in the small seaside town of Coronado with her husband and daughter. She is not expecting a writer to knock on her door asking for her personal insight into the downfall of the biggest British band of the '80s --- unveiling the threads of a life she left behind years ago. The same day, her daughter goes missing and the school claims her aunt picked her up...but she doesn’t have an aunt. Convinced of a link between the two, Nicole is forced to revisit long-abandoned memories from her past to protect everything she now holds dear.
London, 1986: Sixteen-year-old Cassie is obsessed with Secret Oktober, the hottest band of the moment. Harboring an intense crush on the leading man, Ben Edwards, she will do anything she can to capture his attention among the throngs of groupies at the band’s scandalous backstage parties. But when Ben discovers her older sister, Nicole, singing at a local bar one night, he can’t help but feel drawn to her, setting in motion a collision course that could tear their family apart.
Infused with the sounds of the '80s, this thrilling novel from the inimitable Sandie Jones explores the chaos that the frenzy of fandom can provoke.
Audiobook available, read by Imogen Wilde
Editorial Content for Wizard of Most Wicked Ways
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Whimbrel House was supposed to be a trilogy. This delightful series is about an enchanted house on a remote island off the coast of Rhode Island and the magician who inherited it from a previously unknown relative. Merritt Fernsby becomes trapped in the house by the spirit, and when he reaches out for help, he meets the woman who becomes his wife. But after the third book, BOY OF CHAOTIC MAKING, Charlie N. Holmberg felt that the house's spirit, the soul of a boy named Owein who had died as a youngster but had lived in the house for centuries, deserved his own story. Read More
Teaser
Whimbrel House is changing. Merritt and Hulda are raising a family. Owein has signed a marriage contract with the magically compatible Lady Cora, a heavyweight of British nobility who’s an ocean away. And the lovely shape-shifting druid Fallon makes a distractingly fetching friend for Owein. But another change is in the air. The greatest wizard of the millennium, Silas Hogwood, is back --- after five years dead. New body, same foul scent, and driven by madness and revenge. Fearing he isn’t strong enough to fend off Silas, Owein seeks Cora’s help and influence in England. Queen Victoria dispatches her League of Magicians, including her personal necromancer, to aid in Owein’s defense. As magic, both good and evil, converges on Blaugdone Island, Owein realizes how harrowing the forces against them are.
Promo
Whimbrel House is changing. Merritt and Hulda are raising a family. Owein has signed a marriage contract with the magically compatible Lady Cora, a heavyweight of British nobility who’s an ocean away. And the lovely shape-shifting druid Fallon makes a distractingly fetching friend for Owein. But another change is in the air. The greatest wizard of the millennium, Silas Hogwood, is back --- after five years dead. New body, same foul scent, and driven by madness and revenge. Fearing he isn’t strong enough to fend off Silas, Owein seeks Cora’s help and influence in England. Queen Victoria dispatches her League of Magicians, including her personal necromancer, to aid in Owein’s defense. As magic, both good and evil, converges on Blaugdone Island, Owein realizes how harrowing the forces against them are.
About the Book
When dead enemies rise, grave matters of the heart, mind and body clash in the fantastical fourth Whimbrel House novel by Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg.
Whimbrel House is changing. Merritt and Hulda are raising a family. Owein has signed a marriage contract with the magically compatible Lady Cora, a heavyweight of British nobility who’s an ocean away. And the lovely shape-shifting druid Fallon makes a distractingly fetching friend for Owein. But another change is in the air and this time it’s something wicked.
The greatest wizard of the millennium, Silas Hogwood, is back --- after five years dead. New body, same foul scent, and driven by madness and revenge. Owein, fearing he isn’t strong enough to fend off Silas, seeks Cora’s help and influence in England. Alarms ringing, Queen Victoria dispatches her League of Magicians, including her personal necromancer, to aid in Owein’s defense.
As magic, both good and evil, converges on Blaugdone Island, Owein realizes how harrowing the forces against them are. Combating them will require some digging --- literally --- for half-formed secrets of magic Hulda doesn’t want him to have. But no promise, lock or government red tape will keep Owein from doing what’s necessary to protect those he loves. One way or another, Silas will only take Whimbrel House over Owein’s third dead body.
Audiobook available; read by Graham Halstead, Amanda Leigh Cobb and Nicholas Boulton
March 28, 2025
I feel like I spend a good amount of time organizing and reorganizing my bookshelves. The other day, Francesca and I did a “re-file” of the shelves of upcoming books, pruning those that I already read --- and lining up April, May, June and July books on shelves. We also re-shelved the January through March books that I never got to read, but insist I still want to read. Now mind you, there are hundreds of books (actually a lot more than that) that I have wanted to read from the last 27 years since we started Bookreporter, and they are shelved beside those that I have read.
Do you typically pre-order books online or from bookstores? Please check all that apply.
March 28, 2025, 461 voters