Bex Martin’s racquet club is her entire world. But the business she inherited from her mother has started to feel more like a sinking ship. That is, until Nikolaus Karras --- a former tennis bad boy with an ego as big as his serve --- makes himself at home on her courts. Niko has something to prove, and a high-stakes pickleball tournament is just what he needs to get back in the game after a career-ending injury. When he is finally able to set his ego aside to ask for Bex’s help, everyone assumes that they are a couple --- on and off the court. But she needs the prize money to save the club, and he needs a win to restore his reputation. So now they have a fake relationship, as well as a doubles partner they can’t seem to resist. Game on!
New York City, 1929. Young Theo Sterling’s world begins to unravel as the Great Depression exerts its icy grip. He finds it hard to relate to his parents. His father, a Jewish self-made businessman, refuses to give up on the American dream, and his mother, a refugee from religious persecution in Mexico, holds fast to her Catholic faith. When disaster strikes the family, Theo must learn who he is. A charismatic school friend and a firebrand girl inspire him to believe he can fight Fascism and change the world, but each rebellion comes at a higher price, forcing Theo to question these ideologies too. His harrowing journey from boy to man is set against a backdrop of societies torn apart from within, teetering on the edge of a terrible war to which Theo is compulsively drawn like a moth to a flame.
Paris, 1995: It’s been five years since Lily Jacobsen and her best friend, Mary Louise, arrived from their small town of Froid, Montana. Determined to establish themselves as artists --- Lily, a novelist, and Mary Louise, a painter --- they share a tiny sixth-floor walkup and survive on brie and baguettes. When Mary Louise abruptly moves out, Lily feels alone in the City of Light for the first time and needs a new way to support herself. She lands a job as the programs manager at the American Library in Paris, following in the footsteps of her French neighbor, Odile, who infused her childhood with tales of heroic World War II librarians. Here in the storied halls of the ALP, Lily meets an incredible cast of characters, each with their own stories...and agendas.
Meet Frost, Morgan and Belle --- a wealthy, gorgeous group of New York City moms, the queen bees of downtown Manhattan. Their children attend Atherton Academy, the top private school in the city, and their social lives revolve around elaborate themed parties. On the first day of school, the arrival of a new mom and mysterious beauty from Miami, Sofia shakes up their world. When Sofia quickly integrates herself into their clique, inexplicably bad things start to happen to the women. Is someone at school out to get them?
It's January 2020, and Miriam is already getting a sense that the world might be ending. First, she learns that her best friend, Esther, has died. Then her faith in God --- in everything, really --- follows suit. Her job teaching Scripture at a private Christian school suddenly seems untenable, so she quits. Thankfully, the postal service is hiring. While Miriam finds comfort in her route, the mail truck can hardly outpace the memory of her lost friend and eroded faith. She finds herself composing letters to Esther that she will never deliver, reflecting on their shared childhoods and deep understanding of each other's difficult families.
Summer, 1999. Rachel Fiske is almost eighteen when she arrives at her aunt and uncle’s mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut. Her glamorous aunt is struggling to heal from an injury and Rachel wants to help. But her aunt is oddly spacey and her uncle is consumed with business and Rachel feels lonely and adrift, excluded from the world of adults and their secrets. The only bright spot is Claudia, a recent college graduate and the live-in babysitter for Rachel’s cousin. As summer deepens, Rachel hopes their friendship might grow into more. But when a tragic accident occurs, Rachel must make a pivotal choice. Caught between her desire to do the right thing and to protect her future, she’s the only one who knows what really happened and her decision has consequences far beyond what she could have predicted.
Anatol invites five of his oldest friends to his family home in the Wiltshire countryside to celebrate his 30th birthday. At his request, they play a game of his invention called Motive Method Death. The rules are simple: Everyone chooses two players at random, then writes a short story in which one kills the other. Points are awarded for making the murders feel real. Of course, it’s only natural for each friend to use what they know. Secrets. Grudges. Affairs. But once they’ve put it in a story, each secret is out. It’s not long before the game reawakens old resentments and brings private matters into the light of day. With each fictional crime, someone new gets a very real motive. Can all six friends survive the weekend, or will truth turn out to be deadlier than fiction?
The Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted is the premier academy for the dangerously powerful: the Anti-Christs and Ragnaroks, the world-eaters and apocalypse-makers. Hellebore promises redemption, acceptance and a normal life after graduation. At least, that’s what Alessa Li is told after she’s kidnapped and forcibly enrolled. But the Institute is more than just a haven for monsters. On graduation day, the faculty embark on a ravenous rampage, feasting on their students. Trapped in the school’s cavernous library, Alessa and her surviving classmates must do something they were never taught: work together. If they don't, this school will eat them alive.
It's the 1970s, and poppyseed strudel, praline ice cream cake and New York cheesecake are a integral to Manhattan's Upper West Side. That is, until Cato comes to town. Cato the Elder, a Roman born in 234 BCE, is credited with the earliest written recipe ever found for cheesecake. Suddenly, it's all anyone on West 86th Street can talk about. The Katsikases, a Greek cheesemaking family, added Cato's pastry to their menu as a ploy to attract “upscale” diners. After a glowing write-up in the Times, the recipe becomes a neighborhood fixation --- and the Katsikases' patriarch, Art, buys up as much of the block's real estate as he can. Sometimes laced with green M&Ms, sometimes with sage, sometimes with spite, Cato's cheesecake heralds change as West 86th Street is transformed for good.
Chloe has always dreamed of becoming a bestselling writer. Then she meets Clara Holland, a prominent influencer, socialite and model. And at last, ordinary Chloe has something to write about. Bonding instantly, Chloe moves into Clara’s grand family estate. They spend long afternoons together, writing Clara’s memoir, polishing social media posts and planning sumptuous, decadent parties. But as Clara opens her home to more girls who want to live like her and inspire one another, the media calls them a cult. As life becomes more claustrophobic, Chloe begins to hear unsettling rumors about Clara. When a girl goes missing after a spectacular New Year’s Eve party, the rumors take on a sinister new meaning. If she can’t escape Clara’s influence, everything Chloe holds dear may be in danger.
Is a book that has been chosen for one of the major book clubs something you consider when looking for your next read? Which of the following book club selections do you follow and act upon the most?
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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.
June's Books on Screen roundup includes the series premieres of Prime Video's "We Were Liars" and Netflix's "The Survivors"; the season premieres of "Grantchester" on PBS "Masterpiece" and "The Buccaneers" on Apple TV+; the season finale of "The Walking Dead: Dead City" on AMC; the continuation of Hulu's "Nine Perfect Strangers" and Max's "And Just Like That..."; the films The Life of Chuck and How to Train Your Dragon in theaters and Pie to Die For: A Hannah Swensen Mystery on Hallmark Mystery; and the DVD/Blu-ray releases of Snow White, The Friend, The Monkey, In the Lost Lands and A Working Man.