In life, Marilyn Monroe’s superstardom defies classification. In death, she remains shrouded in mystery. In the months before her death, Marilyn polishes the script for her ultimately unfinished film, Something’s Got to Give. In the weeks before her death, she drinks champagne on Santa Monica Beach with the last photographer to take her picture. In the days before her death, she’s a guest of Frank Sinatra in the Celebrity Room at the Cal Neva Lodge. In the hours before her death, she argues with US Attorney General Bobby Kennedy and his brother-in-law, Peter Lawford. In an emergency session with her psychiatrist, she confesses: “Here I am, the most beautiful woman in the world, and I do not have a date for Saturday night.” On June 1, 2026, the world celebrates Marilyn Monroe’s 100th birthday. Without her.
Ropa Moyo is dead, banished to the Other Place by the reanimated spirit of Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville of Scotland. It turns out that being on the losing side sucks worse than being skint. Now, the Cult of Dundas intends to ascend to godhood, spreading their corrupting reach from Edinburgh to all of Scotland’s schools of magic. Ropa must find some way to escape the Other Place, save her sister and gather allies across the country before Edinburgh falls. A royal plot, a family secret and a stolen body. As Scotland descends into petty in-fighting, Ropa’s only hope lies in her grandmother’s final secret: the first school of magic. An ancient power is returning…and is hungry for revenge.
1434: The unified kingdoms of northern Europe are cracking at their seams as a peasant rebellion, led by the charismatic figure Engelbrekt Engelbrekts, erupts in the north. Sent by his family to find a foothold in this rising revolutionary movement is young Magnus Bengtsson, who must win Engelbrekt’s trust and favor no matter the cost. Back at Magnus’ family castle, his mother, father and sister wait for news of his success. One is lost in longing, another is forging his own plan for the throne and crown, and one is looking for the opportunity to rise from her brother’s shadow.
When Marlowe Fisher, an illustrator living in New York City, returns to her family’s bewitching Hudson Valley home for the holidays, she discovers a body in the woods --- a murder that draws her back into the haunting case of her teenage best friend’s disappearance two decades earlier. What happened to Nora? As police descend on the sprawling Fisher property, Marlowe is pulled into an investigation that threatens to unravel the town’s fragile loyalties and expose the shadowed legacy of a weekend home steeped in secrets. Marlowe must confront the fallibility of her own memory and the feeling that everyone --- including her brothers --- is hiding something if she’s to uncover the shocking truth about her lost friend.
Upward Bound is not a place anyone dreams of spending their days. The dreary adult daycare center for Los Angeles’s disabled community is a place of last resort. This includes Carlos, a young aide who lost his mother as a boy and now works there alongside his beloved sister, Mariana; Jorge, the gentle nonspeaking giant whom Carlos seeks to befriend; Tom, a beautiful young man with cerebral palsy who pines for Ann, the summer lifeguard at the center’s pool who feels out of her depth. Then there’s Dave, Upward Bound’s director, who came to L.A. to pursue an acting career but now channels his passion into staging an overly ambitious holiday show starring the center’s irrepressible clients. Framing these intertwined narratives is the riveting and sometimes ironic testimony of Walter, a recent community college graduate who, after a family tragedy, must return to the company of his disabled peers.
As 92-year-old Florence "Flo" Greene nears the end of her life, she writes a letter to Ruthie, the woman who grew up next door to her, describing the items Flo is leaving Ruthie in her will. But as it goes on, telling surprising stories about those “little” things Flo will leave behind, an unforgettable portrait of the life she has lived emerges. The letter starts off as an autobiography in things, but it turns out to do much more than that: ultimately, it will transform Flo and those around her. In the time she has left, Flo decides to take herself up on tiny dares. Flo has never had a pedicure before now, and as long as she's going to a beauty parlor, she arranges to have a blue streak put in her hair, too. And as these adventures lead her to make new friends, Flo helps them, too, find the fulfillment that living a full life has led her to understand.
After a painful divorce, Maya Landry is in desperate need of a fresh start, which she finds deep in the Rocky Mountains of Montana. Maya’s relieved when she’s hired as a summer keeper of billionaire-owned ski lodges left empty after snow season ends, and her new life of peace and isolation is going exactly as hoped...until she stumbles across a dead body on the living room floor of one of the lodges. The killers don't want anyone left who knows what they've done. Forced to go on the run, Maya must rely on a mysterious stranger who offers to help her. But, surrounded by danger, can she trust him? Can she trust anyone? Only one thing is certain: The people who committed the murder are coming for her. Maya is the only person alive who might reveal what happened up on the mountain. And they want her gone.
Anneke has a complicated relationship with her father, until the night she comes home to find him murdered, with a surreally beautiful woman looming over his body. A woman who leaves no trace behind, other than the dreams and nightmares that now plague Anneke every night. Anneke puts together a team of detectives to catch this mysterious serial killer. There’s a trail of victims across Europe, and Anneke is certain they’re all connected. Anneke keeps crucial evidence to herself: infuriatingly coy letters, addressed only to her, occasionally soaked in blood, and always signed Diavola. The closer Anneke gets to her devil, though, the less sense the world makes. Diavola might be something much worse than a serial killer. Yet as Anneke unearths more of Diavola’s tragic past, she suspects there’s still a heart somewhere in that undead body. A heart that beats for Anneke alone.
At the dawn of the 20th century, New York’s streets teem with change: electricity, automobiles, the brash young President Teddy Roosevelt --- and the It Girls. Pop culture is born. Young Evelyn is recruited as a studio model and soon catches the eye of the preeminent artists of the age. When Broadway comes calling, Evelyn solidifies her status as the first self-made American female celebrity. Enter a parade of powerful and power-hungry men. Each man promises comfort, glamour, security --- even love. But fame and fortune are cruel teachers, and Evelyn learns that the only person she can rely on is herself. When Evelyn finds herself at the center of a murder of passion declared “the Crime of the Century,” she is blamed for the acts of the men in her life. In the media frenzy that spirals around her, Evelyn realizes that to survive, she will have to write her own ending.
It’s 1968, and the future is bright for 17-year-old Elizabeth “Baker” Phillips: She’s the valedictorian of her high school, with a place at Stanford in the fall, and big dreams of becoming a journalist. But the seductive free-spirited San Francisco atmosphere seeps into her carefully planned, life in the form of a hippie named Wiley. At first, letting loose and letting herself fall in love for the first time feels incredible. But then, pregnancy hits Baker with the force of whiplash --- in the blink of an eye, she goes from her family’s shining star to their embarrassing secret. Without any other options, Baker is sent to a home for unwed mothers, trapped in an old Victorian house packed with pregnant girls who share her shame and fear. As she grapples with her changing body, lack of choice, and uncertain future, Baker finds unexpected community and empowerment among the “girls who went away.”
Tell us about the books you’ve finished reading with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from December 19th to January 9th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of THE FIRST TIME I SAW HIM by Laura Dave and SKYLARK by Paula McLain.
Our major goal for 2025 is to redesign Bookreporter and the rest of the sites in The Book Report Network. How can you help? We have launched a GoFundMe campaign and are asking for donations. Any level of donation that you would be comfortable with is sincerely appreciated. If you would prefer donating via check, please send to:
The Book Report, Inc.
16 Mt. Bethel Road, Suite 365
Warren, NJ 07059
Click here to read more about our plans and to donate.
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.
December's Books on Screen roundup includes the films The Housemaid, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw, 100 Nights of Hero,The Chronology of Water and Not Without Hope; the series premiere of Paramount+'s "Little Disasters"; the season premiere of "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" on Disney+ and Hulu; the season finales of HBO's "IT: Welcome to Derry" and Apple TV+'s "Down Cemetery Road"; the midseason finales of "Tracker" and "Watson" on CBS; and the DVD/Blu-ray releases of Karen Kingsbury's The Christmas Ring and Black Phone 2.