Two people meet for lunch in a Manhattan restaurant. She’s an accomplished actress in rehearsals for an upcoming premiere. He’s attractive, troubling and young --- young enough to be her son. Who is he to her, and who is she to him? In AUDITION, two competing narratives unspool, rewriting our understanding of the roles we play every day --- partner, parent, creator, muse --- and the truths every performance masks, especially from those who think they know us most intimately.
Ellie didn’t expect to fall in love while interrailing through Europe. But she also didn’t expect to meet a man like Ash. Three blistering days in Lisbon is all it takes to form an unforgettable connection --- a bond deep enough for them to scrap their itineraries and plan to meet again in Spain. But Ellie arrives late, and Ash is nowhere to be found. Six years later, Ellie has landed her dream job working as a gardener for a viscount and viscountess on their sprawling 500-year-old estate in Wales. She finds peace amongst the towering topiary hedges and colorful gardens, but her idyll is shattered when Ash crashes back into her life. And when it becomes clear why he didn’t show in Madrid, her heart breaks anew. But they have never been able to resist each other, and when the sparks of their attraction fly, Ellie’s life will catch flame. She will have to make a choice.
Present day: Annie Adams is just settling into life in Castle Knoll when local fortune teller Peony Lane shares a cryptic message only hours before being found dead inside the locked Gravesdown Estate. Annie has no choice but to delve into the dark secrets of her new countryside home in order to find out just what Peony Lane was trying to warn her about. 1967: Teenage Frances Adams, Annie’s great aunt, finds herself caught between two men. Ford Gravesdown is one of the only remaining members of a family known for its wealth and dubious uses of power. Archie Foyle is a local who can’t hold down a job and lives above the village pub. But when Frances teams up with Archie to investigate the car crash that killed most of Ford's family, it quickly becomes clear that this was no accident.
Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island to write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years, or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives --- tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the 20th century. Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she will choose the person who will tell her story. But Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story --- pieces they can’t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.
When Julia Mann, a bad-tempered ex-actress, runs into Natasha Mason at an AA meeting, it’s anything but a meet-cute. Julia just found a dead body in her swimming pool, and the cops say she did it (she already went to jail for murder once). Mason is eager to clear Julia’s name, but all Julia wants is for Mason to leave her alone. As their investigation ranges from the Hollywood Hills to the world of burlesque to the country clubs of Palm Springs, this unconventional team realizes their shared love of sarcasm and poor life choices are proving to be a powerful combination. Will secrets from their past trip them up, or will their team of showgirls, cat burglars and Hollywood agents help them stay one step ahead? Trying to keep it simple and take it easy is one thing --- trying to find a murderer before they kill again is a whole other program.
Fresh off a breakup, Avery Jensen is tired of always being so uptight and well-behaved. She wants to get a hobby, date around (especially women), flirt with everyone she sees, and wear something not from the business casual section of her closet. But Avery doesn't know where to start. She doesn't have a lot of dating experience, with men or women, and doesn't have a lot of confidence when it comes to romance. Enter Taylor Cameron, Napa Valley's biggest flirt and champion heartbreaker. Taylor just broke up with her most recent girlfriend, and her best friend bet her that she can't make it until Labor Day without sleeping with someone. So she offers to give Avery flirting lessons. It should keep her busy and stop her from texting people she shouldn't. With Taylor’s help, Avery finally has the life she always wanted. The only issue is: now she wants Taylor.
Nikki hasn’t seen her grandmother in years. So when the elder calls out of the blue with an urgent request for Nikki to visit her in the hills of western North Carolina, Nikki hesitates only for a moment. After years of silence in her family, due to a mysterious estrangement between her mother and grandmother, she’s determined to learn the truth while she still can. But instead of answers about the recent past, Mother Rita tells Nikki an incredible story of a kingdom on this very mountain, and of her great-great-great grandmother, Luella, who would become its queen. The more Nikki learns about the Kingdom of the Happy Land, and the lives of those who dwelled in the ruins she discovers in the woods, the more she realizes how much of her identity and her family’s secrets are wrapped up in these hills.
Zeke and Lexi thought it would be just a night of fun. They had no intentions of seeing each other again. Zeke is only in town for the weekend to buy back his late father’s houseboat. Lexi has no time for dating when she needs to help take care of her best friend's daughter. Going back home with a stranger seems like a perfect escape from their problems. But a miscommunication in the dark, foggy night means that no one tied the houseboat to the dock. The next morning, Zeke and Lexi realize all they can see is miles and miles of water. With just a few provisions on the idle boat, Zeke and Lexi must figure out how to get back home. But aside from their survival, they’re facing another challenge. Because when you’re stuck together for days on end, it gives you a lot of time to get to know someone --- and to fall in love with them.
Life has been good for Vera Wong. Her teahouse is bustling, and her son, Tilly, has a girlfriend. All thanks to Vera, because Tilly's girlfriend is none other than Officer Selena Gray --- the very same Officer Gray she had harassed while investigating the murder at her shop. Vera comes across a distressed young woman who is looking for a missing friend. Fortunately, while cat-sitting at Tilly and Selena's, Vera finds Selena's briefcase. Inside is a file about the death of an enigmatic influencer --- who also happens to be the friend the young woman was looking for. Online, Xander had it all, including a burgeoning career as a social media influencer. The only problem is, after his body is fished out of Mission Bay, the police can't seem to actually identify him. Who is Xander Lin? Nobody knows. Every contact is a dead end. Everybody claims not to know him, not even his parents.
Fourteen-year-old Charlie Matters steals what he needs, living day-to-day until he’s old enough to enlist to fight the Germans. After barely surviving the Blitz, Charlie knows there’s no telling when a falling bomb might end his life. Fifteen-year-old Molly Wakefield has just returned to a nearly unrecognizable London. One of millions of children to have been evacuated to the countryside, Molly has been away from her home for nearly five years. But now she’s confronted by a devastating reality: neither of her parents are there. Charlie and Molly find an unexpected ally and protector in Ignatius Oliver, and solace at his book shop, The Book Keep. But Charlie’s escapades in the city have not gone unnoticed, and someone has been following Molly since she returned to London. And Ignatius is harboring his own secrets, which could have terrible consequences for all of them.
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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.
September's Books on Screen roundup includes the season premieres of Apple TV+'s "The Morning Show" and "Slow Horses," along with AMC's "The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon"; the season finales of "Dexter: Resurrection" on Paramount+ with Showtime and "The Terminal List: Dark Wolf" on Prime Video; the conclusion of Prime Video's "The Summer I Turned Pretty"; the series premieres of "The Dead Girls" on Netflix and "The Girlfriend" on Prime Video; the continuation of STARZ's "Outlander: Blood of My Blood" and USA Network's "The Rainmaker"; the films The Long Walk, The Man in My Basement and One Battle After Another; and the DVD/Blu-ray releases of Superman, The Life of Chuck and Clown in a Cornfield.