This debut cozy novel showcases many of my favorite elements--magic, banter, a grumpy-sunshine hard-won romance, and a quest--within a charming, surprising story that I loved. The powerful dark lord Shadowfade is dead, and Violet Thistlewaite is determined to shed her identity as the Thornwitch, Shadowfade's right-hand woman, and start anew. She decides to settle in the nearby town of Dragon's Rest and open a flower shop, attempting to use her magical powers for good and to c

This is gorgeous Niall Williams literary fiction, centering around an Irish country village, a young man searching for his path, and his unofficial mentor, zigzagging his way through life, embracing adventure, and bridging the gap between the old ways and modernity. Quiet connections and reflections make the story, with understated poignancy, humor, and heartbreaking moments that bring the book's world to life. We’re all, all the time, striving, and though that means there’s

I feel Grinch-like panning this widely beloved story, but for me the sweetness was cloying; the tale slowed to a snail's pace as Allen explored every thought, possibility, and detail; and the twist felt jarring and was revealed too late to carry emotional weight. Theo, an elderly stranger, appears in the small town of Golden, Georgia, recognizing and appreciating locals' gifts and making them feel seen, sometimes for the first time. He admires the various portraits of locals

This bighearted novel holds a mystery, but its main focus is  neurodivergent main protagonist Denny and his dogged persistence, ambitious acts, decisiveness, wisdom, and loving kindness as he gets into increasing trouble, touches lives, faces loss, and establishes just who he is and wants to be. “I guess that’s just how life works. Some days it’s like a fast-moving TV show and some days it’s not, and when things go sideways—like they usually do for me—you might find yourself

Woodworking explores interconnected transgender characters' experiences, fears, challenges, and joys as they work toward living true, fulfilling lives. Emily St. James's debut novel is poignant, funny, heartbreaking, often surprising, and heartwarming. It's called woodworking. Someday they will wake up and you will be gone. To have a future, you cannot have a past. You will have to disappear into the woodwork to finally be seen. Emily St. James crafts a tender, funny story wi

The Everlasting involves jaunts through multiple versions of the same story, as our fantastic main protagonists shift and change, bravely outsmart those who would control them, dare to hope for a future together, and fight dark forces until the bitter end. This is adventure-heavy, sometimes tender, and always intriguing. I loved it. Sir Una Everlasting was a legendary knight in the kingdom of Dominion, an orphan who rose to greatness and died in service to her queen. Her bra

This quiet, epistolary novel witnesses the creaky, sometimes difficult shifts and realizations that a septuagenarian achieves around her...

Mandanna's is a fun magical story featuring an oddball cast of characters, satisfying justice, love, chosen family, funny dialogue, and...

Gary Shteyngart's story of an uncommonly intelligent fifth-grader, Vera, allows for a precocious child's point of view and observations...

This short novel explores an alternate-history, near-future, post-war San Francisco in which robots come online and create a noodle shop...

The shadowy, eerie tone of the first title in Gillig's Stonewater Kingdom series gives way to heartwarming, sometimes funny moments as an...

The main male protagonist was off-putting to me in his arrogance at first, but Carley Fortune is the best at developing a lakeside...

Carr's newest novel is a captivating series of character studies within a tightly knit Irish seaside community in the late 1900s. While...

I loved Sunny's body positivity and her self-made-woman status. I didn't fully buy into one of her love interests but was hooked on the...

Katherine Center's sweet rom-com about a video producer and her reluctant hero of a subject is set against the colorful backdrop of Key...

Dogland explores what makes a show dog "best" and what happens behind the scenes of dog shows in this intriguing, good-natured, and...

Run for the Hills is the most recent Kevin Wilson gem; his quirky characters are irresistible, and his heartwarming story is messy, strange, and lovely as a chosen-family element overshadows past tragedies and disappointments. I'm a Kevin Wilson fan, and I'm here for all of his work. His wonderfully eccentric characters and story scenarios might seem self-consciously zany in another writer's hands, but in Wilson's novels, they allow for skillful, delightful, unexpected revel

Abby Jimenez layers tough situations and messy complications into her rom-coms, and here, her main protagonists must face and overcome...

In this heartwarming story of wonderfully faulted characters who face tragedy and often make a mess of things, loyalty and steadfastness...

Henry's story-within-a-story adds a historical fiction element to her signature big-hearted, banter-driven, steamy, intriguingly...