Staff Picks

Practical Magic meets Gilmore Girls in this adorable witchy rom-com by New York Times bestselling author Ann Aguiree, with a bisexual cinnamon roll hero, a commitment-averse heroine, and a chemistry between them that causes literal sparks.

Danica Waterhouse is a fully modern witch--daughter, granddaughter, cousin, and co-owner of the Fix-It Witches, a magical tech repair shop. After a messy breakup that included way too much family "feedback," Danica made a pact with her cousin: they'll keep their hearts protected and have fun, without involving any of the overly opinionated Waterhouse matriarchs. Danica is more than a little exhausted navigating a long-standing family feud where Gram thinks the only good mundane is a dead one and Danica's mother weaves floral crowns for anyone who crosses her path.

Three blocks down from the Fix-It Witches, Titus Winnaker, owner of Sugar Daddy's bakery, has family trouble of his own. After a tragic loss, all he's got left is his sister, the bakery, and a lifetime of terrible luck in love. Sure, business is sweet, but he can't seem to shake the romantic curse that's left him past thirty and still a virgin. He's decided he's doomed to be forever alone.

Until he meets Danica Waterhouse. The sparks are instant, their attraction irresistible. For him, she's the one. To her, he's a firebomb thrown in the middle of a family war. Can a modern witch find love with an old-fashioned mundane who refuses to settle for anything less than forever?

From the bestselling author of Mrs. Rochester's Ghost comes the chilling story of a young woman who returns to her haunted childhood home to unravel the deadly mysteries of her family's past.

Ava grew up in a haunted mansion, envied by all her friends. But when her mother died mysteriously there, the thrills of Blackworth Mansion became nightmares. Ava never accepted that her mother perished from natural causes, but no one would believe her.

Seventeen years later, Ava returns home to unravel the truth of her mother's death--and her own demons quickly follow. Her estranged and vindictive father may be stalking her. Her secretive new sister-in-law lands on her doorstep with troubles of her own. And then there's the strange girl who may or may not be haunting the grounds. Even Ava's romance with her first crush is shadowed by her suspicions.

When Ava makes a terrifying discovery on the property, she must decide just how far into the past she's willing to go. Some secrets can be deadly--especially the ones Ava's kept hidden in the dark.

WHO IS THE REAL HESTER PRYNNE?

Isobel Gamble is a young seamstress carrying generations of secrets when she sets sail from Scotland in the early 1800s with her husband, Edward. An apothecary who has fallen under the spell of opium, his pile of debts have forced them to flee Glasgow for a fresh start in the New World. But only days after they've arrived in Salem, Edward abruptly joins a departing ship as a medic––leaving Isobel penniless and alone in a strange country, forced to make her way by any means possible.

When she meets a young Nathaniel Hawthorne, the two are instantly drawn to each other: he is a man haunted by his ancestors, who sent innocent women to the gallows––while she is an unusually gifted needleworker, troubled by her own strange talents. As the weeks pass and Edward's safe return grows increasingly unlikely, Nathaniel and Isobel grow closer and closer. Together, they are a muse and a dark storyteller; the enchanter and the enchanted. But which is which?

In this sensuous and hypnotizing tale, a young immigrant woman grapples with our country's complicated past, and learns that America's ideas of freedom and liberty often fall short of their promise. Interwoven with Isobel and Nathaniel's story is a vivid interrogation of who gets to be a "real" American in the first half of the 19th century, a depiction of the early days of the Underground Railroad in New England, and atmospheric interstitials that capture the long history of "unusual" women being accused of witchcraft. Meticulously researched yet evocatively imagined, Laurie Lico Albanese's Hester is a timeless tale of art, ambition, and desire that examines the roots of female creative power and the men who try to shut it down.

The American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the century.

From the moment she entered the world, Francie needed to be made of stern stuff, for the often harsh life of Williamsburg demanded fortitude, precocity, and strength of spirit. Often scorned by neighbors for her family’s erratic and eccentric behavior-such as her father Johnny’s taste for alcohol and Aunt Sissy’s habit of marrying serially without the formality of divorce-no one, least of all Francie, could say that the Nolans’ life lacked drama. By turns overwhelming, sublime, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the Nolans’ daily experiences are tenderly threaded with family connectedness and raw with honesty. Betty Smith has, in the pages of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, captured the joys of humble Williamsburg life-from “junk day” on Saturdays, when the children of Francie’s neighborhood traded their weekly take for pennies, to the special excitement of holidays, bringing cause for celebration and revelry. Betty Smith has artfully caught this sense of exciting life in a novel of childhood, replete with incredibly rich moments of universal experiences--a truly remarkable achievement for any writer.

THERE'S MORE EXCITEMENT ON THIS CRUISE SHIP THAN NANCY BARGAINED FOR!

Nancy, Bess, and George are going on a cruise around the Great Lakes for a fantastic end-of-summer vacation! As soon as the girls set foot on the ship, though, they smell something fishy. Their new friend Amber is upset because her boyfriend, Craig, is neglecting her. After a little investigating on her friend's behalf, Nancy learns that Craig is really a detective. He's been busy hunting for a mastermind diamond thief who may well be on the ship. And it turns out Craig can use some help.
Soon Nancy's hunting for clues on land and offshore. Where there's stolen diamonds, though, there's danger -- and Nancy and her friends are soon caught in the thick of it. Will Nancy be able to crack this case before her ship is sunk?

A dark, twisty modern fairytale where three sisters discover they are not exactly all that they seem and evil things really do go bump in the night.

Iris Hollow and her two older sisters are unquestionably strange. Ever since they disappeared on a suburban street in Scotland as children only to return a month a later with no memory of what happened to them, odd, eerie occurrences seem to follow in their wake. And they're changing. First, their dark hair turned white. Then, their blue eyes slowly turned black. They have insatiable appetites yet never gain weight. People find them disturbingly intoxicating, unbearably beautiful, and inexplicably dangerous.

But now, ten years later, seventeen-year-old Iris Hollow is doing all she can to fit in and graduate high school on time--something her two famously glamourous globe-trotting older sisters, Grey and Vivi, never managed to do. But when Grey goes missing without a trace, leaving behind bizarre clues as to what might have happened, Iris and Vivi are left to trace her last few days. They aren't the only ones looking for her though. As they brush against the supernatural they realize that the story they've been told about their past is unraveling and the world that returned them seemingly unharmed ten years ago, might just be calling them home.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn comes this irresistible treat, a charming and jaunty graphic novel, based on story snippets peppered throughout a number of her books. Originally mentioned in It's in His Kiss--one of the Bridgerton novels which inspired the smash Netflix series Bridgerton--Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron is finally told here in its entirety for the first time.

A madcap romantic adventure, Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron has appeared in several Julia Quinn novels and enthralled some of her most beloved characters. Now this delicious tale of love and peril is available for everyone to enjoy in this wonderfully unconventional graphic novel.

Born into a happy family that is tragically ravaged by smallpox, Miss Priscilla Butterworth uses her wits to survive a series of outlandish trials. Cruelly separated from her beloved mother and grandmother, the young girl is sent to live with a callous aunt who forces her to work for her keep. Eventually, the clever and tenderhearted Miss Butterworth makes her escape . . . a daring journey into the unknown that unexpectedly leads her to the "mad" baron and a lifetime of love.

Delightfully illustrated by Violet Charles, told in Julia Quinn's playful voice, Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron is a high-spirited nineteenth-century romp that will entertain and enchant modern readers.
 

In Love Your Home Again, Ann Lightfoot and Kate Pawlowski--organizing experts and the mother-daughter duo behind Done & Done Home--ask questions that take into account who you are and how you actually live to help resolve the issues behind the excess and create lasting solutions to keep your home running smoothly. Sharing their tried-and-true systems of decluttering, organizing, and maintaining, along with real client stories, Lightfoot and Pawlowski teach you how to manage your home with their signature "good humor and refreshing lack of dogma" (the New York Times). Inside you'll find:

• Gentle guidance on things like handling sentimental items, embracing quality over quantity, and cutting down on waste
• Helpful tips for making your daily life easier, from meal-prepping to creating routines
• Organization methods for every room, small space strategies, and so much more

You'll be amazed at the time, money, and energy you'll save--all better spent enjoying your space. Get ready to love your home again.

FOR READERS OF: The Home Edit, Beautifully Organized, Simply Living Well, and Real Life Organizing

RISING STAR AUTHORS: Ann and Kate are celebrities in the organization world. They are frequently asked to comment on home organizing, staging, and decluttering topics, with recent clips in Women's Day, the New York Times, People, Apartment Therapy, Bravo, CNN, and more. Their celebrity clients include Jenna Fischer, Christina Anstead, and many Real Housewives.

FOR FANS OF HGTV: For readers who are obsessed with home makeover shows, this is the book for you. HGTV fans will be delighted to learn that they can design their own dream home through the power of organizing.

A DIY PROJECT FOR EVERYONE AT HOME, WHICH IS . . . EVERYONE: This book is for the countless people working from their dining room table by day and watching home makeover shows at night. Love Your Home Again will show how you can rethink your own space, working with what you have.

Perfect for:

• New homeowners
• Parents who want to declutter, boomers who want to downsize and/or stage a space
• HGTV fans who could watch home makeover shows for hours
• Young adults and millennials who love organizing

Welcome to Ikebukuro, where Tokyo's wildest characters gather!! Meet an ordinary boy who daydreams about the extraordinary. A naive stalker girl. The strongest man in Ikebukuro. A shut-in doctor with questionable credentials. A hedonistic informant...and the "headless rider" astride a pitch-black motorcycle!? As their paths cross, this eccentric cast weaves a twisted, cracked love story...

Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.

Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.

But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?

A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue comes a new romantic comedy that will stop readers in their tracks...

For cynical twenty-three-year-old August, moving to New York City is supposed to prove her right: that things like magic and cinematic love stories don't exist, and the only smart way to go through life is alone. She can't imagine how waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and moving in with too many weird roommates could possibly change that. And there's certainly no chance of her subway commute being anything more than a daily trudge through boredom and electrical failures.

But then, there's this gorgeous girl on the train.

Jane. Dazzling, charming, mysterious, impossible Jane. Jane with her rough edges and swoopy hair and soft smile, showing up in a leather jacket to save August's day when she needed it most. August's subway crush becomes the best part of her day, but pretty soon, she discovers there's one big problem: Jane doesn't just look like an old school punk rocker. She's literally displaced in time from the 1970s, and August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help her. Maybe it's time to start believing in some things, after all.

Casey McQuiston's One Last Stop is a magical, sexy, big-hearted romance where the impossible becomes possible as August does everything in her power to save the girl lost in time.

A flock of sheep living on a hillside near the Irish village of Glennkill, regularly exposed to literature by their shepherd George, feel well-equipped to investigate murder after they find George dead--pinned to the ground with a spade.

From the bestselling and award-winning author of The Sparrow comes “historical fiction that feels uncomfortably relevant today” (Kirkus Reviews) about “America’s Joan of Arc”—the courageous woman who started a rebellion by leading a strike against the largest copper mining company in the world.

In July 1913, twenty-five-year-old Annie Clements has seen enough of the world to know that it’s unfair. She’s spent her whole life in the mining town of Calumet, Michigan, where men risk their lives for meager salaries—and have barely enough to put food on the table for their families. The women labor in the houses of the elite, and send their husbands and sons deep underground each day, dreading the fateful call of the company man telling them their loved ones aren’t coming home. So, when Annie decides to stand up for the entire town of Calumet, nearly everyone believes she may have taken on more than she is prepared to handle.

Yet as Annie struggles to improve the future of her town, her husband becomes increasingly frustrated with her growing independence. She faces the threat of prison while also discovering a forbidden love. On her fierce quest for justice, Annie will see just how much she is willing to sacrifice for the families of Calumet.

From one of the most versatile writers in contemporary fiction, this novel is an authentic and moving historical portrait of the lives of the crucial men and women of the early labor movement “with an important message that will resonate with contemporary readers” (Booklist).