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Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

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Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
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Yaa Gyasi reinvents the notion of historical fiction in this haunting, sweeping tale of enslavement, colonialism, power, greed, despair, determination, and hope. I was captivated from page one! She brings to life the human cost of surviving the larger, often brutal, forces driving history through the gripping, visceral story of one extended family. Three hundred years of history come to life: from Ghana to Harlem and more as we follow their fates across continents and through time. A very moving book.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, (List Price: $16.95, Vintage, 9781101971062, May 2017)

Reviewed by Liz Feeney, E. Shaver, bookseller in Savannah, Georgia

15 Minutes Before We Really Date, Vol. 1 by Perico

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15 Minutes Before We Really Date, Vol. 1by Perico
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So Cute! A cute, easy-to-read story about two childhood best friends deciding to date each other and the awkwardness of learning to see each other as more than friends. Animation is super adorable. I will definitely be reading all the next ones that come out and will be crossing my fingers that this gets picked up for an anime series because I will 100% watch it.

15 Minutes Before We Really Date, Vol. 1 by Perico, (List Price: $15, Yen Press, 9781975368951, November 2023)

Reviewed by Stephanie St. John, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

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Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
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Fates and Furies offers a sharp portrait of a modern marriage, an eminently flexible partnership, still full of dark corners and locked rooms. We follow first Lotto’s perspective and then Mathilde’s through the full arc of this for-better-or-worse, and the result is a dynamic and quick-footed novel, Lauren Groff at the height of her powers. Lotto and Mathilde’s physical connection is hot and brutal and sometimes strange. The echoes of Shakespearean tragedy, of mythology, even allegory give their relationship resonant heft, while the storyline keeps the dirt of real life under their nails. I really, really loved Mathilde: her sheer darkness and fierce love for Lotto, her deep flaws and careful veneer. She was sympathetic and awful and familiar and pragmatic and true. This book is smart—about women and wives, marriage and art—and beautiful, and going to be talked about for a long, long time.

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff, (List Price: $18.00, Riverhead Books, 9781594634482, September 2015)

Reviewed by Ashley Warlick, M. Judson, Booksellers in Greenville, South Carolina

Champions of the Fox by Kevin Sands

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Champions of the Fox by Kevin Sands
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Oh wow, what an amazing conclusion to a thrilling trilogy! Cal and his squad of thieves have one last mission to carry out before the Eye will let them go… but what if their success means the end of the world as they know it? To thwart the Eye, they must find allies among Spirits, industrialists, and runners for the rival thieves guild. These characters were as electric as ever, and the magic of this world was tantalizing.

Champions of the Fox by Kevin Sands, (List Price: $18.99, Viking Books for Young Readers, 9780593620953, November 2023)

Reviewed by Jordan April, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher

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Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher
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Fun, campy romance with big feelings! I loved everything about this! Reading helped me escape to a fantasy world of found family and hopeful self discovery. I loved the joint storylines, and both romances were so swoon worthy.

Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher, (List Price: $20, Wednesday Books, 9781250847218, November 2023)

Reviewed by Rachel Randolph, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee

Emperor of Rome by Mary Beard

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Emperor of Romeby Mary Beard
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Mary Beard is a legend among historians, and a queen to history lovers. As both, I need everyone to know that this book is the perfect way to explore the psychology of what it meant to be THE Emperor of Rome. What it meant to the historical figures around them. Everything. It’s such a fascinating look at such complex figures that we realistically only know a limited amount about due to how long ago Rome was, and how often their successors attempted to erase them from history, even casually so after their deaths. If you’re looking for further exploration into the archetype of the Roman Emperor, you’ll delight in this book.

Emperor of Rome by Mary Beard, (List Price: $39.99, Liveright, 9780871404220, October 2023)

Reviewed by Caitlyn Vanorder , Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

The Manor House by Gilly Macmillan

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The Manor House by Gilly Macmillan
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MacMillan has crafted a twisting, well-plotted, multiview point mystery that sweeps between timelines without ever disorienting the reader as to where they are in the story. It’s an utterly readable tale of greed, avarice, and revenge. It reminded me in all the best ways of And Then There None, and MacMillan is fearless in revealing who each of her characters really are. Also? The ongoing subplot of the unreliability of smart home technology feels so current, relatable, and also informs the plot in surprising ways. Loved this book, can’t wait to sell it.

The Manor House by Gilly Macmillan, (List Price: $30, William Morrow, 9780063074385, November 2023)

Reviewed by Tracie Harris, The Book House in Smyrna, Georgia

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

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The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
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The Berry Pickers is the debut novel from indigenous author Amanda Peters. When four-year-old Ruthie goes missing, the youngest of five in a Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia, her older brother Joe is despondent and the loss of Ruthie haunts the family for fifty years. Meanwhile, a white family in Maine is raising a child named Norma with overbearing and almost suffocating familial love. Norma’s faint memories and dreams of her missing life are confusing until they almost vanish. The Berry Pickers considers lost lives, second chances, and the power of forgiveness.

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters, (List Price: $27.99, Catapult, 9781646221950, October 2023)

Reviewed by Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

The Farmer’s Wife by Helen Rebanks

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The Farmer's Wife by Helen Rebanks
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Jointly, The Farmer’s Wife and The Shepherd’s Life (written by Helen’s husband James), provide a unique look at both the travails of small farm life and married life. On its own, The Farmer’s Wife reminded me of Laurie Colwin with deep insights into daily life and the joys of cooking good food. Thoughtful, challenging with delicious recipes and beautifully illustrated, this will be a go-to gift book for me.

The Farmer’s Wife by Helen Rebanks, (List Price: $29.99, Harper Horizon, 9780785290483, September 2023)

Reviewed by Jan Blodgett, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

I Kissed Alice by Anna Birch

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I Kissed Alice by Anna Birch
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This is a true enemies-to-lovers read. Both faced with pressures unknown to the other, these art school students battle it out for a life-altering scholarship, while their online personalities collaborate on a webcomic (unknowingly duh). What made this book feel so raw for me, was that both characters had valid reasons for hating the other, reasons that cannot be easily resolved.

I Kissed Alice by Anna Birch, (List Price: $9.99, Square Fish, 9781250792068, May 2021)

Reviewed by Jamie Kovacs, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Class by Stephanie Land

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Classby Stephanie Land
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Land once again takes readers into the lived experience of poverty and class divides. She calls out the emotional and physical cost of being a single parent and a student and the bizarre barriers courts and agencies throw up. An education in inequality and perseverance, you will never think of resilience in the same way again.

Class by Stephanie Land, (List Price: $28, Atria/One Signal Publishers, 9781982151393, November 2023)

Reviewed by Jan Blodgett, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

Duel by Jessixa Bagley

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Duelby Jessixa Bagley
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I loved the creativity in the book. I really like how they included other kids of people in the story. It shows that you have to have courage to do something even if you don’t win. I enjoyed the mostly black-and-white illustrations in the book. I love graphic novels. Overall I really liked this book and recommend it!

Duel by Jessixa Bagley, (List Price: $14.99, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 9781534496545, November 2023)

Reviewed by Mandy Harris, Angel Wings Bookstore in Stem, North Carolina

System Collapse by Martha Wells

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System Collapseby Martha Wells
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If you already love Murderbot, you’ll continue to love it. This newest installation still has the wonderful mix of snark, action, and Murderbot struggling with being a construct of free will. This book in particular, Murderbot is processing the trauma and learning to deal with its own extreme emotional responses. My only criticism of the book is that I wish I would have reread Network Effect before I read this one, because this book takes places immediately after and heavily leans on events that happened in that book. Overall, though, I loved it!

System Collapse by Martha Wells, (List Price: $21.99, Tordotcom, 9781250826978, November 2023)

Reviewed by Kelly McLeod, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

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Check & Mateby Ali Hazelwood
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This YA debut by Ali was not only riveting it was exceptionally written. This novel almost feels like chess when you’re reading it and watching how intricately Ali has weaved these characters together. Mallory, who loved chess until an unexpected tragedy in her family, now 18 and working to help support her family, beats a world champion, Nolan. Suddenly, everything in her life gets all mixed up as she stumbles into a romance she didn’t know she wanted. This novel, like her adult novels, does an AMAZING JOB touching on the sexism and expectations of a female vs male in the chess (STEM sport) community.

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood, (List Price: $14, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 9780593619919, November 2023)

Reviewed by Charlotte Beck, Main Street Reads in Summerville, South Carolina

So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan

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So Late in the Dayby Claire Keegan
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So Late in the Day is brilliantly written with Keegan’s beautiful prose. The underlying theme in the stories is the fractured relationships between a man and woman, told with a nuanced tension that grips the reader from beginning until end. A quietly delightful, tense, and gripping read.

So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan, (List Price: $20, Grove Press, 9780802160850, November 2023)

Reviewed by Kelley Barnes, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina

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