Underground Books

Daddy Issues by Kate Goldbeck

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Daddy Issues by Kate Goldbeck
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Daddy Issues is an Ali-Hazelwood grade (said with unabashed reverence) age-gap romance that has it all—a real, messy protagonist, a hot, dedicated single dad next door, riveting professional stakes, unexpected info about a niche subject (comics), and meaningful, believable resolution and character growth through the book—a romcom that also has steaming hot “driving lessons” in a Chili’s parking lot! What more do you want? The girls who get it NEED TO GET THIS.

Daddy Issues by Kate Goldbeck, (List Price: $18, Dial Press Trade Paperback, 9780593730812, November 2025)

Reviewed by Megan Bell, The Underground Bookshop LLC in Carrollton, Georgia

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Venetian Vespers by John Banville

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Venetian Vespers by John Banville
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Venetian Vespers reads like a suspenseful old Gothic novel by Daphne du Maurier. Highly atmospheric with a slow, taut build, deep character studies, and moody descriptions of 1899 Venice. Chilling at times, I just had to keep reading and could not put it down until I was finished!

Venetian Vespers by John Banville, (List Price: $32, Random House Large Print, 9798217170166, October 2025)

Reviewed by Josh Niesse, The Underground Bookshop LLC in Carrollton, Georgia

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Hazelthorn by CG Drews

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Hazelthorn by CG Drews
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Perfect! Five stars! Hazelthorn is my all-time favorite YA and horror book, and I highly recommend it! The romance is fantastic, and the world-building and eerie gothic atmosphere are amazing! The protagonist, Evander, who tragically loses his parents and is adopted by a reclusive billionaire who imprisons him in his room like a prisoner, instantly won my heart. Following the suspicious death of the billionaire, estranged families bring in a new attorney to carry out the will, and Evander is compelled to form an alliance with Laurie, his sworn enemy. The two learn secret information about the forbidden garden, the sinister red door, and the enigmatic mansion. Evander discovers he is drawn to Laurie in unexpected ways. The conclusion will never be forgotten! By the way, I can never look at plants the same way again.

Hazelthorn by CG Drews, (List Price: $19.99, Feiwel & Friends, 9781250376299, October 2025)

Reviewed by Sandra Pinkney, The Underground Bookshop LLC in Carrollton, Georgia

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We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad

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We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad
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Awad, in this perfect follow-up to a masterful weird-girl gory cult favorite, has once again crafted the perfect campy bloody celebration of striking prose, gorgeous characters, and sardonic horror. Not only is this sequel the perfect addition to its sibling, but it, frankly, outshines it by cracking open the minds of our beloved quartet of intriguingly odd female villains and introducing the oh-so-f*cking lovable point of view of their very first creation. This book had me fully geeked out over a perfectly silly bunny-human hybrid and an inanimate toy horse. Like, seriously, I was in utter raptures while reading about the fate of a sensitive bunny man and his toy pony and his trusty axe. Like, work. Mona Awad, you are The Diva.

We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad, (List Price: $30, S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books, 9781668059869, September 2025)

Reviewed by Joshua Lambie, The Underground Bookshop LLC in Carrollton, Georgia

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Didion and Babitz by Lili Anolik

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Didion and Babitz by Lili Anolik
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“Art, my God, Joan, I’m embarrassed to mention it in front of you, you know, but you mentioned burning babies in locked cars, so I can mention Art.” Eve Babitz to Joan Didion, 1972. In this blazing memoir, one feels like they’re out for drinks discussing ’70s Hollywood sleaze, female chauvinist pigs, and Charles Manson with your wildly messy and entertaining friend. Anolik’s powerful storytelling and adept reporting remind one of Eve Babitz, the “secret genius of L.A.” Oscillating between moments of unbelievable grief, Didion-esque cold distance, and the hot it-girl urge to push it all away, this memoir is a testament to artists, their craft, and the lovers’ spat between two of the greatest Californian writers of our time.

Didion and Babitz by Lili Anolik, (List Price: $20, Scribner, 9781668065495, November 2024)

Reviewed by Joshua Lambie, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz

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Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz
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The cozy small business success story of Legends & Lattes meets the progressive sci-fi of Becky Chambers, with a flavor entirely its own, in this fresh, heartwarming tale about a motley crew of robots launching a restaurant amid PTSD, prejudice, and review bombing in a future post-war San Francisco. I ATE this book UP and already miss the team at Automatic Noodle and all the friendship, pride, and love found at the bottom of a bowl of their famous biang biang noodles!

Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz, (List Price: $24.99, Tordotcom, 9781250357465, August 2025)

Reviewed by Megan Bell, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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A Theory of Dreaming by Ava Reid

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A Theory of Dreaming by Ava Reid
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Dive deeper into the world of A Study in Drowning, into the dreams of Preston Héloury and the lore of the Sleepers, as Ava S. Reid’s Welsh folklore-infused dark academia fantasy continues! With the lush literary romance of Divine Rivals and the incisive magical dark academia of Babel, this series is a must-read, and A Theory of Dreaming only swept me further off my feet and out to (a palace beneath the) sea.

A Theory of Dreaming by Ava Reid, (List Price: $19.99, HarperCollins, 9780063421677, July 2025)

Reviewed by Megan Bell, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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Daikon by Samuel Hawley

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Daikon by Samuel Hawley
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Daikon is thrilling! It kept me riveted to the very end. The fictional premise is “What if Japan got its hands on one U.S.-made atomic bomb and had to decide whether to use it or not against America?” Set against the backdrop of the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese players struggle with moral, ethical, and very personal choices about the bomb and the crushing pressure of a ticking deadline. Military leaders with questionable agendas, a Korean soldier, the civilian physicist educated in the U.S. and his wife round out the robust cast of characters. Daikon, the code name for the radish-shaped bomb, is a deadly character all its own. A superb debut novel that took the South Korean author 27 years to complete.

Daikon by Samuel Hawley, (List Price: $29.99, Avid Reader Press, Simon & Schuster, 9781668083055, 2025-07-08)

Reviewed by Patience Allan-Glick, Hills & Hamlets Bookshop in Carrollton, Georgia

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Freakslaw by Jane Flett

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Freakslaw by Jane Flett
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A roiling and intense debut featuring an untamable traveling freak show and the small, narrow-minded Scottish town it invades. What follows are unpredictable celebrations of freakishness, intoxicating forays into carnivals unknown, and the flickering flames of brutality. A furious mob is looming. Which side will you be on?

Freakslaw by Jane Flett, (List Price: $28, Zando, 9781638932666, April 2025)

Reviewed by Joshua Lambie, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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The Director by Daniel Kehlmann

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The Director by Daniel Kehlmann
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This dramatic, thought-provoking novel challenges us to consider the moral and creative problems faced by acclaimed Jewish film director G.W. Pabst as Hitler comes to power. After Pabst travels back to Europe from Hollywood, the Nazis force him to remain and film in Austria for the duration of the war where he struggles with family loyalty, love for his country, and his own driving ambition. Vivid descriptions of 1940s film techniques and scenes with greats like Greta Garbo, the film propagandist Leni Riefenstahl, and writer Alfred Karrasch. Dramatic and thought-provoking.

The Director by Daniel Kehlmann, (List Price: $28.99, S&S/Summit Books, 9781668087794, May 2025)

Reviewed by Patience Allan-Glick, Hills & Hamlets Bookshop in Carrollton, Georgia

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The Artist and the Feast by Lucy Steeds

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The Artist and the Feast by Lucy Steeds
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This story bursts with light, color, and the sensuality of art, food, and intimacy. In 1920s Provence, a renowned but bitter artist called Tata paints in recluse, alone except for Ettie, the niece he has raised. She longs to paint too, but is forbidden by the controlling Tata and subjugated to serve as his assistant. Joseph, a young journalist, comes to stay to write about Tata. As the summer heats up, a desire blooms between Joseph and Ettie that they must hide from Tata. Suspense builds, secrets are revealed, and everything is put at risk for art, food, love, and ambition. Simply wonderful.

The Artist and the Feast by Lucy Steeds, (List Price: $27.99, Union Square & Co., 9781454960522, May 2025)

Reviewed by Patience Allan-Glick, Hills & Hamlets Bookshop in Carrollton, Georgia

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Jane Austen’s Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney

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Jane Austen's Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney
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Your favorite author’s favorite authors are here rediscovered, read, and collected by America’s favorite rare bookseller, Rebecca Romney! For centuries, we’ve hailed Jane Austen as the sole woman literary genius of her era…so why have we been spurning her favorite books by fellow women writers for nearly as long? Romney invites readers on a thrillingly feminist literary adventure as she searches for the books Jane Austen had on her shelf, the women who wrote them, and how they disappeared from the literary canon. Along the way, Romney offers her guidance as a rare bookseller, and, as a reader and collector herself, shares her delight in discovering new favorite authors, new depths to Austen’s novels, and desirable editions of both, ultimately showing, as she builds a bookshelf of her own, how you can develop your own distinct collection too.

Jane Austen’s Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney, (List Price: $29.99, S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books, 9781982190248, February 2025)

Reviewed by Megan Bell, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay Chapman

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Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay Chapman
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FAX news is brainwashing our nation. Noah Fairchild no longer recognizes his parents. Literally. Did he really just unhinge his dad’s jaw by shoving the remote control down his throat sideways? “The Great Reawakening” has invaded far-right news and social media in the most terrifying way possible as family turns on family, neighbor on neighbor. Part apocalyptic but mostly slap-you-in-the-face metaphorical, this book is 1000% my jam! If I am looking for grotesque, shocking, controversial, skin-crawling imagery, then I have to look no further than the modern horror master, Clay McLeod Chapman.

Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay Chapman, (List Price: $24.99, Quirk Books, 9781683693956, January 2025)

Reviewed by Suzanne Carnes, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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Didion and Babitz by Lili Anolik

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Didion and Babitz by Lili Anolik
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“Art, my God, Joan, I’m embarrassed to mention it in front of you, you know, but you mentioned burning babies in locked cars, so I can mention Art.” Eve Babitz to Joan Didion, 1972. In this blazing memoir, one feels like they’re out for drinks discussing ’70s Hollywood sleaze, female chauvinist pigs, and Charles Manson with your wildly messy and entertaining friend. Anolik’s powerful storytelling and adept reporting remind one of Eve Babitz, the “secret genius of L.A.” Oscillating between moments of unbelievable grief, Didion-esque cold distance, and the hot it-girl urge to push it all away, this memoir is a testament to artists, their craft, and the lovers’ spat between two of the greatest Californian writers of our time.

Didion and Babitz by Lili Anolik, (List Price: $29.99, Scribner, 9781668065488, November 2024)

Reviewed by Joshua Lambie, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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Darkly by Marisha Pessl

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Darkly by Marisha Pessl
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5 STARS!! This YA mystery thriller is an unforgettable adventure with a fast-paced plot, buried secrets, hidden symbols, and intriguing puzzles. After winning a chance to intern at Darkly, a game-making empire, Dia and six other teens from all across America land in England and are taken to an abandoned island where they are thrown into a twisted game called Valkyrie that has never before been released to find the game’s presumed first victim, a teen boy. There were so many unexpected twists, and the shocking ending leaves you wanting more.

Darkly by Marisha Pessl, (List Price: $19.99, Delacorte Press, 9780593706558, November 2024)

Reviewed by Sandra Pinkney, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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