A seasonal list of the favorite books of Southern indie booksellers, for your reading pleasure!
[PREVIOUS READ THIS NEXT! TITLES]
Broken by X. Fang
Broken is a gentle story of a little girl with big feelings rendered in soft layered colored pencil. This story is simple, but soothing, and a reminder that what’s broken can always be fixed (and to perhaps not trust cats, who are always up to something).
Broken by X. Fang, (List Price: $18.99, Tundra Books, 9781774882009, October 2025)
Reviewed by Julie Jarema, Hub City Bookshop in Spartanburg, South Carolina
Dragonborn by Struan Murray
Absolutely loved this. What a great twist for readers who love dragons but are moving on to books with heavier themes and twists. Loved the strong female lead and the perfect balance of being the new girl and learning about yourself. Honestly, probably a great read for friends who loved KPop demon hunters (I can’t think of higher praise than that!). Female lead, family secrets, welcoming the darkness within.
Dragonborn by Struan Murray, (List Price: $19.99, Dutton Books for Young Readers, 9798217113217, October 2025)
Reviewed by Stacey Sanford, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi
Winging It: A Graphic Novel by Megan Wagner Lloyd
Go on Luna’s journey of self-growth as she navigates a life-changing move across the country with her father, surviving a new middle school while still mourning her long-deceased mother and getting to know her seemingly aloof grandmother, along with her very rigid rules. I devoured Winging It by Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter in one sitting because the character development was so good that I was instantly invested in Luna’s well-being, relationships, and her nature-hunting ways. Beautiful illustrations, great storyline, and a satisfying feel-good ending! Now I’m off to search for the ever elusive Luna Moth…
Winging It: A Graphic Novel by Megan Wagner Lloyd, (List Price: $14.99, Graphix, 9781338818529, October 2025)
Reviewed by Barb Rascon, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina
The Last Ember by Lily Berlin Dodd
With magical prose and a fun cast of quirky characters, middle-grade readers are sure to be swept away by this heartfelt adventure story.
The Last Ember by Lily Berlin Dodd, (List Price: $19.99, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 9780374393120, November 2025)
Reviewed by Cindy Otis, The Stacks Bookstore in Savannah, Georgia
Moon Cat by Casi Cole
A unique bedtime story for the space explorer and the feline-lover. This is a story about a little girl being told a story about the Moon Cat. She gets to join Moon Cat as it moves through the night and space, sharing so much of the quiet glittering world with her. The illustrations took my breath away. This is not one I’ll be forgetting soon.
Moon Cat by Casi Cole, (List Price: $19.99, Paw Prints Publishing, 9781223189239, November 2025)
Reviewed by Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Tea Is Love by Adib Khorram
Stunning. The cadence of only a few words, combined with brilliant illustrations, conveys so much and evokes so many memories and feelings.
Tea Is Love by Adib Khorram, (List Price: $18.99, Dial Books, 9780593618530, November 2025)
Reviewed by Jennifer Sauter-Price, Read Early and Daily (READ) in Arlington, Virginia
Every Day I Read by Hwang Bo-reum
This book is an absolute love letter to reading. It’s a perfect collection for anyone who has ever found comfort in a story, whether you’re a lifelong bibliophile or just looking to reconnect with the joy of reading. The author beautifully reminds us why the written word is so essential and opens your eyes to the universal power of books. I can’t wait to share this one with all my book-loving friends.
Every Day I Read by Hwang Bo-reum, (List Price: $27.99, Bloomsbury Publishing, 9781639737796, December 2025)
Reviewed by Kimberly Todd, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi
Everyone in the Group Chat Dies by L.M. Chilton
Another funny and unputdownable murder mystery/killing spree from the author of Don’t Swipe Right!. Bridget Jones meets I Know What You Did Last Summer in this page-turner about a small British town with a dark past, and the four deadbeat flatmates that get caught up in it when an online sleuth shows up at their door. The hilarious narration from protagonist Kirby is just as entertaining as the mystery itself, which unfolds in a fast-paced dual-timeline format. It’s like Chilton can’t help but write fabulous and unfortunate characters you’re bound to fall in love with!
Everyone in the Group Chat Dies by L.M. Chilton, (List Price: $19, Gallery/Scout Press, 9781668094174, December 2025)
Reviewed by Julia Lewis, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia
Sparks Fly by Zakiya N. Jamal
A late bloomer romance where 1) they meet at a sex club, 2) the plot critiques the use of genAi in entertainment & news, 3) the friendships get plenty of attention outside of the romance plot. I ate this debut adult romance right up.
Sparks Fly by Zakiya N. Jamal, (List Price: $19, Berkley, 9780593953839, December 2025)
Reviewed by Alex Reinhart, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
The Book of Luke by Lovell Holder
Not only has Lovell Holder crafted the most delightful redemption stories, he also managed to intrigue me with the inner workings of reality competition shows. Luke is an emotionally (and physically, sort of) broken soul on the verge of losing everything after learning his politician husband, Barnes, is the cheater of the century. That’s when fate comes calling him back to “Endeavor”, the competition series that was the catalyst of their relationship. So many secrets come out, and so many lives are changed. Read this book!
The Book of Luke by Lovell Holder, (List Price: $30, Grand Central Publishing, 9781538770153, December 2025)
Reviewed by Thomas Wallace, Reading Rock Books in Dickson, Tennessee
House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk
House of Day, House of Night is a reversal of a common narrative structure; here, the setting, the rural Polish town of Nowa Ruda, is the main character, and the townsfolk are the setting within which the town’s legacy is formed. Each story fragment contributes to the never-ending cycle of life and death, of dreams and waking — from an old lady next door with elusive platitudes, to a gender-dysphoric monk on a journey to canonize a saint, to a knifemaking cult that worships the process of decay. Tokarczuk’s brilliant prose highlights the struggles of returning to a post-World War Poland, of feeling like a stranger in your own home, of sensing the ceaseless draw of entropy. Universal and bittersweet, this novel is a work of anthropology: a future classic in my book!
House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk, (List Price: $28, Riverhead Books, 9780593716380, December 2025)
Reviewed by Catherine Pabalate, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina