A swoony romance with a perfect touch of self acceptance!
Last First Kiss by Julian Winters, (List Price: $19, St. Martin’s Griffin, 9781250326263, January 2026)
Reviewed by Cameron, Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, NC
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Julian Winters writes another romance that is as funny as it is tender and sweet. I really enjoyed I Think They Love You, so I was really excited to read this, and it did not disappoint. With all of the same heart as the first book, we dive right back into this family that is, while nosy and opinionated, loving in their own way. Jordan and Jaime are a couple you will have you yelling at the pages sometimes, but only because you are rooting for them so hard. A second chance romance with more heat than the first book, this is a great read to enjoy as the weather warms up too.
Last First Kiss by Julian Winters, (List Price: $19, St. Martin’s Griffin, 9781250326263, January 20267)
Reviewed by Brianna, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Once again, Julian Winters gets right to the heart of learning to love and be loved exactly as you are. I also love seeing such beautiful demisexual representation on page in a romance novel and appreciate the care with which Julian wrote Jordan’s journey with his sexuality. This story was an absolute delight and I can’t wait to recommend it to everyone that I can!
Last First Kiss by Julian, (List Price: $19, St. Martin’s Griffin, 9781250326263, January 2026)
Reviewed by Jonlyn Scrogham, A Novel Romance in Louisville, KY
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In Kathryn Stockett’s latest, The Calamity Club, set in the early 1930s in Oxford, Mississippi, we follow the lives of several women and one young girl as they hope, dream, and work to build a better life and future for themselves from the scraps of the Depression. Birdie comes to town to borrow money from her sister, Frances, who recently married a rich boy but didn’t invite her family to the wedding. Frances is busy climbing the social ladder and doesn’t want anyone to know that her family is poor. Charlie moves to town for a job but disappears one evening, leaving her young daughter, Meg, alone. Meg is then forced into a new chapter of her life at the local orphanage, where the Chairwoman despises her and the wealthy white ladies of Oxford volunteer, including Frances. When Birdie is asked to help with the bookkeeping, she meets Meg and becomes involved in helping her get adopted. Then Charlie returns to town, looking for Meg and with a story to tell. When Frances’s new family, the Tartts, face severe financial hardship, the women join together on a money-making scheme, hoping that it will solve all their problems. But it may or may not work out the way they think. An entertaining story about the hardships and difficulties women faced as they tried to work and achieve some level of financial and personal freedom during the Depression.
The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett, (List Price: $35, Spiegel & Grau, 9781954118812, May 2026)
Reviewed by Mary, The Little Bookshop in Midlothian, VA
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A new novel by Kathryn Stockett? Set in the town where I live (Oxford, MS)? About a group of independent, underestimated women? Yes, please! This big-hearted, often funny novel about a group of down-on-their-luck women who come up with an audacious plan to turn their lives around absolutely swept me off my feet. Despite its heft – over 600 pages – I raced through it in a matter of days. It would be a calamity to miss out on this wonderful novel.
The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett, (List Price: $35, Spiegel & Grau, 9781954118812, May 2026)
Reviewed by Jude, Square Books in Oxford, MS
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Connect with your inner wildflower in this richly textured, inspirational new novel by Terah Shelton Harris. The novel’s vivid imagery will transport you to a hidden refuge where flowers and people grow wild. Drawing on the healing power of nature, Harris explores how strength and hope can bloom even after intense tragedy. Leigh Wilde is a survivor. Running from her tragic past, she finds herself an escaped fugitive on a flower farm in rural Gee’s Bend, Alabama. On the farm, she meets others who, like her, are survivors of past trauma. As she gradually learns to trust those around her and, most importantly, herself, she realizes that to live, she must do more than merely survive. Like the Cahaba Lily that blooms fearlessly along the riverbank, Leigh too begins to flourish despite the fears that have held her back. Yet as the secrets of her past rush in to reclaim her, what will it take to stay true to herself? Freedom may be as simple as letting go. Leigh’s story will break your heart and rebuild it petal by fragrant petal. At the end, Leigh’s love reveals the most radiant flower. Like the gift of a rare lily, this is a novel you will cherish.
Where the Wildflowers Grow by Terah Shelton Harris, (List Price: $29.99, Sourcebooks Landmark, 9781464229220, February 2026)
Reviewed by Laura, Bookmiser in Marietta, GA
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“But living is a run-on sentence never ending, a collection of experiences that strengthen you along the way…Even under the worst conditions, flowers will bloom where they are planted…Joy is simple, and it comes back if you let it”. My heart breaks for Leigh….but at the same time it as on fire to read her story a watch her bloom. A wildflower, a survivor! Wow I’m just in awe of her and her resilience even in fear she pushed to find and hold on to this new life an opportunity. She found peace and made peace with the troubles of her past.
Where the Wildflowers Grow by Terah Shelton Harris, (List Price: $29.99, Sourcebooks Landmark, 9781464229220, February 2026)
Reviewed by Morgan, The Book Worm in Powder Springs, GA
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Yesteryear was a wild ride! This is a really great book in that you can read it as an entertaining, page-turning thriller by the pool or you can dig into the themes and it would make for a wonderful book discussion book with a book club. Well done to the author. So much to discuss.
Yesteryear: A GMA Book Club Pick by Caro Claire Burke, (List Price: $30, Knopf, 9780593804216, April 2026)
Reviewed by Christina, The Snail on the Wall in Huntsville, AL
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Move over, Hunter S Thompson: Here’s gonzo- journalism even more glorious in its excess! Written 40 years ago, Lemann’s reportage was groundbreaking at the time and today the story reads as bonkers and nutty as when she first wrote it. This is a side of New Orleans that is even wilder than you can imagine. As fun as the fresh new lush packaging suggests.
The Ritz of the Bayou by Nancy Lemann, (List Price: $24, Hub City Press, 9798885740708, April 2026)
Reviewed by Johanna, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, KY
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From the back cover copy, I thought I knew what I was getting into and I couldn’t have been more wrong. This book has an original and unique premise that was precisely executed. The social commentary regarding the expectations of women in society, combined with the social media machines that perpetuate an unrealistic ideal woman was spot on. I found it interesting that I little as I liked most of the characters, I did actually love the book. I’ll definitely be recommending it!
Yesteryear: A GMA Book Club Pick by Caro Claire Burke, (List Price: $30, Knopf, 9780593804216, April 2026)
Reviewed by Robin, Auburn Oil Company Booksellers in Auburn, Alabama
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Absolutely riveting. Spiked my cortisol levels EXPONENTIALLY. This author has cultivated such a fascinating character in Natalie. Her misery and confusion and the choices she makes to deal with a culture that requires her to “submit” to her incompetent husband makes me want to pull my hair out while at the same time there are many moments where I found myself deeply relating to Natalie in her rage. Its depictions of the failures of patriarchy and radical religious ideals and the horrors of motherhood are so incredibly compelling. I was sitting here SEETHING. This book is eerie and uncanny and so so culturally relevant.
Yesteryear: A GMA Book Club Pick by Caro Claire Burke, (List Price: $30, Knopf, 9780593804216, April 2026)
Reviewed by Shelby, Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, LA
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I can’t tell you the last time I stayed up until almost 2:00 am to finish a book. Not since Gillian Flynn has someone so captured me – breakneck pacing, bonkers characters that feel real, and a book as timely as it is evergreen. A writer to watch. I will put this book in a lot of hands this year.
Yesteryear: A GMA Book Club Pick by Caro Claire Burke, (List Price: $30, Knopf, 9780593804216, April 2026)
Reviewed by Dominic, Book + Bottle in Saint Petersburg, Florida
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This is a short story collection that is always honest. The stories move through themes of growing up, messy relationships, and the awkward and painful process of becoming an adult. There’s some body horror, some nonlinear storytelling, and a few second-person narratives that pull you in. The horror feels like late-night scary stories that are unnerving in a specific but familiar way. The strangest moments are very relatable (any other stress poopers?). Each story is different, but they share a common thread that keeps the collection together. The women at the center are messy, funny, and deeply human. The novel balances THE HORRORS with the curiosity of being alive. Beyond All Reasonable Doubt is understanding of what it’s like to move through the world in a body that feels both powerful and vulnerable.
Beyond All Reasonable Doubt, Jesus Is Alive! by Melissa Lozada-Oliva, (List Price: $26, Astra House, 9781662601828, September 2025)
Reviewed by Chloe, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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What in the world did I just read. This book was crazy and insane from start to finish and I am genuinely thinking so many things right now. I think it truly shows how animalistic human beings are. It’s horrifying, it’s gory, but it seems so completely realistic – making it worse. It’s the way that human beings change and adapt to new language in order for human horrors to not seem so animalistic, such as calling humans “special meat”. This in a way makes it seem like the atrocities they’re committing make it okay, makes it seem normal. While we’re horrified by what’s happening with these human beings, it’s the exact same thing that’s happening to cattle and other animals that we consume. But because we can physically distance ourselves from them, we don’t seem to care how the dairy industry and meat industry are committing the exact same things to their animals. I think the scene with the dogs is especially important to the story. As humans, we feel compassion for the puppies because we see them as pets and creatures that belong to us and need our care, making the horrific scene that happened to them disturbing. However, no one bats an eye when it’s a cow or another animal that is consumed. Really eye opening right there. Overall, it was amazing and incredibly done, as well as utterly horrific
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica, (List Price: $17.99, Scribner, 9781982150921, August 2020)
Reviewed by Itzy, M. Judson Booksellers in Greenville, South Carolina
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Absolute devastation firmly grounded in the ordinary. Through the seasons, a reading primer, a family, a neighborhood, Morrison explores all that the ordinary can build by all it can destroy. Claudia’s fury and Pecola’s longing are presented as two responses to the same wound, a loneliness that never got to be innocence, not just for these girls but for a society that props itself up by allowing these cycles to repeat.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, (List Price: $19, Vintage, 9780307278449, May 2007)
Reviewed by Michelle, Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, LA
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