The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Adult Fiction

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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What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon

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What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon
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This is a good old-fashioned “I need to stay up late reading and see what happens” romance! This second-chance story, inspired by the author’s own expat journey, follows Dani, an adrift American, as she tries to get her bearings in Amsterdam following a messy breakup. As she struggles to prove to her family (and herself) that she can handle her new adventure, a long-lost first love appears to provide some solutions. Can she put her resentments for her first heartbreak aside and be civil long enough to find her purpose? Can he? Tension! Tulips! So bingeable and wanderlust-inspiring!

What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon, (List Price: $19, Berkley, 9780593548554, May 2025)

Reviewed by Julia Lewis, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

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The Names by Florence Knapp

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The Names by Florence Knapp
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What’s in a name? A lot – at least in Florence Knapp’s thought-provoking and assured debut novel. It’s 1987, and a young mother trapped in an abusive marriage is about to register the birth of her new son. Her controlling husband expects the child to be named after him, but she wants to give him his own identity. What follows is a Sliding Doors-esque split narrative, in which Knapp imagines three parallel futures for the child: in each one he’s given a different name, which alters the trajectory of his life. While at times The Names makes for difficult reading, there’s a beauty and tenderness at the heart of this novel that meant I couldn’t put it down.

The Names by Florence Knapp, (List Price: $30, Pamela Dorman Books, 9780593833902, May 2025)

Reviewed by Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

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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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Book Buzz: Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata

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Sayaka Murata, photo credit Bungeishunju Ltd.I have had relationships with humans, but I’ve also loved a lot of people in stories. I’ve been told by my doctor not to talk about this too much, but ever since I was a child, I’ve had 30 or 40 imaginary friends who live on a different star or planet with whom I have shared love and sexual experiences. ……Some say that the worlds I write about are dystopian, but a lot of people think that actually reality is worse… I’ve often felt love, obsession, desire, friendship, a kind of faith, or almost a prayer-like relationship with these men – and they’ve always been men, so it’s a heterosexual relationship – who live inside stories. With Vanishing World I was trying to create a place where it might be easier for people who find it difficult to live in this world.

― Sayaka Murata, Interview, Guardian

Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata

What booksellers are saying about Vanishing World

  • When we live in a world that’s constantly changing around us, how can we even define what it means to be human? With her signature page-turning prose and uncanny, off-kilter storytelling, Sayaka Murata’s latest explores these questions and lives up to her previous titles that are beloved by so many.
      ― Maddie Grimes, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee | BUY

  • Vanishing World is a triumph of speculative fiction. Set in an alternate Japan in which almost all children are conceived through artificial insemination, sex is out of fashion, and intercourse between married couples is considered incest, a woman tries to understand her sexuality. She is cursed by romantic and sexual impulses, at odds with the broader societal understanding of relationships. Her story is both an excavation and an assimilation–the more she understands herself, the more she is struck with the quiet, inescapable horror of being different.
      ― Charlie Marks, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia | BUY

  • Marriage has become a platonic practicality in Japan. What remains of interpersonal relationships is artificial insemination for the sole purpose of reproduction. An outlier, Amane still finds physical and emotional satisfaction in intercourse, and thought her husband understood that about her, until they move into an experimental project that disrupts any and all of the family structures that Amane held sacred. An uncensored and introspective glimpse into a speculative reality, Vanishing World speaks to sexual taboos, family structure, and the role of relationships in postmodern society, challenging her readers with her signature Weirdness.
      ― Flora Arnsberger, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina | BUY

About Sayaka Murata

SAYAKA MURATA is the author of many books, including Convenience Store Woman, winner of the Akutagawa Prize, Earthlings, and Life Ceremony. Murata has been named a Freeman’s “Future of New Writing” author and a Vogue Japan Woman of the Year.

GINNY TAPLEY TAKEMORI has translated works by more than a dozen Japanese writers, including Ryu Murakami. She lives at the foot of a mountain in Eastern Japan. 

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Ocean’s Godori by Elaine U. Cho

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Ocean's Godori by Elaine U. Cho
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This book was a perfect change of pace for me! Ocean’s Godori is a space opera set in future post-unification Korea. To me, the world-building was both totally unique and also super inviting. Each character perspective starts independent from the others and then eventually entwines as the plot thickens. I’m excited for more after this excellent debut from Elaine U. Cho!

Ocean’s Godori by Elaine U. Cho, (List Price: $18, Zando – Hillman Grad Books, 9781638932840, June 2025)

Reviewed by Johanna Albrecht, McIntyre’s Books in Pittsboro, North Carolina

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Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

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Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover
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My first Colleen Hoover read! I can definitely see where all the hype is with her novels. She does pull you in and stir up all the feels. It was entertaining, I thought the female lead character did not stand up for herself enough, and love triangles are always tricky. The most interesting part was learning how the hearing-impaired male lead was able to teach himself to play and write music. Can’t wait to read more of her books!

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover, (List Price: $16.99, Atria Books, 9781476753164, March 2014)

Reviewed by Krista Roach, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia

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No Funeral for Nazia by Taha Kehar

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No Funeral for Nazia by Taha Kehar
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A powerful addition to the trope of a dying woman leaving instructions that will change lives. In this instance, Nazia is all too aware that her closest family and friends all hold very different stories about her. All the misunderstandings and lies fall apart on one fateful night, and no one will be the same again. All the varying perspectives are skillfully arranged and prove the power of stories.

No Funeral for Nazia by Taha Kehar, (List Price: $16.99, Neem Tree Press, 9781911107743, July 2024)

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

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Their Divine Fires by Wendy Chen

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Their Divine Fires by Wendy Chen
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I really enjoyed this lush, mystical story that follows a family through China’s Cultural Revolution and generations after. Fans of Pachinko and Wandering Souls will love this one.

Their Divine Fires by Wendy Chen, (List Price: $28, Algonquin Books, 9781643755151, May 2024)

Reviewed by Jessica Nock, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

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Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson

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Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson
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In Kevin Wilson’s latest, we have a different kind of sibling drama–one in which the siblings in question don’t even know the others exist. That is, until they’re thrown together in a PT Cruiser on a road trip to ambush–er, confront–the father who abandoned them all. When Madeline “Mad” Hill, a farmer in rural Coalfield, Tennessee, meets her older half-brother Rube, a mystery writer, the quiet life she’s built for herself is turned on its head. Likewise, when the two of them leave Coalfield together to seek out their younger half-sister Pepper, they disrupt a propulsive college basketball season. And it doesn’t stop there. As they collect still more siblings, more lives are interrupted, more trajectories diverted. But as the siblings get to know each other and themselves, they find that maybe the thing that was missing from each of their lives was each other. Traveling west, this group of just-introduced siblings follows the path and pieces together the puzzle of their shared, absent father–a man who methodically tried on different identities and shed them as he sought his own happiness, forsaking theirs. With heart, humor, and empathy, Kevin Wilson explores the divide between the family we’re born with and the family we choose, and what happens when they intersect.

Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson, (List Price: $28.99, Ecco, 9780063317512, May 2025)

Reviewed by Joyce McKinnon, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama

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My Name Is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende

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My Name Is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende
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My Name Is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende follows Emilia, a bold and curious young writer who pushes the boundaries of what’s expected of women in her time (19th century). As one of the first female journalists, an assignment takes her from San Francisco to Chile, her late father’s homeland. Emilia is drawn into a country on the brink of civil war and into the heart of her own identity. I didn’t know I wanted to read about the Chilean civil war until Isabel Allende had me hooked. Her writing is descriptive and clear without being overly flowery, and I loved Emilia’s character; she’s not only a fierce woman ahead of her time, but someone I could see myself being friends with, which brought a sense of comfort to an otherwise heavy story. Allende does a remarkable job showing how war ravages not just countries, but the hearts and minds of everyone it touches. There is an element of romance that does not overshadow the story, but seamlessly adds another beautiful layer to it. I equally loved watching Emilia reclaim her Chilean roots. It’s clear this book was written not just to illuminate history, but also as a love letter to Chile from Allende through Emilia’s journey.

My Name Is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende, (List Price: $30, Ballantine Books, 9780593975091, May 2025)

Reviewed by Bianca Eckhoff, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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The Stone Home by Crystal Hana Kim

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The Stone Home by Crystal Hana Kim
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With beautiful, powerful prose, Crystal Hana Kim’s The Stone Home is a haunting look at the dark side of South Korea’s past and a tribute to the power of the human spirit. Kim weaves her tale as she moves effortlessly between characters and time, slowly revealing the truth of the past with each chapter. The Stone Home is an engrossing read that fully immersed me in the often painful and brutal world of its characters but left me with a reminder of humanity’s ability for empathy, kindness, and strength even in the darkest of places.

The Stone Home by Crystal Hana Kim, (List Price: $18.99, William Morrow Paperbacks, 9780063310988, April 2025)

Reviewed by Caleb Masters, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Silver Elite by Dani Francis

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Silver Elite by Dani Francis
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I’m not usually a fan of dystopian books, but I really enjoyed this one! I think in part because this world doesn’t feel overtly dystopian. The dystopian elements felt subtle but clearly defined. The writing is very good and was done in a way that allowed the plot to shine. The characters felt consistent in their behaviour, which I really appreciated. I read it in one day, and the cliffhanger left me intrigued and wanting to know what happens next.

Silver Elite by Dani Francis, (List Price: $32.99, Del Rey, 9780593875469, May 2025)

Reviewed by Savannah Laughlin, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina

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Evil Eye by Etaf Rum

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Evil Eye by Etaf Rum
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Etaf Rum’s Evil Eye is a powerful look at identity, generational trauma, and the challenging expectations placed on Palestinian-American women. Trapped in a marriage that leaves her feeling unfulfilled and stifled, Yara begins to question the roles she’s been taught to accept. As her carefully built facade begins to crumble, Yara starts taking steps to find out who she really is and wants to be by starting therapy and forging new friendships. Yara’s journey is raw and real, and a must read for anyone interested in the connections between culture, identity, and womanhood.

Evil Eye by Etaf Rum, (List Price: $18.99, Harper Perennial, 9780062987914, September 2024)

Reviewed by Bianca Eckhoff, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Bride of the Sea by Eman Quotah

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Bride of the Sea by Eman Quotah
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Full of longing and regret, Bride of the Sea tells the story of Muneer and Saeedah, a newly married couple from Saudi Arabia living in Ohio. As the arrival of their first child draws near, their marriage is falling apart. Muneer returns to his homeland, and Saeedah flees with their daughter, Hanadi. What follows are decades of a father desperately searching for his child and a mother on the run. Hanadi comes of age and is caught in the middle between conflicting cultures and religions. This mesmerizing debut will be a hit for fans of A Place For Us, A Woman Is No Man, and Everything I Never Told You. Highly recommend.

Bride of the Sea by Eman Quotah, (List Price: $16.95, Tin House Books, 9781951142452, January 2021)

Reviewed by Jessica Nock, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

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