The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Contemporary

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab

I can’t believe how incredible this story is, and that is saying something because I had EXTREMELY high expectations. This is, dare I say, one of the best vampire novels of all time. It’s Carmilla, it’s Pride and Prejudice, it’s Jennifer’s body, it’s that scene from Twilight where Rosalie gets her revenge, it’s everything good that has ever been written, but with Schwabs incomparable magic touch. With phenomenal storylines and a host of characters that are so gorgeously romantic, viciously selfish, and utterly lonely, this was just a masterpiece to put my eyes to.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab, (List Price: $29.99, Tor Books, 9781250320520, June 2025)

Reviewed by Shelby Barnett, Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, Louisiana

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Worth Fighting For by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Mulan was a badass woman warrior in history, and Jesse Sutanto portrays that beautifully in this contemporary retelling. I have always loved the story of Mulan. That was then amplified when Disney made a movie about her. Sutanto does an amazing job of twisting the tale into a contemporary storyline without losing the original meaning and lessons from the original. In my opinion, you could not have found a better author to take on Mulan’s story and blow it out of the park.

Worth Fighting For by Jesse Q. Sutanto, (List Price: $26.99, Hyperion Avenue, 9781368112802, June 2025)

Reviewed by Mandy Harris, Angel Wings Bookstore & Bistro in Oxford, North Carolina

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Amelia, If Only by Becky Albertalli

Albertalli’s newest, about chaos bisexuals and para-social relationships, hits ALL the right notes! Amelia’s a wee bit obsessed with YouTuber Walter, whose bisexual coming out made her feel seen in a way she hadn’t before. Now he’s doing a meet and greet just a car ride away and she just needs to get her friends on board so she can go meet him.

Amelia, If Only by Becky Albertalli, (List Price: $19.99, HarperCollins, 9780063045927, June 2025)

Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia

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The Summer We Ran by Audrey Ingram

I always enjoy Audrey Ingram’s books, and this one didn’t disappoint! This story weaves together love, ambition, and love — and how it can one day circle back to you, bringing up old secrets. This is the summer read you’re waiting for, with explorations of resilience, lost love, and beautifully flawed characters.

The Summer We Ran by Audrey Ingram, (List Price: $17.99, Zibby Publishing, 9798989923069, June 2025)

Reviewed by Leah Fallon, Birch Tree Bookstore in Leesburg, Virginia

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When Haru Was Here by Dustin Thao

Eric, devastated by the death of his best friend, creates his own reality by living his life as if the people he misses are still there. Dreams and reality collide when Haru, a guy he spent a brief few hours with in Japan last summer, shows up in Chicago. Is he real? Or is he in Eric’s head? When Haru Was Here explores devastating loss and figuring out how to let go.

When Haru Was Here by Dustin Thao, (List Price: $20, Wednesday Books, 9781250762061, September 2024)

Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia

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Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli

A modern high school rom-com in signature Albertalli fashion. As the fall musical approaches, Kate and her best friend, Anderson, want nothing more than to finally have their time in the spotlight. However, complications arise when their communal summer crush transfers to Roswell High and auditions for the musical. A dramatic and humorous coming-of-age tale centered around first crushes and the relationships that matter most. Kate in Waiting is sure to deliver all the warm and fuzzy feelings.

Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli, (List Price: $12.99, HarperCollins, 9780062643841, July 2022)

Reviewed by Asia Harden, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

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Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez

Abby Jimenez tackles two topics we don’t see a lot in romance: long-distance relationships with tangible obstacles, and the harsh realities of caregiving for someone with dementia. Anyone who’s experienced either situation will resonate deeply with Xavier and Samantha’s struggles. So beautiful.

Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez, (List Price: $28, Forever, 9781538759196, April 2025)

Reviewed by Sarai Rivera, Spellbound Bookstore in Sanford, Florida

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Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon

I’m a hoofer. Tap has always been my dance love, and one of Vicki’s Tap Pups’ neatest dances was a compilation of dances of the 50s and 60s. Needless to say, ballroom dancing is not my strength, although a simple jitterbug has given hubs and me a surprising amount of wedding attention. Thing is, it’s not the jitterbug, it’s the connection. I’m proud to say we’ve been married for 20 years. In Instructions for Dancing, Evie receives a dubious superpower that she sees the love lives of couples — how they met, how they grew together, and, prophetically, the tragic breakups that haven’t happened yet but will. That, coupled with her parents’ ugly divorce (and not being allowed to tell her younger sister that her dad had an affair), makes her hesitant to engage in a relationship. But she accepts a challenge that “not everybody can dance good, but everybody can dance”, and ends up paired with X, who lives by a “just say yes” philosophy, and things change in ways she never expected.

Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon, (List Price: $12.99, Ember, 9781524718992, May 2022)

Reviewed by Lisa Yee Swope, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner

This book is classic Zentner. With lovely prose, it make you laugh, cry, and appreciate the family you have—both by birth and by choice.

In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner, (List Price: $13.99, Ember, 9781524720278, August 2022)

Reviewed by Amanda Gawthorpe, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina

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A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams

This book is absolutely delightful. I had some great laugh-out-loud moments while reading. Tia Williams is becoming one of my favorite authors by far!

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams, (List Price: $17.99, Grand Central Publishing, 9781538726716, February 2025)

Reviewed by Anastasia Williams, The Bottom in Knoxville, Tennessee

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The Broposal by Sonora Reyes

The Broposal was a wild ride from start to finish. Alejandro (Han for short) has been best friends with Kenny since they were 8. Now, at 23, they are still inseparable. When Kenny learns that Han lost his job that was meant to sponsor his visa, he comes up with the idea of fake-marrying Han for his citizenship instead. Although their plan seems foolproof, Kenny’s ex Jackie continues to cause trouble for the two. This book has the fun romance trope of fake relationships while also showing the struggle of an undocumented person in America. You’ll laugh and you’ll cry, and hope for their happily ever after.

The Broposal by Sonora Reyes, (List Price: $17.99, Forever, 9781538766682, January 2025)

Reviewed by Gabriela Warner, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Spotlight on: Under Loch and Key by Lana Ferguson

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Lana Ferguson, author image credit the author

I love having a space to dump all the silly things running through my brain. I feel like living in my head is like sharing an apartment with five other personalities at any given time, and being a writer means not having to ignore them aggressively (and possibly vent about them to my therapist), but instead write them down, free them into the world, so to speak. Writing means the stories running through my head and the ideas that wake me up in excitement in the middle of the night aren’t just for me, but something I can share with everyone, in a sense, and that is just very cool to me.

― Lana Ferguson, Interview, Nerd Daily

Under Loch and Key by Lana Ferguson

What booksellers are saying about Under Loch and Key

  • Lana Ferguson is an A grade writer of smart smut. She has quickly become a favorite author of mine. I never know what genre she’s going to write in, but I know I’m guaranteed an unforgettable story. Under Loch and Key takes the premise of the Loch Ness monster and gives it a twist that is unique and then does it so well. The story is about so much more than Nessie- the themes of finding family are so well woven into Keyanna and Lachlan’s individual character arcs . Finding who you are is as important as finding the one for you. Under Loch and Key has the steam and spice I’ve come to see as Lana Ferguson’s hallmark, but with a depth of emotion and mystery that will leave you turning the pages as fast you can read them!
      ― Preet Singh, Eagle Eye Book Shop in Decatur, Georgia | BUY

  • Okay, so, I didn’t know going in that this was a shape-shifter cryptid romance. It is, for the record. It happens to be my first not-vampire-or-werewolf shape-shifter rom I’ve ever read, and I have to say…………I kinda really enjoyed it! It’s a hundred percent ridiculous, but it’s also hot and charming and fun with a lil mysterious element that (spoiler) gets worked out. How? I’ll never tell! Give me a story about an American gal falling in love with (and getting taken to poundtown by) a hot Scottish stud any day. Mix in a lil shapeyshifty and a quest to break a family curse, and you have me ten toes down for it all day every day.
      ― Thomas Wallace, Reading Rock Books in Dickson, Tennessee | BUY

  • A cute and thoughtful reimagining of the Loch Ness monster! I think this book could’ve easily been 300 pages and not closer to 500, but I enjoyed it nonetheless! Lana’s creative way of tying in with the OG tale was truly fun to read! and who doesn’t love a bit of a monster romance!?
      ― Fiona McPherson, Givens Books Little Dickens in Lynchburg, Virginia | BUY

  • My auto buy author does it again. A splash of paranormal with enemies to lovers made this a wonderful book to read. The banter and tension between Loch and Key were top notch and I believed them when they believed that they didn’t like each other. But as always Lana Ferguson writes, sexy , heartwarming and hilarious books that make it to the top of my lists every time.
      ― Mekhala Villegas-Rogers, Tombolo Books in St. Petersburg, Florida | BUY

About Lana Ferguson

Lana Ferguson is a USA Today bestselling author and sex-positive nerd whose works never shy from spice or sass. A faded Fabio cover found its way into her hands at fifteen, and she’s never been the same since. When she isn’t writing, you can find her randomly singing show tunes, arguing over which Batman is superior, and subjecting her friends to the extended editions of The Lord of the Rings. Lana lives mostly in her own head but can sometimes be found chasing her corgi through the coppice of the great American outdoors.

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The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami

This novel is uber-Murakami, the author back to the magical best of his earlier novels such as Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World (note: this makes sense, as the author writes in an afterword that this novel was a second attempt at reworking a novella, the first attempt being Hardboiled Wonderland). You don’t read a Murakami novel; you live it, holding on for dear life until it lets you off at the end, slightly confused but highly entertained. A magical world slowly unravels through an unnamed girl, while everyday life interweaves with it, featuring all the traditional Murakami Bingo tropes (loneliness, high school, jazz, pasta recipes, The Beatles, wells, libraries, cats…all the greatest hits!) There were a few minor logical bugbears, but plot logic was never Murakami’s strong suit. The simplicity of his language has long been a feature, but lately has felt more like a bug at times, with the repetition of banal thoughts (‘it was just my conjecture, but I was sure of it’; I nodded vaguely’ etc.) – perhaps as one of my all-time favourite authors I have come to expect more, but it was still great to be back in Murakami world.

The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami, (List Price: $35, Knopf, 9780593801970, November 2024)

Reviewed by Doron Klemer, Octavia Books in New Orleans, Louisiana

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Only for the Holidays by Abiola Bello

In this brand new YA romance novel, city girl Tia Solanke is NOT looking forward to the holidays. She and her boyfriend, Mike, are on a break, and her mother’s solution is to take a Christmas getaway to the picturesque Saiyan Hedge Farms. Tia takes an instant dislike to the countryside and after the final straw, falling in horse manure and being chased by sheep, she decides to sneak back to London for Mike’s birthday. Quincy needs some help. His family will be the first Black family to ever host the Winter Ball (aka the biggest event of the year), and he is in need of a date after breaking up with his girlfriend. At first, Quincy and Tia don’t see eye to eye, but they soon realize that they both have something to gain by pretending to be a couple. Quincy needs a date to the ball, and Tia, a ride back to London just in time for Mike’s birthday. Soon, fake feelings turn real, and Tia and Quincy realize that maybe what they were looking for is right in front of them…

Only for the Holidays by Abiola Bello, (List Price: $19.99, Soho Teen, 9781641296106, October 2024)

Reviewed by Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Lost and Lassoed by Lyla Sage

Not to cause alarm but this is the best installment in the Rebel Blue Ranch yet. The enemies to lovers was PERFECTION. BEAUTIFULLY DONE. I thought it was going to feel weird because it has a bit of a “nanny” trope, but it was so perfectly executed that it didn’t bother me (I ended up absolutely adoring Riley). I will be raving about this book for the foreseeable future and forcing everyone to read it!!!

Lost and Lassoed by Lyla Sage, (List Price: $17.99, Dial Press Trade Paperback, 9780593732458, November 2024)

Reviewed by Aubrey Miles, Auburn Oil Co. Booksellers in Auburn, Alabama

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