The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Fiction

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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Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
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When Taylor Jenkins Reid writes a book, she crafts a work of art! Setting this story during the 1980s NASA integration of female astronauts, TJR has outdone herself with her world-building, her character development, and her ability to create a story both compelling and enriching. I come away from her books feeling like I’ve lived a life I’ve only ever dreamed of. And this book is exceptional. Evelyn Hugo walked so Joan Goodwin and Vanessa Ford could run… or soar.

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, (List Price: $30, Ballantine Books, 9780593158715, June 2025)

Reviewed by Thomas Wallace, Reading Rock Books in Dickson, Tennessee

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One Hundred Shadows by Hwang Jungeun

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One Hundred Shadows by Hwang Jungeun
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A sad book that makes you feel starry-eyed and sweet doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong, and if it did, do you even want to read right? Bringing romantic realism and magical realizing to the table, Shadows gives us love in the time of gentrification, at a pace somewhere between meandering and stopping-to-look-for-the-rose-smell, sparking the part of your brain that releases the morose and dreamy warm fuzzies. Also, unruly shadows: Gotta keep an eye on those.

One Hundred Shadows by Hwang Jungeun, (List Price: $16.95, Erewhon Books, 9781645661450, July 2025)

Reviewed by Ian McCord, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar

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The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar
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For fans of Peter S. Beagle, Sacher’s adult debut is the story of a magician called to facilitate a (reluctant) princess’ marriage to a powerful king. Balancing the demands of monarchs with the passions of young lovers, the magician’s story is a fun, pseudo-classic fairy tale.

The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar, (List Price: $30, Ace, 9780593952306, August 2025)

Reviewed by Matilda McNeely, Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, Georgia

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The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst

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The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst
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Sarah Beth Durst is such a skillful writer. The Enchanted Greenhouse is a return to the world introduced in The Spellshop, but is a standalone novel. This is the story of Terlu Perna, the Librarian who created a sentient plant out of loneliness. As punishment, she is turned into a statue and displayed in the Library she worked in. Next, she awakens, freezing in the snow, hungry, and confused. She was brought to an island and awoken by a very grumpy gardener. The island is full of failing enchanted greenhouses. Terlu agrees to help the gardener and a sentient rose save the greenhouses. The coziest of cozy books! Terlu is such a lovely character! We have another winged cat, flying mini dragons, a strong and silent baking gardener, and lots of plants! Durst had me hanging on every word.

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst, (List Price: $29.99, Bramble, 9781250333988, July 2025)

Reviewed by Sarai Rivera, Spellbound Bookstore in Sanford, Florida

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Katabasis by R. F. Kuang

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Katabasis (Standard Edition) by R. F. Kuang
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Katabasis is the latest iteration of a long literary tradition of descents to Hell, taking its place along Dante’s Inferno, Orpheus and Eurydice, the Aeneid, and countless others. The list, although not exhaustive, lends itself a reverence to the act of descending. Kuang honors the classic motif while giving it a fresh spin, crafting a delightful addition to a proud legacy. Her expertly articulated worldbuilding melds with a command of language and logic that carefully treads the barrier between traditional fantasy and the academic novel. The novel’s protagonists, Alice and Peter, are PhD candidates at Cambridge studying analytical magic. When their advisor suddenly dies with no replacement forthcoming, there’s only one logical option: going into Hell to retrieve his immortal soul. As they traverse the depths, the core question of the novel slowly emerges, how much are you willing to sacrifice to fulfill your darkest ambitions? Fervent readers of Kuang’s work will not be disappointed by her latest tour de force, and first-timers will be delighted by the care put in every word of the novel.

Katabasis by R. F. Kuang, (List Price: $32, Harper Voyager, 9780063446243, August 2025)

Reviewed by Sydney Mason, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Never the Roses by Jennifer K. Lambert

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Never the Roses by Jennifer K. Lambert
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Jennifer K. Lambert’s world is beautiful! The imagery, world-building, and character development are wonderful. I loved this world! It has everything: magic, madness, love, war, and enemies to lovers—AHH! Oneira is so relatable in her desire to be alone, yet people keep showing up! She and Stearanos are on opposite sides of a war. When the great sorcerer Oneria decides to retire, she also chooses to steal a book from her old enemy, Stearanos, whom she has never met. This act sets off a chain of events where Stearanos and her begin to mess with each other. The little taunts, the great chemistry, and the fact that he fell first and harder make this a fantastic romance!

Never the Roses by Jennifer K. Lambert, (List Price: $32.99, Bramble, 9781250360342, July 2025)

Reviewed by sarah dimaria, Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, Louisiana

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The Summer House by Masashi Matsuie

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The Summer House by Masashi Matsuie
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Personally, after venturing down a winding reading road lined with exits exclusively featuring deviant deeds and disastrous outcomes, I like to treat myself to the occasional Summer House. Here in particular, is a coming-of-age respite occupied by a young architect-in-training apprenticing under the tutelage of his hero, whose firm avoids the Tokyo summer heat by retreating to the titular volcano-side cottage. The well-known awkwardness of being thrown into the hip kids’ arena is instantly squelched by a cast of welcoming coworkers, each with their own scenic, hikable memory lanes. Not to say this is a completely drama-free chillax tract, but look: it inspired a “chillax” from this curmudgeon, frankly, a Lloyd Wrightean feat.

The Summer House by Masashi Matsuie, (List Price: $18.99, Other Press, 9781635425178, June 2025)

Reviewed by Ian McCord, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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Angel Down by Daniel Kraus

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Angel Down by Daniel Kraus
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Daniel. Dan. My guy – what’re you DOING to me?? Up til 2:00 a.m. again, breathless and weeping, because I could. not. stop. reading!! How do I even talk about this book coherently?*deep breath*Okay.Angel Down. Immediately, page one, you’re plunged into a fever dream of WW1 front line trenches – bullets whizzing too close, the unearthly whistle and crash of artillery fire, bodies and mud and death. Then comes the shriek – an unending howl driving the soldiers mad. Five are ordered to find the cause, and they do – but it’s nothing they could have ever predicted. An angel is down. What follows is a gut-spilling, reality-warping, soul-searing clash with divinity that will bring you to your knees. It’s gonna take me days, probably weeks, to process this incredible book. Angel Down is set during WW1, but the questions it asks are exactly what we’re asking today: how do we break the systems of war that prop up the world? Do individual lives still have meaning when destruction and violence seem unstoppable? What do we do when confronted with the true, untameable, terrifying divine? Make time to read this book in one sitting, and don’t forget the tissues. And if, at the end, you find yourself devastated and elated beyond words….me too, friend. Me too.

Angel Down by Daniel Kraus, (List Price: $28.99, Atria Books, 9781668068458, 2025-07-29)

Reviewed by Rachel Derise, Friendly City Books in Columbus, Mississippi

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Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez

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Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez
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What’s scarier: a haunted house in the Everglades or a toxic female friendship? Por que no los dos? Lush, eerie, and intense, Mayra is Shirley Jackson by way of I-95. I loved Gonzalez’s writing, which manages to be funny and wry while also pressing on the tender bruises of adolescence and insecurity. More Florida horror by women, please!

Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez, (List Price: $28, Random House, 9780593731550, July 2025)

Reviewed by Rachel Knox, Tombolo Books in St Petersburg, Florida

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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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Funny Story by Emily Henry

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Funny Story by Emily Henry
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Emily Henry just GETS IT. She has the perfect recipe for a book that has just the right amount of humor, romance, and the kind of real-life hurdles that hit close to home. What sets this book apart are the characters, who are grappling with life’s ups and downs in a way that feels incredibly real. It’s the “just one more chapter” book that you’ll actually stay awake until 1 AM to finish. And hey, maybe I’m speaking from personal experience.

Funny Story by Emily Henry, (List Price: $19, Berkley, 9780593441213, February 2025)

Reviewed by Janisie Rodriguez, Copperfish Books in Punta Gorda, Florida

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The Secret Market of the Dead by Feo Giovanni De

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The Secret Market of the Dead by Feo Giovanni De
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Prime example of a debut author who came fully prepared to steal your heart, open your mind, and waltz right into your very dreams! I am still processing the numerous levels this book expertly navigated! I feel compelled to name a few parts of this story that will linger in your mind for days on end after reading: the folklore, the southern Italian historical setting, the mystical creatures, deals struck under cover of night, complex family relationships, faith, self worth, and what it means to call out what you want in life. All of this and more are woven into a fantastical world that has left me astonished! I cannot wait to see what he writes next!

The Secret Market of the Dead by Feo Giovanni De, (List Price: $28.99, De Feo, Giovanni, 9781668077368, July 2025)

Reviewed by Mandy Martin, Novel. in Memphis, Tennessee

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Hot Girls with Balls by Benedict Nguyen

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Hot Girls with Balls by Benedict Nguyen
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Nguyen’s mix of satire, social commentary, and the story’s central relationship are impossible to deny. Hot Girls with Balls captures perfectly what it is like to be in the public eye, the myriad of positives and pitfalls that come with social media, and the pressure trans people face just daring to exist in our world. “Hot Girls” Six and Green are amazing characters that I won’t soon forget. Bold, unapologetically queer, and sharp – what a debut!

Hot Girls with Balls by Benedict Nguyen, (List Price: $28, Nguyen, Benedict, 9781646222476, July 2025)

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

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When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén

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When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén
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My heart is in pieces after finishing Lisa Ridzen’s beautiful, heartbreaking novel. When the Cranes Fly South is the tender story of Bo, an elderly man navigating the challenges of his 89 years. His frank observations on the betrayals of his body and mind are balanced with heartfelt recollections of his childhood and special times with his wife and son. I don’t think I’ve read a book that so delicately captures the loss of independence and dignity an aging parent feels when they are no longer able to make their own decisions. This is an emotional, important read that highlights the agency and empathy we all need during the last days of life.

When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén, (List Price: $18, Vintage, 9798217006731, August 2025)

Reviewed by Anderson McKean, Page & Palette in Fairhope, Alabama

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