The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Women

Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

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Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
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It is late on a Thursday evening, and I just finished this absolutely exquisite book. If I could give the author a hug right now, I would. I loved the highly detailed history. I was gripped by the family drama. I was seduced by Luella and William and Robert! I embraced the poetry of the cry-inducing ending. This book is truly exquisite storytelling. In a case of purely delightful coincidence that made this book feel so personal and special, there is a post-Civil War community near my hometown called The Promised Land that had been settled by formerly enslaved people. As I read this book, I kept imagining the story taking place there. If anyone reading this would like to know more about these communities, check out the nonfiction book titled The Black Utopians by Aaron Robertson!

Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, (List Price: $29, Berkley, 9780593337721, April 2025)

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

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Book Buzz: Tilt by Emma Pattee

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Emma Pattee, photo credit Heather CampbellI live in Portland — so very close to Seattle — and like you said, everyone in the Pacific Northwest lives under the shadow of something coming that you can never really prepare for. And as a climate journalist, I was really interested in that. I was interested in the ways that we can’t get prepared. And at the time that I started writing this book, I was also pregnant. Pregnancy and having a kid is another thing that everyone tells you to get prepared for, because of how scary and unknowable it is, but the reality is that it’s completely unknowable. You cannot imagine it until you have lived through it. I think that, thematically, is what brought me to the book. What gave me the idea for the book was definitely that I was terrified of the earthquake. I was pregnant, and I could not stop thinking about the earthquake.

― Emma Pattee, Interview, Bookweb

Tilt by Emma Pattee

What booksellers are saying about Tilt

  • This debut’s cover looks sweet, but don’t be deceived. A journey through post-apocalyptic-earthquake Portland, it gave me Portlandia meets The Road vibes. Apocalyptic fiction and disaster movie lovers, this one is for you.
      ― Leslie Logemann, Highland Books in Brevard, North Carolina | BUY

  • Who knew such a quick read could feel so long! Following our extremely pregnant narrator from beneath a pile of IKEA furniture through the dusty, confused streets of Portland on her search for home and her husband, leaves you feeling like you’re right in the chaos with her! You’re agonizing through the hot hours of walking right alongside her all the while hearing her deepest darkest thoughts. This book had me flipping through the pages dying to know what happens next!
      ― Mandy Martin, Novel in Memphis, Tennessee | BUY

  • A truly immersive read, Annie narrates her day to her unborn child, called only “Bean,” through a day that starts with a poorly planned Ikea trip disrupted by a massive earthquake. Tilt’s tight point of view engages readers as Annie navigates the present, persistent threats presented by aftershocks, damaged infrastructure, and other humans, and as she reflects back on her life leading up to the quake in chapters exposing the faultlines of her marriage.
      ― Ginger Kautz, Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina | BUY

  • I can confidently say that this novel lives up to its description of being a heart-racing debut. Our main character is nine months pregnant and shopping for a crib at IKEA when a massive earthquake hits Oregon. I read this in one sitting because it was just so captivating. I did have to take a few breaks in between because there were parts where I needed to take a deep breath since I was holding my breath turning each page.
      ― Percy Castillo, Blue Cypress Books in New Orleans, Louisiana | BUY

About Emma Pattee

Emma Pattee is a climate journalist and fiction writer. Her work has been published in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and elsewhere. She lives in Oregon.

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Book Buzz: Soft Core by Brittany Newell

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Brittany Newell, photo courtesy the author

I think of San Francisco as a main character in the book, exactly like you say. The book is about all the different sorts of intimacies that fill up Ruth’s life, from easily recognizable relationships like her romance with Dino to her intensely emotional and sometimes libidinal friendships with Mazzy and Ophelia. Also, the intimacies that are harder to name but just as impactful, i.e. her intimacies with different johns. All this is to say, a hugely intimate relationship in her life is the relationship she has with San Francisco, especially as she wanders around in her unraveling fugue state and revisits all the different places where special things have happened to her…Grace Cathedral, China Beach, the bus where she met Dino…She traces the city like you might trace a lover’s sleeping face.

― Brittany Newell, Interview, Chicago Review of Books

Soft Core by Brittany Newell

What booksellers are saying about Soft Core

  • I love a messy FMC making terrible choices, and Ruth did not disappoint. Ruth is chaotic and seeing things in this story about a stripper/dominatrix who is looking for anyone or anything to love her. However, things aren’t always what they seem, and Ruth makes poor choices based on what she thinks she sees..
      ― Jackie Davison, The Lynx in Gainesville, Florida | BUY

  • Soft Core sinks it’s teeth in and doesn’t let up. It’s a beautiful, fun, and at times devastating novel that unveils the inner life of sex worker Baby as she deals with the aftermath of her ex disappearing. It’s raw and honest and a wild ride from start to finish!
      ― Hallee Israel, Pearl’s Books inFayetteville, Arkansas | BUY

  • This novel mixed humor, nihilism, sex, and mystery to create one of the most interesting books I’ve read. It is engaging and explorative and you fall into the story as the narration goes on. It was easy to get caught up in the narrative since the blunt descriptions allowed you to feel what Baby, the main character, is feeling. I was both shocked and delighted while reading Soft Core since I became entrapped in Baby’s world.
      ― Ashton Ahart, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina | BUY

  • What is a word for feeling despair but also feeling hot? The vibes are feverish, dancing till we die even though we are missing something inside. Think Euphoria (but it’s adults) with Heavy themes of envy, daddy issues, obsession, and low self-esteem. This was impossible for me to put down, the way that the main character found herself emotionally fulfilled by dancing and working in BDSM was STUNNING. Truly a one of a kind reading experience.
      ― Shelby Barnett, Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, Louisiana | BUY

About Brittany Newell

Brittany Newell is a writer and performer whose work has been published in Granta, n+1, The New York Times, Joyland, Dazed, and Playgirl. She published her debut novel, Oola, at the age of twenty-one. She lives in San Francisco, where she works as a professional dominatrix.

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Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis

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Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis
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Fundamentally is the audacious, hilarious story of Dr. Nadia Amin, a lovesick academic who ends up in Iraq heading up a UN group dedicated to deradicalizing ISIS brides. I laughed out loud, I cringed at her questionable choices, and I fell in love as Nadia becomes attached to and champions the release of one of the brides. Fundamentally is about what we believe in, allowing others to determine their own belief system, and whose job it is to decide who needs saving. Highly recommend!

Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis, (List Price: $28, Tiny Reparations Books, 9780593851388, February 2025)

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

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Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks

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Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks
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Geraldine Brooks’s memoir of her life with writer Tony Horwitz and the aftermath of his sudden death in 2019 is an intimate, gut-wrenching, funny, and inspiring tribute to their life together and to his writing. It will take its place alongside other powerful memoirs of love and loss, like Joan Didion’s Year of Magical Thinking (about which the two of them strikingly disagreed). With her well-honed journalistic skills, Brooks describes the brutally bureaucratic way America handles sudden death alongside her own journey through grief’s landscape while capturing Horwitz’s exuberant personality and adventurous spirit. Having read and loved most of her work, I now can’t wait to read his.

Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks, (List Price: $28, Viking, 9780593653982, February 2025)

Reviewed by Sarah Goddin, McIntyre’s Books in Pittsboro, North Carolina

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Book Buzz: The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan

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Kate Fagan, photo by Kristen LeQuire

I think that was the scariest thing for me going into fiction was, I have relied my entire career on conversations, on reporting, to understand what made a person tick and what made them do the things they had done. And also to be able to collect the details that made a book. I think, because I had done That for 15 or 20 years, I was really worried that I would not have the skill set, or the muscles would have atrophied to be able to build a character out of whole cloth, rather than relying on observing someone else. So that was really scary for me.

But I realized that a lot of the observations one makes as a journalist, that skill set of being able to observe things and knowing which details are most interesting and relevant, serves you really well in fiction as well, because that is the same muscles. If I’m going to write a profile on somebody my job as a journalist is noticing the details and conveying the things that separate that person from the one next to them. And that is very similar to what you’re trying to do when you’re building a character. So in the end, I feel like this thing, I was really scared about because I “don’t build characters in non fiction,” it is a similar skill set that you are using, which is noticing the details that make a place and a person differentiated from just any place or person.

― Kate Fagan, Interview, Friendly City Books

The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan

What booksellers are saying about The Three Lives of Cate Kay

  • This is the perfect plane read. Cate flees a traumatic incident as a teen and runs away from her past for more than a decade. She finally comes into her own after years of hiding her identity, during which she has written a trilogy that becomes a worldwide phenomena. Along the way she falls in love, comes to terms with her past and discovers how she wants to live her future. A wholly entertaining and romantic romp, I dove right in and loved it! Cate is great, you’ll love her too.
      ― Maggie Robe, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina | BUY

  • The Three Lives of Cate Kay is everything I’ve been wanting! The tagline “Seven Husbands” meets “First Lie Wins” is absolutely perfect but with all the depth and queer messiness that catapult this book forward. This is the book that I’ve passed to all of my other booksellers, just so that I can have someone to talk to about this. Fingers crossed on getting an event, because I need everyone to read this book!
      ― Kristin Kehl, Midtown Reader in Tallahassee, Florida | BUY

  • The Three Lives of Cate Kay is an adrenaline rush of a story that doesn’t compromise on sincerity. Whether she is exploring first love, queer identity, female friendship, or self-forgiveness, Fagan leaves everything on the page and delivers a novel that demands to be deeply felt by its readers.
      ― Courtney Ulrich Smith, Underbrush Books in Rogers, Arkansas | BUY

  • This was such a wonderful surprise! The jacket said “Not Pete’s usual cup of tea” but the plot description intrigued me enough to bring a copy home. And I’m glad I did. I was hooked from page one. It’s just a wonderful novel of love and friendship, lost and found over and over again, that really resounded with me. Thank you, Ms. Fagan!
      ― Pete Mock, McIntyre’s Books in Pittsboro, North Carolina | BUY

About Kate Fagan

Kate Fagan is an Emmy Award–winning journalist and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of What Made Maddy Run, which was a semi-finalist for the PEN/ESPN Award for literary sports writing. She is also the author of three additional nonfiction titles, a former professional basketball player, and spent seven years as a journalist at ESPN. Kate currently lives in Charleston with her wife, Kathryn Budig, and their dog, Ragnar.

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Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray

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Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray
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Murray’s novel of the life of editor Jessie Redmon Fauset takes readers deep into the world of the Harlem Renaissance. The story focuses largely on Fauset’s relationship with W. E. B. DuBois. The novel features cameos by many familiar writers of the time, including Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, and Nella Larsen. Recommended for historical fiction fans and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the Harlem Renaissance literary scene.

Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray, (List Price: $29, Berkley, 9780593638484, February 2025)

Reviewed by Amanda Grell, Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville, Arkansas

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Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

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Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson
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I loved the way this book explored the ideas of trauma, PTSD, and loss, as well as how resilience and strength can grow out of them. The changing timelines and character points of view kept me engaged and wanting to learn more about each new storyline and person that was introduced. The ending brought together the past and the present in a beautiful way and showed the power we all have to preserve and learn from our past traumas, whether they be our own or those of our ancestors.

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson, (List Price: $30, Ballantine Books, 9780593358368, January 2025)

Reviewed by Baldwin & Co. in New Orleans, Louisiana

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Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

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Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson
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Charmaine Wilkerson is quickly becoming a must-read author for me. I loved Black Cake and her new novel is equally as good. The book follows the journey of a clay jar that was made by an enslaved potter in South Carolina. The jar stays with the African American family for decades and sees their escape to freedom and the prosperity of future generations. But there are tragic consequences for the family when, over time, the jar becomes a valuable artifact.

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson, (List Price: $30, Ballantine Books, 9780593358368, January 2025)

Reviewed by Kathy Clemmons, Sundog Books in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida

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Sweet Vidalia by Lisa Sandlin

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Sweet Vidalia by Lisa Sandlin
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I can only hope that I’d be as strong as Eliza Kratke (not Kracky!) should everything I ever knew to be true suddenly turned out to be built on a web of lies. Lisa Sandlin’s Sweet Vidalia will have you cheering for Eliza as she picks up the pieces of her life and figures out how to be successful going forward. A thought-provoking novel on how to dig deep to find one’s inner strength no matter the obstacles.

Sweet Vidalia by Lisa Sandlin, (List Price: $28, Little, Brown and Company, 9780316578004, December 2024)

Reviewed by Barb Rascon, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina

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I Made It Out of Clay by Beth Kander

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I Made It Out of Clay by Beth Kander
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When you’re single and turning 40 on your younger sister’s wedding weekend, what would happen if you could take your love life into your own hands … literally? In her adult debut, I Made It Out of Clay, award-winning playwright Beth Kander dreams up a charming romantic dramedy that even hearts made out of stone — er, clay — won’t be able to resist, served with a healthy dose of pathos and a twist inspired by Jewish folklore.

I Made It Out of Clay by Beth Kander, (List Price: $30, MIRA, 9780778368120, December 2024)

Reviewed by Emily Liner, Friendly City Books in Columbus, Mississippi

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Halfway There by Christine Mari

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Halfway There by Christine Mari
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This had me SOBBING. For someone who is not mixed race, this was really eye-opening about the struggles that mixed-race children and adults face in their daily lives. I’m assuming this book would be very comforting for someone who also understands what the MC goes through. This really highlights the microaggressions that are often spoken. Really eye-opening and a very emotional ride. Beautiful story 10/10

Halfway There by Christine Mari, (List Price: $17.99, Little, Brown Ink, 9780316416726, October 2024)

Reviewed by Stephanie St. John, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia

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A Well-Trained Wife by Tia Levings

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A Well-Trained Wife by Tia Levings
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This book shows the hidden world of fundamentalism so well. How easy it is to get involved in it and how hard it is to get out. As someone who grew up in the Baptist culture and had to reframe their mind as they got older this book hit home in a lot of spots. The way that her parents were not involved in the fundamentalist movement, but because of the church that they choose and how they taught the children, it ended up brainwashing them into being extremely fearful, thinking that there is only one way to be redeemed and one specific job for women to do. The author had plans for her life and goals, but the church told her that she was to work on finding a husband and being a wife and refused to give her help to further her education. In the end, this leads her to her abusive husband, who leads them into the life of a fundamentalist. The books that the author had read and the way that the church taught her was that it was her fault that her husband treated her the way they did, and thus started a spiral of her trying to do more and be better and feel like the abuse was deserved. Reading her suffering and seeing how close I could have come to this lifestyle myself made this book an emotional one for sure and one I will not forget anytime soon.

A Well-Trained Wife by Tia Levings, (List Price: $30, St. Martin’s Press, 9781250288288, August 2024)

Reviewed by Kelli Dynia, Copperfish Books in Punta Gorda , Florida

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The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave

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The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave
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The Night We Lost Him is such a good read! I didn’t want to put it down, but felt none of the anxiety or nail-biting tension that can often come with thrillers. It’s atmospheric, insightful, and reflective – all while giving us an emotional mystery. While the book does focus on a kind of maybe murder mystery, it’s also very much about who we are versus who we want to be, both publicly and privately. It’s about the choices we make again and again and how we can change those choices and our path in life. It’s a love story but also a story about grief. Laura Dave’s writing is lovely; the characters are wonderfully three-dimensional, and I loved the architectural bits as well. Highly recommend!

The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave, (List Price: $28.99, S&S / Marysue Rucci Books, 9781668002933, September 2024)

Reviewed by Emily Lessig, The Violet Fox Bookshop in Virginia Beach, Virginia

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Spotlight On: A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang

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Ann Liang, photo by Alyssa Liang

I wrote A Song to Drown Rivers when I was twenty-one—a time when I could feel my world changing shape around me, when my teenage years were starting to feel increasingly distant but adulthood still felt like an abstract concept I hadn’t fully grasped yet—but the seeds for this book were planted long before that. It began with the myths my mother told me when I was a child. Stories about women so beautiful they could bring kingdoms to their knees, about first and final loves so fierce they lived on even in death, and kings as cruel as they were cunning. Even then, the tale of Xishi—the girl, the concubine, the spy—stood out to me. What was it like, I found myself wondering, to have to conceal your true thoughts at every turn? To be tasked with the tremendous mission of making the man you loathe fall in love with you?
–Ann Liang, Letter from the author

A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang

What booksellers are saying about A Song to Drown Rivers

  • A Song to Drown Rivers is an epic historical fantasy about Xishi, one of the four beauties of Ancient China. The Wu people have recently conquered the Yue and life for the Yue is brutal. Xishi, a Yue woman so beautiful she has to wear a veil to escape attention, is approached by the military advisor of her people with a plan to overthrow the Wu by becoming a beloved concubine of their king. Suddenly her small life in her village is over and she’s being coached in court life, falling for the advisor along the way. But she’ll have to put that behind her if she’s going to succeed and save her people. This stunning but heartbreaking tale will take you right back to Ancient China right along with Xishi.
      ― Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia | BUY

  • This one is for the readers who want their love stories stained with tragedy. With its gorgeous prose and captivating main character, A Song to Drown Rivers will leave readers tearful and yearning.
      ― Courtney Ulrich Smith, Underbrush Books in Rogers, Arkansas | BUY

  • Inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of China’s famed Four Beauties, this novel is as stunning and captivating as its muse! Liang’s poetic prose and vivid imagery beautifully explore themes of war, sacrifice, and love against all odds. What sets this novel apart is its ability to make something so ancient feel immediate and personal, as if Xishi herself stepped out of legend to tell her tale. This book made me feel every emotion, and embodies what a tragic yet profound love story should be!
      ― Janisie Rodriguez, Copperfish Books in Punta Gorda, Florida | BUY

  • A lush, evocative novel of mythical proportions. Filled with atmosphere, longing and intrigue this story is about Xishi, who is handpicked for her singular beauty to win the heart of a king and destroy a kingdom. This one has Young Adult crossover appeal as well. Can’t wait to hand-sell it!
      ― Jessica Nock, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina | BUY

  • A Song to Drown Rivers retells ancient legend with phenomenal voice, bringing a truly worthwhile addition to the historical fiction genre. The romance in this book was also done so perfectly! There was so much tension and longing. I felt more emotions through one of their glances than I have through some entire romance books. I also appreciated how the love story never took away from the important messages in the book but it was also never overshadowed by them. This book is an absolute gem, a stunning, compelling, and emotionally charged journey that left me breathless.
      ― Baldwin Bookseller, Baldwin & Co. in New Orleans, Louisiana | BUY

About Ann Liang

Ann Liang is the New York Times and Indie bestselling author of the critically acclaimed YA novels This Time It’s Real, If You Could See the Sun, and I Hope This Doesn’t Find You. Born in Beijing, she grew up traveling back and forth between China and Australia, but somehow ended up with an American accent. She now lives in Melbourne, where she can be found making overambitious to-do lists and having profound conversations with her pet labradoodle about who’s a good dog.

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