Tuesday, May 20, 2025

iTunes Store: Top 25 Books in Fiction & Literature 2025-05-20

Gregory Maguire - Wicked artwork Wicked
The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Gregory Maguire
Genre: Fiction & Literature
Price: $13.99
Publish Date: October 13, 2009
Publisher: William Morrow
Seller: Harper Collins Canada Limited

When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? Gregory Maguire has created a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again.



Pete Hamill - Forever artwork Forever
A Novel
Pete Hamill
Genre: Literary Fiction
Price: $1.99
Publish Date: May 01, 2011
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Seller: OpenRoad Integrated Media, LLC

A man arrives in Manhattan in 1740 and can live forever, if he remains on the island, in this acclaimed bestselling magical epic tale. “Straight from the fountain of epic adventure. . . . If you have recently stood in line for Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings , read Forever .” — Los Angeles Times “A swashbuckling, ribald tale told with flair and, sometimes, unbridled emotion. At the same time it is a serious look at what makes a city more than just bricks and mortar.”― Denver Post Through the eyes of Cormac O’Connor—granted immortality if he never leaves the island of Manhattan—we watch New York grow from a tiny settlement on the tip of an untamed wilderness to the thriving metropolis of today. And through Cormac’s remarkable adventures in both love and war, we come to know the city’s buried secrets—the way it has been shaped by greed, race, and waves of immigration, by the unleashing of enormous human energies, and, above all, by hope. “New York grows from a village—with wolves stalking in forests—into a town and eventually a city, Cormac O’Connor plays a role in a slave revolt, the American Revolution, and the great fire of 1835. . . . O’Connor thinks ‘Not many people know anything about their own past and New Yorkers are most amnesiac of all.’ Forever should change that.” — USA Today “A vivid, gratifying, and ultimately uplifting tale about choosing life over death.” — Boston Globe



Barbara Kingsolver - Demon Copperhead artwork Demon Copperhead
A Novel
Barbara Kingsolver
Genre: Fiction & Literature
Price: $2.99
Publish Date: October 18, 2022
Publisher: Harper
Seller: Harper Collins Canada Limited

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE • WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION New York Times Readers’ Pick: Top 100 Books of the 21st Century • An Oprah’s Book Club Selection • An Instant New York Times Bestseller • An Instant Wall Street Journal Bestseller • A #1 Washington Post Bestseller • A New York Times "Ten Best Books of the Year" "Demon is a voice for the ages—akin to Huck Finn or Holden Caulfield—only even more resilient.” —Beth Macy, author of Dopesick "May be the best novel of [the year]. . . . Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, this is the story of an irrepressible boy nobody wants, but readers will love.” —Ron Charles, Washington Post From the acclaimed author of The Poisonwood Bible and The Bean Trees and the recipient of the National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, a brilliant novel that enthralls, compels, and captures the heart as it evokes a young hero’s unforgettable journey to maturity Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities. Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens’ anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can’t imagine leaving behind.



WW Mortensen - Eight artwork Eight
WW Mortensen
Genre: Horror
Price: $0.99
Publish Date: December 13, 2016
Publisher: WW Mortensen
Seller: Draft2Digital, LLC

TERROR HAS A NEW SPECIES Deep in the Amazon lies the solution to the global energy crisis—a mysterious source of power that will end our dependency on oil. It's not the only discovery. When entomologist Rebecca Riley receives a series of strange photographs from expedition leader and former partner, Ed Reardon, she finds herself heading to Brazil to join the team of scientists assembling there. She hasn't seen Ed for more than a year, and their relationship didn't end well. His revelation, however, is impossible to ignore. What she uncovers is beyond imagination: strange statues in the jungle… a ruined city built by the refugees of a lost Pacific continent… and a terrifying new species. She knows this is no ordinary animal. When the team is attacked, the mission becomes a desperate race for survival, and Rebecca must confront a crippling childhood phobia she'd thought long dead and buried. An ancient enemy has awakened, one whose very existence has implications for all of humankind… and the planet itself.



Joseph O'Connor - My Father's House artwork My Father's House
A Novel
Joseph O'Connor
Genre: Historical Fiction
Price: $1.99
Publish Date: January 31, 2023
Publisher: Europa Editions
Seller: OpenRoad Integrated Media, LLC

Based on the true WWII story of a daring attempt to smuggle thousands through the Vatican and out of occupied Rome right under the noses of Nazi occupiers. A Washington Post and Irish Times Best Book of the Year Finalist for the 2024 Walter Scott Prize September 1943 : German forces have Rome under their control. Gestapo boss Paul Hauptmann rules over the Eternal City with vicious efficiency. Hunger is widespread. Rumors fester. The war’s outcome is far from certain. Diplomats, refugees, Jews, and escaped Allied prisoners flee for protection into Vatican City, a neutral, independent state nestled in the city of Rome. A small band of unlikely friends led by a courageous Irish priest is drawn into deadly battle of wits as they attempt to aid those seeking refuge. Suspenseful and beautifully written, My Father’s House tells an unforgettable story of love, faith, sacrifice, and courage. “A potent blend of excitement, suspense and intrigue . . . A gripping World War II-set drama featuring the unlikeliest of heroes, one whom the reader roots for every step of the way . . . hugely satisfying.” —Malcolm Forbes, The Washington Post “ My Father’s House is primarily—and triumphantly—an intimate drama that illuminates both the fragility and the wonder of unlikely human connections forged in adversity and, in some cases, enduring for a lifetime.” —Anna Mundow, The Wall Street Journal “A riveting tale about the power of community in the face of unfathomable evil . . . A seamless blend of fact and fiction by a master of the genre; a brisk, polyphonic narrative that brings the heroism of ordinary people thrillingly to life.” — The Irish Times



Brad Watson - Miss Jane artwork Miss Jane
A Novel
Brad Watson
Genre: Literary Fiction
Price: $1.99
Publish Date: July 12, 2016
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Seller: OpenRoad Integrated Media, LLC

Longlisted for the National Book Award and a Washington Post Best Book of the Year "Gorgeous…A writer of profound emotional depths." — New York Times Book Review Since his award-winning debut collection of stories, Last Days of the Dog-Men , Brad Watson has been expanding the literary traditions of the South in work as melancholy, witty, strange, and lovely as any in America. Drawing on the true story of his great-aunt, he explores the life of Miss Jane Chisolm, born in rural, early-twentieth-century Mississippi with a genital birth defect that excludes her from the roles traditional for a woman of her time and place and frees her to live her life as she pleases. With irrepressible vitality and generosity of spirit, Miss Jane mesmerizes those around her, exerting an unearthly fascination that lives beyond her still.



Shelby Van Pelt - Remarkably Bright Creatures artwork Remarkably Bright Creatures
A Novel
Shelby Van Pelt
Genre: Literary Fiction
Price: $2.99
Publish Date: May 03, 2022
Publisher: Ecco
Seller: Harper Collins Canada Limited

A New York Times Bestseller Soon to be a Netflix Film A Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick! “Remarkably Bright Creatures is a beautiful examination of how loneliness can be transformed, cracked open, with the slightest touch from another living thing.” -- Kevin Wilson, author of Nothing to See Here For fans of A Man Called Ove, a charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope that traces a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago. Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors—until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova. Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late.  Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.



Kelli Jo Ford - Crooked Hallelujah artwork Crooked Hallelujah
Kelli Jo Ford
Genre: Fiction & Literature
Price: $1.99
Publish Date: July 14, 2020
Publisher: Grove Atlantic
Seller: OpenRoad Integrated Media, LLC

“A masterful debut” that follows four generations of Cherokee women across four decades—from the Plimpton Prize–winning author (Sarah Jessica Parker). It’s 1974 in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and fifteen-year-old Justine grows up in a family of tough, complicated, and loyal women, presided over by her mother, Lula, and Granny. After Justine’s father abandoned the family, Lula became a devout member of the Holiness Church—a community that Justine at times finds stifling and terrifying. But Justine does her best as a devoted daughter, until an act of violence sends her on a different path forever. Crooked Hallelujah tells the stories of Justine—a mixed-blood Cherokee woman—and her daughter, Reney, as they move from Eastern Oklahoma’s Indian Country in the hopes of starting a new, more stable life in Texas amid the oil bust of the 1980s. However, life in Texas isn’t easy, and Reney feels unmoored from her family in Indian Country. Against the vivid backdrop of the Red River, we see their struggle to survive in a world—of unreliable men and near-Biblical natural forces, like wildfires and tornados—intent on stripping away their connections to one another and their very ideas of home. In lush and empathic prose, Kelli Jo Ford depicts what this family of proud, stubborn, Cherokee women sacrifices for those they love, amid larger forces of history, religion, class, and culture. This is a big-hearted and ambitious novel of the powerful bonds between mothers and daughters by an exquisite and rare new talent. “A compelling journey through the evolving terrain of multiple generations of women.” — The Washington Post



Danielle Steel - A Mind of Her Own artwork A Mind of Her Own
A Novel
Danielle Steel
Genre: Fiction & Literature
Price: $16.99
Publish Date: April 29, 2025
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Seller: Penguin Random House Canada

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Rising above the devastation of World War I, a young half-French, half-American woman remains true to her own independent spirit in this powerful historical novel by bestselling author Danielle Steel. Alexandra Bouvier is born in Paris in 1900, at the dawn of a new century. From an early age, she is encouraged to think for herself by her enlightened family: her father, a French doctor; her mother, an American nurse; and her maternal grandfather a highly regarded newspaperman back in the Midwest. At age fourteen, Alex’s comfortable life is upended as war erupts across Europe. Her parents follow their sense of duty to the front, performing triage at a field hospital and confronting the horrors of poison gas and trench warfare. The merciless fighting, coupled with the fast-spreading Spanish flu, wreaks havoc on the continent, as well as on Alex’s loved ones. By the time she is eighteen, she has suffered unimaginable losses. With her grandfather’s support, she attends the University of Chicago and decides to follow his footsteps into journalism. As a newspaper intern she meets reporter Oliver Foster, who is covering the gang wars sparked by Prohibition. He too has known devastating loss, and the two are drawn to each other, though both fear any attachment. As it turns out, Alex has good reason to be cautious. Danielle Steel’s sweeping historical novel is a story of resilience and the courage to open one’s heart—no matter how many times it’s been broken—and believe in oneself.



Ann Patchett - The Dutch House artwork The Dutch House
A Novel
Ann Patchett
Genre: Fiction & Literature
Price: $2.99
Publish Date: September 24, 2019
Publisher: Harper
Seller: Harper Collins Canada Limited

Pulitzer Prize Finalist | New York Times Bestseller | A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick | A New York Times Book Review Notable Book | TIME Magazine's 100 Must-Read Books of the Year Named one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR, The Washington Post; O: The Oprah Magazine, Real Simple, Good Housekeeping, Vogue, Refinery29, and Buzzfeed From Ann Patchett, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Commonwealth, comes a powerful, richly moving story that explores the indelible bond between two siblings, the house of their childhood, and a past that will not let them go. The Dutch House is the story of a paradise lost, a tour de force that digs deeply into questions of inheritance, love and forgiveness, of how we want to see ourselves and of who we really are. At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakeable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures. Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Throughout their lives they return to the well-worn story of what they’ve lost with humor and rage. But when at last they’re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is finally tested.



Camille Laurens - Ta promesse - Grand Prix RTL - Lire Magazine 2025 artwork Ta promesse - Grand Prix RTL - Lire Magazine 2025
Camille Laurens
Genre: Fiction & Literature
Price: $26.99
Publish Date: January 02, 2025
Publisher: Editions Gallimard
Seller: GALLIMARD LIMITEE

"Au moment où s’ouvre ce livre, je romps une promesse. Lorsque je l’ai faite, c’est idiot, j’étais sûre que je la tiendrais. Enfin, idiot, je ne sais pas. La moindre des choses, quand on fait une promesse, n’est-ce pas d’y croire ?" Que s’est-il passé avec son compagnon pour que la romancière Claire Lancel doive se défendre devant un tribunal ? Au fil du récit, elle raconte comment elle s’est peu à peu laissé entraîner dans une histoire faite de manipulations et de mensonges. Dans ce roman haletant comme un thriller, Camille Laurens questionne le narcissisme contemporain, l’absence d’empathie, et se demande comment sauver l’amour de ses illusions. Elle nous invite à le célébrer et à le vivre, au-delà des promesses trahies.



Alison Espach - The Wedding People artwork The Wedding People
A Novel
Alison Espach
Genre: Fiction & Literature
Price: $16.99
Publish Date: July 30, 2024
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Seller: Macmillan

The runaway New York Times bestseller A Today Show #ReadwithJenna Book Club Pick, New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, and a #1 Indie Next Pick Named a Best Book of the Year by The Guardian , Time , Chicago Tribune Biblioracle, HuffPost , US Magazine , Elle , Real Simple , and Glamour A propulsive and uncommonly wise novel about one unexpected wedding guest and the surprising people who help her start anew. It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She’s immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamed of coming for years—she hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe's plan—which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other. In turns absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s The Wedding People is ultimately an incredibly nuanced and resonant look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined—and the chance encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us.



Janet Hoggarth - The Swim artwork The Swim
An unforgettable, funny and inspiring book club novel from Janet Hoggarth
Janet Hoggarth
Genre: Fiction & Literature
Price: $0.99
Publish Date: May 07, 2025
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Seller: Boldwood Books Ltd

'Heart-swelling, heart-breaking and all-round unforgettable.' Shari Low Cordelia Franks never finishes anything and has spent a lifetime hiding in the shadows. So, when she decides to train to swim the English Channel, she understands why no one believes she can do it. She doesn’t really believe she can either, but she’s determined to try. As she strides into the Channel with hours stretching ahead of her, Cordelia swims against every milestone in her life so far. Every failed relationship, every friendship let go, every exam failed, every tricky job she quit. A life lived never giving it her all. Until now. With every stroke, with every mile, Cordelia knows that this is finally her moment. Because if she keeps this promise to herself, if she doesn’t give up, nothing will ever be the same again. And waiting in France is an unimagined future and someone who does believe in her… The Swim is an unforgettable, funny and inspiring story of one ordinary woman’s choice to be extraordinary. Perfect for all fans of Libby Page, Clare Pooley and Marian Keyes. Readers love Janet Hoggarth: ‘I honestly can’t recommend this book enough. It’s a wonderful heartfelt story filled with emotion, humour, intrigue and love. It’s the perfect summer read whether on holiday or at home. I can’t put it down!’ ‘Cried and laughed throughout the book. Lovely story. Brilliantly written and will definitely be reading more of Janet Hoggarth’s novels.’ ‘I love the way this book is written, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and would absolutely give it 10/10’ ‘Thoroughly enjoyed this book, made me laugh and cry, likeable, relatable characters. I'm sad that I've finished it. Will definitely be reading more books by the same author.’ ‘The best moving realistic story I have ever read. Totally absorbed, a few tears later as I was so moved.’



Donna Jones Alward - When the World Fell Silent artwork When the World Fell Silent
Donna Jones Alward
Genre: Historical Fiction
Price: $3.99
Publish Date: July 19, 2024
Publisher: One More Chapter
Seller: Harper Collins Canada Limited

A story of loss, hope and redemption against impossible odds… ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'If you've read The Women by Kristin Hannah I recommend you read this one!!!!' The Canadian Globe & Mail Bestseller! 'Extremely compelling' Historical Novel Society 'Alward tells this story of the wounded survivors and the people who cared for them with affecting grace' Toronto Star 1917. Halifax, Nova Scotia. Nora Crowell wants more than her sister’s life as a wife and mother. As WWI rages across the Atlantic, she becomes a lieutenant in the Canadian Army Nursing Corps. But trouble is looming and it won’t be long before the truth comes to light. Having lost her beloved husband in the trenches and with no-one else to turn to, Charlotte Campbell now lives with his haughty relations who treat her like the help. It is baby Aileen, the joy and light of her life, who spurs her to dream of a better life. When tragedy strikes in Halifax Harbour, nothing for these two women will ever be the same again. Their paths will cross in the most unexpected way, trailing both heartbreak and joy its wake… Praise for Donna Jones Alward: 'A beautiful, meticulously researched story that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page' USA Today bestseller, Genevieve Graham ‘A triumphant, unforgettable tale of sacrifice, hope, and second chances … with a twist that will have readers holding their breath' Renee Ryan, author of The Secret Society of Salzburg ‘Readers of historical fiction, don’t miss this one!’ USA Today bestseller, Andie Newton 'A winning and memorable tale that boasts a perfectly-judged grasp of historical detail, wonderfully nuanced characters, and a narrative arc that never falters' USA Today bestseller, Jennifer Robson 'A fascinating, heartbreaking, and heartwarming story’ USA Today bestseller, Glynis Peters 'A rare novel that is both heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. Prepare to fall in love' Soraya M. Lane, bestselling author 'Meticulously researched and full of atmospheric period details that will take your breath away' Julianne MacLean, bestselling author 'Alward handles the aftermath of a Canadian tragedy with sensitivity, skill, brilliant writing’ Lecia Cornwall, author of That Summer in Berlin About the author Since 2006, New York Times bestseller Donna Jones Alward has enchanted readers with stories of happy endings and homecomings that have won several awards and been translated into over a dozen languages. She’s worked as an administrative assistant, teaching assistant, in retail and as a stay-at-home-mom, but always knew her degree in English Literature would pay off, as she is now happy to be a full-time writer. Her new historical fiction tales blend her love of history with characters who step beyond their biggest fears to claim the lives they desire. Donna currently lives in Nova Scotia, Canada, with her husband and two cats. You can often find her near the water, either kayaking on the lake or walking the sandy beaches to refill her creative well. Find out more at www.donnajonesalward.com



Susan Mallery - Beach Vibes artwork Beach Vibes
A Beach Read Romance Novel
Susan Mallery
Genre: Family Fiction & Literature
Price: $6.99
Publish Date: March 18, 2025
Publisher: Harlequin
Seller: Harlequin Enterprises Limited

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery comes an unforgettable beach read about love, secrets, betrayal and the family we’re born into—and the one we choose for ourselves, perfect for fans of Emily Giffin and Mary Kay Andrews. What would you do if you caught your brother cheating on your best friend?  While Beth is proud of her Malibu beach shop, Surf Sandwiches, she's even prouder of her charismatic brother Rick, who rose from foster care through surgical residency. She makes subs, he saves lives. Life takes a turn for the happy after she finds out Rick is dating her new best friend, Jana. Then Jana’s handsome brother adds even more sparkle to Beth’s days...and nights. But when she catches Rick with another woman—like, with-with—her visions of an idyllic family future disappear in one awful instant. Either she betrays her brother, or she keeps his secret and risks losing the man she loves and her best friend. Love and loyalty collide with secrets and betrayal in this witty and emotional tale about the lengths we’ll go to for family, from Susan Mallery, New York Times bestselling author of The Boardwalk Bookshop. Discover more heartwarming tales by Susan Mallery: One Big Happy Family The Summer Book Club The Happiness Plan Home Sweet Christmas The Boardwalk Bookshop



Ocean Vuong - The Emperor of Gladness: Oprah's Book Club artwork The Emperor of Gladness: Oprah's Book Club
A Novel
Ocean Vuong
Genre: Literary Fiction
Price: $16.99
Publish Date: May 13, 2025
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Seller: Penguin Random House Canada

Oprah’s Book Club Pick • Ocean Vuong returns with a bighearted novel about chosen family, unexpected friendship, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive “Stunning . . . A heartfelt and powerful examination of those living on the fringes of society, and the unique challenges they face to survive and thrive.” —Oprah Winfrey “Magnificent . . . In writing this book, Vuong may have joined the ranks of an elite few great novelists.” —Leigh Haber, Los Angeles Times The hardest thing in the world is to live only once … One late summer evening in the post-industrial town of East Gladness, Connecticut, nineteen-year-old Hai stands on the edge of a bridge in pelting rain, ready to jump, when he hears someone shout across the river. The voice belongs to Grazina, an elderly widow succumbing to dementia, who convinces him to take another path. Bereft and out of options, he quickly becomes her caretaker. Over the course of the year, the unlikely pair develops a life-altering bond, one built on empathy, spiritual reckoning, and heartbreak, with the power to transform Hai’s relationship to himself, his family, and a community on the brink. Following the cycles of history, memory, and time, The Emperor of Gladness shows the profound ways in which love, labor, and loneliness form the bedrock of American life. At its heart is a brave epic about what it means to exist on the fringes of society and to reckon with the wounds that haunt our collective soul. Hallmarks of Ocean Vuong’s writing—formal innovation, syntactic dexterity, and the ability to twin grit with grace through tenderness—are on full display in this story of loss, hope, and how far we would go to possess one of life’s most fleeting mercies: a second chance.



Larry Tremblay - L'Orangeraie artwork L'Orangeraie
Larry Tremblay
Genre: Fiction & Literature
Price: $10.99
Publish Date: October 16, 2013
Publisher: Alto
Seller: Diffusion Dimedia Inc.

Quand Amed pleure, Aziz pleure aussi. Quand Aziz rit, Amed rit aussi. Ces frères jumeaux auraient pu vivre paisiblement à l’ombre des orangers. Mais un obus traverse le ciel, tuant leurs grands-parents. La guerre s’empare de leur enfance et sépare leurs destins. Des hommes viennent réclamer vengeance pour le sang versé. Amed, à moins que ce ne soit Aziz, devra consentir au plus grand des sacrifices. Et tous payeront le tribut des martyrs, les morts comme ceux qui restent. Larry Tremblay frappe encore un grand coup, mais vise cette fois le cœur, laissant au lecteur le soin de départager les âmes pures des fourbes, les fanatiques des héros. Un texte à la fois actuel et hors du temps qui possède la force brute des grandes tragédies et le lyrisme des légendes du désert.



Charlotte McConaghy - Wild Dark Shore artwork Wild Dark Shore
A Novel
Charlotte McConaghy
Genre: Fiction & Literature
Price: $16.99
Publish Date: March 04, 2025
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Seller: Macmillan

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER An ENTHRALLING new novel from the NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING author of Migrations and Once There Were Wolves "A WILDLY TALENTED writer." ―Emily St. John Mandel “RIVETING.” ―Booklist (starred review) “[A] TERRIFIC thriller.” ―Kirkus (starred review) “As lush as it is TAUT WITH TENSION.” ―Library Journal (starred review) A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A rising storm on the horizon. Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers, but with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants. Until, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman mysteriously washes ashore. Isolation has taken its toll on the Salts, but as they nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, it begins to feel like she might just be what they need. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting herself, starts imagining a future where she could belong to someone again. But Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realizes Dominic is keeping his own secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, they all must decide if they can trust each other enough to protect the precious seeds in their care before it’s too late—and if they can finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new, together. A novel of breathtaking twists, dizzying beauty, and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us disappears.



Kelly Rimmer - The Things We Cannot Say artwork The Things We Cannot Say
A WWII Historical Fiction Novel
Kelly Rimmer
Genre: Historical Fiction
Price: $14.99
Publish Date: March 19, 2019
Publisher: Graydon House Books
Seller: Harlequin Enterprises Limited

OVER 1 MILLION COPIES SOLD! The New York Times bestseller—for fans of All the Light We Cannot See and The Tattooist of Auschwitz! From the bestselling author of Truths I Never Told You, Before I Let You Go, and the The Warsaw Orphan, Kelly Rimmer’s powerful WWII novel follows a woman’s urgent search for answers to a family mystery that uncovers truths about herself that she never expected. “Fans of The Nightingale and Lilac Girls will adore The Things We Cannot Say.” —Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author In 1942, Europe remains in the relentless grip of war. Just beyond the tents of the refugee camp she calls home, a young woman speaks her wedding vows. It’s a decision that will alter her destiny…and it’s a lie that will remain buried until the next century. Since she was nine years old, Alina Dziak knew she would marry her best friend, Tomasz. Now fifteen and engaged, Alina is unconcerned by reports of Nazi soldiers at the Polish border, believing her neighbors that they pose no real threat, and dreams instead of the day Tomasz returns from college in Warsaw so they can be married. But little by little, injustice by brutal injustice, the Nazi occupation takes hold, and Alina’s tiny rural village, its families, are divided by fear and hate. Then, as the fabric of their lives is slowly picked apart, Tomasz disappears. Where Alina used to measure time between visits from her beloved, now she measures the spaces between hope and despair, waiting for word from Tomasz and avoiding the attentions of the soldiers who patrol her parents’ farm. But for now, even deafening silence is preferable to grief. Slipping between Nazi-occupied Poland and the frenetic pace of modern life, Kelly Rimmer creates an emotional and finely wrought narrative. The Things We Cannot Say is an unshakable reminder of the devastation when truth is silenced…and how it can take a lifetime to find our voice before we learn to trust it.   For more by Kelly Rimmer, look for Before I Let You Go Truths I Never Told You The Warsaw Orphan The German Wife The Paris Agent The Midnight Estate (available July 22, 2025)



Toshikazu Kawaguchi - Before the Coffee Gets Cold: A Toshikazu Kawaguchi Book Set artwork Before the Coffee Gets Cold: A Toshikazu Kawaguchi Book Set
Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Genre: Fiction & Literature
Price: $3.99
Publish Date: June 13, 2023
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
Seller: Harlequin Enterprises Limited

What would you do if you could travel back in time? Discover the internationally bestselling novels of Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s Before the Coffee Gets Cold series, now a worldwide phenomenon and BookTok sensation, in this special new box set. Step inside Tokyo’s whimsical Café Funiculi Funicula and travel back in time with a cast of unforgettable characters, including: Before the Coffee Gets Cold: estranged sisters, a newly pregnant customer, and the wife of a man with early onset Alzheimer’s Tales from the Café: a detective with a gift, a son with regrets, and a man chasing “the one who got away” Before Your Memory Fades: a comedian with big dreams, a grieving sister, and childhood lovers For new and longtime fans alike, this boxed set is the perfect collection of heartwarming, uplifting tales that remind us we “don’t have to live burdened by regret” (New York Times). Translated from Japanese in the signature prose of Geoffrey Trousselot, each installment of this series brings new adventure that has captivated millions of readers around the world.  



Jon Byrne - Sword Brethren artwork Sword Brethren
Jon Byrne
Genre: Historical Fiction
Price: $0.99
Publish Date: November 28, 2024
Publisher: The Book Guild Ltd
Seller: The Book Guild Ltd

1242. After being wounded in the Battle on the Ice, Richard Fitz Simon becomes a prisoner of Prince Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod. Alexander, intrigued by his captive’s story, instructs his scholar to assist Richard in writing about his life. Richard’s chronicle begins in 1203, when his training to be a knight is disrupted by treachery. He is forced to flee England for Lübeck, where he begins work for a greedy salt merchant. After an illicit love affair, his new life is thrown into turmoil, and he joins the Livonian Brothers of the Sword as they embark on imposing the will of God on the pagans of the eastern Baltic. Here, he must reconcile with his new life of prayer, danger and duty – despite his own religious doubts, with as many enemies within the fortified commandery as the wilderness outside. However, when their small outpost in Riga is threatened by a large pagan army, Richard is compelled to make a crucial decision and fight like never before.



Clare Leslie Hall - Broken Country (Reese's Book Club) artwork Broken Country (Reese's Book Club)
Clare Leslie Hall
Genre: Fiction & Literature
Price: $14.99
Publish Date: March 04, 2025
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Seller: Simon & Schuster Canada

A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK | A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “ Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall is an unforgettable story of love, loss, and the choices that shape our lives…but it’s also a masterfully crafted mystery that will keep you guessing until the very last page. Seriously, that ending?! I did not see it coming.” —Reese Witherspoon “Stirring and mysterious…fires directly at the human heart and hits the mark.” —Delia Owens, New York Times bestselling author of Where the Crawdads Sing A love triangle unearths dangerous, deadly secrets from the past in this thrilling tale perfect for fans of The Paper Palace and Where the Crawdads Sing . “The farmer is dead. He is dead, and all anyone wants to know is who killed him.” Beth and her gentle, kind husband Frank are happily married, but their relationship relies on the past staying buried. But when Beth’s brother-in-law shoots a dog going after their sheep, Beth doesn’t realize that the gunshot will alter the course of their lives. For the dog belonged to none other than Gabriel Wolfe, the man Beth loved as a teenager—the man who broke her heart years ago. Gabriel has returned to the village with his young son Leo, a boy who reminds Beth very much of her own son, who died in a tragic accident. As Beth is pulled back into Gabriel’s life, tensions around the village rise and dangerous secrets and jealousies from the past resurface, this time with deadly consequences. Beth is forced to make a choice between the woman she once was, and the woman she has become. A sweeping love story with the pace and twists of a thriller, Broken Country is a novel of simmering passion, impossible choices, and explosive consequences that toggles between the past and present to explore the far-reaching legacy of first love.



Lesley Crewe - The Spoon Stealer artwork The Spoon Stealer
Lesley Crewe
Genre: Fiction & Literature
Price: $10.99
Publish Date: September 30, 2020
Publisher: Nimbus
Seller: eBOUND Canada

 Born into a basket of clean sheets—ruining a perfectly good load of laundry—Emmeline never quite fit in on her family's rural Nova Scotian farm. After suffering multiple losses in the First World War, her family became so heavy with grief, toxicity, and mental illness that Emmeline felt their weight smothering her. And so, she fled across the Atlantic and built her life in England. Now she is retired and living in a small coastal town with her best friend, Vera, an excellent conversationalist. Vera is also a small white dog, and so Emmeline is making an effort to talk to more humans. When she joins a memoir-writing course at the library, her classmates don't know what to make of her. Funny, loud, and with a riveting memoir, she charms the lot. As her past unfolds for her audience, friendships form, a bonus in a rather lonely life. She even shares with them her third-biggest secret: she has liberated hundreds of spoons over her lifetime—from the local library, Cary Grant, Winston Churchill. She is a compulsive spoon stealer. When Emmeline unexpectedly inherits the farm she grew up on, she knows she needs to leave her new friends and go see the farm and what remains of her family one last time. She arrives like a tornado in their lives, an off-kilter Mary Poppins bossing everyone around and getting quite a lot wrong. But with her generosity and hard-earned wisdom, she gets an awful lot right too. A pinball ricocheting between people, offending and inspiring in equal measure, Emmeline, in her final years, believes that a spoonful—perhaps several spoonfuls—of kindness can set to rights the family so broken by loss and secrecy. The Spoon Stealer is a classic Crewe book: full of humour, family secrets, women's friendship, lovable animals, and immense heart.



Sarah Penner - The Amalfi Curse artwork The Amalfi Curse
A Bewitching Tale of Sunken Treasure , Forbidden Love , and Ancient Magic on the Amalfi Coast
Sarah Penner
Genre: Historical Fiction
Price: $19.99
Publish Date: April 29, 2025
Publisher: Park Row Books
Seller: Harlequin Enterprises Limited

“This intoxicating story blends old-world magic and modern-day mystery with a delicious dash of amore.” —People  Powerful witchcraft. A hunt for sunken treasure. Forbidden love on the high seas. Beware the Amalfi Curse… Haven Ambrose, a trailblazing nautical archaeologist, has come to the sun-soaked village of Positano to investigate the mysterious shipwrecks along the Amalfi Coast. But Haven is hoping to find more than old artifacts beneath the azure waters; she is secretly on a quest to locate a trove of priceless gemstones her late father spotted on his final dive. Upon Haven’s arrival, strange maelstroms and misfortunes start plaguing the town. Is it nature or something more sinister at work? As Haven searches for her father’s sunken treasure, she begins to unearth a centuries-old tale of ancient sorcery and one woman’s quest to save her lover and her village by using the legendary art of stregheria, a magical ability to harness the ocean. Could this magic be behind Positano’s latest calamities? Haven must unravel the Amalfi Curse before the region is destroyed forever… Against the dazzling backdrop of the Amalfi Coast, this bewitching novel shimmers with mystery, romance and the untamed magic of the sea.  



Marjan Kamali - The Lion Women of Tehran artwork The Lion Women of Tehran
The life-affirming BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick
Marjan Kamali
Genre: Literary Fiction
Price: $11.99
Publish Date: November 21, 2024
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Seller: Simon & Schuster Canada

A BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK 'As heart-wrenching as it is achingly beautiful' Sadeqa Johnson, author of The House of Eve 'Heartbreaking and life affirming'  Adrienne Brodeur, author of Little Monsters 'Courage, friendship, loyalty, hardship, love  – this novel has everything' Mary Beth Keane, Ask Again, Yes From the author of The Stationery Shop of Tehran , a heartfelt, epic new novel of friendship, betrayal and redemption set against three transformative decades in Tehran, Iran. In 1950s Tehran, seven-year-old Ellie lives in grand comfort until the untimely death of her father, forcing Ellie and her mother to move to a tiny home downtown. Lonely and bearing the brunt of her mother’s endless grievances, Ellie dreams of a friend to alleviate her isolation. Luckily, on the first day of school, she meets Homa, a kind, passionate girl with a brave and irrepressible spirit. Together, the two girls play games, learn to cook in the stone kitchen of Homa’s warm home, wander through the colorful stalls of the Grand Bazaar, and share their ambitions for becoming 'lion women.' But their happiness is disrupted when Ellie and her mother are afforded the opportunity to return to their previous bourgeois life. Now a popular student at the best girls’ high school in Iran, Ellie’s memories of Homa begin to fade. Years later, however, her sudden reappearance in Ellie’s privileged world alters the course of both of their lives. Together, the two young women come of age and pursue their own goals for meaningful futures. But as the political turmoil in Iran builds to a breaking point, one earth-shattering betrayal will have enormous consequences. Praise for Marjan Kamali ‘Evocative, devastating, and hauntingly beautiful’  Whitney Scharer, author of The Age of Light ‘A beautifully immersive tale’ Jasmin Darznik, author of The Good Daughter  and Song of a Captive Bird ‘At once masterfully plotted, beautifully written, and populated by characters who are arresting, lovable and so real’  Elinor Lipman, author of Turpentine Lane ‘A sweeping romantic tale of thwarted love’ Kirkus Reviews ‘Enchanting’   My Weekly