Jane Jorgenson

When authors become characters, the plot thickens.

Emotional novels set during the holiday season.

The setting, characters, and structure of the novel are compelling, and, as the title suggests, there are secrets and lies aplenty. For fans of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid and The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins.

Holly by Stephen King is the top holds title of the week. LibraryReads and Library Journal offer read-alikes for patrons waiting to read this buzziest book.

Hybrid fiction, balancing between multiple genres, offers a gateway to readers wishing to explore different kinds of novels than the ones they gravitate to—swoony romance/fantasies for SFF readers; horror- or sci-fi-inflected thrillers for habitual thriller readers. Here are a range of blends to share with patrons.

Author Vanessa Riley’s new historical novel, Sister Mother Warrior, probes Haitian history and fictionalizes the lives of two women who figured prominently in the Haitian revolution: Abdaraya “Gran” Toya, a woman warrior who was part of the fight for freedom against the island’s French enslavers; and Marie-Claire Heureuse Félicité Bonheur, a free woman of color who would become Empress of Haiti, ruling with Jean-Jacques Dessalines. LJ asked Riley about the inspiration for her newest novel.

A girl with a louding voice, a bawdy observer, a woman making her own happy ending. The best pop fiction novels published in 2020.

Read on the plane, train, beach, and with your book club. The best pop fiction published in 2019.