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In her latest book, The Half Moon (2023), Mary Beth Keane tells the story of a married couple in crisis, thanks to circumstances beyond their control. Economic turmoil, infertility, and the shifting values of a younger generation of consumers—these things and more have fractured the lives, loyalties, and love of Malcolm and Jess Gephardt.

V.E. Schwab takes us on a deliciously adventurous ride back to the world of The Shades of Magic, where parallel worlds exist and a select few can open doors between them.

If you enjoy dual narratives, flawed characters, and twisty plots, try The Lost Apothecary (2021) by Sarah Penner. Alternating between the late 18th century and contemporary London, the story is told from the perspectives of three women. In the 1790s, a secret apothecary shop caters to women seeking poisons to rid themselves of men who have wronged them.

We Could Be So Good (2023) by Cat Sebastian is a romance set at a large New York newspaper in the late 1950s. Veteran reporter Nick Russo is a closeted gay man whose fear of being outed keeps him from developing any close friendships… until he meets Andy Fleming.

What happened to Violet Volk? Ten years ago, the celebrity magician disappeared during a show. Acts of Violet (2022) is a compelling, suspenseful story that alternates between the perspective of Violet’s younger sister Sasha and a mix of podcast episodes, interview transcripts, emails, and newspaper articles.

You Died: an anthology of the afterlife is a 2020 graphic novel comprised of 24 short pieces by different authors and illustrators, all relating to death, dying, grief and various depictions of an afterlife. This is a beautiful rollercoaster, as optimistic, inspiring and grounding as it is haunting.

All book lovers out there should add this book about magical books to their TBR list. 

In Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake (2021), first in Alexis Hall’s Winner Bakes All series, single mother Rosaline is working minimum wage jobs and struggling to pay her bills.

Ruth Ozeki's latest novel, The Book of Form and Emptiness (2021), is a big book in terms of length. It's a big book, too, in terms of the ideas and issues with which it deals, including Zen Buddhism, mental illness and the systems that surround its treatment, the nature of reality, and the pressures of the marketplace and capitalism.

I really enjoyed listening to the newest book by Sally Hepworth, The Soulmate (2023), because it had many elements of a great audiobook.

Ocean’s Echo (2022), a sci-fi/romance by Everina Maxwell, puts a military sci-fi spin on the classic fake dating trope. In this novel, scientific experiments have created Readers, who can read other people’s minds, and Architects, who can influence thoughts.