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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.

If you like Young Royal on Netflix or enemies to lovers, this is a good read.

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.

Warcross is a virtual reality combat game in which the players don’t wear VR sets they wear VR glasses that offer way better specs than Metaverse. In this world, the VR glasses give you the ability to use coins in real life and search things without a phone. The main character Emika Chen is a hacker who is struggling to pay for food and shelter after her dad died.

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.

Local Chicagoan, Mike Evans, founder of the startup 'GrubHub', brings us his inspiring story in Hangry (2022). He details the grit and determination it takes to be an entrepreneur and build up your business, but along with success comes burnout and disillusionment.

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.

On October 30, 1938, Orson Welles’s radio program Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcast a radio play based on the H.G. Wells novel War of the Worlds. The original novel, set in 1890s England, told the story of a Martian invasion of Earth.

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.

Many people associate the Ku Klux Klan with the South. But in Timothy Egan’s compelling and infuriating history, you’ll learn about the rise of the Klan in the 1920s Midwest, particularly Indiana.