Love can be messy, painful and even tragic. When seen through the eyes of Simon Rich—“one of the funniest writers in America” (The Daily Beast)—it can also be hilarious.
In thirty short, sharp, brilliantly drawn stories, Rich conjures up some unforgettable romances: An unused prophylactic describes life inside a teenage boy’s wallet; God juggles the demands of his needy girlfriend with the looming deadline for earth’s creation; a lovestruck Sherlock Holmes ignores all the clues that his girlfriend’s been cheating on him. As everyone knows (and as Zeus himself complains; see page xx) you just never know where Cupid’s arrow will strike.
As enchanting, sweet, and absurd as love itself, these stories are Simon Rich’s Valentine to readers, an irresistible collection of delights. All that’s missing is the heart-shaped box.
What if you could live again and again, until you got it right?
On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to an English banker and his wife. She dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in a variety of ways, while the young century marches on towards its second cataclysmic world war.
Does Ursula’s apparently infinite number of lives give her the power to save the world from its inevitable destiny? And if she can – will she?
Wildly inventive, darkly comic, startlingly poignant—this is Kate Atkinson at her absolute best.
Eric Muller has been trying to hack the girlfriend problem his whole life. But his attempts to decode women—including a journal of “research” about the girls in his high school class that fell into the wrong hands, with catastrophic results—only confirm that he’s better at programming computers than interacting with humans.
By 2002, Eric is a Silicon Valley millionaire. He’s learned to coax girls into bed with cocktails, ironic remarks, and carefully timed intimacies. Still, for all his efforts, he’s never been in love. So when he falls for Maya, a disarming young journalist who sees through his moves, he’s in uncharted territory. But something dark and unresolved in Maya's past becomes an obsession for Eric. Can he reconcile his need for logic and order with the least logical thing in the world—love?
Description: Jenna has planned her wedding according to the wishes of her late mother, who left behind The Notebook: specific instructions for every detail of her youngest daughter’s future nuptials.
“Hors d’oeuvres: nothing with spinach (stuck in teeth) and no smoked salmon (bad breath).
Readings: If you use Corinthians 13, you will hear a collective groan.
Daddy: Make sure he has his handkerchief. He will need it.”
Everything should be falling into place for the beautiful Nantucket wedding that will unite the Carmichael and Graham families—but instead, things are falling apart. If only her mother could have left directions for what to do about divorce, affairs, and other matters of the heart.
While the couple-to-be seems appropriately blissful, their loved ones have arrived on the island with their own lives in disarray. The bride’s older sister wants to help carry out their mother’s wishes, but her divorce has left her skeptical of marriage—and her secret relationship with a much older man has left her skeptical of love. The bride’s father is reevaluating his recent remarriage. And the groom’s mother has married the same man twice—a man who left her to have a child with another woman (a woman who’s also been invited). Add some misbehaving bridesmaids, errant groomsmen, and the threat of rain, and the perfect weekend might turn instead into a perfect storm.
Before the guests head for home, love will be questioned, scandals will arise, hearts will be broken and healed. Elin Hilderbrand takes readers on a touching journey—into the heart of marriage, what it means to be faithful, and how we choose to honor our commitments.
Darling is only ten years old, and yet she must navigate a fragile and violent world. In Zimbabwe, Darling and her friends steal guavas, try to get the baby out of young Chipo’s belly, and grasp at memories of Before. Before their homes were destroyed by soldiers, before the fathers left for dangerous jobs abroad.
But Darling has a chance to escape: she has an aunt in America. She travels to this new land in search of America’s famous abundance only to find that her options as an immigrant are perilously few. NoViolet Bulawayo’s debut calls to mind the great storytellers of displacement and arrival who have come before her—from Junot Diaz to Zadie Smith to J.M. Coetzee—while she tells a vivid, raw story all her own.
In the summer of 1914, the elegant ocean liner carrying her and her husband Henry across the Atlantic suffers a mysterious explosion. Setting aside his own safety, Henry secures Grace a place in a lifeboat, which the survivors quickly realize is over capacity. For any to live, some must die.
As the castaways battle the elements, and each other, Grace recollects the unorthodox way she and Henry met, and the new life of privilege she thought she'd found. Will she pay any price to keep it?
The Lifeboat is a page-turning novel of hard choices and survival, narrated by a woman as unforgettable and complex as the events she describes.
"Charlotte Rogan uses a deceptively simply narrative of shipwreck and survival to explore our all-too-human capacity for self-deception."
—J.M. Coetzee, author of Disgrace
"I can't imagine any reader who looks at the opening pages wanting to put the book down... It's so refreshing to read a book that is ambitious and yet not tricksy, where the author seems to be in command of her material and really on top of her game. It's beautifully controlled and totally believable."
—Hilary Mantel, author of Wolf Hall
"The Lifeboat is a richly rewarding novel, psychologically acute and morally complex. It can and should be read on many levels, but it is first and foremost a harrowing tale of survival. And what an irresistible tale it is; terrifying, intense, and, like the ocean in which the shipwrecked characters are cast adrift, profound."
—Valerie Martin, author of Property and The Confessions of Edward Day
"The Lifeboat is a spellbinding and beautifully written novel, one that will keep readers turning pages late into the night. This is storytelling at its best, and I was completely absorbed from beginning to end."
—Tim O'Brien, author of The Things They Carried, In the Lake of the Woods, and July, July
I am writing this down because this is my story. There were only ever two people who knew my secret, and both are gone before me.
Who was Bridget, and what became of her?
Natalie escapes into the diary, eager to unlock its secrets, and reluctantly accepts the help of library archivist Kathleen Lynch, a widow with her own painful secret: she's estranged from her only daughter. Kathleen sees in Natalie traces of the daughter she has lost, and in Bridget, another spirited young woman at risk.
What could an Irish immigrant domestic servant from the 1920s teach them both? As the troubles of a very modern world close in around them, and Natalie's torments at school escalate, the faded pages of Bridget's journal unite the lonely girl and the unhappy widow - and might even change their lives forever.
"So Far Away is the moving story of three very different women whose lives improbably intersect. Meg Mitchell Moore effortlessly moves between a teenage cyber-bullying victim, a mother who longs for her lost daughter, and a 1920s Irish domestic with a shocking secret. The result is a powerful page-turner about love, loss, motherhood, and friendship."
—J. Courtney Sullivan, New York Times bestselling author of Maine and Commencement
"Meg Mitchell Moore has taken the hot button topic of cyber bullying and crafted a story so compellingly real you will never forget her thirteen-year-old heroine, Natalie Gallagher. Moore's pitch-perfect rendering of this girl's voice is nothing short of stunning."
—Laura Harrington, author of Alice Bliss
A year ago, fresh out of Harvard Law School, Mike Ford landed his dream job at the Davies Group, Washington's most powerful consulting firm. Now, he's staring down the barrel of a gun, pursued by two of the world's most dangerous men. To get out, he'll have to do all the things he thought he'd never do again: lie, cheat, steal-and this time, maybe even kill.
Mike grew up in a world of small-stakes con men, learning lessons at his father's knee. His hard-won success in college and law school was his ticket out. As the Davies Group's rising star, he rubs shoulders with "The 500," the elite men and women who really run Washington—and the world. But peddling influence, he soon learns, is familiar work: even with a pedigree, a con is still a con.
Combining the best elements of political intrigue and heart-stopping action, THE 500 is an explosive debut, one that calls to mind classic thrillers like The Firm and Presumed Innocent. In Mike Ford, readers will discover a new hero who learns that the higher the climb, the harder—and deadlier—the fall.
"The Firm goes to Washington, only with a whole lot more action."
—James Patterson
"What an absolutely phenomenal, kickass thriller. I can't remember the last time a novel has left me this breathless. This one's going to be huge."
—Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling author of Paranoia and Buried Secrets
"THE 500 is a riveting page-turner in the tradition of John Grisham's The Firm. It's smart, intriguing, packed with action and heart, and loaded with detail on the hidden workings of Washington. It's going to be the big debut thriller of the year."
—Jeff Abbott, New York Times bestselling author of Adrenaline
"THE 500 delivers a whole new level of urgency and political relevance—and high-octane storytelling—all in the smart, sharp voice of a con-man turned Washington insider. Get ready to cancel appointments for this one. Full of fascinating detail, gritty action and the ever-appealing lure of the con, THE 500 won't let you put it down."
—Zoë Ferraris, author of Kingdom of Strangers and City of Veils
"A thundering David-and-Goliath tale of corruption…This is a real page turner, with high stakes action that doesn't stop. Expect this to be one of the season's most talked-about debut thrillers. A sequel is in the offing and will be much anticipated."
—Michele Leber, Booklist (Starred Review)
"Quirk's engaging first novel transplants the milieu of Grisham's The Firm to the world of political lobbyists…Quirk supplies just enough characterization and journalistic detail of Washington, D.C. life to ground his story as he launches into a streamlined, gripping man-on-the-run thriller."
—Publishers Weekly
As summer unfolds, startling truths are revealed about the survivors and their parents - secrets kept, promises broken, hearts betrayed. Elin Hilderbrand explores the power of community, family, and honesty, and proves that even from the ashes of sorrow, new love can still take flight.
"Juicy…Hilderbrand has the romantic drama down."
—People
"Hilderbrand builds fascinating characters…Twenty pages in, you'll be ready to drop everything and head to the beach yourself."
—Blythe Copeland, Boston
"In Hilderbrand's hands it's easy to get lost in the story."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Another winner from Hilderbrand…[a] sensitive and suspenseful tale."
—Patty Engelmann, Booklist
"Elin Hilderbrand captures the daily rhythm and the magic of island life, providing an escape from the daily grind."
—Catherine Mallette, Houston Chronicle
"[Hilderbrand] is consistently smart and compelling."
—Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly
"Settle back and prepare to be charmed."
—Susan Larson, New Orleans Times-Picayune
Lauren Sheehan's career in medicine came to a halt after a chain of violent events abroad. Now she's back in the safest place she knows—St. Helens, Wisconsin—cut off from career, friendship, and romance.
Ben Hanson's aimless young life has bottomed out after a series of bad decisions, but a surprising offer from his father draws him home for what looks like his final second chance. In Wisconsin, he finds his family fractured, still unable to face the truth behind his troubled cousin's death a decade earlier.
As Lauren cautiously expands her horizons and Ben wrestles with his regrets and mistakes, their paths intersect. Could each be exactly what the other needs? Or the last thing in the world either one can handle?
The weight of secrets, the price of success, and the cost of love all linger at the heart of this surprising, unsettling, deeply satisfying novel. Rich with the dark humor and piercing intelligence that made The Cradle so beloved, This Bright River confirms Somerville's status as one of the most engaging and daring young writers at work today.
“Serpentine and hypnotic, This Bright River depicts two vivid characters knocked hard by life, on a perilous journey that reveals the weight and pull of family history. The result is a novel that is both intimate and mysterious, harrowing and brave.”
—Megan Abbott, author of The End of Everything and Dare Me
“This Bright River is a flood of virtuoso prose and characterization. Mystery, memory, pain, and a courageous strand of love are interwoven in a riveting narrative of voices, all singing, all merging into the singular vision of one of American literature's young masters.”
—Nic Pizzolatto, author of Galveston
"This Bright River is nothing short of extraordinary. Somerville has a gift for writing gorgeous prose, complete with sharp humor and a perfect sense of place. But that's only half the story. There's also a great romance here and a shocking set of mysteries that get untangled along the way. Addictive, amazing, unforgettable."
—J. Courtney Sullivan, bestselling author of Maine
“A fascinating, almost voyeuristic, glimpse into the power struggle that goes on between teenaged girls. Not just any teenaged girls-cheerleaders-with their own unique hierarchy and fierce code of loyalty, which they'll protect at any cost. There's a dark and twisted love story here, told with a rich sensual undertone that lingers long after you close the last page, still breathing in your ear: Dare me.”
—Chevy Stevens, New York Times bestselling author of Still Missing and Never Knowing
"Arresting, original and unputdownable."
—Rosamund Lupton, New York Times bestselling author of Sister
"I dare you not to love this book. You lucky reader."
—Tom Franklin, New York Times bestselling author of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
"DARE ME sneaks up on you from behind, pulling on long-forgotten memories of teenaged desperation, obsession, and desire. This is truly masterful storytelling."
—Alafair Burke, author of Never Tell
"Megan Abbott's brilliant new book presents a number of possibilities-the mysterious and the erotic, as well as the inevitable and paradoxical lessons of girlhood-with such illumination that the joyful terrors of adolescence were once again present in me. Abbott's characters, confronted with unaccustomed questions and strange, new difficulties, remind us that the loss of innocence can, if we are fortunate, emerge into a lustrous wisdom."
—Susanna Moore, author of In the Cut
"In Dare Me Megan Abbott guides us into the subculture of athletic and fierce young cheerleaders, who train together, compete, andbond until they form a rugged unit much as Marines form a rugged unit. She finds the nearly sinister underside of everyday events and somehow builds great suspense from ingredients that seem so familiar. Abbott has become expert at revealing truths we thought we knew but didn't, delivered in prose that is by turns elegant and incantatory."
—Daniel Woodrell, author of Winter's Bone
When God decides to retire (to pursue his lifelong dream of opening an Asian Fusion restaurant), he also decides to destroy Earth. His employees take the news in stride, except for Craig and Eliza, two underpaid angels in the lowly Department of Miracles. Unlike their boss, Craig and Eliza love their jobs - uncapping city fire hydrants on hot days, revealing lost keys in snow banks - and they refuse to accept that earth is going under.
The angels manage to strike a deal with their boss. He'll call off his Armageddon, if they can solve their toughest miracle yet: getting the two most socially awkward humans on the planet to fall in love. With doomsday fast approaching, and the humans ignoring every chance for happiness thrown their way, Craig and Eliza must move heaven and earth to rescue them - and the rest of us, too.
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