THOUGHTS ON THIS 'n THAT

  In 1957, newly orphaned Aria Jones is sent to live with her aunt, a fading star who hides away in Hollywood's infamous Chateau Marmont. There, two aspiring actresses, Calliope and Flitter, take grieving Aria under their wing. But the Marmont isn't meant for small girls with big hearts, and Aria's first few nights reveal an insidious secret that continues to haunt her as she grows up in the hotel's halls, where the bright lights of Hollywood cast even darker shadows. If Aria can just stay invisible and invite no trouble as she saves money, then she can leave the Marmont and live life on her own terms—alone, but free.  All her carefully laid plans are shattered when the hotel is bought by Theo Winchester: a reclusive rockstar turned unexpected caretaker of his daughter, Adele, and unlike any man Aria has met before. To earn the last bit of money she needs to escape, Aria becomes Adele's tutor, which brings Aria closer to Theo and ignites a passion she never expected...

  THE FORTY-YEAR GRUDGE by Liza Tully is the second book in the "Merritt and Blunt Mysteries series." When the World’s Greatest Detective reunites with her college friends, she discovers that time doesn’t heal all wounds. It’s been four decades since the women of Sigma Delta Tau were last together. The passing years, growing families, and maturing careers may have strained the bonds of sisterhood, but now a reunion at the Western ranch of one member offers an opportunity to renew acquaintances…and at least one long-standing grudge. Still, this weekend is supposed to be a pleasant diversion for former sorority member and current private investigator Aubrey Merritt. She’s come to New Mexico to reconnect with old friends and she’s brought along her personal assistant, Olivia Blunt—an aspiring detective who is learning more about packing bags on this trip than about solving crimes. The shocking murder of a sorority sister changes everything. With the local police overmatched, all...

Nantucket is the perfect place for a new beginning. Claire Shipman never imagined she'd be the single mom of a teenager, going through a contentious divorce, and unexpectedly pregnant. On the bright side, at least she's on Nantucket, where she grew up, and where her mother and grandmother welcome her home with open arms. For years, Claire lived an enviable Manhattan lifestyle. Until her ex had a marriage-ending affair, lost his job, and lost all their money. Claire's high school friends invite her to their book club, and an offhand joke that she could sell one of her Hermes bags sparks a business idea.  Her friend's brother, Cody, is a furniture builder with a spare storefront. He's initially skeptical about the prospects of a "used handbag shop". But Claire is determined. With the support of Lily, her mother, grandmother, old friends, and new ones, she begins to build a true second chance at a new life. b Pamela Kelley is a USA Today and Wall Street Journ...

  Minha is born on the backstreets of late nineteenth-century London, the daughter of an Indian spice merchant and an English prostitute. She has a remarkable gift: an incredible sense of taste. She can taste the earth in which potatoes were grown or the tree on which fruits have ripened. She can smell each ingredient—and identify a single false note. But Minha’s gift and her mixed-race heritage provoke mistrust and rejection, even within her own family.  Escaping alone to France, Minha chances upon work in the Château de Bellefalaise, where for the first time her strange abilities are lauded.       As official poison taster for Duc Nicolas, Minha must taste every morsel of food that will pass his lips. Others in the household are hostile to her, but when she discovers a man hiding in the stables, their unexpected meeting turns into the first true connection she’s felt since arriving in France.      But mystery and paranoi...

  A deadly game of cat and mouse unfolds when a housewife with a secret life takes on a tech billionaire with secrets darker than her own in Ren DeStephano's novel, A LIE FOR A LIE (Berkley). Margaux leads a double life that would make most people dizzy. By day, she's a seemingly ordinary interior decorator with a picture-perfect marriage. By night, she works for a mysterious employer known only as Mr. X. She infiltrates the lives of dangerous targets, gaining their trust and ultimately exposing their crimes.  Her latest Unraveling the secret life of Bertram Casimir, a billionaire tech CEO whose career is as mysterious as his past. His sister claims he stole her app to build his fortune. Not only that, his girlfriend may have gone missing recently. He sees through her carefully constructed facade, matching her move for move. As the lines between hunter and prey blur, Margaux finds herself unexpectedly drawn to Bertram. They share more than she'd like to admit—a dangerous in...

  From acclaimed agrarian activist and ethnobotanist Gary Paul Nabhan, WATER IN THE DESERT (MilkweedEditions)  is a profoundly inspiring account of interspecies belonging, collaborative conservation, and the sacred work of caring for the earth. “I went looking for water in the desert and found that the world was teaching me how to listen.” Celebrated as a “world visionary” ( Utne Reader ) and our “lyrical poet of biodiversity” ( Mother Jones ), Gary Paul Nabhan has authored dozens of books and been awarded a MacArthur “genius grant.” In Water in the Desert , he traces the fascinating story of his life, offering in the process a vision for cultural renewal. As a Lebanese-American boy growing up in the dunes along Lake Michigan’s southern shore, where school is excruciating and symptoms of neurodivergence are diagnosed as disabilities, Nabhan finds refuge and revelation in the natural world. In college, he gravitates to the thinkers now associated with the dawn of ecology as a d...