THOUGHTS ON THIS 'n THAT

  To break out of a 24-hour time loop, all Jack needs is for Gemma to fall in love with him in a single day. All Gemma needs is to remember him first . . .   Gemma Peters is doing fine. She’s making a name for herself in the L.A. music biz as a radio producer. She’s got a ride-or-die best friend in Lila, and she gets to come home to Rex, her loving Labrador, every night. But ever since her rock star ex-boyfriend used her to get a record deal from her rock legend dad, she’s made a “no musicians” rule when it comes to dating that’s becoming more like a “no dating” rule, period.   So, when Gemma crashes (literally) into Jack one Thursday morning, at first she feels like fate might finally be doing her a favor. After all this guy is  cute  and, wait, is she imagining it, or is he staring a little too deeply into her eyes? And how does he know her name? Even harder to explain is the funny feeling of déjà vu she gets every time she looks at him. It’s not at all like Gemma to kiss a man and f

  In Penelope Douglas' THE BIRTHDAY GIRL (Berkley), Jordan has nowhere else to go when her boyfriend offers to let her move in with him and his dad. Working a dead-end job, with her relationship sputtering, she jumps at the opportunity, expecting to help out around the house in exchange.  What she doesn’t anticipate is for her heart to race every time Pike pulls into the driveway, or to burn when their eyes meet over the breakfast table. He’s kind and listens to her and protects her in a way no man ever has before. Her sister once told her there are no good men, and if you find one, he's probably unavailable. Only Pike isn't the unavailable one…she is.   As the days go by, Pike’s finding it anything but simple to have his son’s girlfriend living in his house. He can’t stop thinking about her and holding his breath every time they cross paths. It feels like she’s becoming a part of him. Except he knows they’re not free to give in to this. How could they when he’s her boyfrie

  Family ties and magical Christmas cheer, Mary Kay Andrews give us a gift in her new novel, BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG Christmas (StMartinsPress). When fall rolls around, it’s time for Kerry Tolliver to leave her family’s Christmas tree farm in the mountains of North Carolina for the wilds of New York City to help her gruff older brother & his dog, Queenie, sell the trees at the family stand on a corner in Greenwich Village. Sharing a tiny vintage camper and experiencing Manhattan for the first time, Kerry’s ready to try to carve out a new corner for herself. In the weeks leading into Christmas, Kerry quickly becomes close with the charming neighbors who live near their stand. When an elderly neighbor goes missing, Kerry will need to combine her country know-how with her newly acquired New York knowledge to protect the new friends she’s come to think of as family, And complicating everything is Patrick, a single dad raising his adorable, dragon-loving son Austin on this quirky block. Kerr

  It's Publication day for one of our favorite authors and this year she's sharing her darling holiday novel about our four-legged friends in UNLEASHED HOLIDAY (BerkleyTradeOriginal). Chelsea Higgins has long moved on from her college nemesis-turned-crush Andrew Gibson, and the drunken night they shared many years ago. She’s doing just fine now: even though she’s mourning the loss of her dear dad, she’s heading into the holiday season with a thriving dog training business, the love of her mom and sister, a loyal senior dog, and a new pup to keep her company at home.   But when a new business opens in the space next door to Chelsea’s, Andrew Gibson becomes her new neighbor. Not the reunion that Chelsea had been hoping for! Not to mention, Andrew is occupying the lucrative vacancy that Chelsea has been eyeing for months, with hopes to expand her business. Who cares if it’s the season of joy? Let the turf war begin. When an unfortunate run-in with Andrew’s dog leaves Chelsea with

  The characters in finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Vauhini Vara's new book of stories THIS IS SALVAGED (WWNorton) are desperately searching for meaning of their lives through one another. Pushing intimacy to its limits in prose of unearthly beauty, Vauhini Vara explores the nature of being a child, parent, friend, sibling, neighbor, or lover, and the relationships between self and others. A young girl reads the encyclopedia to her elderly neighbor, who is descending into dementia. A pair of teenagers seek intimacy as phone-sex operators. A competitive sibling tries to rise above the drunken mess of her own life to become a loving aunt. One sister consumes the ashes of another. And, in the title story, an experimental artist takes on his most ambitious project yet: constructing a life-size ark according to the Bible’s specifications.  In a world defined by estrangement, where is communion to be found?  . Vauhini Vara’s debut novel,  The Immortal King Rao , was a finalist for the P

  In Rhys Bowen's new novel, THE PARIS ASSIGNMENT (LakeUnionPublishing) a courageous wife, mother, and resister confronts the devastation of World War II.   Londoner Madeleine Grant is studying at the Sorbonne in Paris when she marries charismatic French journalist Giles Martin. As they raise their son, Olivier, they hold on to a tenuous promise for the future. Until the thunder of war sets off alarms in France. Staying behind to join the resistance, Giles sends Madeleine and Olivier to the relative safety of England, where Madeleine secures a job teaching French at a secondary school. Yet nowhere is safe. After a devastating twist of fate resulting in the loss of her son, Madeleine accepts a request from the ministry to aid in the war effort. Seizing the smallest glimmer of hope of finding Giles alive, she returns to France. If Madeleine can stop just one Nazi, it will be the start of a valiant path of revenge. Though her perseverance, defiance, and heart will be tested beyond ima

  It’s the busiest season of the year, and Forest Manor Hotel is quite literally falling apart. So when Izzy and Lucas are given the same shift on the hotel’s front desk, they have no choice but to put their differences aside and see it through.   The hotel won't stay afloat beyond Christmas without some sort of miracle. But when Izzy returns a guest’s lost wedding ring, the reward convinces management that this might be the way to fix everything. With four rings still sitting in the lost & found, the race is on for Izzy and Lucas to save their beloved hotel—and their jobs.   As their bitter rivalry turns into something much more complicated, Izzy and Lucas begin to wonder if there's more at stake here than the hotel's future. Can the two of them make it through the season with their hearts intact? Beth studied English at university before going into children’s publishing. She lives as close to the countryside as she can get while still being within reach of London, and

  This Christmas,  USA Today  bestselling author Sarah Morgan returns with another heartfelt exploration of change, the power of books to heal, and the enduring strength of female friendship. Perfect for fans of Emily Henry and Jennifer Weiner. With its historic charm and picture-perfect library, the Maple Sugar Inn is considered  the  winter destination. As the holidays approach, the inn is fully booked with guests looking for their dream vacation. But widowed far too young, and exhausted from juggling the hotel with being a dedicated single mom, Hattie Coleman dreams only of making it through the festive season. But when Erica, Claudia and Anna—lifelong friends who seem to have it all—check in for a girlfriends’ book club holiday, it changes everything. Their close friendship and shared love of books have carried them through life's ups and downs. But Hattie can see they're also packing some major emotional baggage, and  nothing  prepares her for how deeply her own story is a

  A cynical twentysomething must confront her unconventional family’s dark secrets in this fiery, irreverent horror novel from author, Rachel Harrison.   Nobody has a “normal” family, but Vesper Wright’s is truly...something else. Vesper left home at eighteen and never looked back—mostly because she was told that leaving the staunchly religious community she grew up in meant she couldn’t return. But then an envelope arrives on her doorstep.    Inside is an invitation to the wedding of Vesper’s beloved cousin Rosie. It’s to be hosted at the family farm. Have they made an exception to the rule? It wouldn’t be the first time Vesper’s been given special treatment. Is the invite a sweet gesture? An olive branch? A trap? Doesn’t matter. Something inside her insists she go to the wedding. Even if it means returning to the toxic environment she escaped. Even if it means reuniting with her mother, Constance, a former horror film star and forever ice queen.   When Vesper’s homecoming exhumes a t