Hi everyone, here are our recommended reads for the week!
*More information on the three catalogs and available formats is found at the end of the list of recommended reads*
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Weekly Suggested Reading postings are published on Wednesday.
And the next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Wednesday, December 13, 2023.
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Breaking In: A Novel by Tyler Schwanke
(Available Formats: Hoopla Instant Checkout eBook & eAudio)
Teens try to reclaim what’s theirs in the cutthroat world of Hollywood. Since before her father died in a botched bank robbery, 17-year-old aspiring filmmaker Millie Blomquist has dreamed of becoming a famous director of heist films. She finally gets the chance to pursue her dreams at the Manhattan Movie Academy, where she is working with friends Paz, Devin, and Jordan, when her idol, famed director and academy founder Ricky O’Naire, is arrested for embezzlement. The school collapses before her summer program is even over. Seven months later, Millie is back home in Fargo, North Dakota, trying to make movies on her own when she sees the trailer for recently exonerated O’Naire’s new project–only to realize it’s the film about her father she presented to him at the academy. Desperate to hold him responsible, Millie organizes Paz, Devin, and Jordan to carry out a real-life heist and take O’Naire’s materials ransom. But with the stakes ramping up, they don’t realize how dangerous things are about to become. Given her personal history with heists gone wrong, Millie’s naiveté is occasionally unbelievable, and readers not deeply familiar with heist films may have trouble with the endless movie references, but overall, this is a compelling read that doesn’t shy away from slightly darker content. Main characters are cued White; contextual clues may indicate that Paz is Latine and Jordan is Black. A fast-paced homage to the classic heist film. – Kirkus Review
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Daughters of Nantucket by Julie Gerstenblatt
(Available Formats: Print Book, eBook, Hoopla Instant Checkout eBook & eAudio)
In a youthful, spirited voice, Keylor Leigh narrates a sweeping novel that takes place on Nantucket Island in the summer of 1846. The story is told from the points of view of three characters: a lonely sea captain’s wife, a progressive librarian who is also an astronomer, and a pregnant Black business owner. Leigh gives all three women distinctive voices, and listeners come to understand their viewpoints, prejudices, and longings. All three are tested by the horrendous fire that destroys many homes and businesses. The island tragedy alters the lives and perspectives of the women. This work of historical fiction is fast paced, informative, richly detailed, and filled with memorable characters. Leigh keeps the story moving and listeners engaged. AudioFile Review
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Mister Lullaby: A Novel by J. H. Markert
(Available Formats: Print Book, Hoopla Instant Checkout eBook & eAudio)
The small town of Crooked Tree is home to Dr. Robert Bookman, a well-known specialist in the field of nightmares, and his grandson, horror novelist Ben Bookman. It’s also where veteran detective Winchester Mills and rookie Samantha Blue investigate a murderer who sews his victims into corn husk cocoons, a crime that mirrors details in Ben’s new book. Now the detectives must find the link between Ben, his grandfather, and the evil plaguing Crooked Tree before another written death becomes real. The town of Crooked Tree is less Stephen King’s bucolic Castle Rock and more a darker version of Batman’s Gotham City, meaning the villains’ acts could easily strain one’s suspension of disbelief. The characters themselves read like archetypes, from the grizzled detective to the quirky, haunted writer. This might be a plus for those fans who love Dean Koontz thrillers, however, as the book’s pacing doesn’t give the reader time to poke at plot holes but lets them simply enjoy the dark ride.
VERDICT Markert’s (Midnight at the Tuscany Hotel, published under the name James Markert) first horror novel is both a literary thrill ride and a supernaturally satisfying guilty pleasure. – Library Journal Review
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The Prospectors: A Novel by Ariel Djanikian
(Available Formats: Print Book, Hoopla Instant Checkout eBook & eAudio)
Alice Bush is excited to welcome her sister Ethel and brother-in-law Clarence Berry home from Yukon, Canada, to celebrate the couple’s prosperous claims in the Klondike Gold Rush, and even more excited to join the couple on the return trip north. Once there, she discovers how rough living conditions are for the newly arrived, as well as how much worse they are for the First Nations people pushed off their land and into domestic work. Over a century later, Anna and her grandfather, descendants of the Bush-Berrys, are trying to right old wrongs with one Native Canadian family in particular. By using the perspective of one main character in each time line to tell their generation’s story and the trauma they pass down and inherit, Djanikian creates strong emotional attachments and builds subtle tension for readers. By explaining the gold rush’s historical background and narrating everyday life for prospectors, she provides a solid framework for exploring issues of racism, settler colonialism, and exploitation of natural resources. This engaging book will appeal to fans of Leon Uris, James Michener, and Herman Wouk. – Booklist Review
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Silver Lady by Mary Jo Putney
(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoopla Instant Checkout eBook)
Putney launches an exciting new historical romance series set in 19th-century Cornwall. Bran had a rough start in life after being cast out as a young child by his birth father because of his gift of intuition; however, he found a wonderful new family when he was taken in by Lord and Lady Tremayne. Many years later, circumstances require that Bran face his birth parents, but he doesn’t expect to also encounter and rescue a compelling and beautiful lady in the woods. That lady, Merryn, struggles to overcome her mystical stupor and amnesia to escape her captors and is grateful for Bran’s assistance. Bran and Merryn are instantly drawn to each other and find that Merryn’s extraordinary gifts have put her in the middle of a plot by the French and some dangerous smugglers. They must work together using their gifts, which only makes their bond and passion stronger.
VERDICT Recommended for readers who like some fantasy in their historical romance and appreciate stories with chosen family and strong women. – Library Journal Review
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Steeped In Secrets by Lauren Elliott
(Available Formats: Print Book, Hoopla Instant Checkout eBook & eAudio)
Opening a tea shop brings surprises welcome and unwelcome for a recent divorcee. Elliott’s first page amounts almost to a parody of a shopkeeper cozy. Having shed her faithless husband, Brad, Shayleigh Myers gazes at the quaint Victorian houses lining the main street of picturesque Bray Harbor, California, “finding it hard to believe she was actually back in the small town she thought she had left behind forever.” But this series opener has a twist. Instead of a coffee shop, bakery, or candle outlet with a preciously punning name, the emporium Shay inherits from Bridget Early, a woman she barely knew, is Crystals & CuriosiTEAS, specializing in herbs, teas, and objects of the occult. In life, Bridget read tea leaves and was rumored to possess special healing powers that Shay’s beginning to believe she may share. So instead of selling the shop, as the pushy realtor presses her to do, she refurbishes the dusty old place with the help of Tassi, the niece of her old friend Joanne, who owns Cuppa-Jo, Main Street’s coffee shop. Since every cozy needs a murder, Shay’s renovations are soon halted by the discovery of a corpse on her roof. Her obligatory romantic interest is Liam Madigan, owner of the pub next door to CuriosiTEAS. If all this sounds pretty formulaic, the discovery of an amulet with mystical powers, a box of mysterious old photos, and the lingering presence of Spirit, a mongrel with uncanny intuition, take Shay along a road less traveled. A promising series debut.
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The Twelve Days of Murder by Andreina Cordani
(Available Formats: Print Book, Hoopla Instant Checkout eBook & eAudio)
YA novelist Cordani makes an impressive adult debut with this devious holiday whodunit. Twelve years ago, a group of university friends formed a murder mystery cosplaying group called the Masquerade Society. During their final game, the group’s ringleader, Karl, went missing, and another member’s expensive necklace vanished. In the present, each of the society’s former members—Charley, Leo, Sam, Gideon, Pan, and Shona—have been summoned by a mysterious invitation to a hunting lodge in the Scottish Highlands for a Christmas reunion game. What begins as lighthearted fun turns grave when Pan, who’d been assigned the role of “Lady Partridge,” is found dead and dangling from a pear tree. As the body count starts to rise, the group is forced to reopen questions about what happened to Karl all those years ago, and determine who among them poses a threat to the others. Cordani starts in the key of a holiday cozy but gets dark fast, a risky transition she pulls off without a hitch. Mystery lovers of all stripes will walk away satisfied. – Publishers Weekly Review
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Unladylike Lessons In Love by Amita Murray
(Available Formats: Print Book & Hoople Instant Checkout eBook)
As the out-of-wedlock daughter of an English earl and his Indian mistress, Lila Marleigh is well acquainted with life on the outskirts of society. However, she does enjoy some degree of social status as the eccentric hostess of a celebrated gambling salon. One ill-fated evening, she is confronted at her salon by both Ivor Tristram, who accuses her of being his father’s mistress, and Maisie, a friend she let down in the past, who is now a pregnant prostitute in desperate need of help. Against the odds, the three join forces, venturing from society soirees to seedy slums to solve a crime and clear an innocent man’s name. Murray (“Arya Winters” mystery series) makes her romance debut with this first series installment, a Regency romance that doubles as a moving mystery. Rich, realistic detail immerses readers in all manner of London locales, from regal to rat-infested. The narrative is both charming and charged with suspense, yielding a captivating and compelling reading experience.
VERDICT This book will appeal to readers seeking a multicultural historical romance heavy on adrenaline and intrigue. Recommended for fans of Sarah MacLean, Eva Leigh, and Julia Quinn. – Library Journal Review
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Window Shopping: A Novel by Tessa Bailey
(Available Formats: eBook & Hoopla Instant Checkout eBook)
A sizzling, standalone, feel-good opposites attract holiday romance from Tessa Bailey, #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Happened One Summer- now in a beautiful new package!
Two weeks before Christmas and all through Manhattan, shop windows are decorated in red and green satin. Stella’s standing alone outside a famous department store, when a charming man asks her opinion on the décor.
It’s a tragedy in tinsel, she says, unable to lie. Then he asks for a better idea, with a twinkle in his eye. She didn’t know he owned the place, when he put her on the spot, and now she’s working for that man, trying to ignore that he’s hot.
But as a down-on-her-luck girl with a difficult past, Stella knows how to make a good opportunity last. So she gives it her all, working without stopping. Trying to resist temptation, because she’s just window shopping.
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Yours For The Taking by Gabrielle Korn
(Available Formats: Print Book)
Korn makes her fiction debut (after the essay collection Everybody (Else) Is Perfect) with an alluring story of a feminist dystopia. It’s 2050, and unchecked climate change has caused civilization to crumble amid dangerous storms and disappearing coastal areas. The story unfolds through intersecting narratives of various women. Among them are Shelby, who is accompanying her billionaire boss Jacqueline Millender on a space shuttle orbiting Earth, and Ava, who gains acceptance to Jacqueline’s city-size Inside Project, a series of weather-resistant tunnels in New York City that allow people to move between buildings without exposure to the worsening climate. Korn also portrays life on Earth for the less fortunate, including Ava’s ex-girlfriend, Orchid, who is forced to fend for herself on the dying planet. As a member of Inside, Ava lets her life be designed and controlled by Jacqueline. There are no men allowed into the tunnels, as Jacqueline has determined that the planet can only be healed by eliminating the patriarchy. Before the end, though, Ava uncovers the dark side of Jacqueline’s vision for populating the next generation. Korn’s conceits are as provocative as her characters are well-rounded. Readers will eat up this distinctive work of climate fiction. – Publishers Weekly Review
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Happy reading!
Linda Reimer, SSCL
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Have questions or want to request a book?
Feel free to call the library! Our telephone number is 607-936-3713.
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Note: Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.
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Information on the three library catalogs
Digital Catalog: https://stls.overdrive.com/
The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, Downloadable Audiobooks, digital magazines and a handful of streaming videos. The catalog, which allows one to download content to a PC, also has a companion app, Libby, which you can download to your mobile device; so you can enjoy eBooks and Downloadable Audiobooks on the go!
All card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can check out items from the Digital Catalog.
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Hoopla Catalog: https://www.hoopladigital.com/
The Hoopla Catalog features instant checkouts of eBooks, Downloadable Audiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV series. Patron check out limit is 6 items per month.
Hoopla is a Southeast Steuben County Library service available to all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders.
The Hoopla App is available for Android or Apple devices, smart TVs & media streaming players.
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StarCat: The catalog of physical/traditional library materials: https://starcat.stls.org
Card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can access StarCat to search for and request materials available at libraries through out the Southern Tier Library System.
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Format Note: Under each book title you’ll find a list of all the different formats that specific title is available in; including: Print Books, Large Print Books, CD Audiobooks, eBooks & Downloadable Audiobooks from the Digital Catalog (Libby app) and Hoopla eBooks & Hoopla Downloadable Audiobooks (Hoopla app).
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Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.
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