It’s officially October and you know what that means… fall reading season is in full swing and BookSparks CEO, Crystal Patriache has the best picks of the month. From cozy bestsellers to haunting thrillers, you’ll find something for everyone on this shelf.
Wreck by Catherine Newman
Newman’s beloved characters from Sandwich have returned to their hometown in Western Massachusetts. Rocky is home with her husband Nick, her daughter Willow is back from college, and while her son Jamie has moved out for a job in New York, her widowed father Mort has moved in. Rocky is still her usual hilarious, anxious–only now she is obsessed with a local accident that vaguely affects her family and contending with a medical condition she hopes to keep secret.
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An Amateur Witch’s Guide to Murder by K. Valentin
Mateo is in desperate need of an exorcism. Unfortunately, the procedure is quite expensive, and so he must sell spells he barely remembers or understands (against his mother’s wishes). Luckily for him and his astral projecting best friend Ophelia, their business catches the attention of nepo baby, Topher who is cursed with bad luck. While Mateo attempts to fix the curse that keeps killing Topher’s family, he realizes he might be involved in a magical conspiracy, not to mention developing a crush on his client.
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Nineteen by Leslie Johansen Nack
The highly-anticipated sequel to the award-winning memoir, Fourteen, has arrived. Leslie Nack has returned from French Polynesia and must acclimate to American life once again. However, tossed between a mentally sick, alcoholic mother and an oppressive, abusive father, Leslie soon falls into a drug and alcohol addiction. Even after her father dies in a plane accident when she is nineteen, his abuse lingers and Leslie continues to rely on her next fix. This memoir follows Leslie’s journey back into self acceptance, grace, and eventually, recovery.
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Overdue by Stephanie Perkins
Ingrid is a librarian in a small mountain town in North Carolina happily dating her college sweetheart of eleven years, Cory. That is, until her sister gets engaged and the two finally start thinking about their future. The couple agrees to take a break for one month in order to date other people before they get married. Luckily, Ingrid already has a secret crush in mind–her cute, brooding coworker Macon. However, when things get more serious with Macon, and the month comes to a close, Ingrid has some tough decisions to make.
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Boom Town by Nic Stone
An Atlanta gentleman’s club, Boom Town, suddenly becomes the scene for a thrilling mystery. Two daytime dancers, a newcomer Charm, and the headliner Lucky vanish under mysterious circumstances. Lucky’s ex, Michah “Lyriq” Johanssen, takes on an investigation of her own, and in the process uncovers a secret network of lies and corrupt power. The novel will take readers on a gripping journey through Atlanta’s underbelly.
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The Deadly Book Club by Lyn Liao Butler
Five of the most famous book influencers meet every month for a highly exclusive online book club. Over a video call, the influencers drink fabulous cocktails, discuss book events and pick a new book of the month. Until one meeting, all of their screens go dark and all they can hear is a blood-curdling scream. When the murdered club member is finally revealed, the other women are thrown into a desperate investigation for their lives.
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Kooky Spooky Love by Josie Silver
Maplemead Manor is haunted and Melody Bittersweet and the Girls’ Ghostbusting Agency are on the case! It doesn’t take long for the motley crew of investigators to discover the manor’s main problem: a trapeze artist Britannia Lovell, who fell to her death swinging from the chandelier in the ballroom. However, after further investigation, Melody questions whether Britannia’s accident was an accident after all. As the mystery thickens, Melody is forced to work with her rakish ex, Leo Dark, and the irresistible reporter Fletcher Gunn. With her heart pulled in two directions, Melody’s investigation is in peril.
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The Bone Thief by Vanessa Lillie
Bureau of Indian Affairs archaeologist Syd Walker has two mysteries to solve: missing skeletal remains that used to be buried in a summer camp, and a missing Native teen girl who disappeared near the same camp. When Walker investigates the summer camp, she discovers more about its wealthy children and their privileged parents who are members of the Founder’s Society. The Society is an exclusive club for members who can trace their ancestors back to the first colonists and who claim their right to the ancestral land–much to the protests of the local tribal community. The more Walker digs the more dirt she finds–and all the evidence keeps leading back to the Society.
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Remain by Nicholas Sparks with M. Night Shyamalan
Sparks’ newest novel is a supernatural romance co-created alongside The Sixth Sense creator M. Night Shyamalan. Architect Tate Donovan escapes to Cape Cod to design a friend’s summer house while grieving the death of his sister. Not only is he trying to recover from his depression, but he is also grappling with his sister’s confession that she can commune with the dead–a skill that runs in the family. Tate finds solace in the immediate romantic connection he has with Wren, who has a dark past of her own. Tate must uncover the evil hiding beneath this idyllic town if he is going to save their budding relationship.
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Heart the Lover by Lily King
A senior in college meets two English geniuses, Sam and Yash, in her 17th century Literature class. They take an instant liking to her, nickname her Jordan, and invite her into her a world of academia, revelry and intellectual ambition. The three friends spend much of their time in the boys’ beautiful house they are taking care of for a professor on sabbatical. However, their academic passion goes awry and soon the trio gets complicated when love triangles form. After graduation, and some life-altering decisions, Jordan thinks the past is behind her. That is, until decades later, when she gets a surprise visitor. Suddenly, Jordan’s past mistakes come crashing back and she must face the decisions of her younger self.
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In Case You Missed It…
Awake by Jen Hatmaker
This memoir from Jen Hatmaker, a public speaker and author with her own TV series, focuses on her transition after a life-altering divorce. Forced to reconcile with her grief over a cheating husband, she is struggling to raise her five kids alone while managing her businesses. Jen grapples with her feelings of failure, despite all of the advice and confidence she has given other women over the years. Told in vignettes, the memoir follows her transformations within marriage, parenting, business, and religion. Funny and raw, emotional and enlightening, any female reader will be able to connect to Jen’s deeply moving story.
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She Watches
The House of Guiness by Adrian Tinniswood
Written to coincide with the new Netflix series starring James Norton, Jack Gleeson and Louis Partridge, this thrilling historical novel outlines the rise of the house of Guiness. The lives of its family members–the philanthropists, socialites, and master brewers–are told within the context of their beautiful townhouses and manors. Tinniswood outlines the humble beginnings of the business in Dublin, to its dynasty that influenced the entire British Isles.
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