Adventure

Getting Cozy With Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

MeganLeave a comment

Viv is ready to hang up her sword and quit the mercenary life for something quieter-and sweeter. Armed with a legend, an artifact, and a little known Gnomish beverage, Viv sets about opening her coffee shop on a ley line in Thune. Her new venture attracts a motley cast of characters, including a baker, a business-minded succubus, and the head of the local mob.

This book is as comforting as a latte and a warm cinnamon roll on a wintery day. Having spent nearly a decade working in coffee shops myself, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Viv’s shop open and evolve. I savored the pages dedicated to the pure joy of a cinnamon roll. I laughed each time Thandri had to change the chalkboard menu and delighted in meeting their customers. While this does take the better half of the book, it’s not all coffee and sweets. As Viv and her crew learn the ropes of the business, trouble is quietly brewing. But Viv isn’t just building a business-she’s building a community and family who have her back when tragedy strikes.

I cannot stress enough how absolutely charming and delightful this book is. If you enjoy a good slice of life story with quirky characters and happy ending, this one is for you. I recommend taking this book to a local coffee shop to be enjoyed with a latte.

Happy Reading!

Megan

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

semanurLeave a comment

Here are some of the new books coming to our shelves this week for you to add to your book list!

Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy – Told entirely through the transcripts of the narrator’s psychiatric sessions, this intimate portrait of grief and longing follows 20-year-old Alicia Western as she, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, contemplates the nature of madness, her hallucinations and her own existence in 1972 Black River Falls, Wisconsin.

Elizabeth Taylor: The Grit & Glamour of an Icon by Kate Andersen Brower – The author of the New York Times best-seller The Residence returns with the first authorized biography of the Hollywood icon, including her rise to fame at age 12, her eight marriages and her efforts to fight AIDS.

Tom Clancy Red Winter by Marc Cameron – When possibly Soviet defector offers the CIA details of his government’s espionage plans in return for asylum, former Marine and brilliant CIA analyst Jack Ryan goes behind the Iron Curtain to find answers before the Cold War turns into a Red Winter.

A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley – A 1851 Monterey widow working at a brothel investigates when the dead bodies of young women start appearing on the outskirts of town in the new novel from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres.

The Ingenue by Rachel Kapelke-Dale – When the family estate is bequeathed to a man she shares a complicated history with, former piano prodigy Saskia Kreis is forced to reexamine her own past—and the romantic relationship that changed the course of her life—for answers.

Night Shift by Robin Cook – When her longtime friend, Dr. Sue Passero, dies mysteriously in the hospital parking garage, newly appointed chief medical examiner Dr. Laurie Montgomery asks her husband to investigate, which pits him against a clever and deranged killer determined to administer another lethal blow.

Three-Edged Sword by Jeff Lindsay – Fearless thief and master of disguise Riley Wolfe plans his biggest heist yet even though his list of powerful enemies grows longer and more dangerous.

W. E. B. Griffin the Devil’s Weapons by Peter Kirsanow – Dick Canidy and the agents of the OSS search war-torn Poland for a rocket scientist who holds the secrets to the Nazis’ superweapons before the Germans and Soviets get their hands on him.

The Last Invitation by Darby Kane – Invited to join a secret club of powerful women, the Sophie Foundation, who mete out justice to men who behave very, very badly, Jessa Hall soon realizes the high—and deadly—price of admission and discovers that once in the group, it’s impossible to get out.

~Semanur

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

semanurLeave a comment

Here we have some new exciting releases for you to take a look at this week!

After tracking down fugitive Oswald Wednesday with a fellow apprehension agent, Stephanie Plum faces a new obstacle as she tries to bring in her latest bounty, in the latest addition to the long-running, very popular series following Game On.

When Adele Schumacher arrives in his office with a bag of cash, bizarre tales of government conspiracies and a squad of professional bodyguards, Elvis must find her missing son, a controversial podcaster, before someone else does, bringing him and Joe face-to-face with corrupt politicians and vicious drug cartels.

When she is kidnapped, Amelie, a billionaire’s wife, wonders why she has been taken, who her mysterious captors are and why she feels safer here, imprisoned, than with her husband.

The beloved Friends star shares candid behind the scenes stories from the legendary sitcom, as well as detailing his own struggles with addiction that threatened to derail his career.

After the death of his wife, whom he insists visits him every night in the form of an angel, Lucas Goodgame forms an unlikely alliance with a young man, ostracized by their community, who begins camping out in his backyard, bringing with him hope and the power to heal.

One of the music world’s most iconic artists writes about his remarkable life for the first time, from his early days growing up in Dublin, to U2’s meteoric rise to fame, to his more than 20 years of activism dedicated to the fight against AIDS and extreme poverty.

In New York, six human avatars that embody their city’s heart and wield its magic, must join together with the Great Cities to stop a mayoral candidate, backed by the Enemy, whose populist rhetoric of gentrification, xenophobia and “law and order” could destroy the world.

When an old family bracelet inadvertently calls up both her mother’s ghost and a monstrous entity, an urban indigenous woman searches for what happened to her mother all those years ago, forcing her to confront a long-denied truth and the one thing she’s always wanted but could never have.

~Semanur

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

semanurLeave a comment

Take a look at some of the exciting new releases coming to our shelves in this week…

The Revolutionary Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff – Offers a biography of a noted Founding Father—the one who stood behind the change in thinking that produced the American Revolution.

The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human by Siddhartha Mukherjee – Presenting revelatory and exhilarating stories of scientists, doctors and the patients whose lives may be saved by their work, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, drawing on his own experience as a researcher, doctor and prolific reader, explores medicine and our radical new ability to manipulate cells.

Marmee by Sarah Miller – In 1861, Margaret March, with her husband serving as an army chaplain, finds the comfort and security of her four daughters resting on her shoulders alone as she faces financial hardships, secrets and tragedy, in this revealing retelling of Little Women from the perspective of the beloved matriarch known as Marmee.

Thief of Fate by Jude Deveraux & Tara Sheets – After changing the course of history when he stole Cora McLeod from her destined soulmate, Finley Walsh, in 1844, Liam O’Conner, desperately trying to make amends, has three months to restore the balance by reuniting Cora and Finn or pay the ultimate price.

Livid: A Scarpetta Novel by Patricia Cornwell, Patricia – When the sister of the judge presiding over a sensational murder case is found dead, chief medical examiner Kay Scarpetta, the reluctant start witness in the trial, investigates and recognizes telltale signs of the unthinkable, pitting her against a powerful force that returns her to the past.

No Plan B: A Jack Reacher Novel by Lee Child, Lee & Andrew Child – Witnessing a woman pushed to her death in front of a bus, Jack Reacher, following the killer on foot, is unaware that this is part of a secret conspiracy with many moving parts with no room for error and any threats will be permanently removed, including Reacher.

The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy – In 1980 Pass Christian, Mississippi, salvage diver Bobby Western, after a plane crash, discovers the pilot’s flight bag, the plane’s black box and the tenth passenger are missing, submerging him in a conspiracy beyond his understanding as he is shadowed in body and spirit by the past and present.

~Semanur

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

semanurLeave a comment

Here some of the new exciting releases for you to take a look at this week!

Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder by William Shatner & Joshua Brandon – The beloved star of Star Trek and recent space traveler reflects on the interconnectivity of all things, our fragile bond with nature and the joy that comes from exploration.

Daughter of Darkness by Terry Brooks – After accepting her Fae heritage and escaping the sinister Goblin prison, Auris tries to live happily with her lover, Harlow, until the Goblin attacks begin again and she must uncover her still-shrouded past for answers and solutions.

The Hero of This Book by Elizabeth McCracken – After her mother’s death, the narrator, a writer, recalls all that made her complicated mother extraordinary and even though she wants to respect her mother’s nearly pathological sense of privacy, must decide whether chronicling this remarkable life is an act of love or betrayal.

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan – Her life upended when her husband revealed a darker side, Olivia MacAfee and her teenage son Asher move back to her New Hampshire hometown for a new beginning until Asher is implicated in the death of his girlfriend and she realizes he’s hidden more than he’s shared with her.

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng – In a society consumed by fear, 12-year-old Bird Gardner, after receiving a mysterious letter, sets out on a quest to find his mother – a Chinese American poet who left when he was nine years old, leading him to NYC where a new act of defiance may be the beginning of much-needed change.

The Twelve Long, Hard, Topsy-turvy, Very Messy Days of Christmas by James Patterson & Tad Safran – During the holiday season, a family of three, missing someone very dear to them, find their house filling up with unexpected guests, making Christmas memories to last a lifetime.

Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America by Maggie Haberman – The Pulitzer-Prize-winning New York Times reporter chronicles the rise of our 45th president, from his days as a New York City real estate developer to vanguard of a new norm-shattering era in American political history.

Home Sweet Christmas by Susan Mallery – Excited to regain her independence after sending her sisters off to college, Camryn Neff is not thrilled when a client tries to set her up with her son in the second novel of the series following The Christmas Wedding Guest.

Endless Summer by Elin Hilderbrand – Nine stories set in the universe of the best-selling author’s previous romance novels includes a visit with friends of Mallory Blessing three years after her death and Margot Carmichael encouraging her husband to reunite with his ex.

Righteous Prey by John Sandford – When a mysterious vigilante group known only as “The Five” starts targeting the very worst of society, using their unlimited resources to offset the damage done by those they’ve killed, Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are called in to investigate – and destroy – this virtually untraceable group.

~semanur

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

semanurLeave a comment

Take a look at some of the exciting new releases coming to our shelves in this week…

Clive Cussler’s Hellburner : When Juan Cabrillo fails to capture the leader of Mexico’s most dangerous drug cartel and loses an Oregon crew member in the process, he’s determined to get revenge. Little does he know that the explosion he just narrowly escaped was merely the latest flash of violence from a machine of war that has existed for decades, dating from the bloodiest episode in Armenia’s history.

All the Women in My Brain: And Other Concerns : Like Jenny Lawson and Caitlin Moran, Emmy-nominated actress and writer Betty Gilpin delivers a lightning-strike dispatch of hilarious, intimate, and luminous essays on how to navigate this weird and wondrous life.

The Wuhan Cover-Up: How US Health Officials Conspired with the Chinese Military to Hide the Origins of COVID-19

The Wuhan Cover-up : From the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Publishers Weekly bestselling author of The Real Anthony Fauci comes an explosive exposé of the cover-up behind the true origins of COVID-19.The Wuhan Cover-up unveils a US/Chinese conspiracy of epic proportion and lethal consequence.

The Ways We Hide : A sweeping World War II tale of an illusionist whose recruitment by British intelligence sets her on a perilous, heartrending path. Inspired by stunning true accounts, The Ways We Hide is a gripping story of love and loss, the wars we fight—on the battlefields and within ourselves—and the courage found in unexpected places.

The American Roommate Experiment : From the author of the Goodreads Choice Award winner The Spanish Love Deception, the eagerly anticipated follow-up featuring Rosie Graham and Lucas Martín, who are forced to share a New York apartment. Rosie Graham has a problem. A few, actually. She just quit her well paid job to focus on her secret career as a romance writer. She hasn’t told her family and now has terrible writer’s block. Then, the ceiling of her New York apartment literally crumbles on her.

On the Rooftop : A stunning novel about a mother whose dream of musical stardom for her three daughters collides with the daughters’ ambitions for their own lives—set against the backdrop of gentrifying 1950s San Francisco.

The Rising Tide : For fifty years a group of friends have been meeting regularly for reunions on Holy Island, celebrating the school trip where they met, and the friend that they lost to the rising causeway tide five years later.

It’s Not Me, It’s You : Two therapists analyze their own relationship to help untangle the common and frustrating barriers many individuals face on the road to a happy, loving, rewarding partnership.

Court of the Vampire Queen : All Mina ever wanted was to escape her father’s control. Half human, half vampire, she lived eternally torn between two worlds, never fully experiencing the pleasures of either—until her father chose her as the pawn in his latest political move, gifting her to the darkly powerful and dangerously seductive Malachi Zion.

~Semanur

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

semanurLeave a comment

Check out this selection of new releases for your enjoyment coming this week!

The Ink Black Heart (A Cormoran Strike Novel) by [Robert Galbraith]

The Ink Black Heart : The latest installment in the highly acclaimed, internationally bestselling Strike series finds Cormoran and Robin ensnared in another winding, wicked case. A gripping, fiendishly clever mystery, The Ink Black Heart is a true tour-de-force.

The House of Fortune : Alive with the magic of Amsterdam, the enchanting new historical novel from the author of the sensational New York Times bestseller The Miniaturist, which has sold more than two million copies. A feat of sweeping, magical storytelling, The House of Fortune is an unputdownable novel about love and obsession, family and loyalty, and the fantastic power of secrets.

The Thread Collectors : 1863: In a small Creole cottage in New Orleans, an ingenious young Black woman named Stella embroiders intricate maps on repurposed cloth to help enslaved men flee and join the Union Army. Bound to a man who would kill her if he knew of her clandestine activities. Loosely inspired by the authors’ family histories, this stunning novel will stay with readers for a long time.

Lady Joker, Volume 2 by Kaoru Takamura

Lady Joker : This second half of Lady Joker, by Kaoru Takamura, the Grand Dame of Japanese crime fiction, concludes the breathtaking saga introduced in Volume I. Inspired by the real-life Glico-Morinaga kidnapping, an unsolved case that terrorized Japan for two years, Lady Joker reimagines the circumstances of this watershed episode in modern Japanese history and brings into riveting focus the lives and motivations of the victims, the perpetrators, the heroes and the villains.

Feeding Littles and Beyond : An inspirational, accessible family cookbook that offers everything a parent needs to bring joy and love back into the kitchen, by the baby and toddler feeding experts behind Feeding Littles and the New York Times bestselling cookbook author of Inspiralized.

Number One Fan : Terrifying and timely, set against the backdrop of convention culture and the MeToo reckoning, Number One Fan unflinchingly examines the tension between creator and work, fandom and source material, and the rage of fans who feel they own fiction.

~Semanur

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

semanurLeave a comment

Here are some of the new books coming to our shelves this week for you to add to your book list!

Diana, William & Harry by James Patterson & Chris Mooney – The world’s best-selling author examines the heartbreaking story of Princess Diana, taken from her sons William and Harry at a painfully young age, and how they carried on her name and spirit into adulthood.

Elizabeth Finch by Julian Barnes – After taking a class, “Culture and Civilization,” with the commanding, exacting Professor Elizabeth Finch, Neil develops an obsessive, intellectual crush on her in a novel of platonic, unrequited love by the Booker award-winning author of The Sense of an Ending.

Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America’s Overdose Crisis by Beth Macy – In this complex story of public health, big pharma, dark money, politics, race and class, the New York Times best-selling author of Dopesick takes us to the forefront of the opioid crisis where we meet the everyday heroes fighting to stem the tide of drug overdose.

The Challenge by Danielle Steel – When their children go missing, a group of parents, desperate to hear word that they’ve been found, a media frenzy ensures, heightening tensions and testing some already fragile relationships, forcing them all to reconsider what they once held dear.

The Blame Game by Sandie Jones – A psychologist specializing in domestic abuse, Naomi, after her client’s file goes missing, wonders if her own dark past is coming back to haunt her— and if her clients aren’t the only ones in danger.

The Housekeeper by Joy Fielding – Hiring a housekeeper named Elyse to help care for her father and his wife Audrey, who has Parkinson’s, successful real estate agent Jodi Bishop soon discovers that the attractive 60-something widow is attempting to take over their lives when Audrey’s condition rapidly worsens.

Overkill by Sandra Brown – When Eban, the scion of a wealthy North Carolina family who brutally attacked Rebecca Pratt, leaving her on life support, gets an early release from prison, brilliant state prosecutor Kate Lennon asks former Super Bowl MVP quarterback—and Rebecca’s ex-husband—to make an impossible decision for justice.

~Semanur

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

semanurLeave a comment

Here some of the new exciting releases for you to take a look at this week!

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell – In this sequel to the best-selling The Family Upstairs, two women are faced with complicated mysteries that are linked to a cold case that left three people dead in a Chelsea mansion 30 years ago.

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin – Liv Reese, waking up holding a bloodstained knife and her hands covered in scribbled messages, remembers nothing from the past two years and goes on the run for a crime she doesn’t remember committing, followed by someone who will do anything to stop her from remembering—permanently.

Bark to the Future by Spencer Quinn – When dog Chet and his human, Bernie Little, run into a homeless panhandler who turns out to be an old classmate, they investigate his past in the thirteenth novel of the series following It’s a Wonderful Woof.

Sister Friends Forever by Kimberla Roby – This powerful story of friendship follows four best friends who, leading very different lives, come together each month to discuss their hopes and dreams.

A Dark and Stormy Tea by Laura Childs – After witnessing the murder of her friend Lois’ daughter, tea shop owner and amateur sleuth Theodosia Browning investigates and is surprised when so many suspects turn up in the latest addition to the long-running series, following Twisted Tea Christmas.

Heat 2 by Michael Mann & Meg Gardiner – Follows the formative years of homicide detective Vincent Hanna and an elite group of criminals and crime syndicates, in the new novel by the four-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker and writer-director of Heat, Collateral and Miami Vice.

I Remember You by Brian Freeman – After dying at a rooftop party in Las Vegas on the Fourth of July, Hallie Evers wakes up in the hospital, disoriented, but alive, with memories that are not fully her own and embarks on a cross-country search for answers.

~Semanur