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August 22, 2025 - September 5, 2025

Here are reading recommendations with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars for the contest period of August 22 - September 5.

August 22, 2025

On Wednesday, August 27th, Bookreporter will celebrate its 29th anniversary! When I think of this, so many memories come to mind, the first of which is the sound that we used to hear when we connected to AOL in those very early days.

At that time, book covers and author photos were the size of postage stamps, and they needed to be uploaded into the AOL system 24 hours in advance if we wanted them to show up. When authors would “appear” with us, the interviews were conducted by phone. There often would be someone on the team in the office typing for the author, and the interview would run in lines of chat in an “auditorium setup” online where readers sat in make-believe rows. Events could “sell out,” and you wanted to be in the row with your friends so you could “chat” during the program. I know, it is pretty amusing and sounds so archaic!

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Amy Neff Book Group Signup

Links to https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_g2eiFy7NR0Wn_s5FdUoO2A.

Amy Neff Book Group Signup

Links to https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_g2eiFy7NR0Wn_s5FdUoO2A.

Juliette Fay, author of The Harvey Girls

Charlotte Crowninshield was born into one of the finest Boston society families. Now she’s on the run from a brutal husband. Billie MacTavish is the oldest of nine children born to Scottish immigrants in Nebraska. She quit school in the sixth grade to help with her mother’s washing and mending business, but even that isn’t enough to keep the family afloat. Desperate, both women join the ranks of the Harvey Girls, waitresses who serve in America’s first hospitality chain on the Santa Fe railroad. Hired on the same day, they share three things: a room, a heartfelt dislike of each other…and each has a secret that certainly will get them fired. But when they’re sent to work at the luxurious El Tovar hotel at the Grand Canyon, Billie struggles to hide her young age from would-be suitors, and Charlotte discovers the little-known dark side of the national park’s history.

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Jason Mott, author of People Like Us

Two Black writers are trying to find peace and belonging in a world that is riven with gun violence. One is on a global book tour after a big prize win; the other is set to give a speech at a school that has suffered a shooting. As their two storylines merge, truths and antics abound in equal measure: characters drink booze out of an award trophy; menaces lurk in the shadows; tiny French cars putter around the countryside; handguns seem to hover in the air; and dreams endure against all odds.

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Karen White, author of That Last Carolina Summer

As a child, Phoebe Manigault developed the gift of premonition after she was struck by lightning in the creek near her Charleston home. Plagued throughout her life by mysterious dreams, Phoebe eventually moves to the West Coast. Now, years later, she is summoned back to South Carolina to help her sister, Addie, care for their ailing mother. As Phoebe’s return lures her back into deep-rooted tensions and conflicts, she is drawn to Celeste, whose granddaughter went missing years ago. Their connection brings comfort to Phoebe, while Celeste’s adult grandson, Liam, resurrects complicated emotions tied to Phoebe’s past. But the longer Phoebe spends in her childhood home, the more her recurring nightmares intensify --- bringing her closer to the shocking truth that irrevocably will change everything.

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Francesca Serritella, author of Full Bloom

Reeling from a breakup and overlooked at her job as a lighting designer, Iris Sunnegren finds herself stuck, disconnected and lonely in crowded New York City. Then a mysterious neighbor, an older Frenchwoman, makes her a gift: a bespoke perfume. One spritz, a dab behind the ears, and Iris feels like a different woman. Suddenly, she is the object of every man’s desire. She can cast off her inhibitions and use her newfound allure to dazzle the high-profile client, attract a man who excites her like no other, and access all the rarified spaces that once excluded her. Invigorated by the perfume, Iris embodies her maximum power --- a flower fully bloomed. But there is danger in connecting to our primal emotions. Scent awakens buried memories, and nightmares of the childhood house fire Iris barely survived return to haunt her.

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Sharon Kurtzman, author of The Lost Baker of Vienna

In 2018, Zoe Rosenzweig is reeling after the loss of her beloved grandfather, a Holocaust survivor. She becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to her family during the war. Vienna, 1946: Chana Rosenzweig has endured the horrors of war to find herself, her mother and her younger brother finally free in Vienna. But freedom doesn’t look like they’d imagined it would, as they struggle to make a living and stay safe. Despite the danger, Chana sneaks out most nights to return to the hotel kitchen where she works as a dishwasher, using the quiet nighttime hours to bake her late father’s recipes. Soon, Chana finds herself caught in a dangerous love triangle, torn between the black-market dealer who has offered marriage and protection, and the apprentice baker who shares her passions. How will Chana balance her love of baking against her family’s need for security?

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Editorial Content for Everyone Is Lying to You

Book

Everyone Is Lying to You

Teaser

From the bestselling author of THE SICILIAN INHERITANCE and the creator of the "Under the Influence" podcast comes an explosive thriller about two estranged friends, a grisly murder, a sudden disappearance, and the truly shocking revelation that everyone is lying to you about something.

Promo

From the bestselling author of THE SICILIAN INHERITANCE and the creator of the "Under the Influence" podcast comes an explosive thriller about two estranged friends, a grisly murder, a sudden disappearance, and the truly shocking revelation that everyone is lying to you about something.

About the Book

The #tradwife murder mystery we’ve all been waiting for. From the bestselling author of THE SICILIAN INHERITANCE and the creator of the "Under the Influence" podcast comes an explosive thriller about two estranged friends, a grisly murder, a sudden disappearance, and the truly shocking revelation that everyone is lying to you about something.

Lizzie and Bex were best friends in college. After graduation, Bex vanished, leaving Lizzie confused and devastated.

Fifteen years later, Bex is now Rebecca Sommers, a “traditional” Instagram influencer with millions of followers who salivate over her perfect life on her ranch with her five children and handsome husband, Gray. Lizzie is a struggling magazine writer, watching reels while her young children demand her attention.

One night out of the blue, Bex calls Lizzie with a career-making proposition --- an exclusive interview with her about her multimillion-dollar business venture and an invitation to MomBomb, the high-profile influencing conference.

At the conference, Bex goes missing, and Gray is found brutally murdered on their ranch. Lizzie finds herself plunged into the dark side of the cutthroat world of social media that includes jealousy, sordid affairs, swingers and backstabbing. She must learn who her old friend has become and who she has double-crossed to try to find her, clear her name and maybe even save her life.
 
Piazza’s master storytelling and razor-sharp insight into the world of social media brings us a pulpy, juicy and cleverly plotted read that will have you guessing all the way through and leave you gasping for more.