Author: Stephanie

Winners of the 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards

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Goodreads has announced the winners of the 17th annual Goodreads Choice Awards! With more than 7.5 million votes cast, these winners represent readers’ favorite books of the year. This year there are 15 different categories with 300 nominated books over those categories. If you’re interested in checking out the winners, check the list below! Descriptions are provided by the publishers.

Readers’ Favorite Fiction: My Friends by Fredrik Backman

Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise, and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures.

Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love.

Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she’ll find. Louisa is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art. – Atria Books

This title is also available in large print.

Readers’ Favorite Historical Fiction: Atmosphere: A Love Story by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.

Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easygoing even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warmhearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.

As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.

Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, it all changes in an instant.

Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, creating complex protagonists, and telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love—this time among the stars. – Ballantine Books

This title is also available in large print.

Readers’ Favorite Mystery & Thriller: Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson

In seven days, Jet Mason will be dead.

Jet is the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Woodstock, Vermont. Twenty-seven years old and back home, she’s still waiting for her life to begin. I’ll do it later, she always says. She has time.

Until Halloween night, when she is violently attacked by an unseen intruder, suffering a catastrophic head injury. Doctors are certain that within a week, the injury will trigger a fatal aneurysm. To her parents’ dismay, Jet rejects an extremely risky operation in order to guarantee herself at least a few more days.

Jet never thought of herself as having enemies. But now, in the one week she has left, she looks at everyone in a new light: her family, her former best friend turned sister-in-law, her ex-boyfriend.

As her condition deteriorates, she reconnects with her childhood friend Billy, the only one willing to help her. With Billy at her side, she’s absolutely determined to finally finish something:

Jet is going to solve her own murder. – Bantam

This title is also available in large print.

Readers’ Favorite Romance: Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: to write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years—or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the twentieth century.

When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice’s head in the game.

One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice—and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over.

Two: She’s ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication.

Three: Hayden Anderson, who should have no reason to be concerned about losing this book, is glowering at her in a shaken-to-the core way that suggests he sees her as competition.

But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can’t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.

And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story—just like the tale Margaret’s spinning—could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad . . . depending on who’s telling it. – Berkley

This title is also available in large print.

Readers’ Favorite Romantasy (AND Readers’ Favorite Audiobook narrated by Rebecca Soler, Teddy Hamilton, Justis Bolding, and Jasmin Walker): Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail knows there’s no more time for lessons. No more time for uncertainty.

Because the battle has truly begun, and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it’s impossible to know who to trust.

Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre. The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves—her dragons, her family, her home, and him.

Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything.

They need an army. They need power. They need magic. And they need the one thing only Violet can find—the truth.

But a storm is coming…and not everyone can survive its wrath. – Entangled Publishing, LLC

This title is also available in large print.

Readers’ Favorite Fantasy: Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab

This is a story about hunger.
1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.

This is a story about love.
1827. London.
A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow—but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.

This is a story about rage.
2019. Boston.
College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge.

This is a story about life—how it ends, and how it starts. – Tor Books

This title is also available in large print.

Readers’ Favorite Science Fiction: The Compound by Aisling Rawle

Lily—a bored, beautiful twenty-something—wakes up on a remote desert compound, alongside nineteen other contestants competing on a massively popular reality show. To win, she must outlast her housemates to stay in the Compound the longest, while competing in challenges for luxury rewards like champagne and lipstick, plus communal necessities to outfit their new home, like food, appliances, and a front door.

Cameras are catching all her angles, good and bad, but Lily has no desire to leave: why would she, when the world outside is falling apart? As the competition intensifies, intimacy between the players deepens, and it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between desire and desperation. When the unseen producers raise the stakes, forcing contestants into upsetting, even dangerous situations, the line between playing the game and surviving it begins to blur. If Lily makes it to the end, she’ll receive prizes beyond her wildest dreams—but what will she have to do to win?

Addictive and prescient, The Compound is an explosive debut from a major new voice in fiction and will linger in your mind long after the game ends. – Random House

This title is also available in large print.

Readers’ Favorite Horror: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

They were never girls, they were witches . . . .

They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to the Wellwood House in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, to give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened.

Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970, pregnant, frightened, and alone. Under the watchful eye of the stern Miss Wellwood, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. There’s Rose, a hippie who insists she’s going to find a way to keep her baby and escape to a commune. And Zinnia, a budding musician who plans to marry her baby’s father. And Holly, a wisp of a girl, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who.

Everything the girls eat, every moment of their waking day, and everything they’re allowed to talk about is strictly controlled by the adults who claim they know what’s best for them. Then Fern meets a librarian who gives her an occult book about witchcraft, and power is in the hands of the girls for the first time in their lives. But power can destroy as easily as it creates, and it’s never given freely. There’s always a price to be paid . . . and it’s usually paid in blood. – Berkley

This title is also available in large print.

Readers’ Favorite Debut Novel: Alchemised by SenLinYu

“What is it you think you’re protecting in that brain of yours? The war is over. Holdfast is dead. The Eternal Flame extinguished. There’s no one left for you to save.”

Once a promising alchemist, Helena Marino is now a prisoner—of war and of her own mind. Her Resistance friends and allies have been brutally murdered, her abilities suppressed, and the world she knew destroyed.

In the aftermath of a long war, Paladia’s new ruling class of corrupt guild families and depraved necromancers, whose vile undead creatures helped bring about their victory, holds Helena captive.

According to Resistance records, she was a healer of little importance within their ranks. But Helena has inexplicable memory loss of the months leading up to her capture, making her enemies wonder: Is she truly as insignificant as she appears, or are her lost memories hiding some vital piece of the Resistance’s final gambit?

To uncover the memories buried deep within her mind, Helena is sent to the High Reeve, one of the most powerful and ruthless necromancers in this new world. Trapped on his crumbling estate, Helena’s fight—to protect her lost history and to preserve the last remaining shreds of her former self—is just beginning. For her prison and captor have secrets of their own . . . secrets Helena must unearth, whatever the cost. – Del Rey

Readers’ Favorite Young Adult Fantasy & Sci-Fi: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena. – Scholastic Press

Readers’ Favorite Young Adult Fiction: Fake Skating by Lynn Painter

Growing up, Dani couldn’t help but follow around the adorable son of her mom’s best friend. Funny, kind of nerdy, and a little soft, Alec was always down to hang with Dani when they were little. From play dates on the playground to sneaking into movie theaters, Dani and Alec were inseparable. Until Dani moved away. Alec promised they’d stay in touch—except, they didn’t.

Flash forward and Dani is back in Minnesota for her senior year, she and her mom living with her grandfather. Dealing with the fallout of her parents’ devastating divorce, Dani wouldn’t mind a nerd-out with the cozy and comforting Alec (and maybe a chance to confront him on his MIA status for all these years). But teenage Alec is nothing like the kid Dani remembers. He’s a hockey star in a town where hockey players are worshiped as gods. Dani’s place as his shadow has been taken up by drooling female fans…and he loves it.

Dani is resolved to ice out her former best friend until an unlikely series of events brings them together—and forces them to fake being a couple. Once forced together, the former childhood sweethearts begin to reconnect, unearth complicated family secrets, and face their true feelings towards each other…including the real reason Alec has been pushing Dani away all these years. – Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Readers’ Favorite Nonfiction: Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of our Deadliest Infection by John Green

Tuberculosis has been entwined with hu­manity for millennia. Once romanticized as a malady of poets, today tuberculosis is seen as a disease of poverty that walks the trails of injustice and inequity we blazed for it.

In 2019, author John Green met Henry Reider, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone. John be­came fast friends with Henry, a boy with spindly legs and a big, goofy smile. In the years since that first visit to Lakka, Green has become a vocal advocate for increased access to treatment and wider awareness of the healthcare inequi­ties that allow this curable, preventable infec­tious disease to also be the deadliest, killing over a million people every year.

In Everything Is Tuberculosis, John tells Henry’s story, woven through with the scientific and social histories of how tuberculosis has shaped our world—and how our choices will shape the future of tuberculosis. – Crash Course Books

This title is also available in large print.

Readers’ Favorite Memoir: The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom by Shari Franke

From eldest daughter Shari Franke, the shocking true story behind the viral 8 Passengers family vlog—now the subject of a new Hulu docuseries—and the hidden abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother, and how, in the face of unimaginable pain, she found freedom and healing.

Shari Franke’s childhood was a constant battle for survival. Her mother, Ruby Franke, enforced a severe moral code while maintaining a façade of a picture-perfect family for their wildly popular YouTube channel 8 Passengers, which documented the day-to-day life of raising six children for a staggering 2.5 million subscribers. But a darker truth lurked beneath the surface—Ruby’s wholesome online persona masked a more tyrannical parenting style than anyone could have imagined.

As the family’s YouTube notoriety grew, so too did Ruby’s delusions of righteousness. Fueled by the sadistic influence of relationship coach Jodi Hildebrandt, together they implemented an inhumane and merciless disciplinary regime.

Ruby and Jodi were arrested in Utah in 2023 on multiple charges of aggravated child abuse. On that fateful day, Shari shared a photo online of a police car outside their home. Her caption had one word: “Finally.”

For the first time, Shari will reveal the disturbing truth behind 8 Passengers and her family’s devastating involvement with Jodi Hildebrandt’s cultish life coaching program, “ConneXions.” No stone is left unturned as Shari exposes the perils of influencer culture and shares for the first time her battle for truth and survival in the face of her mother’s cruelty. – Gallery Books

Readers’ Favorite History & Biography: How to Kill a Witch: The Patriarchy’s Guide to Silencing Women by Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi

Nothing brings people together like a common enemy, and witches were the greatest enemy of all.

Scotland, 1563: Crops failed. People starved. And the Devil’s influence was stronger than ever—at least, that’s what everyone believed. If you were a woman living in Scotland during this turbulent time, there was a very good chance that you, or someone you knew, would be tried as a witch.

During the chaos of the Reformation, violence against women was codified for the first time in the Witchcraft Act—a tool of theocratic control with one chilling goal: to root out witches and rid the land of evil. What followed was a dark and misogynistic chapter in history that fanned the flames of witch hunts across the globe, including in the United States and beyond.

In How to Kill a Witch, Zoe Venditozzi and Claire Mitchell, hosts of the popular Witches of Scotland podcast, unravel the grim yet absurdly bureaucratic process of identifying, accusing, trying, and executing women as witches. With sharp wit and keen feminist insight, they reveal the inner workings of a patriarchal system designed to weaponize fear and oppress women.

This captivating (and often infuriating) account, which weaves a rich tapestry of trial transcripts, witness accounts, and the documents that set the legal grounds for the witch hunts, exposes how this violent period of history mirrors today’s struggles for justice and equality. How to Kill a Witch is a powerful, darkly humorous reminder of the dangers of superstition, bias, and ignorance, and a warning to never forget the past… while raising the question of whether it could ever happen again. – Sourcebooks

The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures written and illustrated by ND Stevenson

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“The cells of your body are dying and growing again every day, and you are always in the process of becoming something new. You’re not sure yet who you will be, but you are ready to find out. You know some things a little better now, and your rabbit heart has grown steadier, and you are learning to be gentler to that soft girl with the bow in her hair who is still somewhere inside of you.”
― ND Stevenson, The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures

Author-illustrator ND Stevenson wrote and illustrated one of the first graphic novel series I ever read: Nimona. This series tells the story of a shapeshifter named Nimona and a villain named Lord Blackheart who wreak havoc on anyone and everyone. He also co-created Lumberjanes, which I absolutely adored. When I found his 2020 memoir, The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures, on the shelves at the library, I knew I needed to give it a read.

The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures is a collection of personal mini-comics and essays spanning eight years that cover the highs and lows of his journey to becoming a creative in the world. Just when I thought I had figured out what direction this story was going to go in, ND switched it up and had me reeling with his honesty. I particularly enjoyed how he mixed the little moments in with the big, while also showcasing the positives with the negatives. If you’re a fan of this author’s work, I highly recommend you checkout The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures as he isn’t afraid to detail his mental health struggles along his rise to fame.

Readalikes for King Sorrow

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If you are waiting for Joe Hill’s latest release, King Sorrow, check out this list of readalikes we at Davenport Public Library have put together for you. Below you’ll find a mix of newer and older titles similar to King Sorrow, which was published on October 21st, 2025. As of this writing, all of these titles are owned by the Davenport Public Library. All descriptions are provided by the publishers.

Curious what King Sorrow is about? Check out the description below!

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill, a chilling tale of modern-world dangers, dark academia, and the unexpected consequences of revenge as six friends dabble in the occult and are tragically, horrifyingly successful… calling forth an evil entity that demands regular human sacrifice.

Arthur Oakes is a reader, a dreamer, and a student at Rackham College, Maine, renowned for its frosty winters, exceptional library, and beautiful buildings. But his idyll—and burgeoning romance with Gwen Underfoot—is shattered when a local drug dealer and her partner corner him into one of the worst crimes he can imagine: stealing rare books from the college library.

Trapped and desperate, Arthur turns to his closest friends for comfort and help. Together they dream up a wild, fantastical scheme to free Arthur from the cruel trap in which he finds himself. Wealthy, irrepressible Colin Wren suggests using the unnerving Crane journal (bound in the skin of its author) to summon a dragon to do their bidding. The others—brave, beautiful Alison Shiner; the battling twins Donna and Donovan McBride; and brainy, bold Gwen—don’t hesitate to join Colin in an effort to smash reality and bring a creature of the impossible into our world.

But there’s nothing simple about dealing with dragons, and their pact to save Arthur becomes a terrifying bargain in which the six must choose a new sacrifice for King Sorrow every year—or become his next meal. – William Morrow

Look below for readalikes similar to King Sorrow.

Below the Grand Hotel by Cat Scully

The Great Gatsby meets Hellraiser.

Mabel Rose Dixon will do anything to become a Ziegfeld girl–including picking the pockets of the wealthy NYC elite to fund her way to stardom. When she picks the wrong pocket, Mabel loses her soul to a hotel run by demons and tumbles into the world of The Grand Hotel, a place where any artist can make it big.

Mabel’s greatest wish to be famous is granted. Every night, she performs as the starring act to a crowded theater and finds she is never without patrons. But Mabel quickly learns that losing her soul to get everything she ever wanted comes at a much steeper cost than what she bargained for. She must steal her soul back before the Grand’s annual May’s Eve Ball or become a demon herself forever.

With stylish art deco design and beautiful illustrations by the author, this stunning debut novel by renowned New England artist Cat Scully is a crown jewel for the dark gothic horror lover’s collection. Welcome to The Grand Hotel. We hope you enjoy your stay. – Clash Books

Book of Night by Holly Black

Charlie Hall has never found a lock she couldn’t pick, a book she couldn’t steal, or a bad decision she wouldn’t make.

She’s spent half her life working for gloamists, magicians who manipulate shadows to peer into locked rooms, strangle people in their beds, or worse. Gloamists guard their secrets greedily, creating an underground economy of grimoires. And to rob their fellow magicians, they need Charlie Hall.

Now, she’s trying to distance herself from past mistakes, but getting out isn’t easy. Bartending at a dive, she’s still entirely too close to the corrupt underbelly of the Berkshires. Not to mention that her sister Posey is desperate for magic, and that Charlie’s shadowless, and possibly soulless, boyfriend has been hiding things from her. When a terrible figure from her past returns, Charlie descends into a maelstrom of murder and lies.

Determined to survive, she’s up against a cast of doppelgangers, mercurial billionaires, gloamists, and the people she loves best in the world—all trying to steal a secret that will give them vast and terrible power. – Tor Books

Devils Kill Devils by Johnny Compton

When all hell breaks loose, you need a devil on your side

Sarita has been watched over by a guardian angel her entire life. She calls him Angelo, and keeps him a secret. But secrets can’t stay buried forever…

When Angelo murders someone she loves, Sarita begins to see what’s really been lurking in the shadows surrounding her. And she will have to embrace the evil within if she hopes to make it out alive.

Johnny Compton, critically acclaimed author of The Spite House and master of dread, takes you on a terrifying race of one woman against the hordes of hell. – Tor Nightfire

Fiend  by Alma Katsu

Historical horror maven Alma Katsu turns her talents to the modern world for the first time, in this terrifying tale about an all-powerful family with an ancient evil under its thumb.

Imagine if the Sackler family had a demon at their beck and call.

The Berisha family runs one of the largest import-export companies in the world, and they’ve always been lucky. Their rivals suffer strokes. Inconvenient buildings catch on fire. Earthquakes swallow up manufacturing plants, destroying harmful evidence. Things always seem to work out for the Berishas. They’re blessed.

At least that is what Zef, the patriarch, has always told his three children. And each of them knows their place in the family—Dardan, as the only male heir, must prepare to take over as keeper of the Berisha secrets, Maris’s most powerful contribution, much to her dismay, will be to marry strategically, and Nora’s job, as the youngest, is to just stay out of the way. But when things stop going as planned, and the family blessing starts looking more like a curse, the Berishas begin to splinter, each hatching their own secret scheme. They didn’t get to be one of the richest families in the world without spilling a little blood, but this time, it might be their own. – G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Girl Dinner by Olivie Blake

Good girls deserve a treat.

Every member of The House, the most exclusive sorority on campus, and all its alumni, are beautiful, high-achieving, and universally respected.

After a freshman year she would rather forget, sophomore Nina Kaur knows being one of the chosen few accepted into The House is the first step in her path to the brightest possible future. Once she’s taken into their fold, the House will surely ease her fears of failure and protect her from those who see a young woman on her own as easy prey.

Meanwhile, adjunct professor Dr. Sloane Hartley is struggling to return to work after accepting a demotion to support her partner’s new position at the cutthroat University. After 18 months at home with her newborn daughter, Sloane’s clothes don’t fit right, her girl-dad husband isn’t as present as he thinks he is, and even the few hours a day she’s apart from her child fill her psyche with paralyzing ennui. When invited to be The House’s academic liaison, Sloane enviously drinks in the way the alumnae seem to have it all, achieving a level of collective perfection that Sloane so desperately craves.

As Nina and Sloane each get drawn deeper into the arcane rituals of the sisterhood, they learn that living well comes with bloody costs. And when they are finally invited to the table, they will have to decide just how much they can stomach in the name of solidarity and power. – Tor Books

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman

To eight-year-old Bela, her family is her world. There’s Mommy, Daddo, and Grandma Ruth. But there is also Other Mommy, a malevolent entity who asks her every day: “Can I go inside your heart?”

When horrifying incidents around the house signal that Other Mommy is growing tired of asking Bela the question over and over, Bela understands that unless she says yes, her family will soon pay.

Other Mommy is getting restless, stronger, bolder. Only the bonds of family can keep Bela safe, but other incidents show cracks in her parents’ marriage. The safety Bela relies on is about to unravel.

But Other Mommy needs an answer.

Incidents Around the House is a chilling, wholly unique tale of true horror about a family as haunted as their home. – Del Rey

The Midnight Club by Margot Harrison

A twisty, nostalgic, emotionally thrilling novel about a group of estranged college friends who experiment with a secret substance that allows them to re-live their memories—and the fallout when they uncover startling truths about a dark event from their past

“How could you leave the past undisturbed when it was hiding parts of you from yourself?”

It’s been twenty-five years since The Midnight Club last convened. A tight-knit group of college friends bonded by late nights at the campus literary magazine, they’re also bonded by something darker: the death of their brilliant friend Jennet junior year. But now, decades later, a mysterious invitation has pulled them back to the pine-shrouded Vermont town where it all began.

As the estranged friends gather for a weeklong campus reunion, they soon learn that their host has an ulterior motive: she wants them to uncover the truth about the night Jennet died, and she’s provided them with an extraordinary method—a secret substance that helps them not only remember but relive the past.

But each one of the friends has something to hide. And the more they question each other, the deeper they dive into their own memories, the more they understand that nothing they thought they knew about their college years, and that fateful night, is true.

The Midnight Club explores that innate desire to revisit our first loves, our biggest mistakes, and the gulf between who we are and who we hoped we’d be. – Graydon House

Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom

Set in Colonial New England, Slewfoot is a tale of magic and mystery, of triumph and terror as only dark fantasist Brom can tell it.

Connecticut, 1666: An ancient spirit awakens in a dark wood. The wildfolk call him Father, slayer, protector. The colonists call him Slewfoot, demon, devil. To Abitha, a recently widowed outcast, alone and vulnerable in her pious village, he is the only one she can turn to for help.

Together, they ignite a battle between pagan and Puritan – one that threatens to destroy the entire village, leaving nothing but ashes and bloodshed in their wake.

This terrifying tale of bewitchery features more than two dozen of Brom’s haunting full-color paintings and brilliant endpapers, fully immersing readers in this wild and unforgiving world. – Tor Nightfire

The Love Haters by Katherine Center

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“The funny thing about the internet is that it is basically a collective hallucination. If you don’t join in, it doesn’t exist.”
― Katherine Center, The Love Haters

Katherine Center writes about resilience and struggle. Her characters may go through hardship, but they learn how to enjoy moments of grace amongst the chaos. Her latest novel, The Love Haters, talks about the lengths people will go to protect the ones they love.

Katie Vaughn’s job is in danger. Her boss is on a firing binge and as one of the newest hires, Katie is looking for a way to prove her worth. When one of her coworkers, Cole, comes to her with the opportunity to go to Key West and film a profile of Tom ‘Hutch’ Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, as a recruitment video, Katie isn’t going to let the pesky fact that she doesn’t know how to swim stand in her way. Next thing she knows, she’s on her way to paradise to film Hutch and save her job.

When Katie first meets Hutch, she is shocked. He is absolutely gorgeous, but if what Cole says is true, Hutch is also a love hater. The more time Katie spends around Hutch, the harder time she has believing that Hutch is as negative as Cole says. He shows great feelings towards his rescue Great Dane and towards his aunt Rue. Katie has been burnt by love in the not-so-distant past though making her believe she may also be a love hater. With the help of her cousin, Katie details the parts of herself that she loves. As she spends more time with Hutch, the two develop a strong bond formed through swim lessons, impromptu conga lines, helicopter flights, filming sessions, and interviews. Katie is caught up from the very start in a series of lies started by Cole. Though she has multiple chances to tell the truth, she holds off, frightened by her past even though being in Key West has helped her become braver.

The Love Haters was an adorable read with some of my favorite tropes: forced proximity, grumpy x sunshine, and quirky side characters. What I loved about this book was that it wasn’t just a love story between characters, it was a story of acceptance between Katie and her body. Aunt Rue and her gal pals were some of my favorite characters, plus Hutch’s Great Dane! There is also a LOT of mentions of eating disorders and body image issues, so take that into account if you’re thinking of giving this a read.

This title is also available in large print, CD audiobook, Playaway Audiobook.

New Picture Books

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If you’re looking for books with gorgeous illustrations, I recommend you check out picture books! Below you will find a list of new children’s picture books that were published in 2025. As of this writing, all of these titles are available at the Davenport Public Library. Descriptions are provided by the publishers.

Cat Nap written and illustrated by Brian Lies

In the warm, late afternoon sunlight, a girl sits on the couch reading a book. Her kitten dozes nearby. But when Kitten notices a mouse and dives after it through a framed poster on the wall, an epic chase through time, art, and history ensues. Is it a dream? That’s up to the reader to decide, but for the kitten, every leap and bound is full of suspense and makes for a masterpiece.

Caldecott Honor–winning and New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Brian Lies creates a truly unique picture book journey that invites young readers through the galleries of an art museum as well as through time, space, and history. As the cat and mouse leap from one page to the next, they are portrayed in the style of masterful artworks from history—an ancient Egyptian relief, an illuminated manuscript, a stained-glass window, a ceramic dog—each painstakingly and lovingly re-created in its original media by Brian Lies. When the sly mouse gets away, Kitten finds himself lost and alone. Will art help him find his way home?

This visual showstopper by an award-winning and bestselling picture book creator offers readers a page-turning cat and mouse chase, an introduction to famous works of art throughout history, an epic adventure story, and a homecoming. Backmatter includes information about how each of the illustrations in the book was created, notes on the original artworks featured in the book, and an afterword inviting young readers to make, create, and build things. – Greenwillow Books

CeeCee: Underground Railroad Cinderella written by Shana Keller, illustrated by Laura Freeman

A Cinderella retelling with a young enslaved girl in the title role. On a Maryland plantation, CeeCee’s story doesn’t end with a prince, but a different type of rescue.

CeeCee is a young enslaved girl growing up alongside the two spoiled daughters she must work for on a plantation in Maryland. She takes care of them, catering to their every whim and suffering their casual cruelty. She learns to read by listening to their lessons and stories with the threat of punishment if caught.

CeeCee receives help from the caring cook, Binty, and hope comes in the form of a different kind of escape. CeeCee chances everything for the possibility of a new life.

While many are familiar with the traditional Cinderella story, this retelling is sure to empower and uplift a new generation of young readers. – Charlesbridge

Everyday Bean written and illustrated by Stephanie Graegin

Meet Bean, a very tiny hedgehog. She loves ghosts, swings and a stuffie called Clem.

Meet Bean’s grandma. She loves strawberries, sweaters and tiny Bean burritos.

And they both love stories.

In ten tiny stories we follow Bean and her grandmother through adventures of the everyday. Bean loses her bad mood in a meadow and Grandma thinks she sees a ghost (don’t worry it’s just Bean!) — and there’s even a story with giant strawberries.

This first volume in the Tiny Bean’s Big Adventures series by acclaimed author/illustrator and hedgehog friend/insider, Stephanie Graegin, is the perfect gift for little (and big) readers and hedgehog admirers everywhere. – Tundra Books

The House That Floated written and illustrated by Guojing

A stunningly beautiful picture book from a critically acclaimed artist that follows a family who lives in a house by the sea as water levels start to rise.

In this gorgeous, wordless story, a family makes their home on a cliff overlooking the sea. They live peacefully, spending their days exploring the ocean and filling their home with warmth and laughter. But as seasons pass, the waters rise, bringing the tides closer to the clifftop and the house. When a powerful storm rages and giant waves engulf the cliff, the family must leave—but not without their beloved home.

Inspired by true stories of communities relocating houses, award-winning artist Guojing evokes a family’s ingenuity and determination to save their home in a moving portrait of empathy, love and strength. Through dreamy ocean scenes and vibrant tones of red, pinks and blues, this striking narrative offers an adventure story with a dramatic and glorious ending. – Random House Studio

The Invisible Parade by Leigh Bardugo

It’s time to join the party! Adventure awaits readers of all ages on Día de Muertos​ in this stunningly original and lushly illustrated tour de force about family, love, and overcoming grief.

Everyone in the neighborhood was getting ready for the party.
Everyone knew somebody on the guest list . . .
This was the day the dead returned.

There’s a party tonight, but Cala doesn’t want to go. While her family prepares for the celebration, Cala grieves her grandfather and tries to pretend she’s not afraid.

But when she is separated from her family at the cemetery, Cala encounters four mysterious riders who will show her she is actually quite brave after all.

Brimming with magic and humor, The Invisible Parade is the first picture-book collaboration between award-winner John Picacio and New York Times bestselling Leigh Bardugo. Set on the night of Día de Muertos, Cala’s story is one of love, loss, and the courage that can be found in unexpected places. – Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Island Storm written by Brian Floca, illustrated by Sydney Smith

Can you tell when a storm is coming? Can you feel the wind coming and growing? Do you hear the branches bouncing together, hear the whispers of the wind through the leaves?

Join in the journey as two siblings bear witness to the steady start, thrilling apex, and gentle end of this island storm. They’ll shelter soon, but first they want to feel it all.

Sydney Smith is the winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international distinction given to authors and illustrators of children’s books, and his illustrations are fantastically textured and visually spectacular. Paired with Brian Floca’s eloquent, rhythmic text, Island Storm is a multi-sensory experience that will amaze and delight readers. Children who fear thunder can take comfort in seeing it captured in the pages, while those who relish watching the sky crack open can enjoy battling this storm from the comfort of their homes. – Neal Porter Books

The Monster in the Lake written and illustrated by Leo Timmers, translated by Bill Nagelkerke

Four ducks are tired of their small pond and set out for an adventure in the big lake. Walking at the back, Eric isn’t sure. He’s heard there’s a monster in the lake, but his friends don’t believe a word of that old story! Eric reluctantly tags along, only to make a startling discovery and find himself in a wonderful underwater adventure.

This large-format picture book features a detailed, fold-out, underwater world of mechanical marvels and sea creatures. The story of a nervous duck who finds courage and the overconfidence of groups will resonate with anyone who’s nervously dipped a toe in unknown waters. – Gecko Press

The Moon Moved In written by Sue Soltis, illustrated by Sonia Sánchez

What would happen if the moon moved in next door? A funny and original story about an unexpected friendship, the essential role of the moon, and our power to connect, even from far away.

When the Moon moves into the long-empty house next door, all the rooms fill up with light—and Stella finally has a friend. But without the Moon in orbit, the world is going topsy-turvy. The tides stop, and the Earth has a new wobble. Stella worries, but the Moon just wants to stay and garden. Can Stella convince the Moon that life on Earth needs the Moon back in orbit? And what will become of her wish for a friend next door? – Chronicle Books

Popo the xolo written by Paloma Angelina Lopez, illustrated by Abraham Matias

We can always remember her.

Nana is surrounded by family and takes joy in her many grandchildren. She’s also tired and feels pain. Soon she begins her transition from life into death, accompanied by her beloved Xolo dog, Popo.

Together they go on Nana’s journey, and by the end of the story, Nana’s family celebrates the many years of love they shared with her. A grandchild takes on caring for Popo in Nana’s memory.

Simultaneously published in English and Spanish, Popo the Xolo helps kids understand how loved ones live on in our memories. An unforgettable picture book that’s grounded in the importance of the 9 levels of Mictlān and the role Xolo dogs play in Indigenous cultural understandings of present-day Mexico. – Charlesbridge

Recess written by Lane Smith, design by Molly Leach

School is where you go to learn. It is fun.
But sometimes you need a little break from all the fun.
That is why there is recess.
But what if it’s not recess time?
No problem!

You can have a Now Recess, a Really-Need-a-Break Recess, a Wherever-You-Are Recess.
It doesn’t matter what you call it. Just make sure you shout it:
RECESS!

Featuring the distinctive humor and beloved art of bestselling Caldecott honoree Lane Smith, this irresistibly fun, interactive read aLOUD is the perfect stress reliever to send kids into fits of giggles and shaking out their wiggles. – Abrams Books

This Year, A Witch written and illustrated by Zoey Abbott

A little girl has been every adorable thing you can imagine for Halloween, and she is done with being cuddly, sweet, and precious. This year, she’s rebelling big-time and going for a totally different vibe: the spookiest thing out there. She’s going to be…a witch!

With only a little help from Dad, she works hard on her witchy locks, brew, spells and enchantments, and power to petrify. But what happens when what she sees in the mirror is so spooky, she scares even herself? Nothing that an understanding dad—and maybe a quick restorative nap—can’t handle. – Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books

Where the Deer Slip Through written by Katey Howes, illustrated by Beth Krommes

This is the hedge that grew and grew.
The wall of stone a bit askew.
This is the gap where the deer slip through,
when the sky is still more pink than blue…

Throughout the course of a beautiful summer day, from sunrise to moonrise, a host of animals find their way through a gap in the hedge, bringing the farm to life. – Beach Lane Books

You and Me, Anemone: A Story About Friendship and Personal Space by Rachel Vail, illustrated by Chris Raschka

Don’t want to be booped? No problem! A sea anemone in the ocean confidently sets itself some personal boundaries, encouraging young readers on land to do the same.
You and Me, Anemone is a nuanced, thoughtful, playful picture book for young children about the delicate challenge of boundaries—having them, maintaining them, and respecting them in others. The playful, rhythmic, interactive text by award-winning author Rachel Vail pairs the science of sea life with social-emotional learning for terrific classroom potential. Two-time Caldecott Medal winner Chris Raschka’s illustrations—created by painting and stitching on burlap—are a visual and emotional showstopper with a ton of kid appeal. Back matter includes an author’s note and facts about the incredible sea anemone. – Greenwillow Books

The Greatest Thing by Sarah Winifred Searle

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High school can be an incredibly emotional time, but add in missing your best friends and things get harder. This is what Winifred experiences in The Greatest Thing, a young adult graphic novel written by Sarah Winifred Searle.

Starting sophomore year of high school should be easy and fun, but Winifred only feels dread. Her two best friends have transferred to a private high school, leaving her alone. She isn’t sure how she will survive high school, but she soon meets April and Oscar. They quickly become friends, making zines, having sleepovers, shopping at thrift stores, and helping each other survive the school madness. Their friendships help Winifred cope with what’s she’s feeling, but her underlying problems are still there. At times of quiet or unease, she slips back into old habits. Winifred has been keeping a secret from her friends, her family, and even herself. If she doesn’t find a way to deal with it, it could destroy all of her relationships.

This young adult graphic novel tugged on my heart strings from the very first page. The author has clearly put a lot of thought and emotion into this story in order to deliver such an honest story of self-growth, self-acceptance, and love. Friendship is an overarching theme throughout, but what I appreciated was that not everything worked out perfectly at the end. It was clear that Winifred and her friends have a lot of things to work through, but also that many tools are available to help if they want them. Overall, this is a message of hope for anyone struggling.

(Content warnings for eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and self-harm)

10 Years of Hamilton

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The first performance of ‘Hamilton: An American Musical’, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda debuted on Broadway in the summer of 2025. This musical is a smash hit, winning 11 Tony Awards in 2016, plus numerous other awards. ‘Hamilton’ is celebrating ten years of success, so I wanted to highlight items, both fiction and nonfiction, in our collection relating to the historical figures in the show. Below you will find a list of these titles (and this is not a complete list). As of this writing, all of these titles are owned by the Davenport Public Library. Descriptions provided by the publishers.

Nonfiction

Angelica: For Love and Country in a Time of Revolution by Molly Beer

A women-centric view of revolution through the life of Angelica Schuyler Church, Alexander Hamilton’s influential sister-in-law.

Few women of the American Revolution have come through 250 years of US history with such clarity and color as Angelica Schuyler Church. She was Alexander Hamilton’s “saucy” sister-in-law, and the heart of Thomas Jefferson’s “charming coterie” of artists and salonnières in Paris. Her transatlantic network of important friends spanned the political spectrum of her time and place, and her astute eye and brilliant letters kept them well informed.

A woman of great influence in a time of influential women (Catherine the Great and Marie-Antoinette were contemporaries), Angelica was at the red-hot center of American history at its birth: in Boston, when General Burgoyne surrendered to the revolutionaries; in Newport, receiving French troops under the command of her soon-to-be dear friend Marquis de Lafayette; in Yorktown, just after the decisive battle; in Paris and London, helping to determine the standing of the new nation on the world stage.

She was born as Engeltje, a Dutch-speaking, slave-owning colonial girl who witnessed the Stamp Act riots in the Royal British Province of New York. She came of age under English rule as Angelica, the eldest daughter of the most important family on the northern part of Hudson’s River, raised to be a domestic diplomat responsible for hosting indigenous chiefs and enemy British generals at dinner. She was Madame Church, wife of a privateer turned merchant banker, whose London house was a refuge for veterans of the American war fleeing the guillotine in France. Across nationalities, languages, and cultures, across the divides of war, grievance, and geography, Angelica wove a web of soft-power connections that spanned the War for Independence, the post-war years of tenuous peace, and the turbulent politics and rival ideologies that threatened to tear apart the nascent United States

In this enthralling and revealing woman’s-eye view of a revolutionary era, Molly Beer breathes vibrant new life into a period usually dominated by masculine themes and often dulled by familiarity. In telling Angelica’s story, she illuminates how American women have always plied influence and networks for political ends, including the making of a new nation. – W.W. Norton

Eliza Hamilton: The Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton by Tilar J. Mazzeo

Fans fell in love with Eliza Hamilton—Alexander Hamilton’s devoted wife—in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s phenomenal musical Hamilton. But they don’t know her full story. A strong pioneer woman, a loving sister, a caring mother, and in her later years, a generous philanthropist, Eliza had many sides—and this fascinating biography brings her multi-faceted personality to vivid life.

This “expertly told story” (Publishers Weekly) follows Eliza through her early years in New York, into the ups and downs of her married life with Alexander, beyond the aftermath of his tragic murder, and finally to her involvement in many projects that cemented her legacy as one of the unsung heroes of our nation’s early days.

This captivating account of the woman behind the famous man is perfect for fans of the works of Ron Chernow, Lisa McCubbin, and Nathaniel Philbrick. – Gallery Books

Founding Partisans: Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson, Adams, and the Brawling Birth of American Politics by H.W. Brands

To the framers of the Constitution, political parties were a fatal threat to republican virtues. They had suffered the consequences of partisan politics in Britain before the American Revolution, and they wanted nothing similar for America. Yet parties emerged even before the Constitution was ratified, and they took firmer root in the following decade. In Founding Partisans, master historian H. W. Brands has crafted a fresh and lively narrative of the early years of the republic as the Founding Fathers fought one another with competing visions of what our nation would be.

The first party, the Federalists, formed around Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and their efforts to overthrow the Articles of Confederation and make the federal government more robust. Their opponents organized as the Antifederalists, who feared the corruption and encroachments on liberty that a strong central government would surely bring. The Antifederalists lost but regrouped under the new Constitution as the Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson, whose bruising contest against Federalist John Adams marked the climax of this turbulent chapter of American political history.

The country’s first years unfolded in a contentious spiral of ugly elections and blatant violations of the Constitution. Still, peaceful transfers of power continued, and the nascent country made its way towards global dominance, against all odds. Founding Partisans is a powerful reminder that fierce partisanship is a problem as old as the republic. – Doubleday

This title is also available in large print.

The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III by Andrew Roberts

The last king of America, George III, has been ridiculed as a complete disaster who frittered away the colonies and went mad in his old age. The truth is much more nuanced and fascinating–and will completely change the way readers and historians view his reign and legacy.

Most Americans dismiss George III as a buffoon–a heartless and terrible monarch with few, if any, redeeming qualities. The best-known modern interpretation of him is Jonathan Groff’s preening, spitting, and pompous take in Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway masterpiece. But this deeply unflattering characterization is rooted in the prejudiced and brilliantly persuasive opinions of eighteenth-century revolutionaries like Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson, who needed to make the king appear evil in order to achieve their own political aims. After combing through hundreds of thousands of pages of never-before-published correspondence, award-winning historian Andrew Roberts has uncovered the truth: George III was in fact a wise, humane, and even enlightened monarch who was beset by talented enemies, debilitating mental illness, incompetent ministers, and disastrous luck.

In The Last King of America, Roberts paints a deft and nuanced portrait of the much-maligned monarch and outlines his accomplishments, which have been almost universally forgotten. Two hundred and forty-five years after the end of George III’s American rule, it is time for Americans to look back on their last king with greater understanding: to see him as he was and to come to terms with the last time they were ruled by a monarch. – Viking

A Republic of Scoundrels: The Schemers, Intriguers & Adventurers Who Created a new American Nation edited by David Head and Timothy C. Hemmis

The Founding Fathers are often revered as American saints; here are the stories of those Founders who were schemers and scoundrels, vying for their own interests ahead of the nation’s.

We now have a clear-eyed understanding of Founding Fathers such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton; even so, they are often considered American saints, revered for their wisdom and self-sacrificing service to the nation. However, within the Founding Generation lurked many unscrupulous figures—men who violated the era’s expectation of public virtue and advanced their own interests at the expense of others.

They were turncoats and traitors, opportunists and con artists, spies, and foreign intriguers. Some of their names are well known: Benedict Arnold and Aaron Burr. Others are less notorious now but were no less threatening. There was Charles Lee, the Continental Army general who offered to tell the British how to defeat the Americans, and James Wilkinson, who served fifteen years as a commanding general in the US Army, despite rumors that he spied for Spain and conspired with traitors.

The early years of the republic were full of self-interested individuals, sometimes succeeding in their plots, sometimes failing, but always shaping the young nation. A Republic of Scoundrels seeks to re-examine the Founding Generation and replace the hagiography of the Founding Fathers with something more realistic: a picture that embraces the many facets of our nation’s origins. – Pegasus Books

Fiction

The Girl from Greenwich Street: a novel of Hamilton, Burr, and America’s First Murder Trial by Lauren Willig

At the start of a new century, a shocking murder transfixes Manhattan, forcing bitter rivals Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr to work together to save a man from the gallows.

Just before Christmas 1799, Elma Sands slips out of her Quaker cousin’s boarding house—and doesn’t come home. Has she eloped? Run away? No one knows—until her body appears in the Manhattan Well.

Her family insists they know who killed her. Handbills circulate around the city accusing a carpenter named Levi Weeks of seducing and murdering Elma.

But privately, quietly, Levi’s wealthy brother calls in a special favor….

Aaron Burr’s legal practice can’t finance both his expensive tastes and his ambition to win the 1800 New York elections. To defend Levi Weeks is a double win: a hefty fee plus a chance to grab headlines.

Alexander Hamilton has his own political aspirations; he isn’t going to let Burr monopolize the public’s attention. If Burr is defending Levi Weeks, then Hamilton will too. As the trial and the election draw near, Burr and Hamilton race against time to save a man’s life—and destroy each other.

Part murder mystery, part thriller, part true crime, The Girl From Greenwich Street revisits a dark corner of history—with a surprising twist ending that reveals the true story of the woman at the center of the tale. – William Morrow

This title is also available in large print.

The Lace Widow by Mollie Ann Cox Bryan

Could Alexander Hamilton be at the center of a vast murder plot engulfing Old New York? As his widow, Eliza, pieces together the puzzle, she unearths a heartbreaking secret that threatens to tear her family apart.

New York, 1804. America’s beloved Alexander Hamilton lies dead after a duel with Aaron Burr. Meanwhile, Eliza Hamilton’s eighteen-year-old son, Alexander Jr., was seen fighting with a man in a tavern the night before his father’s duel and quickly comes under suspicion for murder when the man turns up dead.

Eliza searches for ways to clear her son’s name, even as she is grieving, but as she combs through her late husband’s papers, she finds evidence of a plot to steal money from the government during his tenure as secretary of state. Hamilton was accused of stealing that money, and it was a scandal that almost broke the family—but is Eliza now holding proof of Alexander’s innocence?

Deep in debt and despair, with eight children to support, Eliza turns to selling her handmade lace—and is drawn into a mysterious network of widow lacemakers who are intimately connected to New York’s high-society families. They know their dead husbands’ secrets—and soon, Eliza begins to piece together the truth.

There’s a dark plot connected with the duel, as one by one, witnesses to the bout are being killed. Now, Eliza must not only clear her husband’s and son’s names but keep herself out of the killer’s sights. – Crooked Lane Books

The Last Hamilton by Jenn Bregman

The more they know, the more danger they’re in.

When Elizabeth Walker, the last heir of the Alexander Hamilton line, is tragically killed by a subway train in New York, foul play is immediately suspected. Elizabeth had been terrified, frantic, and manic during her last days, running mysterious errands, searching for a strange antique key, and sending cryptic messages to her best friend, Sarah Brockman.

The morning after Elizabeth’s death, a box of tattered documents lands on Sarah’s doorstep, confirming her suspicions about Elizabeth’s strange behavior and shocking death. She brings the box to Elizabeth’s grieving husband, Ralph. Working together, they are stunned to discover that Elizabeth was part of a secret society established by Hamilton himself to keep the United States just and free, its influence woven into every corner of the country’s history. As Sarah and Ralph race through the streets of New York to uncover the truth behind Elizabeth’s death, they must stop an ingenious and sinister plot before someone else catches up to them–and the secrets of Hamilton’s society are lost forever. – Crooked Lane Books

Love, Theodosia: A Novel of Theodosia Burr and Philip Hamilton by Lori Goldstein

A Romeo & Juliet tale for Hamilton! fans.

In post-American Revolution New York City, Theodosia Burr, a scholar with the skills of a socialite, is all about charming the right people on behalf of her father—Senator Aaron Burr, who is determined to win the office of president in the pivotal election of 1800. Meanwhile, Philip Hamilton, the rakish son of Alexander Hamilton, is all about being charming on behalf of his libido.
When the two first meet, it seems the ongoing feud between their politically opposed fathers may be hereditary. But soon, Theodosia and Philip must choose between love and family, desire and loyalty, and preserving the legacy their flawed fathers fought for or creating their own.

Love, Theodosia is a smart, funny, swoony take on a fiercely intelligent woman with feminist ideas ahead of her time who has long-deserved center stage. A refreshing spin on the Hamiltonian era and the characters we have grown to know and love. It’s also a heartbreaking romance of two star-crossed lovers, an achingly bittersweet “what if.” Despite their fathers’ bitter rivalry, Theodosia and Philip are drawn to each other and, in what unrolls like a Jane Austen novel of manners, we find ourselves entangled in the world of Hamilton and Burr once again as these heirs of famous enemies are driven together despite every reason not to be. – Arcade Publishing

My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie

In this haunting, moving, and beautifully written novel, Dray and Kamoie used thousands of letters and original sources to tell Eliza’s story as it’s never been told before—not just as the wronged wife at the center of a political sex scandal—but also as a founding mother who shaped an American legacy in her own right.

A general’s daughter…

Coming of age on the perilous frontier of revolutionary New York, Elizabeth Schuyler champions the fight for independence. And when she meets Alexander Hamilton, Washington’s penniless but passionate aide-de-camp, she’s captivated by the young officer’s charisma and brilliance. They fall in love, despite Hamilton’s bastard birth and the uncertainties of war.

A founding father’s wife…

But the union they create—in their marriage and the new nation—is far from perfect. From glittering inaugural balls to bloody street riots, the Hamiltons are at the center of it all—including the political treachery of America’s first sex scandal, which forces Eliza to struggle through heartbreak and betrayal to find forgiveness.

The last surviving light of the Revolution…

When a duel destroys Eliza’s hard-won peace, the grieving widow fights her husband’s enemies to preserve Alexander’s legacy. But long-buried secrets threaten everything Eliza believes about her marriage and her own legacy. Questioning her tireless devotion to the man and country that have broken her heart, she’s left with one last battle—to understand the flawed man she married and imperfect union he could never have created without her… – William Morrow

This title is also available in CD audiobook.

The Secret Wife of Aaron Burr by Susan Holloway Scott

Inspired by a woman and events forgotten by history, bestselling author Susan Holloway Scott weaves together carefully researched fact and fiction to tell the story of Mary Emmons, and the place she held in the life—and the heart—of the notorious Aaron Burr.

He was a hero of the Revolution, a brilliant politician, lawyer, and very nearly president; a skillful survivor in a raw new country filled with constantly shifting loyalties. Today Aaron Burr is remembered more for the fatal duel that killed rival Alexander Hamilton. But long before that single shot destroyed Burr’s political career, there were other dark whispers about him: that he was untrustworthy, a libertine, a man unafraid of claiming whatever he believed should be his.

Sold into slavery as a child in India, Mary Emmons was brought to an America torn by war. Toughened by the experiences of her young life, Mary is intelligent, resourceful, and strong. She quickly gains the trust of her new mistress, Theodosia Prevost, and becomes indispensable in a complicated household filled with intrigue—especially when the now-widowed Theodosia marries Colonel Aaron Burr. As Theodosia sickens with the fatal disease that will finally kill her, Mary and Burr are drawn together into a private world of power and passion, and a secret, tangled union that would have shocked the nation . . . – Kensington Books

Nine Month Contract by Amy Daws

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“Well, preferring loneliness over rejection or disappointment won’t work forever. You’re hurting yourself under the guise of protection, but it makes no sense because all you’re doing is literally hurting yourself. It’s a pointless cycle. And you’re missing out on life,”
― Amy Daws, Nine Month Contract

All Wyatt has ever wanted is to be a father. Not wanting to go the traditional route, he reaches out to a surrogacy agency, but is disappointed in the candidates presented to him. When his brothers and niece get involved, he soon discovers a help-wanted ad spread all over his small mountain town advertising for a surrogate. This eventually leads the family to Trista. Trista wants to be a surrogate for her own personal reasons, but the surrogacy agency doesn’t believe she’s a viable candidate. When Wyatt’s family reaches out to her, she decides to meet and see if they are a good match. The banter between the two is off the charts from the very first meeting. When his brothers join in, it’s clear that his meddling family is going to be involved every step of this surrogacy journey.

It was a treat to watch all the relationships grow and change over the course of almost a year. While initially I wasn’t sure what I thought of Nine Month Contract, this book did have some of my favorite romance tropes: forced proximity, small town romance, grumpy x sunshine, and found family. If you have listened to Checked In!: A Davenport Public Library Podcast, then you know that I do not like pregnancy tropes in romance. A pregnancy trope is when a character’s unexpected pregnancy drives the story, usually as a surprise or accidental or secret baby plot. Not my favorite, but when I saw Nine Month Contract and that deals with surrogacy, I was intrigued. Could I handle a pregnancy trope if both characters knew it was happening? After finishing this book, I can clearly say . . . ‘I have no idea’. It was decidedly different than anything else I have ever read, but I’m still undecided. Wyatt’s family kept the story moving, in my opinion. They were hilarious, unhinged, yet incredibly sweet. Wyatt and Trista were also clearly a grumpy x sunshine situation which I adored. The banter was top notch. All in all, Nine Month Contract was a small town romance full of family drama.

Mountain Men Matchmaker series

  1. Nine Month Contract (2024)
  2. Seven Year Itch (2025)
  3. Honeymoon Phase (2025)
  4. Bad Boy Era (2026)

The oldest brother Max’s story is told in Last on the List, the fifth book in the Wait With Me series by Amy Daws. Last on the List takes place several years before the Mountain Men Matchmaker series and leads you in to that series.

Thieves’ Gambit by Kayvion Lewis

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“Everyone wants something—a lot of the times things that belong to other people. People will play you like a violin to get whatever they need from you.”
― Kayvion Lewis, Thieves’ Gambit

First in a new series by Kayvion Lewis, Thieves’ Gambit is described as The Inheritance Games meets Ocean’s Eleven. As someone who absolutely loves The Inheritance Games series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, I knew I needed to give this book a try.

Seventeen year old, Rosalyn Quest grew up in a family of thieves, in fact they are a legendary thieving family. Ross wants free of this life, but knows that her mom will never willingly let her go. Working on a plan to escape, Ross has hope for a different future. On the day of her planned escape, things go horribly wrong. Her mother is kidnapped and Ross is at a loss of what to do until she remembers her invite to the Gambit, a thieving competition that brings people together from across the world to complete a series of dangerous heists for the grand prize of anything they want in the world. Ross joins the Gambit hopeful to rescue her mom. As soon as she arrives on site, Ross realizes that this isn’t going to be as easy as she thought. She recognizes one of the other competitors, while another tries to distract her with his charm. Having been taught since birth to only trust people with the last name Quest, Ross is hesitant to get close to anyone, but the nature of the Gambit means that she may have to break her rules and trust someone. Only one can win the prize though. Does Ross have what it takes?

While I enjoyed this series, I will say it doesn’t quite hit the same level for me as The Inheritance Games. Even though I say that, I did enjoy that the characters were well-developed and that the plot’s twists and turns were action-packed. Very seldom did the characters just sit around and do nothing. They were never passive victims. They were constantly planning, scheming, and working to solve a problem. The ending caught me off guard and had me wondering just what was going to happen in the second book, Heist Royale.

If you’re a teen and you’re interested in talking about this book, please join us on Tuesday, December 30th, 2025 at 6:30pm at Eastern for the Teen Book + Club: Thieves’ Gambit by Kayvion Lewis program. More information about this program can be found on our website here: https://davenportlibrary.libcal.com/event/15660155

Thieves’ Gambit series

  1. Thieves’ Gambit (2023)
  2. Heist Royale (2024)

Slip written by Marika McCoola, illustrated by Aatmaja Pandya

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Slip written by Marika McCoola and illustrated by Aatmaja Pandya is an incredibly emotional coming-of-age young adult graphic novel that isn’t afraid to talk about tough topics. What hooked me about this graphic novel is that it centers on ceramic artist! Most of the graphic novels about art that I read center on painting or dance, so seeing one based on a talented young ceramic artist, I knew I needed to give this a read (Plus I know almost nothing about working with ceramics, so I wanted to learn!).

Trigger warning for suicide attempt.

Jade is a ceramic artist who has earned a spot at a summer art intensive at the Art Farm. She is hopeful that this intensive will help her create a portfolio which will help her get accepted into art school and also help her get a scholarship. Her mom thinks that this is a lot of pressure since it’s the student residency intensive, but has faith that Jade can succeed. Right before Jade is set to leave though, her best friend Phoebe attempts suicide. After learning this, Jade struggles with focusing on herself and constantly worries about Phoebe.

At the Art Farm, Jade meets many new people and learns many new techniques that have the ability to help her expand her art. Jade also feels the spark of a summer romance with a quirky artist named Mary. Through the summer, Jade struggles to find her motivation to work, but eventually finds her rhythm. She starts making ceramic monsters as a way to help vent her anger, frustration, and fear. The scary part is that her creations start coming alive when she puts them in the kiln. Jade must figure out what is causing them to come alive and find a way to stop them. Slip is an engaging read that doesn’t end prettily. There are clearly still plenty of issues for Jade to work through, but readers are left with the sense that she is on a path to succeed.