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A Trojan Horse. That's how author Xochitl Gonzalez describes her debut novel, Olga Dies Dreaming (2022), a work of contemporary fiction set in Brooklyn and Puerto Rico, primarily in 2017.

This lovely and magical story features three book lovers who become entwined with a lost bookshop that spans 19th and 20th century Ireland. Opaline attempts to break the barriers that aim to confine and subjugate women as she runs from a forced marriage; Martha is running from an abusive husband; and Henry is trying to find an elusive break into the book world.

Meet Aubrey, a somewhat spoiled young girl living in Paris in the late 1800s, who one day comes down with a mysterious, life-threatening illness. She speedily discovers that if she keeps moving location, the illness disappears. And so, she begins her adventurous life of endless travelling around the globe, trying to outrun her unique disease.  

When I read that Palace of the Drowned was set in Venice, Italy, off-season, and reminiscent of the novels of Patricia Highsmith, in that the prose is lush, the plot suspenseful in a kind of nagging, slow-burn way, I thought it sounded like my cup of proverbial tea.

In The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (2009), author Alan Bradley introduces readers to the charming and precocious eleven-year-old protagonist, Flavia de Luce.

Lauren Groff’s The Vaster Wilds (2023) transports the reader back to a horrifying and fascinating time in American colonial history known as the “starving time” at the Jamestown colony in 1609.

The ultimate fantasy – a book that can open a door to anywhere in the world. Oh, the places you could go! Obviously, it is also highly coveted, so when Cassie is gifted the book, she suddenly finds herself the target of unscrupulous, violent, book hunters who will do anything to get their hands on it. The Book of Doors (2024) takes you on a fast paced, magic-filled whirlwind of an adventure in a classic fight of good vs evil.

There's a new mystery series in town! Scorched Grace (2023), by Margot Douaihy, is the first of the Sister Holiday Mysteries; it also happens to be the first novel published by Gillian Flynn Books.

I enjoyed Good Taste (2023) by Caroline Scott for its blend of history, romance, and foodie fiction. Set in England during the Great Depression, the story begins with author Stella Douglas looking for her next writing project, which will hopefully sell better than her last book.

River East, River West (2024) is a modern coming of age tale and a poignant look at how the people of China have continuously struggled to adapt to the changes forced on them. The story alternates between Alva, a biracial teen fighting to find her place in modern Shanghai society and Lu Fang, a young man in the 1980s, recovering from the upset of the Cultural Revolution and yearning for more global experiences.

Heartwarming and bittersweet, The Guncle (2019) by Steven Rowley will grab you from the start. Patrick, or “Gay Uncle Patrick” as his 9-year-old niece and 6-year-old nephew call him, is out of his element as their temporary caregiver.