by Steven Rowley
First sentence: “Two men sit in the shade of a blue lifeguard tower staring out at the Pacific.”
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Release date: May 19, 2026
Review copy provided by the author
Content: There is some swearing, including multiple f-bombs. It will be in the Fiction section of the bookstore.

Jesse and Norman have been together for 30 years, married for 10. They have recently rennovated a house out in Josua Tree and moved out there. And, on the surface, everything seems okay. Until one night, a huge light appears in the sky and Norman walks out into it and disappears, leaving Jesse behind. The ultimate question: what do you do when your spouse, someone you have tethered your life to, disappears?

Yes, the book is founded on a silly premise: are alien abuctions real? Was it aliens? Jesse does everything he can to look for Norman – who is just not there. And it’s not just Jesse; Norman’s sister, Lally, is obsessed with finding him as well, and hires a private investigator to help her search. But at its heart, the book is more about remembering why long-term partners got together in the first place, and then finding reasons to stay together even when life feels mundane. It’s about choosing – and re-choosing – the people you love. While it was often silly, and very chaotic, it was also very touching and, in the end, reaffirming that life is worth living, even with all the bad things going on.

Bonus points, too, for the use of U2 song titles as section headings. That absoutely tickled me.

A remarkably good read.

by Caro Claire Burke
Read by Rebecca Lowman
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Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is a lot of swearing, including multiple f-bombs, talk of sex (and some on-page). It’s in the fiction section of the bookstore.

Since the best way to approach this novel is to know as little as possible about this book, I’m just going to give you the pitch we’ve been using at the bookstore: a trad wife influencer wakes up one day to find herself in 1855.

I’ve had coworkers talking about this for months, since they first got a galley. I resisted – mostly – until the audiobook came out. And then, I thought, why not give it a try? A couple of things: it’s worth the hype. And you will need someone to talk about it to when you finish. The characters are all terrible people, and yet the book is utterly compelling. And the narrator? Lowman is FANTASTIC. Absolutely fantastic. It got to a point with about 3 hours left that I ended up staying up until 1:30 am to finish it, and then lay awake for a while to think about it.

Not sure it’ll make my best-of list this year, but it’s a really good book.

by T. Kingfisher
First sentence: “‘You must, at all costs, avoid women,’ said the old man.”
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Release date: August 25, 2026
The others in the series: Swordheart
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There is some swearing, including a couple of well-placed f-bombs, and some fade-to-black sex. It will be in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Edmond is a disillusioned scholar, and his last job before he leaves the order of the Many-Armed God is to transport this ancient sword to a scholar who has requested it. But bandits jump him on the road, and he unsheaths the sword, and he has become the wielder of the Dervish, the spirit in the sword. This is all highly embarrassing for Edmond – he didn’t want to create a fuss. But then they get kidnapped and pick up a gnole named Dog Violet and a 12-foot-tall pillbug ambassador named Large Francis. Somehow, they made it to the city (there’s an incident with a dragon), where the Dervish is kidnapped… and somewhere along the way Edmond has caught feelings.

Okay, if I’m honest: not much happens in this book. It’s basically a road trip, with little adventures along the way, and there’s not much in the way of plot. That said, I adored it. I loved the little bits – it felt very Terry Pratchett-esque at times – like the conversations between the Dervish and Edmund, and the side characters are absolutely endearing. There is nothing not to love about this book. And Halla and Sarkis both show up as an Easter egg from the first book.

I absolutely loved it!