December 2021 Adult Top 10 Picks

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  1. The Ballerinas
    by Rachel Kapelke-Dale
    St. Martin's Press
    Dec 07, 2021
    FICTION / Women
    Hardback
    The Ballerinas
    by Rachel Kapelke-Dale
    St. Martin's Press
    Dec 07, 2021
    FICTION / Women
    Hardback

    Dare Me meets Black Swan and Luckiest Girl Alive in a captivating, voice-driven debut novel about a trio of ballerinas who meet as students at the Paris Opera Ballet School.

    "Enthralling...irresistible." ––New York Times
    "A standing ovation to this debut." ––E! News

    Thirteen years ago, Delphine Léger abandoned her prestigious soloist spot at the Paris Opera Ballet for a new life in St. Petersburg––taking with her a secret that could upend the lives of her best friends, fellow dancers Lindsay and Margaux. Now thirty-six years old, Delphine has returned to her former home and to the legendary Palais Garnier Opera House, to choreograph the ballet that will kickstart the next phase of her career––and, she hopes, finally make things right with her former friends. But Delphine quickly discovers that things have changed while she's been away...and some secrets can't stay buried forever.

    Moving between the trio's adolescent years and the present day, The Ballerinas explores the complexities of female friendship, the dark drive towards physical perfection in the name of artistic expression, the double-edged sword of ambition and passion, and the sublimated rage that so many women hold inside––all culminating in a twist you won't see coming, with a magnetic cast of characters you won't soon forget.

    View this title on BNC CataList
  2. My Darling Husband
    by Kimberly Belle
    Park Row
    Dec 28, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Psychological
    Hardback
    My Darling Husband
    by Kimberly Belle
    Park Row
    Dec 28, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Psychological
    Hardback
    "Riveting suspense, truly surprising revelations, and silky smooth writing make this one unmissable!" Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Mother May I

    Bestselling author of DEAR WIFE and THE MARRIAGE LIE, Kimberly Belle returns with her most heart-pounding thriller to date, as a masked home invader reveals the cracks in a marriage.


    Everyone is about to know what her husband isn’t telling her…

    Jade and Cam Lasky are by all accounts a happily married couple with two adorable kids, a spacious home and a rapidly growing restaurant business. But their world is tipped upside down when Jade is confronted by a masked home invader. As Cam scrambles to gather the ransom money, Jade starts to wonder if they’re as financially secure as their lifestyle suggests, and what other secrets her husband is keeping from her.

    Cam may be a good father, a celebrity chef and a darling husband, but there’s another side he’s kept hidden from Jade that has put their family in danger. Unbeknownst to Cam and Jade, the home invader has been watching them and is about to turn their family secrets into a public scandal.

    With riveting twists and a breakneck pace, My Darling Husband is an utterly compelling thriller that once again showcases Kimberly Belle's exceptional talent for domestic suspense.

    Don't miss bestselling author Kimberly Belle's next deeply addictive thriller, The Personal Assistant—where she explores the dark side of the digital world when a mommy-blogger’s assistant goes missing!

    Look for these other pulse-pounding thrillers by Kimberly Belle:
    • The Marriage Lie
    • The Last Breath
    • Stranger in the Lake
    • Three Days Missing
    • Dear Wife
    • The Ones We Trust

    View this title on BNC CataList
  3. The Replacement Wife
    by Darby Kane
    Avon
    Dec 28, 2021
    Hardback
    The Replacement Wife
    by Darby Kane
    Avon
    Dec 28, 2021
    Hardback

    The #1 International bestselling author of Pretty Little Wife returns with another thrilling domestic suspense novel that asks, how many wives and girlfriends need to disappear before your family notices?

    Elisa Wright is a mom and wife, living a nice, quiet life in a nice, quiet town. She’s also convinced her brother-in-law is a murderer. Josh has one dead wife and one missing fiancée, and though he grieved for them he starts dating someone new. Elisa fears for that woman’s safety, and she desperately wants to know what happened to her friend, Josh’s missing fiancée.

    Searching for clues means investigating her own family. And she doesn’t like what she finds. A laptop filled with incriminating information. Other women.

    But when Elisa becomes friends with Josh’s new girlfriend and starts to question things she thinks are true, Elisa wonders if the memories of a horrible incident a year ago have finally pushed her over the edge and Josh is really innocent. With so much at stake, Elisa fights off panic attacks and a strange illness. Is it a breakdown or something more? The race is on to get to the truth before another disappearance because there’s a killer in the family…or is there?

    View this title on BNC CataList
  4. Call Us What We Carry
    by Amanda Gorman
    Viking Books
    Dec 07, 2021
    POETRY / American / African American & Black
    Hardback
    Call Us What We Carry
    by Amanda Gorman
    Viking Books
    Dec 07, 2021
    POETRY / American / African American & Black
    Hardback
    The instant #1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller


    The breakout poetry collection by #1 New York Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman

    Formerly titled The Hill We Climb and Other Poems, the luminous poetry collection by #1 New York Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman captures a shipwrecked moment in time and transforms it into a lyric of hope and healing. In Call Us What We Carry, Gorman explores history, language, identity, and erasure through an imaginative and intimate collage. Harnessing the collective grief of a global pandemic, this beautifully designed volume features poems in many inventive styles and structures and shines a light on a moment of reckoning. Call Us What We Carry reveals that Gorman has become our messenger from the past, our voice for the future.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  5. Beasts of a Little Land
    by Juhea Kim
    Ecco
    Dec 07, 2021
    Hardback
    Beasts of a Little Land
    by Juhea Kim
    Ecco
    Dec 07, 2021
    Hardback

    "A spectacular debut filled with great characters and heart.” —Lisa See, author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

    FINALIST FOR THE 2022 DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE · FINALIST FOR THE BALCONES FICTION PRIZE · LONGLISTED FOR THE HWA DEBUT CROWN AWARD

    An epic story of love, war, and redemption set against the backdrop of the Korean independence movement, following the intertwined fates of a young girl sold to a courtesan school and the penniless son of a hunter

    In 1917, deep in the snowy mountains of occupied Korea, an impoverished local hunter on the brink of starvation saves a young Japanese officer from an attacking tiger. In an instant, their fates are connected—and from this encounter unfolds a saga that spans half a century.

    In the aftermath, a young girl named Jade is sold by her family to Miss Silver’s courtesan school, an act of desperation that will cement her place in the lowest social status. When she befriends an orphan boy named JungHo, who scrapes together a living begging on the streets of Seoul, they form a deep friendship. As they come of age, JungHo is swept up in the revolutionary fight for independence, and Jade becomes a sought-after performer with a new romantic prospect of noble birth. Soon Jade must decide whether she will risk everything for the one who would do the same for her.

    From the perfumed chambers of a courtesan school in Pyongyang to the glamorous cafes of a modernizing Seoul and the boreal forests of Manchuria, where battles rage, Juhea Kim’s unforgettable characters forge their own destinies as they wager their nation’s. Immersive and elegant, Beasts of a Little Land unveils a world where friends become enemies, enemies become saviors, heroes are persecuted, and beasts take many shapes.

    A Recommended Read from: USA Today · The Washington Post · Entertainment Weekly · The Today Show · Real Simple · Good Morning America · Harper's Bazaar · Buzzfeed · Fortune · Vulture · Goodreads · Lit Hub · Book Riot · PopSugar · E! Online · Ms. Magazine · Chicago Review of Books · Bustle · The Oregonian · The Millions

    View this title on BNC CataList
  6. Bright Burning Things
    by Lisa Harding
    HarperVia
    Dec 07, 2021
    Hardback
    Bright Burning Things
    by Lisa Harding
    HarperVia
    Dec 07, 2021
    Hardback

    A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY * A PEOPLE MAGAZINE PICK * AN INDIE NEXT PICK * A LIBRARYREADS PICK *AN AMAZON EDITORS PICK

    “On every page there are little shimmering bombs. Like Room, where parenthood is at once your jail and your salvation, it is almost claustrophobic—but in the most glorious way.”—Lisa Taddeo, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Three Women and Animal

    A rising international literary star makes her American debut with this visceral, tender, and brave portrait of addiction, recovery, and motherhood, as harrowing and intense as Shuggie Bain.

    Sonya used to perform on stage. She used to attend glamorous parties, date handsome men, ride in fast cars. But somewhere along the way, the stage lights Sonya lived for dimmed for good. In their absence, came darkness—blackouts, empty cupboards, hazy nights she can't remember.

    What keeps Sonya from losing herself completely is Tommy, her son. But her immense love for Tommy is in fierce conflict with her immense love of the bottle. Addiction amplifies her fear of losing her child; every maternal misstep compels her to drink. Tommy’s precious life is in her shaky hands.

    Eventually Sonya is forced to make a choice. Give up drinking or lose Tommy—forever.

    Bright Burning Things is an emotional tour-de-force—a devastating, nuanced, and ultimately hopeful look at an addict’s journey towards rehabilitation and redemption.

    A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK FROM: Washington Post, The Millions, PopSugar, Shondaland, Good Morning America, Nylon, Good Housekeeping, Town & Country

    View this title on BNC CataList
  7. A History of Wild Places
    by Shea Ernshaw
    Atria Books
    Dec 07, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
    Hardback
    A History of Wild Places
    by Shea Ernshaw
    Atria Books
    Dec 07, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
    Hardback
    In this “riveting, atmospheric thriller that messes with your mind in the best way” (Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author), three residents of a secluded, seemingly peaceful commune investigate the disappearances of two outsiders.

    Travis Wren has an unusual talent for locating missing people. Often hired by families as a last resort, he takes on the case of Maggie St. James—a well-known author of dark, macabre children’s books—and is soon led to a place many believed to be only a legend.

    Called Pastoral, this reclusive community was founded in the 1970s by like-minded people searching for a simpler way of life. By all accounts, the commune shouldn’t exist anymore and soon after Travis stumbles upon it…he disappears. Just like Maggie St. James.

    Years later, Theo, a lifelong member of Pastoral, discovers Travis’s abandoned truck beyond the border of the community. No one is allowed in or out, not when there’s a risk of bringing a disease—rot—into Pastoral. Unraveling the mystery of what happened reveals secrets that Theo, his wife, Calla, and her sister, Bee, keep from one another. Secrets that prove their perfect, isolated world isn’t as safe as they believed—and that darkness takes many forms.

    “As spine-chilling as it is beautifully crafted” (Ruth Emmie Lang, author of Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance), A History of Wild Places is a story about fairy tales, our fear of the dark, and losing yourself within the wilderness of your mind.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  8. The Midnight Hour
    by Elly Griffiths
    Mariner Books
    Dec 07, 2021
    Hardback
    The Midnight Hour
    by Elly Griffiths
    Mariner Books
    Dec 07, 2021
    Hardback
    The Brighton police force is on the hunt for another killer, but this time they have some competition—a newly formed all-women’s private eye firm, led by none other than the police chief’s wife.

    Newly minted PI Emma Holmes and her partner Sam Collins are just settling into their business when they’re chosen for a high-profile case: retired music-hall star Verity Malone hires them to find out who poisoned her husband, a theater impresario. Verity herself has been accused of the crime. The only hitch—the Brighton police are already on the case, putting Emma in direct competition with her husband, police superintendent Edgar Stephens.

    Soon Emma realizes that Verity’s life intersects closely with her own—most notably in their mutual connection, Max Mephisto, who has returned to England from America with his children and famous wife, Hollywood star Lydia Lamont. Lydia, desperately bored in the countryside, catches wind of what Emma and Sam are up to and offers her services. What secret does Lydia know about Verity’s past?

    The team of female PIs circle closer to the killer, with the Brighton police hot on their tail. The clues suggest they’re looking for a criminal targeting the old music-hall crew. How long will it be before that trail leads straight back to Max?
    View this title on BNC CataList
  9. Oddball
    by Sarah Andersen
    Andrews McMeel Publishing
    Dec 07, 2021
    HUMOR / Form / Comic Strips & Cartoons
    Paperback / softback
    Oddball
    by Sarah Andersen
    Andrews McMeel Publishing
    Dec 07, 2021
    HUMOR / Form / Comic Strips & Cartoons
    Paperback / softback
    The newest Sarah's Scribbles collection from New York Times bestselling author and Goodreads Choice award winner Sarah Andersen.

    The fourth book in the enormously popular graphic novel series, the latest collection of Sarah's Scribbles comics explores the evils of procrastination, the trials of the creative process, the cuteness of kittens, and the beauty of not caring about your appearance as much as you did when you were younger. When it comes to humorous illustrations of the awkwardness and hilarity of millennial life, Sarah's Scribbles is without peer.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  10. Rich Girl, Broke Girl
    by Kelley Keehn Canada
    Simon & Schuster
    Dec 14, 2021
    BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Personal Finance / Budgeting
    Paperback / softback
    Rich Girl, Broke Girl
    by Kelley Keehn Canada
    Simon & Schuster
    Dec 14, 2021
    BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Personal Finance / Budgeting
    Paperback / softback
    The bestselling author of Talk Money to Me teaches women how to feel confident about their money, save and spend wisely, and advocate for themselves.

    Do you want to know how to pay off that debt and start saving?
    Ready to negotiate a salary raise or better benefits?
    Do financial terms and options make your head spin?

    Here’s the good news: we as women have more financial freedom and money now than ever before. Here’s the bad news: when it comes to money, many women become paralyzed by financial management and sometimes even defer big decisions to other people, much to their detriment.

    What’s the solution? Financial empowerment.

    In this handy guide, you will learn how to:
    -Discuss money with your partner
    -Determine realistic and attainable goals
    -Negotiate for the salaries and benefits you deserve
    -Splurge occasionally while still saving money
    -Understand financial risks and make good investments
    -Gain control of your financial destiny

    With years of experience as a personal finance educator, bestselling author Kelley Keehn will give you the tools you need to keep and grow your wealth, even if you don’t have much to start from—yet. This unique book brings to life the most common financial conundrums women face, teaching you how to save, spend, invest, and plan for a strong financial future.
    View this title on BNC CataList

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