May 2022 Adult Top 10 Picks

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  1. Book Lovers
    by Emily Henry
    Berkley
    May 03, 2022
    FICTION / Romance / Romantic Comedy
    Hardback
    Book Lovers
    by Emily Henry
    Berkley
    May 03, 2022
    FICTION / Romance / Romantic Comedy
    Hardback
    “One of my favorite authors.”—Colleen Hoover

    An insightful, delightful, instant #1 New York Times bestseller from the author of Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation.

    Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by Oprah Daily ∙ Today ∙ ParadeMarie Claire ∙ Bustle ∙ PopSugar ∙ Katie Couric Media ∙ Book Bub ∙ SheReads ∙ Medium ∙ The Washington Post ∙ and more!

    One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn't see coming...

    Nora Stephens' life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.

    Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.

    If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  2. Bloomsbury Girls
    by Natalie Jenner Canada
    St. Martin's Press
    May 17, 2022
    FICTION / Women
    Hardback
    Bloomsbury Girls
    by Natalie Jenner Canada
    St. Martin's Press
    May 17, 2022
    FICTION / Women
    Hardback

    "Delightful." --People, Pick of the Week

    *
    Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by Katie Couric Media, the CBC, the Globe and Mail, BookBub, POPSUGAR, SheReads, Women.com and more!*


    Natalie Jenner, the internationally bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society, returns with a compelling and heartwarming story of post-war London, a century-old bookstore, and three women determined to find their way in a fast-changing world in Bloomsbury Girls.


    Bloomsbury Books is an old-fashioned new and rare book store that has persisted and resisted change for a hundred years, run by men and guided by the general manager's unbreakable fifty-one rules. But in 1950, the world is changing, especially the world of books and publishing, and at Bloomsbury Books, the girls in the shop have plans:

    Vivien Lowry: Single since her aristocratic fiance was killed in action during World War II, the brilliant and stylish Vivien has a long list of grievances--most of them well justified and the biggest of which is Alec McDonough, the Head of Fiction.

    Grace Perkins: Married with two sons, she's been working to support the family following her husband's breakdown in the aftermath of the war. Torn between duty to her family and dreams of her own.

    Evie Stone: In the first class of female students from Cambridge permitted to earn a degree, Evie was denied an academic position in favor of her less accomplished male rival. Now she's working at Bloomsbury Books while she plans to remake her own future.

    As they interact with various literary figures of the time--Daphne Du Maurier, Ellen Doubleday, Sonia Blair (widow of George Orwell), Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim, and others--these three women with their complex web of relationships, goals and dreams are all working to plot out a future that is richer and more rewarding than anything society will allow.

    View this title on BNC CataList
  3. You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty
    by Akwaeke Emezi
    Atria Books
    May 24, 2022
    FICTION / Romance / Contemporary
    Hardback
    You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty
    by Akwaeke Emezi
    Atria Books
    May 24, 2022
    FICTION / Romance / Contemporary
    Hardback
    A Good Morning America Buzz Pick, a Best Romance of 2022 by The New York Times and The Washington Post, and a Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by Oprah Daily, Vulture, Harper’s Bazaar, Thrillist, Essence, Good Housekeeping, Glamour, Marie Claire, Parade, Bustle, BuzzFeed, Refinery29, Business Insider, The Guardian, Financial Times, PopSugar, Book Riot, LitHub, Bookish, LGBTQ Reads, and more!

    “A deeply heartfelt romance novel.” Marie Claire

    An unabashed ode to living with, and despite, pain and mortality.” —The New York Times Book Review

    A New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and “one of our greatest living writers” (Shondaland) reimagines the love story in this fresh and seductive novel about a young woman seeking joy while healing from loss.

    Feyi Adekola wants to learn how to be alive again.

    It’s been five years since the accident that killed the love of her life and she’s almost a new person now—an artist with her own studio and sharing a brownstone apartment with her ride-or-die best friend, Joy, who insists it’s time for Feyi to ease back into the dating scene. Feyi isn’t ready for anything serious, but a steamy encounter at a rooftop party cascades into a whirlwind summer she could have never imagined: a luxury trip to a tropical island, decadent meals in the glamorous home of a celebrity chef, and a major curator who wants to launch her art career.

    She’s even started dating the perfect guy, but their new relationship might be sabotaged before it has a chance by the overwhelming desire Feyi feels every time she locks eyes with the one person in the house who is most definitely off-limits—his father.

    This new life she asked for just got a lot more complicated, and Feyi must begin her search for real answers. Who is she ready to become? Can she release her past and honor her grief while still embracing her future? And, of course, there’s the biggest question of all—how far is she willing to go for a second chance at love? Akwaeke Emezi’s vivid and passionate writing takes us deep into a world of possibility and healing, and the constant bravery of choosing love against all odds.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  4. The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle
    by Jennifer Ryan
    Ballantine Books
    May 31, 2022
    FICTION / Historical / 20th Century / World War II & Holocaust
    Hardback
    The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle
    by Jennifer Ryan
    Ballantine Books
    May 31, 2022
    FICTION / Historical / 20th Century / World War II & Holocaust
    Hardback
    Three plucky women lift the spirits of home-front brides in wartime Britain, where clothes rationing leaves little opportunity for pomp or celebration—even at weddings—in this heartwarming novel based on true events, from the bestselling author of The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir.

    After renowned fashion designer Cressida Westcott loses both her home and her design house in the London Blitz, she has nowhere to go but the family manor house she fled decades ago. Praying that her niece and nephew will be more hospitable than her brother had been, she arrives with nothing but the clothes she stands in, at a loss as to how to rebuild her business while staying in a quaint country village.

    Her niece, Violet Westcott, is thrilled that her famous aunt is coming to stay—the village has been interminably dull with all the men off fighting. But just as Cressida arrives, so does Violet’s conscription letter. It couldn’t have come at a worse time; how will she ever find a suitably aristocratic husband if she has to spend her days wearing a frumpy uniform and doing war work?

    Meanwhile, the local vicar’s daughter, Grace Carlisle, is trying in vain to repair her mother’s gown, her only chance of a white wedding. When Cressida Westcott appears at the local Sewing Circle meeting, Grace asks for her help—but Cressida has much more to teach the ladies than just simple sewing skills.

    Before long, Cressida’s spirit and ambition galvanizes the village group into action, and they find themselves mending wedding dresses not only for local brides, but for brides across the country. And as the women dedicate themselves to helping others celebrate love, they might even manage to find it for themselves.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  5. All the Seas of the World
    by Guy Gavriel Kay Canada
    Viking
    May 24, 2022
    FICTION / Fantasy / Historical
    Hardback
    All the Seas of the World
    by Guy Gavriel Kay Canada
    Viking
    May 24, 2022
    FICTION / Fantasy / Historical
    Hardback
    “This is an immersive reading experience; readers will taste the dust in their mouths, see the high seas from the deck of a merchant ship, feel the bustle of the city market. What results is necessary sustenance for the starving reader. A masterpiece from a master of the craft.” —Booklist (starred review)

    Returning triumphantly to the brilliantly evoked near-Renaissance world of A Brightness Long Ago and Children of Earth and Sky, international bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay deploys his signature ‘quarter turn to the fantastic’ to tell a story of vengeance, power, and love.

    On a dark night, along a lonely stretch of coast, a small merchant ship sends two people ashore: their purpose is assassination. They have been hired by two of the most dangerous men alive to alter the balance of power in the world. The consequences of that act will affect the destinies of empires as well as lives both great and small.

    One of those arriving on that stony strand is a young woman who had been abducted by corsairs as a child and sold into years of servitude far from her home. Having escaped, she is trying to chart her own course—and is bent upon revenge. The man who will bring the others out from the city on his ship—if they survive their mission—still remembers being exiled as a boy with his family, for their faith; it is a moment that never leaves him. In what follows, through a story both intimate and epic, unforgettable characters are immersed in the fierce and deadly struggles that define their time.

    All the Seas of the World is a stand-alone page-turning drama that also offers moving reflections on memory, fate, and the random events that can shape our lives—in the past, and today.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  6. The Hacienda
    by Isabel Cañas
    Berkley
    May 03, 2022
    FICTION / Gothic
    Hardback
    The Hacienda
    by Isabel Cañas
    Berkley
    May 03, 2022
    FICTION / Gothic
    Hardback
    Mexican Gothic meets Rebecca in this debut supernatural suspense novel, set in the aftermath of the Mexican War of Independence, about a remote house, a sinister haunting, and the woman pulled into their clutches...

    During the overthrow of the Mexican government, Beatriz’s father was executed and her home destroyed. When handsome Don Rodolfo Solórzano proposes, Beatriz ignores the rumors surrounding his first wife’s sudden demise, choosing instead to seize the security that his estate in the countryside provides. She will have her own home again, no matter the cost.

    But Hacienda San Isidro is not the sanctuary she imagined.

    When Rodolfo returns to work in the capital, visions and voices invade Beatriz’s sleep. The weight of invisible eyes follows her every move. Rodolfo’s sister, Juana, scoffs at Beatriz’s fears—but why does she refuse to enter the house at night? Why does the cook burn copal incense at the edge of the kitchen and mark the doorway with strange symbols? What really happened to the first Doña Solórzano?

    Beatriz only knows two things for certain: Something is wrong with the hacienda. And no one there will save her.

    Desperate for help, she clings to the young priest, Padre Andrés, as an ally. No ordinary priest, Andrés will have to rely on his skills as a witch to fight off the malevolent presence haunting the hacienda and protect the woman for whom he feels a powerful, forbidden attraction. But even he might not be enough to battle the darkness.

    Far from a refuge, San Isidro may be Beatriz’s doom.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  7. Adult Assembly Required
    by Abbi Waxman
    Berkley
    May 17, 2022
    FICTION / Family Life / General
    Paperback / softback
    Adult Assembly Required
    by Abbi Waxman
    Berkley
    May 17, 2022
    FICTION / Family Life / General
    Paperback / softback
    “Abbi Waxman is both irreverent and thoughtful.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Giffin

    A young woman arrives in Los Angeles determined to start over and discovers she doesn’t need to leave everything behind after all, from Abbi Waxman, USA Today bestselling author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill


    When Laura Costello moves to Los Angeles, trying to escape an overprotective family and the haunting memories of a terrible accident, she doesn’t expect to be homeless after a week. (She’s pretty sure she didn’t start that fire — right?) She also doesn't expect to find herself adopted by a rogue bookseller, installed in a lovely but completely illegal boardinghouse, or challenged to save a losing trivia team from ignominy…but that’s what happens. Add a regretful landlady, a gorgeous housemate and an ex-boyfriend determined to put himself back in the running and you’ll see why Laura isn’t really sure she’s cut out for this adulting thing. Luckily for her, her new friends Nina, Polly and Impossibly Handsome Bob aren't sure either, but maybe if they put their heads (and hearts) together they’ll be able to make it work.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  8. Such Big Dreams
    by Reema Patel Canada
    McClelland & Stewart
    May 10, 2022
    FICTION / Coming of Age
    Paperback / softback
    Such Big Dreams
    by Reema Patel Canada
    McClelland & Stewart
    May 10, 2022
    FICTION / Coming of Age
    Paperback / softback
    A savvy former street child working at a human rights law office in Mumbai fights for redemption and a chance to live life on her own terms in this fresh, propulsive debut novel about fortune and survival. Named a Loan Stars Top Ten Pick, a CBC Canadian Fiction title to watch, one of Audible's Best Debuts of 2022, and an Amazon Best Book of 2022.

    With a sharp wit and an even sharper tongue, Rakhi Kumar is nobody’s fool. Though she lives alone in a Mumbai slum and works as a lowly office assistant for the renowned lawyer, Gauri Verma, who gave her a fresh start, Rakhi has come a long way from her time as a former street child. Most importantly, she's busy enough to distract herself from the nightmares of the grisly incident that led to the disappearace of her best friend.

    Fiercely intelligent, Rakhi could be doing so much more than making chai, but she allows herself to be underestimated by her colleagues at Justice For All, Gauri's cash-strapped human rights law office. Rakhi's life isn't much, but she's managing. That is until a fading former Bollywood starlet tries to edge her way back into the spotlight by becoming a celebrity ambassador for Justice For All. Steering the organization into uncharted territories, she demands an internship for her young Canadian family friend, Alex, a Harvard-bound graduate student. An ambitious, naive rich kid, Alex persuades Rakhi to show him the "real" India. In exchange, he’ll do something to further Rakhi’s dreams in a transaction that seems harmless, at first.
    As old guilt and new aspirations collide, everything Rakhi once knew to be true is set ablaze. And as the stakes mount, she will come face to face with the difficult choices and moral compromises that people are prepared to make in order to survive, no matter the costs. Reema Patel’s transportive debut novel offers a moving, smart, and arrestingly funny look at the cost of ambition and power in reclaiming one’s story.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  9. The Island
    by Adrian McKinty
    Little, Brown and Company
    May 17, 2022
    FICTION / Thrillers / Crime
    Paperback / softback
    The Island
    by Adrian McKinty
    Little, Brown and Company
    May 17, 2022
    FICTION / Thrillers / Crime
    Paperback / softback

    From the New York Times bestselling author of The Chain comes a pulse-pounding thriller about a family that must face their darkest fears--and deepest secrets--when they go on the run for their lives.

    INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER · A NEW YORK TIMES "BEST THRILLER OF 2022"

    "Unrelenting suspense." —Stephen King

    “Extraordinary.” T. J. Newman, New York Times bestselling author of Falling

    "You'll never go on vacation the same way again." —Don Winslow, New York Times bestselling author of City On Fire

    IT WAS JUST SUPPOSED TO BE A FAMILY VACATION.
    A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT CHANGED EVERYTHING.
    YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE CAPABLE OF UNTIL THEY COME FOR YOUR FAMILY.

    After moving from a small country town to Seattle, Heather Baxter marries Tom, a widowed doctor with a young son and teenage daughter. A working vacation overseas seems like the perfect way to bring the new family together, but once they’re deep in the Australian outback, the jet-lagged and exhausted kids are so over their new mom.

    When they discover remote Dutch Island, off-limits to outside visitors, the family talks their way onto the ferry, taking a chance on an adventure far from the reach of iPhones and Instagram.

    But as soon as they set foot on the island, which is run by a tightly knit clan of locals, everything feels wrong. Then a shocking accident propels the Baxters from an unsettling situation into an absolute nightmare.

    When Heather and the kids are separated from Tom, they are forced to escape alone, seconds ahead of their pursuers.

    Now it’s up to Heather to save herself and the kids, even though they don’t trust her, the harsh bushland is filled with danger, and the locals want her dead.

    Heather has been underestimated her entire life, but she knows that only she can bring her family home again and become the mother the children desperately need, even if it means doing the unthinkable to keep them all alive.

    SOON TO BE A HULU ORIGINAL SERIES

    “Gripping and unpredictable. No one does high-stakes tension like McKinty . . . Prepare to be hooked.” —Sarah Pearse

    “A haunting masterpiece.” Steve Cavanagh

    “McKinty has written another irresistible and pulse-pounding thriller about the surprising places evil hides and just how far we’ll go for those we love.” —Karin Slaughter

    View this title on BNC CataList
  10. This Is How We Love
    by Lisa Moore Canada
    House of Anansi Press
    May 03, 2022
    FICTION / Literary
    Hardback
    This Is How We Love
    by Lisa Moore Canada
    House of Anansi Press
    May 03, 2022
    FICTION / Literary
    Hardback

    From the celebrated author of February and Caught comes an exhilarating new novel that asks: What makes a family? How does it shape us? And can we ever really choose who we love?

    As the snowstorm of the century rages, twenty-one-year-old Xavier is beaten and stabbed in a vicious attack. His mother, Jules, must fight her way through the shuttered streets of St. John’s to reach the hospital where Xavier lies unconscious. When a video of the attack surfaces, Jules struggles to make sense of what she sees in the footage — and of what she can’t quite make out.

    While Xavier’s story unfolds, so, too, do the stories that brought him there. Here, across families and generations, are stories of mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers; of children cared for, neglected, lost, and re-found; of selfless generosity and reluctant debt. Above all, Moore, in the inimitable largesse of her art, paints a shimmering portrait of the sacrifice, pain, and wild joy of loving.

    A tour de force of storytelling and craft, This Is How We Love brings us a cast of characters so rich and true they could only have been written by Lisa Moore.

    View this title on BNC CataList

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