River Readers

What feels shaky in your world? Are you overwhelmed by the problems you're facing or the pain you're feeling?

Maybe you feel hurt by the past. Disappointed by the present. Worried about the future. If so, you are not alone, but there is hope. You can live with security and purpose.

Lana returns to the island to help cleanup after a powerful storm. Here her strong auntie leads the town-folk in making a living on the island. Unfortunately, the islanders have been taking more than the sea around them can support. The coral reef around them has weakened due to their over harvest.

*Starred Review* Grief is disabling Poppy Lang nearly a year after her husband, Jack, was murdered on a predawn run in Central Park. She's taking a toxic mix of pills and alcohol to help her sleep, then having dreams that morph into nightmares and hallucinations, and she believes that she's being stalked by a man in a hoodie. When an orchid with a mystifying message is found in her apartment, she contacts the detective still working on Jack's case as well as Layla Van Santen, her closest friend, who, with her husband, Mac, and teenagers Izzy and Slade, are those closest to her.

A chance encounter sparks an unrelenting web of lies in this new gripping and complex psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl and the upcoming page-turner Don't You Cry, Mary Kubica

She sees the teenage girl on the train platform, standing in the pouring rain, clutching an infant in her arms. She boards a train and is whisked away. But she can't get the girl out of her head...

No day is ordinary in a world where Technology and Magic compete for supremacy…But no matter which force is winning, in the apocalypse, a sword will always work.

The stakes keep rising with Nathan's 12th birthday coming up. Emma and Ray attempt to come up with ways to prevent him from being shipped out (and subsequently eaten by demons), but Nathan has plans of his own. Mom presents Emma with a disturbing opportunity.

This series is pretty dark, but surprisingly free from gore. Will our earnest protagonists survive? Only future volumes will tell.

The Nameless City—held by the rogue Dao prince Erzi—is under siege by a coalition of Dao and Yisun forces who are determined to end the war for the Nameless City once and for all. And the people of the city—the "Named"—are caught in between.

Meanwhile, Rat and Kai must infiltrate Erzi's palace and steal back the ancient and deadly formula for napatha, the ancient weapon of mass destruction Erzi has unearthed—before he can use it to destroy everything Rat and Kai hold dear!

(--Goodreads.com)

Aster and his family are adjusting to his unconventional talent for witchery; unlike the other boys in his family, he isn't a shapeshifter. He's taking classes with his grandmother and helping to keep an eye on his great-uncle whose corrupted magic wreaked havoc on the family.

Meanwhile, Aster's friend from the non-magical part of town, Charlie, is having problems of her own -- a curse has tried to attach itself to her. She runs to Aster and escapes it, but now the friends must find the source of the curse before more people -- normal and magical alike -- get hurt.

When Lana and her father return to their seaside hometown to help clear the debris of a storm, the last thing she expects is to discover a colony of Aquicorns—magical seahorse-like residents of the coral reef. As she explores the damaged town and the fabled undersea palace, Lana learns that while she cannot always count on adults to be the guardians she needs, she herself is capable of finding the strength to protect both the ocean, and her own happiness.

(--Goodreads.com)

Marjorie Glatt feels like a ghost. A practical thirteen year old in charge of the family laundry business, her daily routine features unforgiving customers, unbearable P.E. classes, and the fastidious Mr. Saubertuck who is committed to destroying everything she’s worked for.

Wendell is a ghost. A boy who lost his life much too young, his daily routine features ineffective death therapy, a sheet-dependent identity, and a dangerous need to seek purpose in the forbidden human world.

Kivrin was getting ready to be transported back to the 1300's. The restrictions for time travel for that time period had been relaxed and she was as prepared as she could be. Her mentor, Dunsworthy, was opposed to the trip because he didn't feel it had been vetted enough and was being rushed. So many things could go wrong, but his hands were tied as it was not his drop. Immediately, things went wrong. All the precautions taken mattered not as circumstance after circumstance both in 2054 and in the 1300's. Would they ever get Kivrin back?

Marjorie Glatt feels like a ghost. A practical thirteen year old in charge of the family laundry business, her daily routine features unforgiving customers, unbearable P.E. classes, and the fastidious Mr. Saubertuck who is committed to destroying everything she’s worked for.

Wendell is a ghost. A boy who lost his life much too young, his daily routine features ineffective death therapy, a sheet-dependent identity, and a dangerous need to seek purpose in the forbidden human world.

From the beloved New York Times bestselling author of Home Safe and The Last Time I Saw You comes a beautiful and moving novel about a man and woman, long divorced, who rediscover the power of love and family in the midst of an unthinkable crisis.

Jetta and her family are the most talented shadow puppeteers in Chakrana, mainly due to Jetta's unique supernatural abilities. She is able to bind the souls of the dead to her puppets, creating spectacles never before seen. As impressive as her talents are, she must never let anyone outside of her family know what she can do since necromancy is illegal. Nevertheless, she and her family hope to parlay their increasing fame in shadow puppetry into a trip to Aquitan, the overseas seat of power.

If you are a fan of cooking competitions, you will enjoy this book even more. I found myself laughing at the rivalry between Carter and Reid while devouring the food challenges they were having. The romance is almost secondary to the competition and it's is easy to choose favorites. Relax and have fun with this one.