When Devils Sing by Xan Kaur

“When Dawson Sumter goes missing, all he leaves behind is a smattering of blood in room 4 of the debt-ridden motel owned by Neera Singh's family. Disappearances like this aren't uncommon in the rural Georgia town of Carrion, especially every thirteen years when a periodical cicada brood returns from underground, shrieking their deafening screams.

For Neera, Dawson is another reminder that in this corner of the South, the rich only get richer, and the poor—well, nothing good comes their way.

Neera sets out to investigate Dawson’s whereabouts—if he even still lives—along with three other teens: Isaiah, son of a prominent judge and clandestine true crime podcaster; Reid, son of the wealthiest man in the region; and Sam, estranged daughter of the local hitman. As they find themselves entangled in a messy web of secrets and lies, they discover the riches of the adjacent Lake Clearwater community may have a terrifying source of power dating back to the town’s founding and an ancient urban legend about three devils, each more sinister than the next. How deep does the rot go, and can they find a way to escape its reach?” - taken from Goodreads.

This book reminded me of the Charlie Daniels song, The Devil Went Down to Georgia. Except in Carrion, Georgia, local folklore has it that there are actually three devils at the crossroads, each one more sinister than the next. They each prey on desperate residents in rural, backwater Georgia where the uber rich live close by who keep their secrets even closer.

Not all is what it seems in Carrion/Lake Clearwater. And as readers dive deeper into the story, the more all of the pieces of this story come together as Sam, Neera, Reid, and Isaiah race to figure out what has happened to Dawson Sumpter, the one person who initially ties them together. This was an excellent Southern Gothic mystery/thriller that will keep readers eagerly anticipating what really is going on in Southwest Georgia. The audio version was incredible.

Visit Xan Kaur’s website.

The Oks Are Not OK by Grace K. Shim

“Seventeen-year-old Elena Ok (pronounced Oak) has mastered the art of being both a Los Angeles party girl and financially savvy influencer, but her family doesn’t see the brilliance behind her carefully curated image. Instead, they endlessly praise her older brother Gavin, whose most impressive achievement is consistently forgetting his homework. All of Elena’s hard work and social clout disintegrates when the Oks, founders of the wildly popular (and now bankrupt) fast fashion brand It’s Ok! (pronounced “OKAY”), lose their fortune overnight.

With their empire crumbling and an investigation underway, the Oks flee to Blaire, CA—a farming town that’s as glamourous as Temu. Mr. Ok, a now disgraced retail mogul, and Mrs. Ok, a now also disgraced fashion-forward matriarch, realize they’ve spent decades perfecting their public personas at the expense of actually knowing their kids. Meanwhile, Elena and Gavin are stuck in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to distract them from their family’s unraveling dynamics—or each other’s annoying habits.

But life in Blaire isn’t all bad. As the family reconnects with their Korean farming heritage, Elena discovers a hidden the Blaire Fair, the local market brimming with untapped potential. Applying her business savvy, she helps the small-town vendors thrive and sees how they put their profits back into the community. For the first time, Elena begins to question her own definition of success.

The Oks are Not OK offers humor and drama to tell a story about family, self-discovery, and the fine line between building a brand and building a life.” - taken from Goodreads.

The Oks lose everything when they must declare bankruptcy. The only things they are left with are daughter Elana’s earnings as a social media influencer and a tiny house in a backwater town. Can this family find a way to pivot to survive living in small town Blaire while repairing their relationship?

Visit Grace K. Shim’s website. 

The Swan’s Daughter by Roshani Chokshi

“To find love is a curse ...

Prince Arris knows that marriage means murder. Thanks to a poorly worded wish to a sea witch, all one needs to rule the Isle of Malys is the heart and hand of the kingdom’s heir. Historically, this has been construed quite literally.

Thus, Arris expects that the day after his marriage and murder he will wake up as a sentient tree alongside the rest of his predecessors. His only chance at a long life is finding true and lasting love. When Arris's parents announce a tournament of brides to compete for his hand and heart, a slew of eligible, lovely and (possibly murderous) bachelorettes make their way to Rathe Castle. Amidst glittering balls in ozorald caves, strolls through menageries of daydream trees and pearl crocodiles, tea time on glass boats and kisses that leave his head spinning, Arris cannot tell who is here out of love for him…or lust for power.

Until he meets Demelza.

As a veritas swan, Demelza’s song wrings out the truth. Forced into hiding, Demelza strikes a deal. Arris will provide her with safekeeping in exchange for her truth-telling song to sort through his potential brides.

While Arris is used to dodging death threats and Demelza is accustomed to fighting for her voice to be heard, to survive the tournament of brides requires a different kind of bravery. And perhaps the bravest thing one can do is not merely protect one’s life, but find the courage to chase a life worth living.” - taken from Goodreads.

This story is best summed up as The Bachelor set in a fairy tale. Arris must marry but he hopes to avoid the fate of his grandfather and other descendants. He wishes to live a full first life before his second life, and when he becomes a tree. For Arris, marriage means murder at the hands of his wife. When Demelza unexpectedly shows up to the competition, she offers Arris her truth-seeking abilities as a veritas swan to keep him safe from a murderous bride. As the competition heats up, what happens when true love begins to develop?

Visit Roshani Chokshi’s website.

Room to Breathe by Kasie West

“When the walls close in, the truth comes out.

When Indy’s life came crashing down, she made a no one could know. To the world, she’s still the same Indy—cool, calm, unshaken. But behind the scenes? It’s chaos.

Her tight-knit crew—Beau, Caroline, and Ava—were once her everything. Now they’re strangers she can’t seem to reach—especially Beau. And the only person she talks to these days is Cody, a skater-boy she used to think was so not her type. Funny how everything changes when your world flips upside down.

And then, as if things couldn’t get weirder, Indy finds herself literally stuck in a school bathroom with Beau. After months of silence, and there’s no escape. If they want out, they’ll have to face the messy truth about what happened between them and find a way back to what they once had. Or maybe even more . . .” - taken from Goodreads.

Indy finds herself locked in the teacher's bathroom after school on a Friday without her cell phone. Her life has been turned upside down due to some family issues. When her former friend Beau gets locked in with her as well, Indy's story between then and now begins to unfold. Locked in the bathroom together overnight, can Indy and Beau repair their damaged friendship and find a way out?

Visit Kasie West’s website.

Red Star Rebels by Amie Kaufman

“8 HOURS TO STOP AN EXPLOSION... 8 HOURS TO FALL IN LOVE.

It’s 2067, and the Graves family has transformed Mars from lifeless rock into a chaotic patchwork of settlements—and everybody wants a piece.

Enter Hunter Graves: handsome, ambitious, and with spectacularly bad timing. He shows up at the United Nations base just as an emergency evacuation sends everyone scurrying for safety. Except he’s left behind. Uh oh.

Also stranded: Cleo, a sharp-tongued stowaway with no intention of dying today, and even less patience for overconfident trust fund boys. But the enemy of your enemy might just help you survive, so here we are.

Turns out the evacuation was just a cover for the mercenaries who came next, and they plan to blow up the base—and every trace of their crime—in eight hours.

Now, Hunter and Cleo have one shot to stop the explosion, escape alive, and deal with the inconvenient fact that they’re falling for each other.

The clock is ticking.” - taken from Goodreads.

In this standalone novel set on Mars, Hunter and Cleo have 8 hours to stop the group that has attacked the unpack station with plans to destroy it. Hunter is the Uber Rich Scion of the Gray's family, the first humans to settle on Mars. Kept in the dark by his mother and sister, Hunter has arrived unannounced to the planet. Planet. Cleo is a hitcher and is on Mars illegally, running from her family’s debt on Earth. These two must learn to trust one another and work together to defeat the station's Invaders. Can Hunter and Cleo save packs before time's up? And what happens when the mutual attraction between the two people from very different backgrounds heats up?

Visit Amie Kaufman’s website.

Meet Me Under the Lights by Cassie Miller

 

“High school junior Eliza Crowley is known as the Princess of Fairfield, a farm town in North Carolina that loves two things—tradition and baseball. Although Eliza loves “the game,” her life goal is to become a lighting designer on Broadway. Shaking off her reputation as the rich girl and focusing on her town's community theater production are what she’s set her sights on this summer, and nothing will stand in her way. That is until Reed Fulton, the grandson of a struggling Fairfield farmer, and ace pitcher of the Fulton Hawks, returns to town. Reed dreams of putting the catastrophe of last season behind him and leading the Hawks to a championship victory against the Crowley Cardinals. When his childhood friend turned stranger, Eliza, strolls back into his life, she makes his heart accelerate quicker than his fastball, and he’s not sure he can stay away from the girl he’s supposed to despise. Small-town summers and baseball draw Reed and Eliza together, even though the Crowleys and the Fultons are determined to run each other out of town. When the families make a deal to settle their thirty-year-long dispute once and for all, Eliza and Reed are stuck in the middle during the most important summer of their lives.” - taken from Goodreads.

Eliza Crowley is literally Fairfield royalty. Her family is wealthy and her father owns the Crowley Cardinals, the town's baseball team as well as the town’s stadium. She is excited to spend the summer working as a lighting director for the town's production of Romeo and Juliet. Life soon mirrors the theater when Reed Fulton returns to town to be the pitcher for his grandfather's revitalized team, the Fulton Hawks. Knowing that their respective families get along as well as oil and water, circumstances soon bring the two of them into each other's orbit. When the feuding steps up over which family will own the town’s stadium, can Reid and Eliza's burgeoning relationship survive the fight between their families?

This is the perfect read for fans of Kasie West and Lynn Painter.

Visit Cassie Miller’s website.

The Cuffing Game by Lyla Lee

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that when there is a hot person, there is also someone with a crush on them.

Mia Yoon has a plan for everything. Get a full ride to her dream film school in Los Angeles, behind her mom’s back, and escape her middle-of-nowhere hometown—check. Produce her own dating show starring other people and their crushes—check. But everything goes off the rails when she has to enlist the help of her own secret crush, Noah Jang, a boy she’d rather hate.

Despite being a campus celebrity voted “most eligible student bachelor,” Noah can’t remember the last time he was in a relationship. And he’s perfectly content with that, thank you very much, especially since just the word feelings makes him uncomfortable. But he can’t stop staring at Mia, who keeps glaring at him in class. And when she asks him to be on her dating show—as one of the contestants—he can’t say no.

As Noah goes on more and more romantic dates on The Cuffing Game and Mia watches from behind the camera, something feels off. With the showrunner and contestant slowly falling for one another, can the show still go on?” - taken from Goodreads.

College film student Mia creates her own dating reality show called The Cuffing Game in which she pairs up people with their crushes. Unfortunately her roommate has the same crush as her, the popular influencer Noah Jung. As filming on the show happens, is Mia able to keep her feelings under wraps for the sake of the show? And what happens when everyone's true feelings come out at the end”?

Visit Lyla Lee’s website.

They'll Never Catch Us by Jessica Goodman

“Stella and Ellie Steckler are only a year apart, but their different personalities make their relationship complicated. Stella is single-minded, driven, and she keeps to herself. Cross-country running is her life and she won't let anything get in the way of being the best. Her sister Ellie is a talented runner too, but she also lets herself have fun. She has friends. She goes to parties. She has a life off the course.

The sisters do have one thing in common, though: the new girl, Mila Keene. Both Stecklers' lives are upended when Mila comes to town. Mila was the top runner on her team back home and at first, Ellie and Stella view her as a threat. But soon Ellie can't help but be drawn to her warm, charming personality. After her best friend moved away and her first boyfriend betrayed her, Ellie's been lookigfor a friend. In a moment of weakness, she even shares her darkest secret with Mila. For her part, Stella finds herself noticing the ways she and Mila are similar. Mila is smart and strong--she's someone Stella can finally connect with. As the two get closer, Stella becomes something she vowed she'd never be: distracted.

With regionals approaching and college scouts taking notice, the pressure is on. Each girl has their future on the line and they won't let friendships get in their way. But then, suddenly, Mila goes out on a training run and never returns. No one knows what happened, but all eyes are on the Steckler sisters.” - taken from Goodreads.

The Steckler sisters are opposites in every way except for their love of cross country running. Striving to be the best, the two are out to impress the college scouts who have taken notice. This year is poised to be the best until fellow runner and competition Mila Keene moves to town. Before too long, both Stella and Ellie begin to see Mila as more than competition; Stella as a friend and Ellie as a confidant. With regions living on the horizon, Mila goes missing. Even though years have passed since the unsolved murders of some female teenage runners, the town of Edgewater begins to fear that its notorious nickname, Deadwater, is being revived. Soon all eyes of the town have landed on Stella and Ellie as suspects even though they also wonder what happened to Mila. 

What secrets are Stella and Ellie holding close? And what happened to Mila Keene?

Visit Jessica Goodman’s website.