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July 2021 Adult Top 10 Picks

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  1. While We Were Dating
    by Jasmine Guillory
    9780593100844
    Berkley
    Jul 13, 2021
    FICTION / Romance / Multicultural & Interracial
    Hardback
    While We Were Dating
    by Jasmine Guillory
    9780593100844
    Berkley
    Jul 13, 2021
    FICTION / Romance / Multicultural & Interracial
    Hardback
    An instant New York Times bestseller!

    One of TIME Magazine's 100 Must-Reads of 2021!

    Two people realize that it’s no longer an act when they veer off-script in this sizzling romantic comedy by New York Times bestselling author Jasmine Guillory.

    Ben Stephens has never bothered with serious relationships. He has plenty of casual dates to keep him busy, family drama he’s trying to ignore and his advertising job to focus on. When Ben lands a huge ad campaign featuring movie star, Anna Gardiner, however, it’s hard to keep it purely professional. Anna is not just gorgeous and sexy, she’s also down to earth and considerate, and he can’t help flirting a little…

    Anna Gardiner is on a mission: to make herself a household name, and this ad campaign will be a great distraction while she waits to hear if she’s booked her next movie. However, she didn’t expect Ben Stephens to be her biggest distraction. She knows mixing business with pleasure never works out, but why not indulge in a harmless flirtation?

    But their light-hearted banter takes a turn for the serious when Ben helps Anna in a family emergency, and they reveal truths about themselves to each other, truths they’ve barely shared with those closest to them.

    When the opportunity comes to turn their real-life fling into something more for the Hollywood spotlight, will Ben be content to play the background role in Anna’s life and leave when the cameras stop rolling? Or could he be the leading man she needs to craft their own Hollywood ending?
    View this title on BNC CataList
  2. Falling
    by T. J. Newman
    9781982177881
    Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
    Jul 06, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
    Hardback
    Falling
    by T. J. Newman
    9781982177881
    Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
    Jul 06, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
    Hardback
    #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER * INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

    “T. J. Newman has written the perfect thriller! A must-read.” —Gillian Flynn
    “Stunning and relentless. This is Jaws at 35,000 feet.” —Don Winslow
    “Falling is the best kind of thriller…Nonstop, totally authentic suspense.” —James Patterson
    “Amazing...Intense suspense, shocks, and scares...Chilling.” —Lee Child

    You just boarded a flight to New York.

    There are one hundred and forty-three other passengers onboard.

    What you don’t know is that thirty minutes before the flight your pilot’s family was kidnapped.

    For his family to live, everyone on your plane must die.

    The only way the family will survive is if the pilot follows his orders and crashes the plane.

    Enjoy the flight.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  3. The Forest of Vanishing Stars
    by Kristin Harmel
    9781982158934
    Gallery Books
    Jul 06, 2021
    FICTION / Historical / 20th Century / World War II & Holocaust
    Hardback
    The Forest of Vanishing Stars
    by Kristin Harmel
    9781982158934
    Gallery Books
    Jul 06, 2021
    FICTION / Historical / 20th Century / World War II & Holocaust
    Hardback
    Parade “Best Books of Summer” pick * Real Simple summer reading pick * SheReads “Best WWII Fiction of Summer 2021” pick

    The New York Times bestselling author of the “heart-stopping tale of survival and heroism” (People) The Book of Lost Names returns with an evocative coming-of-age World War II story about a young woman who uses her knowledge of the wilderness to help Jewish refugees escape the Nazis—until a secret from her past threatens everything.

    After being stolen from her wealthy German parents and raised in the unforgiving wilderness of eastern Europe, a young woman finds herself alone in 1941 after her kidnapper dies. Her solitary existence is interrupted, however, when she happens upon a group of Jews fleeing the Nazi terror. Stunned to learn what’s happening in the outside world, she vows to teach the group all she can about surviving in the forest—and in turn, they teach her some surprising lessons about opening her heart after years of isolation. But when she is betrayed and escapes into a German-occupied village, her past and present come together in a shocking collision that could change everything.

    Inspired by incredible true stories of survival against staggering odds, and suffused with the journey-from-the-wilderness elements that made Where the Crawdads Sing a worldwide phenomenon, The Forest of Vanishing Stars is a heart-wrenching and suspenseful novel from the #1 internationally bestselling author whose writing has been hailed as “sweeping and magnificent” (Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author), “immersive and evocative” (Publishers Weekly), and “gripping” (Tampa Bay Times).
    View this title on BNC CataList
  4. Not a Happy Family
    by Shari Lapena Canada
    9780385695046
    Doubleday Canada
    Jul 27, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Psychological
    Paperback / softback
    Not a Happy Family
    by Shari Lapena Canada
    9780385695046
    Doubleday Canada
    Jul 27, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Psychological
    Paperback / softback
    NATIONAL BESTSELLER
    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

    Another domestic suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door and Someone We Know who has sold millions copies of her books worldwide    .

    In this family, everyone is keeping secrets—even the dead.

    Brecken Hill in upstate New York is an expensive place to live. You have to be rich to have a house there, and Fred and Sheila Merton certainly are rich. But even all their money can't protect them when a killer comes to call. The Mertons are brutally murdered after a fraught Easter dinner with their three adult kids. Who, of course, are devastated.

    Or are they? They each stand to inherit millions. They were never a happy family, thanks to their vindictive father and neglectful mother, but perhaps one of the siblings is more disturbed than anyone knew. Did someone snap after that dreadful evening? Or did another person appear later that night with the worst of intentions? That must be what happened. After all, if one of the family were capable of something as gruesome as this, you'd know.

    Wouldn't you?
    View this title on BNC CataList
  5. For Your Own Good
    by Samantha Downing
    9780593100974
    Berkley
    Jul 20, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Psychological
    Hardback
    For Your Own Good
    by Samantha Downing
    9780593100974
    Berkley
    Jul 20, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Psychological
    Hardback
    INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER

    “Witty and macabre.”—Caroline Kepnes

    "Slick and chilling."—Megan Miranda

    “I read all of her [books]. I've read everything.”—Cecily Strong from SNL for Vanity Fair

    “A perfect summer book.”—NPR

    USA Today     bestselling author Samantha Downing is back with her latest sneaky thriller set at a prestigious private school—complete with interfering parents, overeager students, and one teacher who just wants to teach them all a lesson…

    Teddy Crutcher has won Teacher of the Year at the prestigious Belmont Academy, home to the best and brightest.

    He says his wife couldn’t be more proud—though no one has seen her in a while.

    Teddy really can’t be bothered with a few mysterious deaths on campus that’re looking more and more like murder or with the student digging a little too deep into Teddy’s personal life. His main focus is pushing these kids to their full academic potential.

    All he wants is for his colleagues—and the endlessly meddlesome parents—to stay out of his way. If not, well, they’ll get what they deserve.

    It’s really too bad that sometimes excellence can come at such a high cost.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  6. A Boring Wife Settles the Score
    by Marie-Renée Lavoie Canada
    9781487009373
    Arachnide Editions
    Jul 06, 2021
    FICTION / Humorous / General
    Paperback / softback
    A Boring Wife Settles the Score
    by Marie-Renée Lavoie Canada
    9781487009373
    Arachnide Editions
    Jul 06, 2021
    FICTION / Humorous / General
    Paperback / softback

    The eagerly anticipated sequel to the critically beloved and bestselling Autopsy of a Boring Wife finds the saucy and ever-appealing Diane, now turning fifty and with the wreckage of her marriage behind her, setting off on a new hilarious journey for romance.

    A Boring Wife Settles the Score marks the return of Diane, the raunchy and entertaining heroine of the prize-winning and bestselling Autopsy of a Boring Wife. Despite the end of her marriage, Diane still has plenty of love to give. Determined not to waste her days — that’s just not her style — she finds a job in a daycare and solace in cocktails with her best friend, Claudine, who convinces Diane her love life is not over. Diane wants romance and sees no reason why she shouldn’t have it, but she soon discovers, in her typically chaotic and hilarious manner, that for a woman approaching her fifties the task is not so simple as it is for a man.

    View this title on BNC CataList
  7. The Sinful Lives of Trophy Wives
    by Kristin Miller
    9781524799526
    Ballantine Books
    Jul 20, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
    Paperback / softback
    The Sinful Lives of Trophy Wives
    by Kristin Miller
    9781524799526
    Ballantine Books
    Jul 20, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
    Paperback / softback
    Meet the trophy wives of Presidio Terrace, San Francisco’s most exclusive—and most deadly—neighborhood in this shrewd, darkly compelling novel from the New York Times bestselling author of In Her Shadow.

    Mystery writer Brooke Davies is the new wife on the block. Her tech-billionaire husband, Jack, twenty-two years her senior, whisked her to the Bay Area via private jet and purchased a modest mansion on the same day. He demands perfection, and before now, Brooke has had no problem playing the role of a doting housewife. But as she befriends other wives on the street and spends considerable time away from Jack, he worries if he doesn’t control Brooke’s every move, she will reveal the truth behind their “perfect” marriage.

    Erin King, famed news anchor and chair of the community board, is no stranger to maintaining an image—though being married to a plastic surgeon helps. But the skyrocketing success of her career has worn her love life thin, and her professional ambitions have pushed Mason away. Quitting her job is a Hail Mary attempt at keeping him interested, to steer him away from finding a young trophy wife. But is it enough, and is Mason truly the man she thought he was?

    Georgia St. Claire allegedly cashed in on the deaths of her first two husbands, earning her the nickname “Black Widow”—and the stares and whispers of her curious neighbors. Rumored to have murdered both men for their fortunes, she claims to have found true love in her third marriage, yet her mysterious, captivating allure keeps everyone guessing. Then a tragic accident forces the residents of Presidio Terrace to ask: Has Georgia struck again? And what is she really capable of doing to protect her secrets?
    View this title on BNC CataList
  8. The Other Passenger
    by Louise Candlish
    9781982177546
    Simon & Schuster
    Jul 20, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
    Paperback / softback
    The Other Passenger
    by Louise Candlish
    9781982177546
    Simon & Schuster
    Jul 20, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
    Paperback / softback
    The “queen of the sucker-punch twist” (Ruth Ware, #1 New York Times bestselling author) and author of Our House weaves a suspenseful thriller about a commuter who becomes a suspect in his friend’s mysterious disappearance. Perfect for fans of the unputdownable page-turners by Christina McDonald and Lisa Jewell.

    It all happens so quickly. One day you’re living the dream, commuting to work by ferry with your charismatic neighbor Kit in the seat beside you. The next, Kit hasn’t turned up for the boat and his wife, Melia, has reported him missing.

    When you get off at your stop, the police are waiting. Another passenger saw you and Kit arguing on the boat home the night before and the police say that you had a reason to want him dead. You protest. You and Kit are friends—ask Melia, she’ll vouch for you. And who exactly is this other passenger pointing the finger? What do they know about your lives?

    No, whatever danger followed you home last night, you are innocent, totally innocent.

    Aren’t you?
    View this title on BNC CataList
  9. What Strange Paradise
    by Omar El Akkad Canada
    9780771050305
    McClelland & Stewart
    Jul 20, 2021
    FICTION / Political
    Hardback
    What Strange Paradise
    by Omar El Akkad Canada
    9780771050305
    McClelland & Stewart
    Jul 20, 2021
    FICTION / Political
    Hardback
    WINNER OF THE 2021 SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE

    LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD

    NATIONAL BESTSELLER

    From the widely acclaimed author of American War: a new novel--beautifully written, unrelentingly dramatic, and profoundly moving--that brings the global refugee crisis down to the level of a child's eyes.

    More bodies have washed up on the shores of a small island. Another over-filled, ill-equipped, dilapidated ship has sunk under the weight of its too many passengers: Syrians, Ethiopians, Egyptians, Lebanese, Palestinians, all of them desperate to escape untenable lives in their homelands. And only one has made the passage: nine-year-old Amir, a Syrian boy who has the good fortune to fall into the hands not of the officials but of Vanna: a teenage girl, native to the island, who lives inside her own sense of homelessness in a place and among people she has come to disdain. And though she and the boy are complete strangers, though they don't speak a common language, she determines to do whatever it takes to save him.

    In alternating chapters, we learn the story of the boy's life and how he came to be on the boat; and we follow the girl and boy as they make their way toward a vision of safety. But as the novel unfurls, we begin to understand that this is not merely the story of two children finding their way through a hostile world, it is the story of our collective moment in this time: of empathy and indifference, of hope and despair--and of the way each of those things can blind us to reality, or guide us to a better one.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  10. A Passage North
    by Anuk Arudpragasam
    9780593230701
    Hogarth
    Jul 13, 2021
    FICTION / Literary
    Hardback
    A Passage North
    by Anuk Arudpragasam
    9780593230701
    Hogarth
    Jul 13, 2021
    FICTION / Literary
    Hardback
    SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE • A young man journeys into Sri Lanka’s war-torn north in this searing novel of longing, loss, and the legacy of war from the author of The Story of a Brief Marriage.

    “A novel of tragic power and uncommon beauty.”—Anthony Marra
    “One of the most individual minds of their generation.”—Financial Times

    NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY TIME AND NPR

    A Passage North begins with a message from out of the blue: a telephone call informing Krishan that his grandmother’s caretaker, Rani, has died under unexpected circumstances—found at the bottom of a well in her village in the north, her neck broken by the fall. The news arrives on the heels of an email from Anjum, an impassioned yet aloof activist Krishnan fell in love with years before while living in Delhi, stirring old memories and desires from a world he left behind.

    As Krishan makes the long journey by train from Colombo into the war-torn Northern Province for Rani’s funeral, so begins an astonishing passage into the innermost reaches of a country. At once a powerful meditation on absence and longing, as well as an unsparing account of the legacy of Sri Lanka’s thirty-year civil war, this procession to a pyre “at the end of the earth” lays bare the imprints of an island’s past, the unattainable distances between who we are and what we seek.

    Written with precision and grace, Anuk Arudpragasam’s masterful novel is an attempt to come to terms with life in the wake of devastation, and a poignant memorial for those lost and those still living.
    View this title on BNC CataList

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