A Painting Called Sylvia by Michael J. Vaughn (Lusterleaf Editions) (138 Reviews)    Price verified 10 minutes ago

When Chris Weathers finds an oddly alluring artwork in a beachtown coffeehouse, he thinks he's found the answer to the visions invading his button-down life. But when he becomes the patron of its creator, a semi-homeless painter named Marcello, he unsettles the balance of his family. Being the "walking wallet" for a genius daughter and her ultra-nervous mother has its rewards, but aren't parents allowed to have lives of their own? A touching family drama from the author of the award-winning novel The Popcorn Girl.

Genre: Literary Fiction

And So We Dream: A Novel by Linda Mahkovec (121 Reviews)    Price verified one hour ago

"A lucidly described coming-of-age tale" with "a mysterious, almost mythic feminine glamour" -- Kirkus "A brilliantly engaging, entertaining, and at times poignant coming-of-age story, And So We Dream is a compelling read by author Linda Mahkovec showcasing her genuine flair as a novelist for the kind of literary experience that will linger in the mind and memory of the reader long after the book is finished and set back upon the shelf." -- Midwest Book Review From the author of the best-sellingChristmastime series, comes And So We Dream, a coming-of-age story set in 1970. Twelve-year-old Joey Roland is sent away to family friends while his parents try to work things out. He's eager to leave sadness and secrets behind in Chicago and head downstate to the small town of Greenberry, where the Vitale family awaits him. He thinks of their town as boyland -- a world of bike riding, fishing, and going barefoot. Though initially shy of the beautiful teenage daughters -- Anne, Vita, and Beth -- they welcome him into their lives of adventure, beauty, and dreams. Joey especially bonds with the middle sister, Vita, and her all-or-nothing pursuit of an acting career. Joey's "there must be more" merges with Vita's "I must make it happen" resulting in a magical summer where the town of Greenberrry becomes the crucible for two desperate dreamers.

Genre: Literary Fiction

Those We Love at First by Michael Bergman (1 Review)    Price verified 5 hours ago

Love is messy. It's a reality that Meredith and Daniel know too well. They once loved each other and never really stopped, even though their lives veered down different paths. Now, Meredith is married to a man who adores her, and she has a surprise for him that will change everything. But how will the shadows of her past trauma affect her relationship with him and her teenage son? Now, Daniel is a recovering addict working to mend his connection to his son. But his past begins to haunt him and threatens to undo all the gains he has made. Will a new relationship keep him on course, or will everything come crashing down? Those We Love at First continues the story of the characters introduced in Bergman's debut novel Until Summer. The first book was about fighting for hope and love against the darkness of trauma and loss. Those We Love at First tells the story of two families whose lives are forever intertwined as they strive to hold on to love in a world that tries to tear them apart. Love is messy, but love is worth it. *** (Trigger Warnings: Self-harm, Domestic Violence)

Genre: Literary Fiction

Everything We Are (Heart Of The Canyon Book 2) by Jacie Middlemann (38 Reviews)    Price verified 6 hours ago

Jake wants to see for himself whether his mother is having a mid-life crisis or a later-in-life adventure. He's betting on the second. Mallie's oldest son checked up on her not long after she returned to the canyon and the home she grew up in... the home where she raised her children until a tragedy forced her to make the difficult decision to leave. Now her youngest son is on his way... Jake Westin is returning to the canyon where he grew up. It's been ten years since the last time he was there. He can still vividly remember the circumstances that led to his family's departure all those years ago. It wasn't something he thought of often. Who would want to? Just as much as he wanted to see how his mother was doing since her return to the canyon he was also looking forward to seeing Lizzie. When he was a child the two of them had gone on all kinds of quests together for lizards and anything else that moved, searched for the buried treasure Lizzie swore was to be found somewhere in the canyon, and spent hours staring at the stars and picking out those that made up constellations of their own making. He was also curious about his mother's other neighbor in their small corner of the canyon. Unlike Lizzie who had walked away from the glitter and fame of the city that was spread out below the canyon, Clay Tobin was just beginning to make his mark there according to both of his sisters. And he wanted to talk to his mother... he needed to hear her reasons for coming back after all these years instead of taking his brother and sister's assumptions as gospel. More importantly... he wanted to understand. Years ago Mallie Westin left her home because she felt she had no choice. Now years later, the choice is hers. The Heart of the Canyon series is about the strength of family, the endurance of friendship, and the unwavering and unconditional longing for home... and all it means. Everything We Are is the second in the series... can be read alone but the series is best ...

Genre: Literary Fiction

The Flaw in His Character by I. C. Talbot (Icy Road Publishing) (1 Review)    Price verified 7 hours ago

Estelle Dean was swept off her feet by wealthy businessman Jack Rutledge, who she married just a few weeks, then moved into his lovely house. But when Jack is away on business, Estelle needs something to do, so she and her friend Connie Johnson look for a class to take. The class Estelle chooses makes is the difference between life and death.

Genre: Literary Fiction

History of von Schatt (1913-1960) by Richard Daub (Clay Road Press) (12 Reviews)    Price verified 2 hours ago

The man, the monster... This history chronicles the origin of the von Schatt family: from the abandonment of its patriarch, Heinrich, on the steps of an orphanage in prewar Germany; through his apprenticeship on the high seas with a salty drunken smuggler; his flight from the Nazis to Sweden; his kidnapping of a child bride to America; his becoming the most feared Captain in the US military troop transport fleet; his concurrent role as husband and father of two dysfunctional Long Island families; and his lifelong obsession to uncover the secret behind a set of coordinates he'd found written on an old map. ABOUT RICHARD DAUB On a wood paneled wall in his grandmother's Long Island home had been hung a creepy painting of the grandfather he'd never met, a ship captain supposedly so frightening that the author, as a boy, could see fear in the eyes of the adults whenever they spoke of "The Captain", who, by then, had been dead two decades, wild tales of land and sea they probably never imagined the boy would recall later in life as a washed-up journalist turned fiction writer. Do you see any resemblance?

Genre: Literary Fiction

London Lies Bleeding: Introducing a New Kind of Hero (Justin Martello Book 1) by Gomery Kimber (Procursus Press) (27 Reviews)    Price verified 2 hours ago

Former special operative Justin Martello is being blackmailed. If he refuses British Intelligence's hush-hush assignments, he'll end up in jail - or six feet under... Nice kid Nero has been kidnapped, and his employer wants MI6's top negotiator to get him back. But as soon as Martello begins to investigate, he discovers that Nero has been living a double life. Navigating the mean streets of London's underworld, Martello quickly becomes entangled in a web of drug dealing, people trafficking and political corruption. But after receiving an uncanny message from the kidnap victim, he tracks down Nero to a strange WW2-era installation. Nero's kidnapper, Ramadan, turns out to be leading a double life as well. He's betrayed gang boss Granit, who's intent on taking over the whole London underworld. Rescuing Nero is just the first step. Martello needs to neutralise Granit too, or London will descend into a welter of violence and anarchy. Get your copy right now because you're sure to devour this page-turning adventure in just one sitting! POPULAR FICTION, SERIOUS IDEAS - GOMERY KIMBER IS THE WINNER OF MARK DAWSON'S SPF FOUNDATION THRILLER SCHOLARSHIP 2023.

Genre: Literary Fiction

A Little Discovery (Manor Drive Book 1) by Kate Bauer (K.A. Bauer) (14 Reviews)    Price verified 8 hours ago

Lucky is anything but his namesake. First, he gets tricked into marrying a woman when she claims he got her pregnant. Now, he's getting divorce papers claiming he's been unfaithful. To add insult to injury, no one will even listen to his side of the story. A kind hearted bartender saves him from sleeping in his car, but can he handle sharing a house with eight other men? Spencer hates his job as a private investigator. All he wants is to be a professional photographer, but to do that he needs income. Being a PI pays the bills. His last case funded his college exchange course in Australia, but it still leaves a bad taste in his mouth. Coming back home to the house at the end of Manor Drive, Spencer is in for a surprise because the subject of that very case is the man now sleeping on their couch.

Genre: Literary Fiction

Fracked, Part One: The Hunter by Maureen Driscoll (6 Reviews)    Price verified 6 hours ago

Author's Note: FRACKED was originally published on Kindle's Vella platform for serialized storytelling. This novel contains episodes one through thirty of the FRACKED Vella saga. It is a serialized novel and each of the first three books ends on a cliffhanger -- similar to seasons of a TV show -- until the story concludes in the fourth and final book. If you don't like cliffhangers, you will not like these books. Fracking has opened up a portal to hell in the California desert in this dramedy saga of good versus evil. And while there are actual demons wreaking havoc on the nearby area, there are also demons of a metaphorical kind. Racism, the war in Vietnam, homophobia and the economics of growing older but poorer are all featured in this series by a former writer for Jimmy Kimmel Live. In this first installment, 52-year-old Stephanie Matthews inherits a house in an over-55 community in the California desert, after the sudden death of her aunt. As demons emerge from a nearby fracking site, Stephanie teams up with two former Black Panthers, a Vietnam Vet and a retired teacher to stop them. Allies and enemies are unveiled as the demons begin their quest to destroy humanity. But as events from the past come back to haunt Stephanie's friends, it becomes clear that sometimes the demons which are hardest to kill are the ones in all of us. FRACKED is a comedy/drama which touches on the battle of good versus evil and the many shades of grey in-between.

Genre: Literary Fiction

Coming Up Short 4: A Psychological Horror Series by Charles Welch (95 Reviews)    Price verified 2 hours ago

A man finds himself the subject of interrogation related to a break in at his home. Or does he? The line between reality and insanity is easily blurred and razor thin for Marv Stillman. Two best friends join one another on yet another adventure, this time to the furthest remote corner of the Rocky Mountains. They seek evidence of an ever-elusive beast. What they don't know is that sometimes the thing you should fear isn't what hides in the woods, but the thing that's been right in front of you all along. In an elevator, a young woman and man find themselves stuck between floors with an old man who is anything but helpful. As their time in the unmoving car lengthens, there are signs that there is much more on the line than escaping their confinement. Who is the old man who seems to know far more about them than he should? Coming Up Short 4 is a new collection of tales of the macabre by the author of the award winning Within the Fog and Killer of Killers series. Warning: These stories will keep you up late at night, nervously chewing your fingernails, cringing at every little creak of your home. Our reality may not be what you have been led to believe.

Genre: Literary Fiction