Publisher: Macmillan

Sea of Charms, by Sarah Beth Durst

A heartwarming cozy fantasy set on the high seas, brimming with charm, hope, healing—and a touch of romance

The Final Target, by Nora Roberts

In Nora Roberts’ newest romantic suspense novel, an author rebuilds her life after a stalker attack, only to face renewed threat when he gets out of psychiatric confinement.

Nobody’s Baby, by Olivia Waite

A delightful sequel to last year’s Murder by Memory! I inhaled it in two sittings, and thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the world and characters.

The Queens of Crime, by Marie Benedict

A thoroughly enjoyable historical mystery featuring five of the best-known female British mystery authors of the Golden Age.

The Martian Contingency, by Mary Robinette Kowal

I loved returning to the Lady Astronaut universe after several years. This installment looks at the Second Mars Expedition, and the start of the permanent colony. Elma York is back as the first-person narrator, and this book brings her arc to a satisfying point, if not the end of her adventures.

Murder by Memory, by Olivia Waite

A cozy mystery set on a generation spaceship, Murder by Memory features a practical, wise, and observant detective who unexpectedly finds herself inhabiting the body of… a murderer? A victim? Or both?

Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent, by Judi Dench

This book grew out of interviews that actor and director Brendan O’Hea held with esteemed Shakespearean actress Dame Judi Dench. In it, the pair discuss a number of Shakespeare’s plays, particularly in terms of the great female roles Ms. Dench has played in her time… The whole book is a masterclass in how to read, understand, and play Shakespeare, and more generally, how to act.

It’s All A Game, by Tristan Donovan

It’s All a Game starts off with the ancient games of senet, the “royal game of Ur”, and the many forms of mancala, then delves into a truncated history of chess before moving on to the board games many of us grew up playing.

Wooing the Witch Queen, by Stephanie Burgis

Wooing the Witch Queen was an absolute delight, from its sweet, sensitive, traumatized cinnamon-roll hero to its introverted, reclusive, but decidedly not evil heroine.

Mind Games, by Nora Roberts

I read Mind Games twice in 2024 and once (already) in 2025, which tells you something about how good it is; the book has already joined the ranks of my favorite non-fantasy Nora Roberts novels. Written with Roberts’s usual skill, Mind Games pits Thea Fox, a young woman with the sight, against the psychopath who killed her parents. . .