by Lília
January was a remarkable month, with three titles by Rachel Reid making it into our bestsellers: Heated Rivalry, Game Changer and The Long Game. Part of the Game Changer series of books, they were already a big success among romance readers around the world, but became an even greater one with the TV adaptation of Heated Rivalry being aired by the Canadian streaming service Crave, as well as here in the Netherlands. Heated Rivalry was actually the best-selling title acros all three of our stores, a phenomenal feat indeed!
For this month, we also have I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman, a recurring bestseller almost every month. Project Hail Mary, The Dictionary of Color Combinations, The Housemaid, Dungeon Crawler Carl and Flesh were bestsellers in December as well. The newest in the January list are Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy, published in January itself, and Home. The Mezrab Book, published in December.
Dead Poets Society by N.H. Kleinbaum
A novelization of the hit movie starring Robin Williams as Professor Keating, an inspiring, uplifting teacher who changes his students’ lives.
Todd Anderson and his friends at Welton Academy can hardly believe how different life is since their new English professor, the flamboyant John Keating, has challenged them to “make your lives extraordinary!” Inspired by Keating, the boys resurrect the Dead Poets Society – a secret club where, free from the constraints and expectations of school and parents, they let their passions run wild. As Keating turns the boys on to the great words of Byron, Shelley, and Keats, they discover not only the beauty of language, but the importance of making each moment count.
Gachiakuta 1 by Kei Urana and Hideyoshi Andou
A hit dystopian action manga critics are calling “the next big shonen series!”
Framed for murder and cast off a floating city into the abyss, a young boy grapples with the monsters the elite high above would rather forget…
Game Changer by Rachel Reid
The first in the Game Changer series.
New York Admirals captain Scott Hunter takes his pre-game rituals very seriously. In this case, it’s not just a lucky smoothie he’s craving – it’s the man who made it.
Pro hockey star Scott Hunter knows a good thing when he sees it. So, when a smoothie made by juice bar barista Kip Grady precedes Scott breaking his on-ice slump, he’s desperate to recreate the magic… and to get to know the sexy, funny guy behind the counter.
Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
Vast legions of gods, mages, humans, dragons and all manner of creatures play out the fate of the Malazan Empire in this first book in a major epic fantasy series
The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting and bloody confrontations with the formidable Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, ancient and implacable sorcerers. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen’s rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins.
You can read Else’s views on the Malazan series here.
Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of I’m Glad My Mom Died comes a sad, funny, thrilling novel about sex, consumerism, class, desire, loneliness, the internet, rage, intimacy, power, and the (oftentimes misguided) lengths we’ll go to in order to get what we want.
Startlingly perceptive, mordantly funny, and keenly poignant, Half His Age is a rich character study of a yearning seventeen-year-old who disregards all obstacles—or attempts to overcome them – in her effort to be seen, to be desired, to be loved.
Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid
(Book two in the Game Changers series.)
Nothing interferes with pro hockey star Shane Hollander’s game.
Now that he’s captain of the Montreal Voyageurs, he won’t let anything jeopardize that – definitely not the sexy rival he loves to hate.
Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov is everything Shane’s not. The self-proclaimed king of the ice, he’s as cocky as he is talented. No one can beat him, except Shane. Publicly, they’re enemies. Privately, they can’t stop touching each other.
The smart thing to do? Walk away, once a few secret hookups turn into a struggle to keep their relationship out of the press. The truth could ruin them both. But for Shane and Ilya, secrecy is soon no longer an option…
Our Naomi’s Staff Choice. She will be writing a more in-depth review later this month.
Home. The Mezrab Book by The Mezrab Storytellers
HOME. The Mezrab Book marks the very first time Mezrab brings its stories from the stage to the page. This beautifully curated collection gathers 34 powerful stories by 34 storytellers who have shaped Mezrab’s nights over more than twenty years. Traveling across continents and inner worlds, the stories are funny, haunting, and deeply human.
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl’s castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there’s far more to Howl and herself than first meets the eye.
The Long Game by Rachel Reid
Shane and Ilya’s story, first seen in Heated Rivalry, continues in this long-awaited hockey romance from Rachel Reid.
To the world they are rivals, but to each other they are everything.
Ten years. That’s how long Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov have been seeing each other. How long they’ve been keeping their relationship a secret. From friends, from family… from the league. If Shane wants to stay at the top of his game, what he and Ilya share has to remain secret. He loves Ilya, but what if going public ruins everything?
Ilya is sick of secrets. Shane has gotten so good at hiding his feelings, sometimes Ilya questions if they even exist. The closeness, the intimacy, even the risk that would come with being open about their relationship… Ilya wants it all.
It’s time for them to decide what’s most important – hockey or love.
It’s time to make a call.
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
Two best friends. Ten summer trips. One last chance to fall in love.
Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year, they live far apart. She’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown, but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.
Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since.
Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together – lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Piranesi’s house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls, an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house.
A Staff Choice of our Jurgen, Else and Jonna.
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
An exhilarating tale of twisted desire, histories and homes, and the unexpected shape of revenge.
It’s 1961 and the rural Dutch province of Overijssel is quiet. Bomb craters have been filled, buildings reconstructed, and the war is well and truly over. Living alone in her late mother’s country home, Isabel’s life is as it should be: led by routine and discipline. But all is upended when her brother Louis delivers his graceless new girlfriend, Eva, at Isabel’s doorstep-as a guest, there to stay for the season…
You can read Molly Quell’s review of this book here.
