Circe by Madeline Miller is a retelling of the ancient Greek myth of the witch-goddess Circe. The novel follows Circe, an immortal nymph with a unique ability to practice witchcraft, as she navigates her way through the challenges and complexities of her divine existence. Exiled to a remote island for her transformational powers, Circe encounters numerous mythological figures including Odysseus, who visits her realm during his journey home from the Trojan War.
In the romance novel King of Wrath by Ana Huang, Dante Russo never wanted to marry, but the new-money Laus and their threat of blackmail force him to change his mind. Vivian Lau was determined to hate the marriage she’d been arranged to have, but there’s something about Dante that chips away at her cold demeanor. Though Dante is determined to have his revenge against the Laus who’ve wronged him, his and Vivian’s growing closeness and attraction complicates the plan.
Twisted Hate is a fictional romance novel by Ana Huang. Despite their effortless charm when it comes to other people, Josh Chen and Jules Ambrose have hated each other from the moment they met - Josh said that Jules was a bad influence on his sister, Ava, and she’s never forgotten it. But their chemistry is undeniable, and now it’s unavoidable as Ava gets a temp job at the same health clinic that Josh volunteers with. They make an arrangement to try to avoid catching feelings, but it only seems to do the opposite.
The Selection is a novel about America Singer. America gets a letter in the mail one day that explains how she could enter the Selection to become the next queen of Illea. Unlike the rest of the young women in the country, America doesn’t want to enter. She already has the rest of her life figured out, and it includes her secret love Aspen. But, when Aspen begs her to enter so he won’t feel bad, she decides to enter and her life changes instantly.
In the fiction novel Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, artist Mia Warren and her young daughter, Pearl, have recently moved to the idyllic suburb of Shaker Heights. There, they become entangled with the Richardsons - the epitome of refined planned community members - when the Richardsons rent out one of their properties to the Warrens. When Mia’s unshakeable sense of self leads her into “interfering” in a matter Ms. Richardson would have rather she stayed out of, Ms.
Kai Young meets every condition of success - he’s poised to become CEO of his family company, member of the elite Valhalla Club and ruler of a media empire. He gets whatever and whoever he wants. But as family pressure builds, he begins to let go of his work-focused personality and finds a release in conversation with the wild and beautiful bartender at his club, Isabella. Unfortunately, their adventures together only distract him from his original goals, and soon he’s in danger of losing both the girl and his job.
Five teenagers all end up in detention for the same reason- having their phones in class. Yet, all teenagers claim the phones were planted. A very uneventful detention becomes life changing when only four of them make it out of that classroom. The athlete (Cooper), the beauty (Addy), the brain (Bronwyn), and the criminal (Nate) are all luckier than the outcast (Simon). Everyone in the room is a suspect in Simon's death, and as the kids learn more about each other they start to trust each other less. One of them is a killer and it's up to everyone else to find them out.
Quentin and his next-door neighbor, Margo, grew up together. Even though they spent their childhood together, they grew apart. That's because Margo stayed an unencumbered force, and Quentin did not. One strange night, she shows up at his house, pulls him into her whirlwind ride to get revenge, and she shows him what a strength it is to be free. She's not perfect though, and soon after their daring night, she's back out of his life. Back into her world of popularity and fun. Soon after, she truly disappears and leaves a paper trail for Quentin to follow.
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo follows the story of Galaxy "Alex" Stern, a young woman with the ability to see ghosts and interact with the supernatural world. She is offered a chance at a new life when she is recruited into Lethe House, a secret society at Yale University that monitors and regulates magic and occult activities among the elite students.
Esther Greenwood has what she thought she always wanted - a scholarship, an education, access to exclusive New York events, a steady relationship with a soon-to-be doctor, beauty, brains. But over the course of her summer in the city and the subsequent months, her mental health rapidly deteriorates for seemingly unknown reasons. She cuts off her boyfriend, rarely speaks to friends, can no longer write or focus long enough to read. She doesn’t eat, doesn’t sleep. The only escape from her reality seems to be death - that, or brave the treacherous psych wards and asylums of the 1960s.
