In this darkly funny and irreverent memoir, the daughter of a mail-order bride unpacks her undocumented childhood in America.

Growing up undocumented in Houston, Texas, Katya Suvorova learned that keeping her family together meant dodging the police, enduring her mother’s many husbands, and babysitting her younger sister instead of finishing the third grade.

Her understanding of her life shifted dramatically at seventeen, when Katya discovered her mother’s advertisement in a forgotten Eastern European mail-order bride catalog from the 1990s. As she grew older, Katya came to better understand what her mother had risked when she smuggled herself and her then three-year-old daughter from Russia into the US.

When your parents sacrifice their lives so yours can be better, to whom do you owe your future?

Ungrateful Immigrant Daughter explores difficult questions and stories both shocking and hilarious across Katya’s childhood through to an adulthood estranged from the woman who sacrificed everything for her. Her sharp, dry wit engages readers in a deeply relatable take on the experience of being a child of immigrants and unraveling a landscape of family secrets and lies, sharing her unique story of being the undocumented daughter of a mail-order bride.

Story Locale: Cedar Rapids, IA; Houston, TX; Crete, Greece; Seattle, WA

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Five-year-old Abby is losing her battle with leukemia. Her only hope is a newly developed treatment her mother, Celeste, can’t afford, and their insurance won’t cover.

After escaping a brief, abusive marriage to a drug dealer, Celeste Barr vowed never to marry again. With Abby’s life hanging in the balance, she signs up for the therapy, trusting that God will make a way.

Still grieving the wife he lost to cancer, Hunter Harrington believes his dreams of family died with her, until he meets Celeste and Abby. Out of a growing conviction that God has brought them into each other’s lives for a reason, he offers an extraordinary solution: marry him, and Abby will qualify immediately for the coverage she desperately needs.

As hope begins to replace despair, a marriage born of necessity slowly unfolds into love. But danger closes in. Celeste’s violent ex-husband is watching, and his return threatens everything they’ve begun to build.

Can their faith, trust, and growing love protect the family they’ve become—for the love of a child?

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James Beard Award–winning author Michael Ruhlman delivers a father-son road-trip story about grief, second chances, and discovering that home might not be a place you left behind—but a person you’re just getting to know, one meal at a time.

Junior year was supposed to be Miles’s escape plan—survive one year in Cleveland with Jake, the dad he barely knows, then get back to his real life in New York.

But that was before he got suspended. Before his mom died and left a hole nothing can fill. Before Jake’s art house theater started facing closure—and before Jake dragged him on a half-baked quest across Spain to track down a film director who may or may not want to be found.

Between wrong turns and cryptic clues through Madrid, Toledo, and Seville, they find themselves at wobbly tables in tapas bars, sharing plates of jamon and squid, talking in ways they never have before. Something unexpected happens over bocadillos and café con leche: Miles stops seeing Jake as the dad who left, and starts seeing him as the person who stayed.

Story Locale: Cleveland to Spain (Madrid, Toledo, Granada, Cordoba, Seville, Cadiz, Gibraltar, and more)

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Abandoned by her mother in New York, sixteen-year-old Geraldine falls under the influence of three women, each seeking to form her in their image, in this “wildly perceptive” (Stefan Merrill Block, New York Times bestselling author of Homeschooled) coming-of-age story from the bestselling author of Alice Sadie Celine.

For Gerry, growing up on the road has always been her mother and her, locked in dysfunction. Homeschooled, she hasn’t learned much math. Instead, her mother has taught her how to spend the day at a motel’s swimming pool without being a guest and how to dodge paying extra for the chicken on a Caesar salad.

Gerry learns how to pass and adapt, but when she is abandoned in the city, she finds herself in the care of three very different women, each intent on shaping her into competing and incompatible selves. First, there is her mother’s old college friend Bonnie, who lives in a world of country clubs and chintzy domesticity. Then there is Nell, her mother’s estranged sister and a successful artist, who insists on ambition and self-invention. And finally Finley, an old-money socialite, who ushers Gerry into a rarefied world of Manhattan privilege.

A coming-of-age story that explores unconventional forms of motherhood and caretaking, Heavy Cream is both a charming comedy of manners and a deeply probing look at the complexities of love, mental illness, and inheritance, and one young woman’s eccentric path to self-hood.

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Inspired by true events, Christy Hall of Fame author Cathy Gohlke delivers a powerful new historical novel weaving together the discovery of insulin—a breakthrough that revolutionized modern medicine—and one woman’s brave fight to cling to her family and hope against unspeakable odds.

New York City, 1918. When schoolteacher Gwendolyn Armstrong learns of her sister’s worsening illness, she travels to Marion’s stately home to tutor her young niece and nephew, kept from school by the Spanish flu outbreak. Though the family lives in luxury, Gwen is wary of Marion’s sophisticated, often-absent husband, Russell, who once cast Gwen aside for her sister, leaving wounds that never fully healed.

As Marion’s health declines, a sense of foreboding settles over the family. Gwen observes strangers coming and going from Russell’s study at all hours, and her lingering distrust turns to suspicion that he is hiding something that could threaten the family’s safety and security. But when the deadly flu claims victims among the family and mansion staff, Gwen and her nephew, Alistair, are forced to accept terrible losses caused by the epidemic followed soon after by his own fatal diagnosis of juvenile diabetes.

When a compassionate doctor becomes both an advocate and friend, chasing down every promising medical development in the race for a cure, Gwen clings to each shred of hope. But as Russell’s clandestine dealings erupt into a shattering revelation, she must summon every ounce of courage she possesses. With Alistair’s life hanging in the balance, Gwen pleads for a faith she doesn’t yet possess, realizing she must surrender him to God and the possibility of a miracle that could save him and reshape her future in ways she never imagined.

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A mystery and coming-of-age drama set against the backdrop of an elite all-girls rowing club as they navigate first loves, first heartbreaks, and the bonds that form when winning isn’t the only thing on the line. Soon to be adapted for streaming by the producer of Pretty Little Liars!

For high-achieving Margaret Douglas, rowing is everything—her friends, her family, and her way into college. As a senior and varsity captain, she has made many sacrifices to get where she is. But after she mysteriously disappears for the summer, rumors swirl: Was Margaret at Olympic training? Rehab? Under house arrest?

Whatever happened, it clearly haunts her . . . and when she returns at the beginning of the season, Margaret discovers that the sisterhood she once knew has moved on without her.

Meanwhile, spunky freshman and new girl Jo Bryant is only rowing because of her father: former Olympian, Boston legend, and the person Jo blames for her parents’ divorce. Jo knows nothing about crew, or why Margaret’s return has everyone at the boathouse whispering, but she does know that Margaret is the only person who doesn’t treat her like a joke.

For both girls, the varsity team is a sisterhood earned in five a.m. wake-ups and blistered hands. But there are secrets and scandals waiting to surface—and with the biggest race of the year on the horizon, Margaret, Jo, and their teammates are about to find out just how deep those secrets go.

Story Locale: Boston

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From the author of the acclaimed and “riveting” (HuffPost) memoir Rabbit and star of BET’s The Ms. Pat Show, a heartfelt, raw, and hilarious new memoir about rising from strife to success, tackling obstacles, and celebrating your wins with a laugh.

“America is supposed to be the land of opportunity—where any poor kid can grow up to become a millionaire. That’s the story. But I’ma tell you how it really went down.”

Before she was the star of the Emmy-nominated smash sitcom The Ms. Pat Show, before the Netflix specials, sold-out tours, and her critically acclaimed memoir, Rabbit, Ms. Pat was a fifteen-year-old eighth-grade dropout raising two babies in one of Atlanta’s poorest neighborhoods. With no mentor, no road map, and no safety net, she wasn’t chasing the American Dream. She was told it wasn’t meant for people like her.

If you’d seen her back then, you wouldn’t have bet on a happy ending.

And yet…look at her now.

In Ms. American Dream, Ms. Pat picks up where Rabbit left off—chronicling the hard-fought climb from food stamps and Section 8 housing to television deals, Hollywood writers’ rooms, and a suburban life so comfortable her doghouse has its own built-in washer and dryer.

In a country where the rich get richer and regular folks are told to “work harder,” Ms. Pat learned the rules of a system that wasn’t built for her to win. She outmaneuvered caseworkers, bill collectors, con artists, and hustlers. She found her place in an industry where she was told she didn’t belong.

Raw, fearless, and laugh-out-loud funny, Ms. American Dream is not your average rags-to-riches Hollywood story—it’s a sharp, hilarious look at class, strategy, and reinvention.

The post Ms. American Dream: A Memoir of Making It, No Matter What first appeared on Shelves Bookstore.

Not all abuse leaves bruises. Not all prisons have bars.

Wendi Burkham lives in an emotional prison she unwittingly walked into. Nobody understands, and her captor holds the keys.

Married to a respected pastor, Wendi lives a life others admire–with two children and a home that reflects faith, stability, and love. But behind closed doors, Wendi is trapped in a cycle of control, manipulation, and emotional abuse no one else can see–and no one would believe.

How do you escape when no one thinks you need to?

For sixteen years, she has stayed silent. Stayed faithful. Stayed afraid. Until one night forces her to choose between the life she has built . . . and the truth she can no longer ignore.

Her husband’s warning echoes: “Planting wind only reaps a harvest of tornadoes.”

But what if the storm is the only way out?

This powerful novel exposes the reality of emotional abuse—and the courage it takes to break free.

The post House of Wind first appeared on Shelves Bookstore.

Sydney Hoffman can tell when someone has less than 72 hours to live, and it’s left her sarcastic, cynical and alone. Until she meets Peter, who changes everything she believes about life—and death.

72 hours before someone dies, Sydney Hoffman sees a pink clock over their head, counting down their final minutes. Seeing death’s status updates in real-time without being able to save anyone is . . . pretty much the worst. Which is why she never gets involved.

But then she meets Peter Beckett, her optimistic, book-obsessed, and (annoyingly) attractive new classmate. When he discovers what Sydney can do, he convinces her she doesn’t have to handle the countdowns alone. Together they make a plan to wander NYC, looking for pink clocks and helping strangers live their best final hours.

The more people they secretly help, the more Sydney believes she can let go of the memories that haunt her and hold on to Peter instead. But then the universe deals a devastating blow, forcing her to reckon with what it truly means to live your last 72 hours with no regrets.

In her tragically romantic debut, Darianne Schramm weaves a heartwarming, heart-wrenching, life-affirming love story you’ll laugh through, cry through, and absolutely never forget.

Story Locale: New York City and surrounding suburbs

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An irresistible debut–set against the backdrop of post-WWII Oxford University–that seamlessly layers mystery, romance, and a dash of academia to introduce the Crown’s newest undercover operatives.

He’s brooding. She’s brilliant. Together they’re Oxford’s secret weapon.

Oxford, England, 1951: The Honorable Ginevra Bishop likes red lipstick, clever retorts, and earning top marks in her tutorials. She’s following her mother’s footsteps by studying at Oxford, eager to prove she’s more than a debutante.

Sidney Braithwaite likes brooding, Latin, and ignoring his nightmares. He’s determined to forge a new life for himself at Oxford, far from his childhood mining village and free from memories of the war.

Though Gin and Sidney have little in common, the British Security Service is keen to unite her charm with his espionage experience: there’s a Soviet spy at the university, and the agent tracking them down was poisoned. MI5 wants Gin and Sidney to pick up the trail and identify the informant before more sensitive information is compromised. As a team, the pair of undergraduates clash in personality, upbringing, and taste––but have a connection neither can deny. Gin and Sidney must unite their respective talents to follow the clues before they’re caught in the traitor’s crosshairs…if the sparks flying between them don’t blow up the operation first.

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