Fresh On Our Shelves

A young artist teetering on the edge of success and burnout tries to hold it all together in New York City. Her ambitious thesis project isn’t landing the way she hoped, her relationships are fraying, and the sudden return of a magnetic ex throws everything further off balance. As career pressure mounts and personal doubts creep in, she begins to question not just her work, but the life she’s been building. Messy, sharp, and deeply introspective, this is a story about ambition, identity, and the chaos of figuring yourself out.

Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Literary Fiction

Borrow Good News: A Novel by Alexa Yasemin Brahme

In a family where magic is bottled into perfume, one woman has always felt like the exception. Once expected to inherit a rare and powerful gift, she instead walked away from her legacy and built a quiet, ordinary life crafting scents in Toronto. But when a death pulls her back into the fold—and the possession of a mysterious family record—long-buried secrets begin to surface. As she uncovers the stories of the women who came before her, she’s forced to rethink everything she believed about love, power, and her place in it all.

Genre: Magical Realism / Contemporary Fantasy

Borrow The Library of Flowers by L. C. Chu

In a glittering, dangerous world of power and secrets, a feared noblewoman and a determined courtesan find themselves locked in a high-stakes game. A scandalous letter threatens to expose a dark past, and the price of silence is steep: marriage and status. As the two women are drawn into each other’s orbit, through ballrooms, schemes, and simmering tension, what begins as a calculated arrangement quickly becomes something far more complicated. It’s a sweeping, romantic tale of ambition, betrayal, and the risk of choosing love over survival.

Genre: Historical Romance / LGBTQ+ Fiction

Borrow The Duke: A Novel by Anna Cowan

After years of playing it safe, one woman is suddenly thrust into a life she never planned: following her late sister’s bucket list to the sunny shores of Ibiza. Determined to embrace every experience, she dives headfirst into a whirlwind of new friendships, bold choices, and late-night adventures. Falling for her off-limits boss definitely wasn’t part of the plan, but some risks are harder to resist than others. Set against a vibrant summer backdrop, this is a feel-good story about grief, growth, and saying yes to the unexpected.

Genre: Romance / Contemporary Fiction

Borrow Our Secret Summer by R. S. Grey

On a sun-drenched island off the California coast in 1956, three women find their carefully constructed lives beginning to crack. A struggling marriage, a looming financial disaster, and a long-buried secret threaten to upend everything they’ve worked for. Drawn together by circumstance and a shared connection to the world of tennis, they form an unexpected bond that may be their only lifeline. Rich with mid-century atmosphere and emotional tension, this is a compelling story of reinvention, friendship, and second chances.

Genre: Historical Fiction / Women’s Fiction

Borrow The Island Club: A Novel by Nicola Harrison

A struggling Swedish town will do just about anything to land a major German mattress company and the jobs that come with it. What follows is a wildly ambitious (and increasingly ridiculous) campaign involving renamed landmarks, improvised institutions, and a whole lot of creative problem-solving. As the stakes rise, so does the question: how far is too far when survival is on the line? Clever and delightfully absurd, this is a sharp, satirical look at small-town politics and big dreams.

Genre: Satirical Fiction / Contemporary Fiction

Borrow The Distinctly Competent District Councillor by Jonas Jonasson

With the end of the world fast approaching, two longtime partners set out on one final cross-country journey. Along the way, they encounter people facing the apocalypse in wildly different ways—denial, celebration, quiet reflection—and begin to reckon with their own shared past. As memories resurface and time runs short, they’re left to consider what it means to have lived a full life. Tender, thought-provoking, and quietly powerful, this is an intimate story about love, legacy, and the moments that matter most.

Genre: Science Fiction / Literary Fiction

Borrow We Burned So Bright by T. J. Klune

Eight coworkers are invited to compete on a new reality show, but there’s a twist: each one has secretly been labelled the “office villain” by their colleagues. As the contestants scramble to identify a hidden saboteur among them, alliances form, tensions rise, and trust quickly erodes. What begins as a chance at fame spirals into a tense psychological battle where no one is quite who they seem. Fast-paced and unsettling, this is a sharp exploration of perception, workplace dynamics, and the stories we tell about each other.

Genre: Psychological Thriller / Contemporary Fiction

Borrow Break Room by Mi-ye Lee

A remote Highland castle, a glamorous wedding, and a detective who’s very much not at her best—what could go wrong? When a violent storm cuts everyone off from the outside world, and a gruesome murder shocks the celebration, all eyes turn to the guests... and the hungover detective tasked with solving it. With suspects piling up and tempers fraying, she’ll have to untangle the chaos before the killer strikes again. Darkly funny and fast-paced, this is a classic whodunit with a wicked sense of humour.

Genre: Mystery / Crime Fiction

Borrow And the Corpse Wore Tartan by Stuart MacBride

A teenage girl facing an uncertain future and a solitary game designer find their lives unexpectedly intertwined. Her wish is simple but profound: to create something that captures her life, just in case she isn’t there to live it. As they work together, both are pushed to confront what it means to truly connect, to care, and to leave something behind. Bittersweet and deeply moving, this story explores love, loss, and the quiet ways people change each other.

Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Emotional Drama

Borrow The Wish: A Novel by Heather Morris

When two literary giants cross paths in Victorian England, the result is anything but smooth. A guest overstays his welcome, awkwardly navigating language barriers, social missteps, and growing tension within a famous household. As personal dramas unfold behind closed doors, even an outsider begins to sense the cracks forming in a seemingly perfect life. Wry, observant, and rich in historical detail, this novel offers a fascinating glimpse into the messy humanity behind celebrated names.

Genre: Historical Fiction / Literary Fiction

Borrow Five Weeks in the Country: A Novel by Francine Prose https://burlington.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S194C520541

In famine-ravaged Ireland, a desperate young woman is offered a chance at survival, but at a cost that may haunt her forever. Tasked with assuming another woman’s identity in a remote, brooding manor, she steps into a world thick with secrets, superstition, and something far more sinister. As eerie whispers and buried memories begin to surface, it becomes clear that the past is not so easily escaped. Dark, atmospheric, and gripping, this is a haunting tale of survival, identity, and the shadows we carry.

Genre: Historical Fiction / Gothic Horror

Borrow This House Will Feed by Maria Tureaud