Indie Next List

What is the Indie Next List?

The Indie Next List is your next great read! This monthly list features the top nominations from independent booksellers across the country, showcasing the best of the best debuts and new releases in all categories and genres.

The Mystery Guest: A Maid Novel (Molly the Maid #2)

Nita Prose (Ballantine Books)

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“Molly is back with another entertaining mystery to solve at the Regency Grand Hotel. This time, a famous author is under scrutiny, featuring a pack of rabid fans and a peek into Molly’s past. Pour a nice cup of tea and enjoy Molly’s next case!”

— Jenny Stroyeck, The Homer Bookstore, Homer, AK

Indie Next List Inspired Recommendations from Indie Booksellers

Second Chances in New Port Stephen: A Novel

By TJ Alexander

Atria/Emily Bestler Books

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“I can't stop talking about Second Chances in New Port Stephen! Such a beautiful, fun love story, and the ways queerness and transness are just simply accepted are so important. There is so much packed into this sweet romance — it’s a miracle!” — Lisa Swayze, Buffalo Street Books, Ithaca, NY

The Other Mothers

By Katherine Faulkner

Gallery Books

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“The Other Mothers was a wonderful exploration into imposter syndrome and what it’s like trying to fit in, but also how quickly it happens when you don’t even realize you’re trying to do it. I loved Sophie’s POV as well. Very well written!” — Amy Williams, As The Page Turns, Travelers Rest, SC

The Fake Mate

By Lana Ferguson

Berkley

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“Expect fake dating, wolf shifters, spice galore, true love, and workplace romance! It’s not only spicy, but it also has fantastic banter and lots of hilarious plot points, while wonderfully explaining the lore of the Omegaverse world.” — Olivia Determan, Books Around the Corner, Gresham, OR

The Frozen River: A Novel

By Ariel Lawhon

Doubleday

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“Based on the life of Martha Ballard, an 18th-century midwife in Maine, The Frozen River is mesmerizing. Martha is brilliant and strong in a period when women were lucky to read. Throw in a murder mystery with vivid characters? Heaven.” — Mary Hembree, House of Books, Kent, CT

Raiders of the Lost Heart

By Jo Segura

Berkley

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“The tension between Corrie and Ford is hotter than the jungle heat in this adventurous romance! Set in Mexico on an archaeological dig, witness the extreme circumstances that push these rivals to share their true feelings for each other.” — Jamie Southern, Bookmarks, Winston-Salem, NC

Cacophony of Bone: The Circle of a Year

By Kerri Ní Dochartaigh

Milkweed Editions

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“A gorgeous, elegiac meditation on time, the natural world, and all the aspects of life that we can only understand through our mind’s eye. Kerri ní Dochartaigh is a gifted writer and Cacophony of Bone is a joy to read.” — Debra Ginsberg, DIESEL, A Bookstore, Santa Monica, CA

Plot Twist (Hollywood #2)

By Erin La Rosa

Canary Street Press

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“A great friends-to-lovers romance, with a realistic representation of sobriety/alcoholism that doesn’t gloss over the reality of addiction. Sophie figures out what went wrong, and Dash accepts that even in recovery, he is worthy of love.” — Stephanie Rivera, Chapter Two...a Bookstore, Lompoc, CA

The Last Love Note

By Emma Grey

Zibby Books

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“I fell in love with the characters in this book. I rooted for all of them. I wanted them to do well. I wanted their love stories to work. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me cringe and scream like a teenager. I loved it.” — Andrea Iriarte, Molly's Bookstore, Melrose, MA

Other Minds and Other Stories

By Bennett Sims

Two Dollar Radio

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“A perfectly unsettling collection about memory, perception, self-doubt, Hegel, and amateur chicken butchering that goes horrifically wrong. Sims masterfully explores the horror in mundane situations. Highly recommended!” — Caitlin Baker, Island Books (WA), Mercer Island, WA

Yours for the Taking: A Novel

By Gabrielle Korn

St. Martin's Press

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“With multiple narrators with diverse backgrounds and ideas, this book kept me guessing. This story is all about how different decisions one makes (as well as society), no matter the intention, can negatively harm what follows.” — McKenna Moran, Anderson's Bookshops, Naperville, IL

A True Account: Hannah Masury’s Sojourn Amongst the Pyrates, Written by Herself

By Katherine Howe

Henry Holt and Co.

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“This book has everything I love in a good historical fiction novel: fierce female protagonists, pirates, smashing the colonial patriarchy, twentieth-century academia. It will make for a great book club selection — I can’t wait to share it!” — Sarah Danforth, Reads & Company, Phoenixville, PA

Welcome Home, Stranger: A Novel

By Kate Christensen

Harper

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“Rachel lives an independent life. When her mom dies back home in Maine, Rachel’s return opens up wounds that she might finally be able to examine and heal. Complex, insightful and real, this moving story of lifelong relationships is resonant.” — Beth Mynhier, Lake Forest Book Store, Lake Forest, IL

Calamity (Uncharted Hearts #1)

By Constance Fay

Bramble

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“A great debut that will appeal to a large audience. The characters feel real, and it’s great to read sci-fi with romance that doesn’t feel forced. I’ll recommend this to fantasy romance readers who are looking to branch out.” — Scott Patnesky, Tattered Cover Book Store, Denver, CO

The Other Half

By Charlotte Vassell

Anchor

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“First in a series about British Detective Camus Beauchamp, this mystery takes us into London’s high society to solve the murder of one of the gentry’s ‘It’ girls. DI Beauchamp is intriguing — I’m looking forward to more of his cases.” — Camille Kovach, Completely Booked, Murrysville, PA

The End of the World Is a Cul de Sac: Stories

By Louise Kennedy

Riverhead Books

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“Kennedy displays why she was able to make her name, writing with a delicateness that articulates a great love for these characters as they weave through domestic peril. Her ability to fit complex characters into a short window is remarkable.” — Richard Dixon, Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington, DC

Inheritance: The Lost Bride Trilogy, Book 1

By Nora Roberts

St. Martin's Press

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“This book has it all. Not only is the storyline wonderful, but the characters fit it perfectly and are well developed. There’s a reason why Nora Roberts is considered the queen of romance: no one does it better. This is a winner.” — Sandi Cararo, The Book Dragon, Staunton, VA

Ruined

By Sarah Vaughn, Sarah Winifred Searle, Niki Smith

First Second

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“This graphic novel reflects so many of the emotions one feels while reading a historical romance novel. We see the blushes, the crooked smirks, and the awkwardness of stilted courtship roles. I love that there were no punches pulled!” — R. Aimee Chipman, The Bluestocking Bookshop, Holland, MI

Wings of Red

By James W. Jennings

Soft Skull

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“Somewhere between autofiction and a neo-Beat style bildungsroman, Wings of Red is the story of a young artist in a city that cares little for his art and less for his life. Through Jennings’ vibrant prose, June Papers becomes someone you root for.” — Josh Cook, Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA

The Fiction Writer

By Jillian Cantor

Park Row

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“Jillian Cantor explores the fiction writers’ storytelling dilemma of writing a story that is fresh and has not been told before. Cantor’s entertaining novel has many twists that keeps you guessing until the very end.” — Connie L. Eaton, Three Sisters Books & Gifts, Shelbyville, IN

Alice Sadie Celine: A Novel

By Sarah Blakley-Cartwright

Simon & Schuster

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“Written in gorgeous prose that dives deeply into each of the three women’s characters and backstories, with a level of suspense that kept me wondering how things would turn out in the end. This novel is unique and surprising. A great read.” — Christine Bell, Roundabout Books, Bend, OR

The Wildest Sun: A Novel

By Asha Lemmie

Dutton

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“Asha Lemmie grants us a new look into her creativity with a novel about a woman who embarks on a mission to find her father: Ernest Hemingway. A homage to the dreams we hold dear; This is a book of adventure, expectations, love and hope. Enjoy!” — Linda Bond, Auntie's Bookstore, Spokane, WA

Airplane Mode: An Irreverent History of Travel

By Shahnaz Habib

Catapult

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“A thought provoking read about the origins of travel and how it intersects with class, race and colonialism. Habib interweaves her life experience with her own migration and travel. This is subtitled as irreverent — it’s anything but.” — Audrey I-Wei Huang, Belmont Books, Belmont, MA

Mercy (Salacious Players' Club)

By Sara Cate

Sourcebooks Casablanca

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“This book brought me to tears in the most amazing way. It was sexy, emotional, healing all in one. I have devoured this series like no other and have never felt so seen as I have with Sara Cate’s writing.” — Amanda Anderson, The Last Chapter Book Shop, Chicago, IL

Meet the Benedettos: A Novel

By Katie Cotugno

Harper Perennial

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“Simply scrumptious. Meet the Benedettos has the same captivating, fast-paced nature as everything Cotugno’s written. The characters were great, and the romantic chemistry palpable. I was intoxicated by this novel; I loved it so, so much.” — Mallory Melton, BookPeople, Austin, TX

Now in Paperback Indie Next List Selections Come to Paperback