Fiction Five: New novels featuring librarians

You’ll want to check out these May new novels featuring some of our favorite characters – librarians! These entertaining new reads include family drama, historical fiction, a story about found families and romance.

Lovers and Liars by Amanda Eyre Ward

As adults the only things the Peacock sisters have in common are the secrets they keep and lies they tell each other. Thier lives instersect when Sylvie, a widowed librarian, plans to marry a mysterious wealthy man, Simon.

Cleo, a criminal defense lawyer, plans to expose Simon and save Sylvie from heartbreak. But are her motives that pure? Emma's broke, but keeping that secret from her husband and son while she travels to Simon's castle in Northern England for the wedding.

When their toxic mother shows up, the sisters assume the roles they fell into to survive their childhood. Will they find the courage to make new choices?

“Lovers and Liars is the sort of novel that simultaneously tempts you to devour it in one greedy gulp and begs you to slow down and savor each page. Come for the fabulous English estate and the rollicking plot, but stay for the genuine warmth and humanity infused in every page.”—Jenny Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Pineapple Street

“I love sibling stories for their shared histories, secrets, and loving, messy, honest, funny portrayals of a unique and unbreakable bond. The Peacock sisters share all of that and more. Add a destination wedding (in an English castle, no less) and you will RSVP YES to Lovers and Liars.”—Steven Rowley, New York Times bestselling author of The Celebrants

Miss Morgan's Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles

1918: As the Great War rages, Jessie Carson takes a leave of absence from the New York Public Library to work for the American Committee for Devastated France. Founded by millionaire Anne Morgan, this group of international women help rebuild destroyed French communities just miles from the front. Jessie strives to establish something the French have never seen — children’s libraries. She turns ambulances into bookmobiles and trains the first French female librarians. Then she disappears.

1987: When NYPL librarian and aspiring writer Wendy Peterson stumbles across a passing reference to Jessie Carson in the archives, she becomes consumed with learning her fate. In Wendy's obsessive research, she discovers she and the elusive librarian have more in common than their work at New York’s famed library. She has no idea their paths will converge in surprising ways across time.

Based on the extraordinary little-known history of the women who received the Croix de Guerre medal for courage under fire, Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade is a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit, the power of literature and the courage to make a change.

“Bursting with remarkable characters and filled with heart-in-mouth moments, Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade is a hugely enjoyable read and an enthralling, emotional story rich in historical detail. . . . This wonderful book is a gift to the reader.” —Liese O’Halloran Schwarz, author of What Could Be Saved

Love at First Book by Jenn McKinlay

Emily Allen, a librarian on Martha's Vineyard, has always wanted to travel and have adventures. When her favorite author Siobhan Riordan inivtes her to work with her in Ireland to finish her long-awaited novel, Emily's bags are packed. Helping Siobhan write the final book in the series after her 10-year struggle with writer's block is a dream come true.

While Emily loves the Emerald Isle and most of the people she meets love her, Siobhan's son doesn't seem to want her around. Kieran is a grouchy man who manages Siobhan's bookstore and loves books more than people. As Emily starts to fall for one of the locals she begins to uncover the reasons behind Kieren's wariness.

Is Ireland the place Emily wants to stay? Will Kieran be part of her future?

"Hilarious, deeply emotional, and brimming with swoon-worthy passion, this is an enemies-to-lovers tale that every romance reader should have the pleasure of enjoying at least once in their lives. Dazzlingly fabulous!” —Holly Cassidy, author of The Christmas Wager

"Whimsically wonderful and wryly witty…. This is a swoon-worthy romance that has not only a great deal to say about self-love, forgiveness, and the importance of living in the moment but also celebrates the undeniable magic of books and the important place they hold in a reader’s life." —Booklist (starred review)

The Library of Borrowed Hearts by Lucy Gilmore

Librarian Chloe Sampson has been struggling: to take care of her three younger siblings, to find herself and to make ends meet. She stumbles across a rare edition of a book from the 1960s. This must be a sign her luck will change.

Chloe is shocked when her cranky hermit neighbor offers to buy it for an exorbitant price. Intrigued, Chloe takes a closer look at the book. She discovers notes scribbled in the margins between two young lovers back when the book was new. She is sure one of the lovers Jasper Holmes, the curmudgeon next door.

When she begins following the clues left behind, Chloe discovers this isn't the only old book in town filled with romantic notes. She's now on a literary scavenger hunt. What happened to the two tragic lovers who corresponded in the margins of so many different library books? What does it have to do with the old, sad man next door who's begun to open his home and heart to Chloe and her siblings.

"This dual-timeline novel is a bookish love letter to anyone who has ever found solace between the pages of a book. This romantic story of found families and learning to accept help from others is sure to have wide appeal." –Library Journal

Funny Story by Emily Henry

Daphne's fiancé Peter just realized he is in love with his childhood best friend Petra. This leaves children's librarian Daphne in Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family and in need of a roommate. She decides the best possible roommate and the only one who really understands her situation is Petra's ex Miles.

Scruffy and chaotic, Miles is the opposite of stuffy and stand-offish Daphne. He turns to heatbreak songs for solace. Her co-workers know so little about her, they have a running bet she's an FBI agent or in witness protection. After weeks of avoidig each other, roommates form a tenuous friendship. They decide to show their exes they are fine by posting fake pictures online of their summer adventures. There's no way this could lead to a real relationship, right?

“Bestseller Henry takes on fake-dating in this equally poignant and charming tale of love after loss… Henry perfectly balances sorrow and discord with love and humor, and romance fans will appreciate watching the growth of the characters’ relationships and of Daphne as a person. This is a heartwarming take on summer love.” —Publishers Weekly