From the Team at Fiction Addiction:
-Nancy
-Jill
-Lee
-Grace Anne
-Melissa
-Devin (not pictured)

On May 25, 1961, JFK made an astonishing announcement: his goal of putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade. In this engrossing, fast-paced epic, Douglas Brinkley returns to the 1960s to recreate one of the most exciting and ambitious achievements in the history of humankind. American Moonshot brings together the extraordinary political, cultural, and scientific factors that fueled the birth and development of NASA and the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo projects, which shot the United States to victory in the space race against the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. 

Drawing on new primary source material and major interviews with many of the surviving figures who were key to America’s success, Brinkley brings this fascinating history to life as never before. American Moonshot is a portrait of the brilliant men and women who made this giant leap possible, the technology that enabled us to propel men beyond earth’s orbit to the moon and return them safely, and the geopolitical tensions that spurred Kennedy to commit himself fully to this audacious dream. Brinkley’s ensemble cast of New Frontier characters include rocketeer Wernher von Braun, astronaut John Glenn and space booster Lyndon Johnson.

A vivid and enthralling chronicle of one of the most thrilling, hopeful, and turbulent eras in the nation’s history, American Moonshot is an homage to scientific ingenuity, human curiosity, and the boundless American spirit.

When Valentina Tereshkova blasted off aboard Vostok 6 on June 16, 1963, she became the first woman to rocket into space. It would be nineteen years before another woman got a chance—cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya in 1982—followed by American astronaut Sally Ride a year later. By breaking the stratospheric ceiling, these women forged a path for many female astronauts, cosmonauts, and mission specialists to follow. Women in Space profiles twenty-three pioneers from around the world, including Eileen Collins, the first woman to command the space shuttle; Peggy Whitson, who orbited aboard the International Space Station for more than a year; and Mae Jemison, the first African American woman in space. Their story, and the stories of the pilots, physicists, and doctors who followed them, demonstrate the vital role women have played in the quest for scientific understanding.

Beauregard “Bug” Montage is an honest mechanic, a loving husband, and a hard-working dad. Bug knows there’s no future in the man he used to be: known from the hills of North Carolina to the beaches of Florida as the best wheelman on the East Coast.

He thought he'd left all that behind him, but as his carefully built new life begins to crumble, he finds himself drawn inexorably back into a world of blood and bullets. When a smooth-talking former associate comes calling with a can't-miss jewelry store heist, Bug feels he has no choice but to get back in the driver's seat. And Bug is at his best where the scent of gasoline mixes with the smell of fear.

Haunted by the ghost of who he used to be and the father who disappeared when he needed him most, Bug must find a way to navigate this blacktop wasteland...or die trying.

Like Ocean’s Eleven meets Drive, with a Southern noir twist, S. A. Cosby’s Blacktop Wasteland is a searing, operatic story of a man pushed to his limits by poverty, race, and his own former life of crime.

And don't miss our exciting upcoming event with S.A. Cosby - grab your tickets before they're gone!

I've been reading a lot of nonfiction recently in my role as a business coach. When I do read fiction, I prefer genre fiction with happy endings!

You will cheer for tough-as-nails firefighter Cassie Hanwell, cry for her, mentally will her on, and celebrate with her at the end. Things You Save in a Fire effortlessly captures the realities of modern American women while at the same time radiating a contagious positivity. Reading Katherine Center is your pleasurable antidote for the daily news cycle.

I enjoy Scifi,Thrillers and the occasional Non-Fiction. (If it's Scifi related. And thrilling.)

Climate change is real but it’s not the end of the world. It is not even our most serious environmental problem.

Michael Shellenberger has been fighting for a greener planet for decades. He helped save the world’s last unprotected redwoods. He co-created the predecessor to today’s Green New Deal. And he led a successful effort by climate scientists and activists to keep nuclear plants operating, preventing a spike of emissions.

But in 2019, as some claimed “billions of people are going to die,” contributing to rising anxiety, including among adolescents, Shellenberger decided that, as a lifelong environmental activist, leading energy expert, and father of a teenage daughter, he needed to speak out to separate science from fiction.

Despite decades of news media attention, many remain ignorant of basic facts. Carbon emissions peaked and have been declining in most developed nations for over a decade. Deaths from extreme weather, even in poor nations, declined 80 percent over the last four decades. And the risk of Earth warming to very high temperatures is increasingly unlikely thanks to slowing population growth and abundant natural gas.

Curiously, the people who are the most alarmist about the problems also tend to oppose the obvious solutions.

What’s really behind the rise of apocalyptic environmentalism? There are powerful financial interests. There are desires for status and power. But most of all there is a desire among supposedly secular people for transcendence. This spiritual impulse can be natural and healthy. But in preaching fear without love, and guilt without redemption, the new religion is failing to satisfy our deepest psychological and existential needs.

In a matter of weeks, Massachusetts has been overrun by an insidious rabies-like virus that is spread by saliva. But unlike rabies, the disease has a terrifyingly short incubation period of an hour or less. Those infected quickly lose their minds and are driven to bite and infect as many others as they can before they inevitably succumb. Hospitals are inundated with the sick and dying, and hysteria has taken hold. To try to limit its spread, the commonwealth is under quarantine and curfew. But society is breaking down and the government's emergency protocols are faltering.

Dr. Ramola "Rams" Sherman, a soft-spoken pediatrician in her mid-thirties, receives a frantic phone call from Natalie, a friend who is eight months pregnant. Natalie's husband has been killed—viciously attacked by an infected neighbor—and in a failed attempt to save him, Natalie, too, was bitten. Natalie's only chance of survival is to get to a hospital as quickly as possible to receive a rabies vaccine. The clock is ticking for her and for her unborn child.

Natalie’s fight for life becomes a desperate odyssey as she and Rams make their way through a hostile landscape filled with dangers beyond their worst nightmares—terrifying, strange, and sometimes deadly challenges that push them to the brink.

Paul Tremblay once again demonstrates his mastery in this chilling and all-too-plausible novel that will leave readers racing through the pages . . . and shake them to their core.

Like many Americans in the middle of the 21st century, aspiring actress Kira Clark is in debt. She financed her drama education with loans secured by a “lifetime services contract.” If she defaults, her creditors will control every aspect of her life. Behind on her payments and facing foreclosure, Kira reluctantly accepts a large signing bonus to become a corporate gunfighter for TKC Insurance. After a year of training, she will take her place on the dueling fields that have become the final, lethal stop in the American legal system.

Putting her MFA in acting to work, Kira takes on the persona of a cold, intimidating gunslinger known as “Death’s Angel.” But just as she becomes the most feared gunfighter in TKC’s stable, she’s severely wounded during a duel on live video, shattering her aura of invincibility. A series of devastating setbacks follow, forcing Kira to face the truth about her life and what she’s become.

When the opportunity to fight another professional for a huge purse arises, Kira sees it as a chance to buy a new life . . . or die trying.

Structured around a chilling duel, Corporate Gunslinger is a modern satire that forces us to confront the growing inequalities in our society and our penchant for guns and bloodshed, as well as offering a visceral look at where we may be heading—far sooner than we know.

I love mysteries & thrillers, police procedurals, and psychological mysteries. I also love well written southern fiction set in the early to late 1900's.

When She Was Good is the second book in the Cyrus Haven series. While enough background is given for you to figure out who Cyrus and Evie are and what their relationship is to each other you will be really missing out if you don’t read Good Girl, Bad Girl first. This is a psychological thriller about a psychologist who had a very traumatic childhood and a young girl with a very traumatic but mysterious past. In the first book Cyrus was hired by the police to try and find out about her past and the two bonded in such a way that you have to read the book to understand their complex relationship of love and hate. This story starts with Evie, once again getting into trouble at the care home she has been remanded to until she turns 18. Cyrus, as a police consultant, becomes involved in the death of a retired detective who at first was thought to have committed suicide. Cyrus immediately realizes that it was murder but more importantly he sees notes that the detective was working on and they have a mention of Angel Face – who Cyrus, but no one else, knows is now Evie. When She Was Good is told alternately in first person from Cyrus and Evie’s point of view. Both of them also let us know more about their past which makes you care even more about what happens to both of them. Robotham has done an extraordinary job of character development. In making Cyrus and Evie care so much about each other he has made us like them both as well. And makes me, for one, want to know what happens to both of them next.

Another great entry into the Roxanne Weary series. If you like books about hard boiled private eyes who seem to attract trouble with a capital T then you will love these books. Roxanne is hard drinking, hardworking, and hard to live with and full of flaws. But, when she gets an idea in her head that things are not right nothing can pull her away until she has arrived at the truth. This is what happens when she just happens to be on a trail when a woman falls to her death. The woman’s daughter hires Roxanne to prove the death wasn’t accidental. Even though Rebecca Webster was an accomplished hiker there really is nothing to indicate that her death was anything but a tragic accident. Until, that is that Roxanne starts asking questions. This story went in all directions and it seemed like the more Roxanne investigated the more people she found who were definitely not who or what they seemed to be. But, nothing she found seemed to indicate that Rebecca was murdered. Roxanne has complicated relationships with her brothers, her mother, and even her dead father that tend to dictate how she acts at times. But, she seems to finally be coming to terms with who she is. I would love these books for the characters even if there weren’t a great mystery involved. To have both in one book is a definite plus.

The Good Luck Stone is a totally captivating story which goes back and forth between the Philippines during World War II and present day Savannah, Georgia. It is the story of Audrey Thorpe, a remarkable woman you will never forget and the secrets she has harbored for 70 years. Aubrey was once a young nurse stationed in the Philippines when the Japanese invaded and is now a 90 year old wealthy widow and a prominent figure in Savannah society. When her granddaughter insists she needs help in her daily life she finally relents to having an ‘assistant’ come and help. Laurel turns out to be her lifesaver in more ways than one and for the first time in 70 years Aubrey feels she has finally found a friend again. The Good Luck Stone is an amazing story of love, sacrifice, and friendship with enough suspense to keep you turning pages long past your bedtime.

You don’t have to like the main character to love a book, and I admit that I could not stand Faye at the beginning of this book. But I definitely came to understand who she was and why she let herself be placed in a Golden Cage. Hell hath no fury! And so this story begins! Camilla Lackberg has taken us in a whole new direction with this chilling thriller – one that is both sexy and smart. You won’t want to miss it.

Nina Karim is a 31 yo single cop in Queens, NY. She is tough and fierce and good at her job. But, her reasons for being a cop are not so noble. She became a cop solely for one reason – so she could avenge the murder of her father and the subsequent suicide of her little brother. Nina tells her story in a casual almost stream of consciousness manor but there is nothing casual about what happens as Nina tries to find her father’s killer and also goes undercover at Artemis, an abused women’s shelter. She pretends to be abused herself because she thinks someone connected to the shelter is killing abusive men. Nina is the heart and soul of this riveting thriller and you will not be able to put it down until you find out what Nina decides to do about her desire for revenge, her love of her job, and her desire to not betray the women of Artemis and also if she survives once her decisions are made.

The Sandalls seem like a perfectly normal family. They even would say they were if asked. But, what really is normal? Stella is 17. She has always been her own person and rarely conformed to what others thought she should do. But, even those that thought she was strong willed and stubborn didn’t believe she could kill someone and yet she is in remand for killing a 33 year old man that she allegedly had an affair with. Her father, Adam, is a pastor and he knows that his strong beliefs and his desire for Stella to be the person he thinks she should be has driven a wedge between them. Ulrika is a very successful lawyer who has let her job take precedent over trying to forge a meaningful relationship with her daughter. Amina is Stella’s best friend and has been since they were youngsters. She seems to be the only one who truly understands Stella and the only one Stella really cares about. But, has that all changed? The story begins with Stella on trial for murder and her father about to testify. It is told from 3 points of view, Adam’s, Ulrika’s and Stella’s. As each tells their story they reveal things about themselves that help us understand who they are and why each is doing what he or she is doing. They each separately decide to do what needs to be done to save their family and friendship but will it work or will it backfire terribly? This is a compulsive, totally addictive psychological thriller, legal thriller and intense family drama all rolled into one.

When things seem to be too good to be true they usually are. Emily had just lost her last shot at an acting career, been fired from her temp job in London, and was estranged from her parents when she was offered, what she thought was the job of a lifetime. Her ex-boss needed someone to go Querencia, his fabulous but very isolated estate on the coast of France, to be a companion and au pair for his wife Nina and their 7 yo daughter Aurelia, who was supposed to have severe medical problems. Emily knew right away that things were very strange at Querencia but she immediately liked Nina and relished the close relationship that seemed to be developing. Because she finally felt useful, needed, and liked she kept rationalizing away the small things that started bugging her. But, the longer she was there the more she realized that something was very wrong with Nina and perhaps Aurelia wasn’t as ill as she had been told. Emily’s job of a lifetime was becoming a nightmare and Querencia might be a safe place for Nina but it definitely isn’t for Emily. It may be the last job she ever has! A Safe Place is a carefully crafted story of love and trust that turns to hate and betrayal. This one will keep you up all night to finish.

Just because you love someone with all of your heart does not mean they love you back or are even worthy of your love. Tabitha is very young and naïve when she first meets Connor and falls madly in love with him. But she is older and shouldn’t be so naïve (considering what happened with her first husband) when Connor comes back into her life years later. But, obviously in Tabitha’s case love is truly blind. The diary entry at the beginning of the book from Connor’s extremely rich dead wife sets the stage for an intriguing domestic thriller that will have you wishing you could just tell Tabitha to run!

I love the faster pacing of books written for a younger audience (middle grade and young adult), but will try just about anything fiction, especially if it has some romance. I also have a soft spot for really special picture books.

This is a memoir about being gay and being depressed, and how the two are not related. I think that last part is especially important in Hutchinson's bigger message that things will get better -- maybe not right away, and maybe not when you want it to, and maybe not how you want it to, but eventually you will find your people and get in a better head space to accept yourself, whatever that entails.

I've been a fan of the "Lady Janies" since their first book, My Lady Jane. Continuing the trend of taking historical events (in this case, the Wild West, including such characters as Will Bill Hickock and Annie Oakley along with the titular Calamity Jane) and inserting a fantastical element (werewolves), My Calamity Jane does not disappoint. You can tell the authors had so much fun writing this book, and it's just as fun to read. Be prepared to laugh, especially at all the puns and random pop culture references thrown in!

January is a bestselling romance novelist who is questioning whether romance and happily-ever-afters are even real after having her world turned upside down by her father's death. Gus is a literary writer (and January's college nemesis) who can't seem to get out of a massive case of writer's block. When they end up as neighbors in a small lakeside town, they make a bet: Gus will write a book with a happy ending for a change, and January will write one without. As they get to know each other, secrets and feelings emerge and both have to come to terms with not having all the answers. This book is so much more than your standard romance novel. It will make you laugh and cry in equal measure, feeling all of the feelings along with January and Gus.

Nick lives to write his fanfiction about his city's Extraordinaries, including fictional romance between himself and the superhero of his dreams, Shadow Star, who lately has been ramping up his conflict with fellow Extraordinary and supervillain Pyro Storm. When he's not writing fanfiction, though, Nick has to deal with his real life -- his ADHD that seems to control everything, his friends who have started acting a bit weird, and his ex-boyfriend who insists on hanging around and making a nuisance of himself. While the story really doesn't have any kind of twists -- the reader (and most of the characters) can see everything coming from a mile away -- Nick is so sweetly oblivious that I found myself invested in his reactions as much as I would otherwise be in the actual plot twists. And the book is totally hilarious; I lost track of how many times I laughed out loud. I loved it

I love historical fiction, with World War II fiction usually topping my list of favorites. I also love YA contemporaries, mysteries, and adore anything having to do with musical theatre.

I read a lot of historical fiction, but this quickly climbed to the top of my favorites list. The majority of WWII fiction revolves around the camps, but this gave a new perspective - the kindertransports system, run by Truus, a woman unable to bear children herself who is determined to get all of the Jewish children safely out of Austria. It's one of those rare books with multiple storylines that keeps you engrossed in every single page, and leaves you in awe of the people who fought not only for their own lives, but for the lives of every single person that they possibly could. This book will keep you hooked until the final page, and will make you hold the kids in your life a bit more tightly.

I enjoy nonfiction the most: biographies, true crime, sociology, and civil rights narratives to name a few. When I read fiction, I choose historical novels or literary fiction most often.

A great book for anyone looking for a escapist read during quarantine! Kristin Harmel hits the right note between historical fiction and romantic love story in this novel based upon true events during WWII. You will love Eva Traube, a young Jewish woman who in trying to escape from France discovers a way she can be helpful to the Resistance. Her talent with forging documents puts her in a heroic yet dangerous position. This novel's beautiful ending is needed in these current times of discontent.

Finally, a multi-generational novel with real women who are emotional and strong at the same time. Women who have to decide about career and marriage and sometimes have to pick one over the other. The Indian women in this novel also have to deal with cultural expectations of always being agreeable and willing to put others before themselves. When all this collides, you get humor, tears, and a novel you can’t put down.

There are no limits to what I love to read, however I tend to gravitate to mystery/thriller action stories that are fast paced with lots of twists and turns that keep you guessing all the way to the end. There is nothing I love more than an ending that comes completely out of left field that I never saw coming.

A uniquely conceived murder mystery set in corporate America, and told from the perspective of women in the workplace. As a mystery it is a taut story, brilliantly written that continually entices the reader as the story slowly unfolds. DO NOT make the mistake of thinking this is a feminist scree against sexism and power in the workplace. While both are on display in the story, it is handled fairly and evenly, and in addition to being a great story, well told, this book should also be required reading in every business school.

I enjoy suspense, complex political plots, psychological thrillers, really any good mystery. I also enjoy southern historical novels, especially those set in Appalachia as well as regency romance.

I never miss a Linda Castillo book and am fascinated by Kate Burkholder and her life. Most of the books have exposed us to Kate's relationship with Tomasetti, her tenuous relationship with her family after she left the Amish community. As the Chief of Police she frequently deals with the Amish, and we have seen that dynamic. What we have not seen in much detail is Kate's life before she returned to the area while she was a city cop in Columbus, Ohio. Kate was rescued as a naive teenager in the big city and grew into a capable woman and cop. She met Gina almost immediately and formed a friendship she expected to last forever. Both young, driven, new cops ready to take on anything. A entirely new side of Kate is revealed and the interplay and personal introspection is deep and compelling. Sometimes you really cannot leave the past in the past. You just have to find out how to not let it hold you hostage. Another great book in this series.

Sometimes your life can change in an instant, that happened to Duncan. Fortunately he has been able to tuck that event away and move forward making sure nothing like this ever happens again. Samantha knew Duncan, well, she taught in the same school and adored him from afar. When she realizes she is never going to have a future with him she does what she considers the wise option and moves away. Imagine her surprise when the new principal of her current school is introduced, and he has definitely not changed for the better. The interplay between Sam and Duncan is dynamic and poignant at the same time. Both feel they have unacceptable flaws. Read this charming book about real life and how we need each other to survive and prosper.

Amanda Quick (and any other nom de plume) never disappoints. I particularly enjoy the series where enhanced abilities and all the complications that arise from them are on display. This book takes us back to Burning Cove and Luther Pell and Oliver Ward. While they do not play large roles in this book the genre remains consistent with their books. The Poet may be one of the most interesting villains in some time. Vivian and Nick are an unlikely pair at first glance, but when you peel back the layers they show the public you find how alike they are. A great look at the issues of being an independent woman during this age.

Natalie has planned her life to follow the most safe and secure path she can imagine. Essentially the opposite of her Mother's path. Everything in on track for Natalie, secure job, 401K, dependable and successful boyfriend, even if he doesn't make her heart beat faster. Life is never predictable and in an instant everything in Natalie's life is turned upside down. Suddenly she is living her Mother's life, right down to doing her job and sleeping in her bed. Repeatedly having to tell her Grandfather his daughter is dead, juggle gargantuan debts with minuscule income, wonder if she even knows what the best decision is for the future and resist the all too attractive handyman. This is a bit outside the type of book I typically read and I would have missed an excellent and poignant story. Susan Wiggs has crafted an engaging group of characters in situations so true to the realities faced by so many. Glimpses of family heritage and the subtle ways they shape our future and thought provoking and humbling. It's hard to imagine who will not enjoy and appreciate this book.

WOW! I think the last few times I have read Karin's new books I think they are the best yet. This book is no exception to that pattern. The plot of an epidemic is incredibly real and the continued unfolding of Will & Sara's relationship during extreme duress is spellbinding. The focus on things, like domestic terrorism, that are sometimes swept under the rug are front and center in this book. I have a hard time imagining how much research was involved to reach the level of detail in so any complex medical and scientific situations in this book. The pace is fast and if you skip a page you will miss something important. There are perfect examples of evil hiding in plain sight, but also wonderful examples of sacrifice and heroism. Don't miss this journey with Will & Sara.

I love to read fast-paced thrillers that take you on a wild ride with twists and turns and surprise endings!! But, I also love a good novel, with great characters and a rich and bold plot.

Patrick and Stephanie are a happy family, with new-born twins. Niall and Nancy are financially comfortable, and even though they’ve had their ups and down, they love each other very much. Gary and Cheryl and their 9 year old son are a picture-perfect family. Then, a woman from their past shows up and begins wreaking havoc on them all. And so, this cat-and-mouse story begins. Filled with lies and deception, murder and blackmail, each family has it’s own secrets. But only one person is at the center of all this. Hooked from the first page, this fatal attraction, heart-pounding thriller is so full of twists and turns, that you’ll have a hard time putting this book down.

How far would you go to protect the most important person in your life… the one you love with your whole being? The only one who matters to you… And so begins this complex story of love… and hate, and betrayal, and murder. I couldn’t devour this book fast enough. It has everything a thriller requires to make it great. It’s got twisted, dark secrets; it’s raw, at times; and too many lies. And oh, so many twists and turns. Set in a lovely, quaint village near London, and told from two perspectives, this story unfolds quickly and methodically. Remember there are usually three sides to every tale: his, her, and the truth! And when the truth is exposed, be prepared to blown away!

I like to read science fiction: post-apocalyptic, space opera, time travel, alternate dimensions, and hard sci-fi so hard that it makes my brain hurt. I also love a good fantasy/sci-fi mash up.

More than you can expect around every sardonic, skeleton filled corner. A mystery unfolds behind locked doors among eight different types of necromancy, as the best pairs from the Empire's Houses vie for the reward of ultimate horror.