Sweetbitter


Book Description

‘A fantastic read – think Girls meets Kitchen Confidential’ Stylist ‘An adrenalised love song’ Mail on Sunday 'A stunning debut novel’ Jay McInerney, author of Bright Lights, Big City *AN OBSERVER BOOK OF THE YEAR 2016 | A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | A USA TODAY BESTSELLER | AN INDIE BESTSELLER* Tess is the 22-year-old narrator of this stunning first novel. Moving to New York, a place at the centre of the universe, from a place that feels like ‘nowhere to live’, she lands a job at a renowned Union Square restaurant and begins to navigate the chaotic and punishing life of a waiter, on and off duty. As her appetites awaken – not just for food and wine but also for knowledge and friendship – Tess becomes helplessly drawn into a dark, alluring love triangle. Sweetbitter is a novel of the senses. Of taste and hunger, of love and desire, and the wisdom that comes from our experiences, both sweet and bitter.




Stray


Book Description

From the bestselling author of Sweetbitter, a memoir of growing up in a family shattered by lies and addiction, and of one woman's attempts to find a life beyond the limits of her past. After selling her first novel--a dream she'd worked long and hard for--Stephanie Danler knew she should be happy. Instead, she found herself driven to face the difficult past she'd left behind a decade ago: a mother disabled by years of alcoholism, further handicapped by a tragic brain aneurysm; a father who abandoned the family when she was three, now a meth addict in and out of recovery. After years in New York City she's pulled home to Southern California by forces she doesn't totally understand, haunted by questions of legacy and trauma. Here, she works toward answers, uncovering hard truths about her parents and herself as she explores whether it's possible to change the course of her history. Stray is a moving, sometimes devastating, brilliantly written and ultimately inspiring exploration of the landscapes of damage and survival.




Sweet & Bitter Magic


Book Description

In this charming debut fantasy perfect for fans of Sorcery of Thorns and Girls of Paper and Fire, a witch cursed to never love meets a girl hiding her own dangerous magic, and the two strike a dangerous bargain to save their queendom. Tamsin is the most powerful witch of her generation. But after committing the worst magical sin, she’s exiled by the ruling Coven and cursed with the inability to love. The only way she can get those feelings back—even for just a little while—is to steal love from others. Wren is a source—a rare kind of person who is made of magic, despite being unable to use it herself. Sources are required to train with the Coven as soon as they discover their abilities, but Wren—the only caretaker to her ailing father—has spent her life hiding her secret. When a magical plague ravages the queendom, Wren’s father falls victim. To save him, Wren proposes a bargain: if Tamsin will help her catch the dark witch responsible for creating the plague, then Wren will give Tamsin her love for her father. Of course, love bargains are a tricky thing, and these two have a long, perilous journey ahead of them—that is, if they don’t kill each other first.




The Winemakers


Book Description

A young winemaker. A devastating family secret. A truth that could destroy the man she loves. Napa Valley, 1956: Winemaker Caterina Rosetta and her mother Ava harbor family secrets and face threats that could ruin their family winery, Mille Étoiles Vineyards. Concealing her husband's past in Tuscany, Ava Rosetta struggles to manage the vineyard, while her high-spirited, passionate daughter Caterina—a wine-blending savant—has inherited Ava's talent for crafting wine and guarding damaging secrets. Caterina hides a truth that could ruin her in the eyes of her mother and traditional society: An illegitimate child. The father, Santo—Caterina's childhood best friend—abandoned her without explanation, leaving her with nowhere to turn. Devastated, Caterina journeys to their ancestral vineyard in Montalcino, Italy to claim an inheritance from her grandmother and seize the chance to start a new life. There, for the first time, she meets her unknown, extended family and discovers shocking secrets that could destroy the man she loves—who still loves her. Caterina realizes her happiness and the entire future of Mille Étoiles Vineyards depend on her ability to unravel the mysteries of the past—if she has the strength to face them. Originally published by St. Martin's Press, this beloved, bestselling saga is returning soon in ebook and print formats. Pre-order your ebook now or save to your wish list for the print editions. Also by Jan Moran: The Chocolatier, Scent of Triumph, and Hepburn's Necklace. For readers who enjoy the historical fiction of Danielle Steel, Beatriz Williams, Karen White, Susan Meissner, and Renee Rosen. REVIEWS "Caterina is a dream of a protagonist, and her mother, for all her flaws, is relatable as a parent so desperate to see her child happy and prosperous that she will do whatever it takes. Readers will devour this page-turner as the mystery and passions spin out. VERDICT: A solid pick for fans of historical romances combined with a heartbreaking mystery." - Library Journal "As she did with fragrance and scent-making in Scent of Triumph, Moran weaves knowledge of wine and winemaking into this intense family drama." – Booklist "We were spellbound by the thread of deception weaving the book's characters into a tangled web, and turned each page anticipating the outcome." - The Mercury News "Absolutely adored THE WINEMAKERS. Beautifully layered and utterly compelling. Intriguing from start to finish. A story not to be missed." - Jane Porter, USA Today and New York Times Bestselling author "Wildly romantic and utterly compelling, THE WINEMAKERS is full of family secrets and gorgeous descriptions of the Italian countryside and the vineyards of the Napa Valley. I was completely swept away!" - Anita Hughes, author of Rome In Love "Told with exquisite elegance and style, THE WINEMAKERS is a dazzling tale rich with family secrets, fine wine, and romance that will leave you breathless."- Juliette Sobanet, author of Sleeping with Paris




Sweet Bitter Blues


Book Description

Sweet Bitter Blues: Washington, DC’s Homemade Blues depicts the life and times of harmonica player Phil Wiggins and the unique, vibrant music scene around him, as described by music journalist Frank Matheis. Featuring Wiggins’s story, but including information on many musicians, the volume presents an incomparable documentary of the African American blues scene in Washington, DC, from 1975 to the present. At its core, the DC-area acoustic “down home” blues scene was and is rooted in the African American community. A dedicated group of musicians saw it as their mission to carry on their respective Piedmont musical traditions: Mother Scott, Flora Molton, Chief Ellis, Archie Edwards, John Jackson, John Cephas, and foremost Phil Wiggins. Because of their love for the music and willingness to teach, these creators fostered a harmonious environment, mostly centered on Archie Edwards’s famous barbershop where Edwards opened his doors every Saturday afternoon for jam sessions. Sweet Bitter Blues features biographies and supporting essays based on Wiggins’s recollections and supplemented by Matheis’s research, along with a foreword by noted blues scholar Elijah Wald, historic interviews by Dr. Barry Lee Pearson with John Cephas and Archie Edwards, and previously unpublished and rare photographs. This is the story of an acoustic blues scene that was and is a living tradition.




Sweetbitter


Book Description

Stacey Balkun's debut full-length collection, Sweetbitter, is an examination of youth, gender, sexuality, and yearning at an atomic level. The collection reads like a fever dream as Balkun uncovers the radioactive darkness that hides beneath the earth's surface and how it seeps into the lives of those who come near. The speaker takes us with them into the wilderness, wanting the world to be perceived differently, begging to be seen as more. From sapphic longing and poisoned baptisms to contaminated bodies and the gendered erosion of autonomy, Sweetbitter is the product of a restless coming-of-age story. In it, puberty is swimming in a toxic pond and recklessness is disguised as control. With Balkun's hazy, dream-like storytelling, the speaker is a wild creature challenging the social confines of being human, being girl. Sweetbitter is a gripping, sometimes suspenseful, poetry collection that leaves you hungry for more.




Sweetbitter


Book Description

Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award “Reginald Gibbons’s first novel takes place in east Texas in 1910 during the time of white rule—not by law but by lynch mob. Amid the suffocating racism and fear, half-Choctaw, half-white Reuben Sweetbitter and Martha Clarke, a white woman, fall in love. . . . Reuben and Martha’s love is strong, but, dishearteningly, racism is stronger. Timely in the subject of interracial love, this authentic, richly -detailed novel plumbs sacrifice, fear, and the loss of one’s identity, bringing the -anguish of the two young lovers to life. Highly recommended.”—Library Journal “Far more than a spellbinding love story . . . a novel wide and deep in its understanding. . . . An unforgettable story, a remarkable piece of work.”—Dallas Morning News “I love this novel: it sings, it soars. Simultaneously deft and deep, it brings a lost world back to brilliant light.”—Andrea Barrett “Surprising in every way. . . . The novel’s ending is as strong as its beginning—terrifying and beautiful, a true tour de force.”—Chicago Tribune




Sweetbitter


Book Description

"A year in the life of a young woman who comes to New York to discover herself"--




The Bartender's Cure


Book Description

“Compelling... [A] sure-bet read-alike for Stephanie Danler’s Sweetbitter.” --Booklist A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK by BuzzFeed, Goodreads, Electric Lit, New York Post, LitHub, BookRiot, and Library Journal A fiercely relatable coming-of-age debut novel about an aspiring bartender at the perfect Brooklyn neighborhood bar Samantha definitely does not want to be a bartender. But after a breakup and breakdown in San Francisco, she decides to defer law school for a year to move to New York, crashing on her best friend’s couch. When she is offered a job at Joe’s Apothecary, a beloved neighborhood bar in Brooklyn, she tells herself it’s only temporary. As Sam learns more about bartending and gets to know the service industry lifers and loyal regulars at Joe’s, she is increasingly seduced by her new job. She finds acceptance in her tight-knit community and even begins a new relationship. But as the year draws to a close, destructive cycles from her past threaten to consume her again. Sam is increasingly pulled between the life she thought she wanted and the possibility of a different kind of future. How much is she willing to let go of to finally belong? Filled with cocktail recipes and bartending tips and tricks, this captivating, utterly original debut will quench your thirst.




Perfect Tunes


Book Description

“An intoxicating blend of music, love, and family from one of the essential writers of the internet generation” (Stephanie Danler). Have you ever wondered what your mother was like before she became your mother, and what she gave up in order to have you? It’s the early days of the new millennium, and Laura has arrived in New York City’s East Village in the hopes of recording her first album. A songwriter with a one-of-a-kind talent, she’s just beginning to book gigs with her beautiful best friend when she falls hard for a troubled but magnetic musician whose star is on the rise. Their time together is stormy and short-lived—but will reverberate for the rest of Laura’s life. Fifteen years later, Laura’s teenage daughter, Marie, is asking questions about her father, questions that Laura does not want to answer. Laura has built a stable life in Brooklyn that bears little resemblance to the one she envisioned when she left Ohio all those years ago, and she’s taken pains to close the door on what was and what might have been. But neither her best friend, now a famous musician who relies on Laura’s songwriting skills, nor her depressed and searching daughter will let her give up on her dreams. “A zippy and profound story of love, loss, heredity, and par­enthood (Emma Straub), Perfect Tunes explores the fault lines in our most important relationships, and asks whether dreams deferred can ever be reclaimed. It is a delightful and poignant tale of music and motherhood, ambition and com­promise—of life, in all its dissonance and harmony.