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What to Read Next?: Suggested Reading from Library Staff

June Staff Picks

Regional Reads Summer 2025

Regional Reads Summer 2025

This column features recent and forthcoming titles from southeastern authors or books set in the region. Place any of these titles on hold online or call any Henderson County Library for assistance.

Several popular regional authors have new titles publishing this summer, perfect for your next beach read.

Where the Rivers Merge by Mary Alice Monroe is set in Lowcountry South Carolina and follows a woman who fights against her son to save the family estate that has been held for generations.

Beach House Rules by Kristy Woodson Harvey is a story about a mother and daughter thrown into a difficult situation when they are locked out of their house by the FBI and end up staying in a beachfront home with a group of single mothers.

That Last Carolina Summer, the upcoming book from Karen White, is a standalone novel about a woman who returns home to Charleston as an adult to care for an ailing mother and is faced with some unresolved issues from her past.

After a teenage romance that ended in heartbreak, two adults are now running against each other for the office of Governor of Virginia in The Summer We Ran by Audrey Ingram.

For a fun sibling adventure story, check out Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson. Madeline and her mom have lived alone on their farm in Tennessee for 20 years until Reuben shows up and tells Maddie they have the same dad. Maddie decides to tag along on a road trip to find their other siblings.

Fans of Civil War historical fiction will be interested in Measure of Devotion by North Carolina author Nell Joslin. This novel follows a mother who travels from South Carolina to Tennessee to care for her son who was injured during the Civil War after enlisting against his parents’ wishes.

The River Knows Your Name by Kelly Mustian is set in both Mississippi and North Carolina where two young sisters discover that one of them was adopted under mysterious circumstances.

For an interesting nonfiction read, former curator at the North Carolina Museum of Art, Jennifer Dasal, shares an engaging history of women artists in The Club: Where American Women Artists Found Refuge in Belle Epoque Paris.

Happy Reading!

Lisa Donaldson