Into The World Of Fiction

By: Robin Yeatman
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
Summary:A wickedly funny debut novel--a black comedy with a generous heart that explores the power of imagination and reading--about a woman who tries to use fiction to find her way to happiness.

Victoria is unhappily married to an ambitious and controlling lawyer consumed with his career. Burdened with overbearing in-laws, a boring dead-end job she can't seem to leave, and a best friend who doesn't seem to understand her, Victoria finds solace from the daily grind in her beloved books and the stories she makes up in her head. One day, in a favorite cafe, she notices an attractive man reading the same talked-about bestselling novel that she is reading. A woman yearning for her own happy ending, Victoria is sure it's fate. The handsome book lover must be her soul mate.

There's only one small problem. Victoria is already married. Frustrated, and desperate to change her life, Victoria retreats to the dark places in her mind and thinks back to all the stories she's ever read in hopes of finding a solution. She begins to fantasize about nocturnal trysts with cafe man, and imaginative ways (poisoned pickles were an inspired choice in Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres) of getting rid of the dread husband.

It's all just harmless fantasy born of Victoria's fevered imagination and her books--until, one night, fiction and reality blur and suddenly it seems Victoria is about to get everything she's wished for . . . .

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By: Lisa Springer
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
Summary: Debut author Lisa Springer delivers a spine-tingling, contemporary horror that follows a scary movie buff as she hosts an elaborate Halloween bash on her family's estate but soon finds the festivities upended when she and her guests are forced to test their survival skills in a deadly party game.

Noelle Layne knows horror. Every trope, every warning sign, every survival tactic. She even leads a successful movie club dedicated to the genre. Thus, who better to throw the ultimate, most exclusive Halloween party on all of Long Island?

And with the guest list including the coolest kids in her senior class, her popularity is bound to spike. Hopefully, enough to warrant an expansion into podcasting. Plus, the fact that attractive, singer-songwriter Archer Mitchell is coming is honestly the candy corn on top. Nothing is going to kill her party vibes.

Except…maybe the low-budget It clown she hires to lead a classic round of tag. He’s supposed to be terrifying, though in a comforting, nostalgic way. Instead, the guy is giving major creeps. But maybe Noelle’s just that good at hosting?

Her confidence is immediately rocked when the night’s entertainment axes one of her guests. And he's not done yet. If an evil, murderous clown thinks life is a game, then Noelle is ready to play. She’s been waiting a long time to prove that she’s a Final Girl.

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By: Sara Shepard
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
Series: Pretty Little Liars (#1)
Summary: n the exclusive Philadelphia suburb of Rosewood, Alison is the Queen Bee of her elite seventh grade hive. BFs Aria, Hanna, Spencer, and Emily vie for her attention, even as each of them hides a hideous secret only Alison knows. So when Alison goes missing after a slumber party, never to be seen again, each girl is heartbroken, but also a little relieved. Now it is three years later, and though the four girls have grown apart, they are each still hiding something. Artsy Aria is carrying on an affair with one of her teachers, fashionista Hanna shoplifts to accessorize her trendy outfits, blue-blood Spencer is sleeping with her older sister’s boyfriend, while straight-A Emily is trying to ignore her attraction to a new female classmate. When the girls begin receiving threatening text messages and emails that from someone known only as "A," they must confront the fact that against all odds, it appears Alison is back. Could Alison still be alive? And if so, why is she so determined to uncover all their dirty little secrets?

Debut author Sara Shepard's shamelessly addictive blend of Desperate Housewives and I Know What You Did Last Summer is absolutely delicious. Her infusion of mystery and murder breathes new life into the tired genre of high society chick lit, and will give fans of Gossip Girl and The A-List something new to dig their French-manicured nails into. A cliff-hanging ending will leave readers craving the second title in the planned four-part series. --Jennifer Hubert

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