October 19th, 2026
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On Top Shelf
📚 New Books This Week 📰 Latest News 🎪 Reader Games 👻 🎃 Halloween Contest Giveaways 🎃

October Reads Worth Falling For

Danger, desire, second chances, and unexpected romanceβ€”discover this month’s Fresh Fiction Featured Books.

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A poisoned cousin, a five-year-old's life, and a family with too many secrets.


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Supernatural sparks fly
between a bookseller
& her hard-boiled ghost.


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If Her Highness thinks I’ll let another man claim her and my child, she’s lost her royal mind. Sophaya’s mine.


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She found a body. Then she started asking the wrong questions.


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He ghosted her ten years ago. Now she’s stuck with him for Christmas.


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She’s the lady everyone overlooks. He’s the prince who can’t look away.

Brighter than Before by Courtney Walsh

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Also by Courtney Walsh:

As Luck Would Have It, March 2027
Paperback / e-Book / audiobook
Brighter than Before, June 2026
Trade Paperback / e-Book
Everything's Coming Up Rosie, June 2025
Paperback / e-Book
The Summer of Yes, July 2024
Paperback / e-Book
What Matters Most, April 2022
Trade Size / e-Book
If for Any Reason, February 2020
Trade Size / e-Book
Just Let Go, June 2018
Trade Size / e-Book
Just Look Up, July 2017
Trade Size / e-Book
Change of Heart, March 2016
Paperback / e-Book
Paper Hearts, December 2014
Paperback / e-Book
Sweethaven Christmas, October 2012
Paperback / e-Book
A Sweethaven Homecoming, August 2012
Paperback / e-Book
A Sweethaven Summer, February 2012
Paperback / e-Book

BRIGHTER THAN BEFORE
By: Courtney Walsh

A feel-good novel about finding yourself and falling in love again

Thomas Nelson
June 2026
On Sale: June 9, 2026
352 pages
ISBN: 1400352886
EAN: 9781400352883
Kindle: B0G1JY8HVN
Trade Paperback / e-Book
Add to Wish List

Romance | Women's Fiction

Life has a way of changing your path --and Claire Karadec certainly didn't plan on a fork in the road in her forties. From New York Times bestselling author Courtney Walsh comes a witty, warm, and uplifting novel about second chances, found family, and the courage it takes to become yourself --perfect for fans of Annabel Monaghan and Sarah Adams.

After a painfully public discovery shatters her marriage, along with her picture-perfect, country club life, Claire finds herself suddenly single and faced with a blank page for a future. On that page she writes a simple list that reads like equal parts dare and daydream--Move to a new city. Make a real friend. Get a job I loveand she vows to accomplish every single one.

Before she can talk herself out of it, she takes a step of faith, puts her old life in the rearview mirror, and leases an apartment in Chicago, the city that has always had her heart. This one step sends Claire on a journey of self-discovery, giving her the courage to conquer her fears, one checklist item at a time, and showing her that life can be a whole lot brighter than she imagined.

She rediscovers a love for baking, stumbles into new friendships, and even allows her daughter, Minnie, to create a dating profile and choose her dates for her. Perhaps the biggest surprise, though, is Miles, the charming, off-limits neighbor whose kindness makes it hard to remember why he's off-limits at all.

Between late-night journaling, disastrous first dates, great big lessons and priceless small victories, Claire learns to quiet the voice telling her she wasn't enough and listens to the one that asks the harder question . . .

What do I really want?

As old expectations loosen their grip, Claire discovers that belonging isn't a place you're invited toit's a life you build one brave choice at a time. And the sweetest things often show up when you finally get out of your own way.

Lose yourself in a story that's equal parts heartwarming, hopeful, and full of joy. Early readers are loving the witty humor, uplifting journey, and sweet, clean romance that makes Brighter than Before such a life-affirming escape. Grab your copy today and discover a second-chance story about courage, connection, and building a life that feels truly your own.