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Sunshine, secrets, and swoon-worthy stories—June's featured reads are your perfect summer escape.

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He doesn�t need a woman in his life; she knows he can�t live without her.


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A promise rekindled. A secret revealed. A second chance at the family they never had.


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A cowboy with a second chance. A waitress with a hidden gift. And a small town where love paints a brand-new beginning.


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She�s racing for a prize. He�s dodging romance. Together, they might just cross the finish line to love.


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She steals from the mob for justice. He�s the FBI agent who could take her down�or fall for her instead.


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He�s her only protection. She�s carrying his child. Together, they must outwit a killer before time runs out.


The Family

The Family, September 2021
by Naomi Krupitsky

G.P. Putnam's Sons
Featuring: Sofia Colicchio; Antonia Russo
368 pages
ISBN: 0525541993
EAN: 9780525541998
Kindle: B08XHFFNX4
Hardcover / e-Book / audiobook
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"What defines a friendship?"

Fresh Fiction Review

The Family
Naomi Krupitsky

Reviewed by Evie Harris
Posted November 18, 2021

Women's Fiction Historical | Historical

Since childhood, Sophia Collicchio and Antonia Russo were best friends.  Their parents were close and were like family, but it was the Family that actually dominated their lives.  The story follows their lives as they grow up, marry and have children. However, their relationship is, in part, overshadowed by the murder of Antonia's father when she was a child.

Set in Red Hook and Brooklyn during the 20th century, the author brings the time period alive.  The author has created fascinating characters.  Sophia is volatile and often unpredictable.  There are times she doesn't even understand herself.   Antonia is a deep thinker and an observer of what goes on around her. In part, she is the product of a mother who basically stopped being one after her husband died.  The men Sophia and Antonia married have their own stories, but they share one commonality:  they are part of the Family, too.  Sophia and Antonia's relationship is complex.  It weakens and strengthens frequently.  Eventually, it faces one ultimate test.  How far will one of them go to protect those she loves?

I found THE FAMILY by Naomi Krupitsky to be an intriguing and powerful story that shows that family does not always consist of blood relatives.  Highly recommended.

Learn more about The Family

SUMMARY

A captivating debut novel about the tangled fates of two best friends and daughters of the Italian mafia, and a coming-of-age story of twentieth-century Brooklyn itself.

Two daughters. Two families. One inescapable fate.

Sofia Colicchio is a free spirit, loud and untamed. Antonia Russo is thoughtful, ever observing the world around her. Best friends since birth, they live in the shadow of their fathers’ unspoken community: the Family. Sunday dinners gather them each week to feast, discuss business, and renew the intoxicating bond borne of blood and love.
 
But the disappearance of Antonia’s father drives a whisper-thin wedge between the girls as they grow into women, wives, mothers, and leaders. Their hearts expand in tandem with Red Hook and Brooklyn around them, as they push against the boundaries of society’s expectations and fight to preserve their complex but life-sustaining friendship. One fateful night their loyalty to each other and the Family will be tested. Only one of them can pull the trigger before it’s too late.


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