Book Buzz: Historical Romances, Assyrian Queens, Oklahoma-Based Reservations, Coming-of-Age Audiobooks, Turkish Cookbooks, and Modern Manners

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For February, we’re looking at a historical romance set in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a fictional look at the only ruling queen of Assyria, a mystery set on a fictional Oklahoma reservation, a coming-of-age audiobook, a delectable cookbook from a Turkish-American baker, and a guide to teaching children manners in the modern age.

If you enjoy historical fiction:

Joy Callaway’s What the Mountains Remember (2024)*

The Vagabonds are, arguably, the most famous camping group in American history, and this historical romance set in the early 1900s follows Belle after her stepfather’s friend Henry Ford invites their family on a tour of the Blue Ridge Mountains. While staying there, she becomes fascinated by the construction of the Grove Park Inn and begins to learn more about her mysterious potential suitor.

Recommended for those who enjoyed Ron Rash’s Serena.

*Ebook and audiobook also available on Hoopla.

Costanza Casati’s Babylonia (2024)**

Novels that bring the ancient world to life are very popular at the Berryville Library. But they’re usually focused on ancient Greece and ancient Rome or Biblical settings. This unusual novel instead turns its attentions to ancient Assyria, specifically to Semiramis, the only queen who ruled the kingdom in her own right. She starts life as a commoner and an orphan and eventually ascends to the throne. Complications ensue.

Recommended for those who enjoy Madeline Miller’s work.

**Ebook also available on Hoopla.

If you prefer contemporary mysteries:

Laurie L. Dove’s Mask of the Deer Woman (2025)

When Detective Carrie Starr’s personal and professional life implode in Chicago, she decides to flee home to Oklahoma and accept a job as a tribal marshal on her father’s reservation. Except she’s really not going home because she never spent time with her father’s family and never learned anything about their culture. Therefore, she’s really just a stranger in a strange land, unfamiliar with her new home and mistrusted by the locals, and this precarious existence is put to the test when yet another local woman goes missing and Carrie must try to find out what happened to her.

Recommended for those who enjoy the work of Ramona Emerson.

If you want an audiobook:

Rudy Ruiz’s The Border Between Us (2024)

Ramón Lopez grew up in a complicated Mexican-American family in Texas along the border. His mother has always seemed more interested in his disabled brother, while his father’s dreams of becoming a successful business owner crashed and burned. When Ramón has the opportunity to leave it all behind to be an artist in New York, he struggles with what choice to make, as well as how to understand his place in the world and within his family.

Recommended for those who enjoy the work of Yaa Gyasi.

If you love nonfiction:

Betül Tunç’s Turkuaz Kitchen: Traditional and Modern Dough Recipes for Sweet and Savory Bakes: A Baking Book (2024)

As a child growing up in Turkey, Betül Tunç always loved to bake. It’s a hobby she’s maintained as an adult, after moving to the US and starting her family. She initially shared her baking on the internet as a hobby, but she quickly morphed into a social media sensation, with millions of followers across multiple platforms. In her debut cookbook, she shares 85 recipes for sweet and savory doughs. They include traditional Turkish recipes, such as phyllo, baklava, lavash, and borek, as well as other recipes from across international culinary traditions, including doughs for pizza crusts, bagels, hamburger buns, scones, croissants, pie crusts, and more.

Recommended for those who love to bake or want to learn how.

Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece’s Manners Begin at Breakfast: Modern Etiquette for Families (2020)***

This new book is a parenting guide for how to raise polite children in the 21st century. It covers topics like table manners and conversation, as well as social media, in a conversational style and is accompanied by charming watercolor illustrations.

Recommended for anyone interested in learning more about modern etiquette or teaching the subject to kids.

***Ebook also available on Hoopla.

What’s your favorite new-ish books? What books are you buzzing about for 2025? Have you read any of these books? Tell us in the comments! As always, please follow this link to our online library catalog for more information on any of these items or to place them on hold.