Category: Riot Rundown

Sponsored by Mulholland Books

Isaiah Quintabe—a young, unlicensed detective from East Long Beach—and his masterful sidekick, Juanell Dodson find themselves at a crossroads in this latest installment of the IQ mystery series. Author Joe Ide is a crime writer’s crime writer, and he’s filled his best novel yet with desperate souls, courageous outcasts, and truly evil villains. With deft plotting, lacerating humor, and a keen eye for the ways in which characters rise or fall based on their ties to one another, Smoke is Joe Ide’s crowning achievement.

Sponsored by Wavesound

The modeling and advertising industries consistently tell women they’re not good enough if they don’t conform to a western ideal of beauty. In 2002 Chelsea Bonner founded BELLA, a modelling agency dedicated to changing our dangerously narrow perception of ‘beautiful’. Part memoir and part positive body image manifesto, this is an insider’s perspective on the industry and how the images the world gets to see are only part of the story.

Sponsored by Amazon Publishing

If the truth comes out, her marriage won’t be the only thing that ends. When artist Claire Beaudry Chase is attacked in her coastal Connecticut home, she knows she must be careful about who to trust… especially her powerful and well-connected husband Griffin. For her latest exhibit, Claire was preparing to expose Griffin for the violent crime he committed 25 years earlier. That’s why Claire is certain he’s behind the attack… and she knows his supporters would kill her to stop the truth from getting out. Read the haunting new thriller from bestselling author Luanne Rice.

Sponsored by Amazon Original Stories

From the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna to the unprecedented rise of COVID-19 and the protests honoring George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the 2019-2020 NBA season was, from the beginning, about more than winning basketball games for the Los Angeles Lakers. In this single-sitting, page-turning, behind-the-scenes account of the nearly 100-day NBA lockdown at Disney World, NBA champion Jared Dudley shares his winning memories of a personal and professional victory from inside the NBA Bubble. Prime members read and listen for free.

Sponsored by Scout Press and Dark Horses, the astonishing debut novel from Susan Mihalic.

15-year-old Roan Montgomery trains under the laser focus of her father, but she’s come to realize that their relationship goes dangerously beyond that of rider and coach, or daughter and overprotective parent–and she’s ready for it to stop. But to save herself, will she have to sacrifice her dreams? In the tradition of My Dark Vanessa or My Absolute Darling, Dark Horses is a searing, stunning novel not to be missed.

Sponsored by Let's Get Back to the Party by Zak Salih

Estranged childhood friends Sebastian and Oscar reunite at a wedding. Both are gay, and after more than a decade, the two couldn’t be more different. Newly single, all Sebastian wants is to settle down. But for Oscar, outraged by what he sees as the death of gay culture, settling down isn’t peace, it’s surrender. While they struggle to find their place in a rapidly changing world, each is drawn into a cross-generational friendship that treads the line between envy and obsession. And as they collide again and again, both men must reckon not just with one another but with themselves.

Sponsored by Amazon Publishing

Sloan McPherson and the Underwater Investigation Unit have discovered a van at the bottom of a murky Florida pond. Inside: the bodies of four teens who disappeared decades ago. To authorities, it looks like a tragic accident. To Sloan, it looks like murder. And when a fresh young kill is found in the Everglades, Sloan fears that her investigation has reawakened a monster. Has Sloan set a trap for a serial killer? Or has he set one for her? Kirkus calls Black Coral by bestselling author Andrew Mayne “a relentless nail-biter whether below or above the waterline.” Read it now.

Sponsored by Early Bird Books

Book Riot is teaming up with Early Bird Books to give away a 1-year subscription to Scribd! Simply fill out the form here for a chance to win!

Sponsored by Amazon Publishing

This Black History Month, join Amazon Publishing in celebrating contemporary Black storytellers. Scarlet Odyssey is an epic fantasy read by CT Rwizi. In the short personal reflection Before Her, Jacqueline Woodson reflects on the people who shaped her before she met Juliet, her one and only. Black Boy Out of Time is journalist Hari Ziyad’s eloquent memoir about growing up Black and queer in America. The Unspoken by bestselling author Ian K. Smith is the story of a private investigator seeking justice on the streets of Chicago. Read these books today.

Sponsored by Norton Young Readers

When Cordelia Hatmaker’s father vanishes on an ingredient expedition, Cordelia refuses to accept that he’s gone. Her grief-stricken aunt and uncle forge ahead to fulfill an order from the king for a magical Peace Hat. But then the Peace Hat is stolen—along with the Peace Boots, Cloak, Watch, and Gloves crafted by the other Maker families. Cordelia realizes that there is a menacing plot against the Makers, and that Prospero Hatmaker’s disappearance may be connected. Cordelia must uncover who is behind the thefts if she is to save the Makers and find out what really happened to her father.