Charm Offensive

Tracy Wolff lands at #3 on our children’s fiction list with Charm, fifth in a paranormal romance series. In 2020, as Wolff was launching book one, Crave, she spoke with PW about the resurgence of vampires in YA literature. “Vampires are kind of the superheroes of the paranormal world,” she said. “I think that for all of us, as we suffer pain and setbacks in life, the idea of becoming something that nobody can hurt is a powerful one.”

Reader, Heal Thyself

At #3 on our hardcover nonfiction list (and #10 overall), Good Boundaries and Goodbyes finds Lysa TerKeurst seeking biblical wisdom after her divorce. “Boundaries are not meant to shove others away,” she told PW in a prepub interview. “They’re meant to help me hold myself together so that I can live out the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, and patience.”

Other new books, too, offer messages of healing and hope. The Stories We Tell, #5 on our hardcover nonfiction list, is a “touching memoir,” per our review, in which “designer and Magnolia Network cofounder Gaines details how she learned self-acceptance.” And at #12, How We Heal by restorative writing teacher Alexandra Elle (1.4 million Instagram followers) guides readers in self-discovery.

TikTok Boom

Audiobook narrator and former game developer Travis Baldree’s debut, Legends & Lattes, is “a gentle little cozy set against an epic fantasy backdrop,” per our review. “This charming outing will please anyone who’s ever wished to spend time in a fantasy world without all the quests and battles.” Baldree self-published the novel in February and BookTok boosted sales to some 40K copies in two months. The new Tor Books edition, which includes a bonus prequel story, pulls onto our trade paperback list at #4; the hashtag #legendsandlattes has 2.1 million views.

NEW & NOTABLE

THE PASTA QUEEN
Nadia Caterina Munno with Katie Parla
#8 Hardcover Nonfiction
“TikTok star Munno, whose Italian ancestors were dried pasta makers as far back as the 1880s,” our starred review noted, “shares a mix of go-to classics and family recipes in her luscious debut.”

WHAT'S FOR DESSERT
Claire Saffitz
#9 Hardcover Nonfiction
“In this scrumptious dessert collection,” per our starred review, “the mouthwatering options—easy apple galette, classic sundae bombe, and cocoa-chestnut brownies among them—are beginner friendly, and Saffitz is mindful of bakers’ time, space, and budget limitations.”