This month, hints labeled as “sweet treats.” Appropriate for the month with Valentine’s day, the February hints feature candy hearts atop a book cover.
Book #1
Printed on candy hearts: Hotline ring
This hint was pretty easy to figure out as soon as you read “hotline ring.” First-Time Caller is among my BOTM predictions for this month and fits the prompt.
First-Time Caller
B.K. Borison
A hopeless romantic meets a jaded radio host in this cozy, Sleepless in Seattle–inspired love story from beloved author B.K. Borison.
Aiden Valentine has a secret: he’s fallen out of love with love. And as the host of Baltimore’s romance hotline, that’s a bit of a problem. But when a young girl calls in to the station asking for dating advice for her mom, the interview goes viral, thrusting Aiden and Heartstrings into the limelight.
Lucie Stone thought she was doing just fine. She has a good job; an incredible family; and a smart, slightly devious kid. But when all of Baltimore is suddenly scrutinizing her love life—or lack thereof—she begins to question if she’s as happy as she believed. Maybe a little more romance wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
Publication Date: February 11, 2025
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Berkley
Book #2
Printed on candy hearts: Heart in pieces
I had a number of possibilities come to mind when I read “heart in pieces.” Then, I realized that the hearts are actually sitting on a BOTM book with part of the cover showing. Once I noticed that, it was obvious that the book is Good Dirt.
Good Dirt
Charmaine Wilkerson
The daughter of an affluent Black family pieces together the connection between a childhood tragedy and a beloved heirloom in this moving novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake.
When ten-year-old Ebby Freeman heard the gunshot, time stopped. And when she saw her brother, Baz, lying on the floor surrounded by the shattered pieces of a centuries-old jar, life as Ebby knew it shattered as well.
The crime was never solved—and because the Freemans were one of the only Black families in a particularly well-to-do enclave of New England—the case has had an enduring, voyeuristic pull for the public. The last thing the Freemans want is another media frenzy splashing their family across the papers, but when Ebby’s high profile romance falls apart without any explanation, that’s exactly what they get.
So Ebby flees to France, only for her past to follow her there. And as she tries to process what’s happened, she begins to think about the other loss her family suffered on that day eighteen years ago—the stoneware jar that had been in their family for generations, brought North by an enslaved ancestor. But little does she know that the handcrafted piece of pottery held more than just her family’s history—it might also hold the key to unlocking her own future.
In this sweeping, evocative novel, Charmaine Wilkerson brings to life a multi-generational epic that examines how the past informs our present.
Publication Date: January 28, 2025
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publisher: Ballantine Books
