Welcome to the Stockton Township Public Library
Latest Librarian & Patron Reviews
Patron Review
My Friends Fredrik Backman
Reviewer: Anonymous
It's a story looking back at four teenage friends -- characters who only really fit with each other and the different paths their lives took. It's also about the transformative power of art. The audio version is great -- very well read!
Spice level: Unknown
Rating: 5/5
Genres: Coming of Age, Friendship, Summer, Adult Fiction
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Library Staff
The Deal
by Elle Kennedy
Book #1 Off-Campus series
Amazon Prime TV show coming May 2026
(Read on Libby)
Reviewer: Chelsea
Need something lighthearted and fun?
A little cheesy? A little spicy?
This book delivered on all of that. It's like a guilty pleasure pizza type book.
The characters were fun, the drama was (fairly) believable, the spicy scenes were well written.
Altogether it's a very satisfying read and I've found that the books in the series are just getting better and better.
Likes: the cheesy factor (I am from a Wisconsin dairy farm after all haha the cheese is a draw for me).
Dislikes: Nothing really. It delivers exactly what you would expect a cute rom com college life book to deliver.
Spice: 4/5
Rating: 4.25/5
Genres: Romance, Rom Com, Sports Romance, College, Hockey, East Coast, Contemporary Romance
Library Staff
Alchemised by SenLinYu
Read on The Palace Project
Reviewer: Chelsea
This book wrecked me, but in a good way? It's massive (over 1,000 pages). The book is split into three parts that I'll do my best to outline, spoiler free.
Part 1: Awakening and memory loss - our protagonist wakes up after over a year in stasis, with limited memory, after her side lost a brutal war. She's handed off to an expert to have her memories gone through, and it's a very dark and depressing process as she realizes she has memories that even she can't access.
Part 2: Told in flashbacks from the last two-ish years of the war. It explains a lot of part 1, and it's important to pay close attention to the conversations that happen in part 1 because not everything is as it seems. There's a lot of mystery, political intrigue, and the chaos and darkness of war and having no good options.
Part 3: Picks back up where part 1 leaves off and it's...intense. As the protagonist tries to navigate a world post-war, where she's a prisoner. Will she escape? Will she find any of her old friends and companions?
Guess you'll have to read it to find out.
But this book has a lot of depth to it. It deals with a lot of "there are no good options because war is hell" kind of mentality. None of the main characters are particularly good people, but they all make fairly realistic choices given their experiences and the situations - which is nice.
Definitely check out the author's list of trigger and content warnings. This book has similar vibes to The Handmaids Tale.
Spice: 4/5 there's definitely some explicit scenes here, but it's not the main focus of the book, and the intimate scenes are not overly detailed. The higher number for "spice" is because some of the scenes are triggering.
Rating: 5/5
Genres: Enemies to Lovers, Dark Romance, Romantasy.
Library Staff
Rose in Chains
Book #1 of The Evermore Trilogy
Author: Julie Soto
Read on Libby
Reviewer: Chelsea
This book is fantastic. A wonderful and well written journey that I literally couldn't put down (you know when you stay up until 1 AM reading with a 6 AM alarm it's a good book!).
My biggest grievance is that book #2 is not out yet, but it is scheduled to come out soon.
Likes: Characters (they make believable choices given the information they have), relationships between characters, interesting magic system.
Dislikes: That the next book isn't out yet and honestly, that slow burn was SLOOOOOWWWW.
Spice level: 3.5/5 - there wasn't any real spice between the characters, but some brief mentions of spicey things and a lot of inferences of behind the scenes stuff.
Rating: 4.75/5
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Enemies to Lovers
Library Staff
Silver Elite Dani Francis
Silver Elite Book #1 (second book releasing 2026)
Read on Palace Project and available in in our system.
Reviewer: Chelsea
This book feels a bit like the love child between Fourth Wing and Powerless, and I am here for it.
It takes place in the US in the far future, where war has changed the landscape and humans are split into two groups - Primes (non modified humans) and silverbloods (the nicer term, aka modified humans). Modified humans have a handful of abilities ranging from Telepathy to PreCognition. Each of them, basically a death sentence.
Our main character, Wren, has four abilities and has been raised on the outskirts of society in hiding. Until one mistake changes her whole world.
Likes: the characters, the setting, the story in general.
Dislikes: Most of the "twists" are fairly obvious, but it wasn't so much a "what?!" as a "oh that's how they got there" which I don't mind.
Spice level: 3.5/5
Rating: 5/5
Genres: Fantasy, Dystopia, Enemies to Lovers, Romance
GoodReads Reviews on Books Available in our library
Two Books in One
Rarely are Cross and Sampson separated for long, but when circumstances force them onto different paths, the result is one of the most engaging entries in the series. While Sampson grapples with a wave of crime across the city, Cross is driven by something far more personal: the desperate search for his missing son.
This deviation from the usual formula works surprisingly well. Both strands are rich with tension and emotional weight, yet neither sacrifices character for spectacle. The dual narratives allow Cross and Sampson’s personalities to shine independently, reminding readers why their partnership works so effectively when reunited. The supporting cast is also given greater prominence, strengthening the ensemble dynamic and adding welcome depth to the familiar world.
This is classic Patterson territory. It’s accessible, fast-paced, and effortlessly readable. It may not challenge the intellect in profound ways, but that’s hardly the point. It delivers exactly what it promises: gripping entertainment from start to finish.
And as for Cross himself, one can’t help but wish his television counterpart carried quite this much presence and complexity
Excited for the series
Kenlyn :
I had been looking forward to this sequel for a while and it end up being a satisfying companion to “The Last Thing He Told Me.” I felt like the author did a good job recapping information from the previous book, but not making it overly redundant. Although the plot was wildly unrealistic, it was still entertaining and I often found myself wanting to know what would happen next. The format and short chapters also helped it to be a page-turner. I am looking forward to watching the accompanying TV series.
Still fresh - even after 60+ books
Hold onto your hats, Dallas and Roarke are on the hunt for a murderer and thief.
In this thrilling installment (#62), readers learn a little more about Roarke as a teen as Dallas and Roarke dig into clues left by thief and killer.
It's a brain teaser as you pay attention to the smallest clues. The suspects are numerous and the solution is wonderfully surprising.
This might not be the best book to jump into the series, then again, you'll also want to read all the previous books.
Fans are excited the next book is out in the fall.
Predict the Future?
Louise Penny might just have to join The Simpson’s in their uncanny ability to predict the future. I think the fact that this fictional book contains plots that are very realistic makes it that much more intense and frightening. I always look forward to reading the next book in this series and to visiting Three Pines.
A wild and twisty ride
It was a little slow to start and took a good 5ish chapters for me to really get into it. While reading I felt like I could picture the scenes so well playing out and would really never see the twists coming. The last chapter though wha a wild ride. It was definitely a good read and would recommend to others.
A Game Changer
JSter :
This book was a game-changer for me! It's written in a fun, personable, relatable manner, and packs in a ton of tips for setting up a kitchen, eating in a life-affirming way, and making it simple and easy to create good meals on the daily. It's also gorgeous--lots of great, quality pics of the food and the authors.