If you’ve never read anything by author Karen White, now is the time to start; her newest release, Dreams of Falling, just might be her best work yet. White tells the story of three lifelong friends and how a pledge of everlasting friendship — and one big secret — can affect the happiness of the next generation. Larkin Lanier left her hometown of Georgetown, S.C., after graduating high school, vowing never to return. However, she reluctantly returns nine years later when her mother, Ivy, is found injured among the wreckage of her ancestral home. While Larkin is forced to come to terms with her own past, she begins to stumble upon secrets that were never meant to be uncovered. We find out what really happened to those three girls, whose vows of forever friendship and decisions made in the face of heartbreak affected the lives of both Ivy and Larkin decades later.

Emily Giffin’s new book, All We Ever Wanted (Ballantine Books), isn’t one of her classic love stories. Like her last book, Giffin has once again penned a story with a more serious tone and focused around family drama, with relatable characters and life lessons. All We Ever Wanted is a tale of two sides of a city: Nina Browning and her family live the good life among Nashville’s elite while Tom Volpe is a single father raising his daughter in the not-so-nice part of town. When Nina’s son posts a scandalous photograph of his classmate — Tom’s daughter, Lyla — their worlds collide and are forever changed. Lyla, already an outsider because of her background, is faced with even more adversity after the photo circulates throughout Windsor Academy. Giffin tells the story through alternating viewpoints of Tom, Lyla and Nina, as they attempt to navigate their new realities and search for meaning in a world where money talks and the truth isn’t far behind — it just takes some digging to get to there.

In her U.S. debut, British author Katy Regan also shows the messiness caused by keeping secrets from those you love. In Little Big Love (Berkley), Regan tells the story of 10-year-old Zac Hutchinson, who is in search of his father. When Zac’s mother, Juliet, drunkenly admits that his father is the only man she has ever loved, Zac makes it his mission to hunt down Liam Jones, in hopes that they can become a family. Throughout his short life, Zac has been told that his father left before he was born. In reality, Liam ran off after one tragic night, the night Juliet’s brother died. Because the mention of his father’s name evokes hatred in his grandparents, Zac keeps his mission a secret – until Juliet finds out and agrees to help him, leading her to uncover the truth of what really happened that fateful night. The story is told through the eyes of Zac, Juliet and her father, Mick, as they cope with what happens when they find Liam and how much their lives will change.

Kimberly Dunbar