Murmuration by TJ Klune

A bookseller, a waiter, and the best little town there is!

On a temperate morning in 1954, Mike wakes up in the idyllic town of Amorea.

Amorea is perfect.

Mike works his dream job at the local bookstore, where he leads lively discussions of literature with the local women’s club. At the diner, the walls are plastered with beaming photos of the residents, and all the staff know his order―especially Sean, the waiter who has a special smile just for Mike and, after years of anticipation, is ready to take the next step in their burgeoning romance.

Everything is perfect.

But the edges of the town are beginning to fray. Odd things catch Mike’s attention, things no one else seems to notice or care about. There are no children or parents in Amorea and no one who’s left town for the far mountains has ever come back. There are subjects in the diner photos that only a few people can remember.

One night, Mike wakes up to a stormcloud of uncanny starlings blackening the sky. And soon enough, he begins to question whether his name is even Mike.

As Mike loses hold on his identity, violent memories of another life interfere with everything good about Amorea, Mike will do whatever he can to keep Sean from the darkness that’s coming for him.

Nothing here is perfect, but there is someone worth saving.