Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we feature staff recommendations from book stores across Colorado. This week, the staff from Old Firehouse Books in Fort Collins recommends a novel set in Nigeria, an indispensable dictionary and an epic fantasy.

From the publisher: One weekend. The elite underbelly of a Nigerian city. A party that goes awry. A tangled web of sex and lies and corruption that leaves no one unscathed.

Aima and Kalu are a longtime couple who have just split. When Kalu, reeling from the breakup, visits an exclusive sex party hosted by his best friend, Ahmed, he makes a decision that will plunge them all into chaos, brutally and suddenly upending their lives. Ola and Souraya, two Nigerian sex workers visiting from Kuala Lumpur, collide into the scene just as everything goes to hell. Sucked into the city’s corrupt and glittering underworld, they’re all looking for a way out, fueled by a desperate need to escape the dangerous threat that looms over them.

Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we feature staff recommendations from book stores across Colorado. This week, the staff from Old Firehouse Books in Fort Collins recommends a novel set in Nigeria, an indispensable dictionary and an epic fantasy.

From Teresa, bookseller: A gripping, twisty & utterly heartbreaking story from the oh-so-talented Emezi. Aima & Kalu breaking up (after several years together and many fights surrounding marriage) kick off this story; desperate to dull his pain, Kalu decides to attend one of his best friend’s infamous sex parties. His decision will ultimately end up changing both his & Aima’s life forever….not to mention all the people they come in contact with over the next couple days. I finished this in one sitting and ran through all the emotions as I read it…..Emezi is a powerhouse not to be missed.

From the publisher: What’s the difference between mazes and labyrinths? Proverbs and adages? Clementines and tangerines? Join author Eli Burnstein on a hairsplitter’s odyssey into the world of the ultra-subtle with “Dictionary of Fine Distinctions.” Illustrated by New Yorker cartoonist Liana Finck, this humorous dictionary takes a neurotic, brain-tickling plunge into the infinite (and infinitesimal) nuances that make up our world.

The perfect gift for book lovers, word nerds, trivia geeks, and everyday readers, this illustrated gem is more than just a book–it is an indispensable resource akin to a thesaurus but filled with charm and wit. Each entry, from “latte vs. flat white” to “Great Britain vs. The United Kingdom,” is accompanied by mnemonic aids, quirky asides, and detailed illustrations, making it a standout dictionary for any bibliophile or language enthusiast’s library.

From Zane, bookseller: Do you either hate or love the English language? Is it complicated? (same) Here’s a book for you! Look, words are made up and English is a soup made of too many other soups. This is just a fun lil book showcasing how disgustingly beautiful the language is, and I flipped through half of it in one sitting.

From the publisher: In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world.

Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man’s mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger, Serapio is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain. This epic adventure explores the decadence of power amidst the weight of history and the struggle of individuals swimming against the confines of society and their broken pasts in the most original series debut of the decade.

From Andrea, events coordinator: With the recent release of “Mirrored Heavens,” I thought it was about time I dug my feet into the world of “Black Sun.” This story grabbed my attention from its incredible (and jarring!) first chapter. “Black Sun” is a story about a reborn god, a dying god, a disgraced traveler, belief, the lack of it, the darkest and brightest magic, and oh so so much more. Written from different character POV’s and inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas, Roanhorse creates incredibly well crafted characters, world-building that you can see clearly in your mind, and magic systems that never stop surprising you. This is truly a fantasy world you’ll never want to let go of!