The Most Surprising Emmy Winners Of 2024 — And Where To Stream Each TV Show

On January 16, 2025, Justin Baldoni filed a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, their publicists, and the New York Times. By January 30, Blake and Ryan quickly filed to dismissthe suit with a single sentence: "The Lively-Reynolds Parties intend to move to dismiss Plaintiffs’ complaint."

According to Deadline, the New York Times also filed its own motion to dismiss the case on February 28, 2025. The media company wrote, "The Wayfarer Parties’ FAC tells a one-sided tale that has garnered plenty of headlines, but The Times does not belong in this dispute."

Now, a judge is seemingly siding with The Times by at least granting a pause on discovery for the lawsuit, according to E! News. Reporting from E! states that a motion was filed to "temporarily halt parties from having to exchange information or documents." Judge Lewis J. Liman granted the motion to pause, explaining that the media outlet has "substantial grounds" and "a strong showing that its motion to dismiss is likely to succeed on the merits."

Despite the Baldoni team's claims that this new window substantially shortens their time for discovery, Judge Liman maintained that "the burden of discovery is not measured only by the number of pages." And if we know anything about Baldoni's team? It's that they love to release lots and lots and lots of documents.

Judge Liman continued his decision by stating that Baldoni's team will be able to ask for the "extent of discovery" they need if the courts ultimately deny The Times' request. Still, he explained that "The Court intends to address the motion to dismiss promptly after it is fully submitted.”

A spokesperson for the New York Times told E! News, "We appreciate the court’s decision today, which recognizes the important First Amendment values at stake here. The court has stopped Mr. Baldoni from burdening The Times with discovery requests in a case that should never have been brought against."

Best Adult Fiction Book

The Women by Kristin Hannah

James by Percival Everett (Runner-Up)

Best Adult Nonfiction Book 

The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson

By the Fire We Carry by Rebecca Nagle (Runner-Up)

Best Young Adult Fiction Book 

Heir by Sabaa Tahir

AIZ knows life isn't fair as she's grown up poor in Kegari, but it hasn't stopped her for wanting revenge for something she's never forgotten. Her rage puts her in an even more dangerous situation and it threatens to overtake her. Then there's SIRSHA, a tracker with magic in her veins. She hasn't had a stroke of luck in a while which makes her accept a job of punishing a child murderer. Lastly, there's the reluctant prince QUIL. He's seen the effects being in control has on others and doesn't want to meet that same fate, but is forced to make a decision when the Empire is threatened. Each will have to make decisions that play a role in their final fates and it's impossible to know who will survive.

Twenty-Four Seconds from Now... by Jason Reynolds (Runner-Up)

Aria met Neon two years ago because her dog decided to have its version of fun by chasing the latter. It was a fateful meeting that put them on a path of love and everyone knows it. Talks about intimacy have led to more conversations about having sex for the first time, but readers will see how complicated it is for the teens.

However, Aria and Neon make a plan to do the one deed they can't stop thinking about. But guess where Neon is?

Hiding in a bathroom because his nerves are all over the place!

Best Debut Author 

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue (Runner-Up)

Jolene finds herself in hot water with HR when her snarky emails about co-workers are discovered. In order to keep her job, she has to complete training with Cliff and even has to follow email protocols to make sure she doesn't repeat her mistakes. But then she becomes aware of other employees' emails and realizes she's not the only one who's been writing things that can be seen as red flags. It's how she finds out a company-wide layoff will be happening soon.

Torn between wanting to protect herself and see the humanity of those she works with, Jolene will have to decide how vulnerable she wants to be in both situations.

Best Book Club Pick

Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

Real Americans by Rachel Khong (Runner-Up)

Best Fantasy Book

The Spellshopby Sarah Beth Durst

Kiela has a people problem, but she bypasses it for the most part as she dutifully takes care of the Great Library of Alyssium with Caz the magical spider plant. However, their perfect paradise comes crashing down when someone destroys where they work, forcing them to evacuate to a place Kiela grew up. Once there, Kiela's visited by her meddling and attractive neighbor who takes a liking to her. Still, she has to do something to bring money in which is how she begins growing berries to create delicious jam.

Her only obstacle is that she's using magic illegally to making a living, leading to a spellshop that will change the island she's on forever.

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo (Runner-Up)

Best Horror Book

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones (Runner-Up)

Best Romance Book Of The Year

Funny Story by Emily Henry

The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava (Runner-Up)

She does well and even begins dating IT guy Danuwoa Colson despite their job's strict policies. No one suspects a thing until someone sees them during a company trip and threatens to make everyone aware they're together. Now Ember's in a odd situation where he dream job has become a nightmare and she beings telling small lies in order to save her neck because telling the truth has consequences she doesn't want to deal with.

Best Romantasy Book

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

Bryce Quinlan's been out of Midgard for sometime and is looking for ways to get back to what feels familiar. She never intended to go far away, but it's not so easy to get back to where she was. Plus, she has to watch her back because she doesn't know who's friendly or not.

Hunt Athalar's fate is no better because he's back in Asteri's dungeons and doesn't know where Bryce could be. Though he's helped her in the past, he's unable to intervene this time because he's trapped and doesn't see a way out.

Faebound by Saara El-Arifi (Runner-Up)

Yeeran's life has been consumed by battle and she knows that's probably where she'll die. She fiercely serves in the elven army while her sister Lettle spends her days as a diviner. But when Yeeran's kicked out of the Elven Lands, she and sister are forced to face the unknown of the fae court. Having been hidden in plain sight, it begins to pull them in opposite directions from which they may never recover from.

Be sure to see the full list of The Libby Awards winners here!

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9. Baked Ziti

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