Jun 16

Jun 16 Books Publishing This Week

By the middle of June, summer no longer feels like a promise. It has arrived completely, settling into the world with an easy confidence that makes everything seem a little brighter and a little slower. The days stretch on almost endlessly, beginning with soft morning light and lingering long after dinner with skies painted in shades of peach and gold.

You notice it in the way you wake up. Sunlight spills through the curtains early, and the sounds drifting through the open window are no longer tentative signs of spring but the full chorus of summer—birds singing enthusiastically, lawn sprinklers ticking rhythmically, and the faint hum of cicadas beginning to announce themselves in the trees.

There is something about mid-June that invites pleasure. Not the kind that requires grand plans or extravagant adventures, but simple pleasures. Cold drinks. Bare feet. Fresh flowers in a vase. Long evenings that seem to have nowhere urgent to be. And, perhaps most of all, the beginning of a new book.

You have been saving this one. Maybe not consciously, but somehow you knew. Some books belong to winter evenings and candlelight. Others belong to rainy autumn afternoons. But this book—the one resting beside your chair—feels made for summer.

You gather everything you need before settling in. A tall glass of iced tea, condensation gathering on the outside. A bowl of cherries or sliced peaches. Perhaps a lightweight linen blanket draped nearby, not because you need it, but because comfort has become part of the ritual.

You choose a place where you can feel the season around you. A shaded porch with the ceiling fan turning lazily overhead. A chaise lounge beneath a large umbrella. A wicker chair in the garden surrounded by blooming hydrangeas and lavender. Somewhere sunlight filters through leaves, creating dancing patterns across the pages.

For a moment, you simply sit.

The breeze brushes against your skin, carrying the scent of freshly cut grass and warm earth. Bees drift lazily among the flowers. Somewhere nearby, a wind chime rings softly. You can hear laughter in the distance, the sounds of neighbors enjoying the same beautiful day.

Then, finally, you open the book.

There is something endlessly satisfying about the first page. The crispness of untouched paper. The slight resistance of the spine. The quiet anticipation of knowing you are about to meet characters who may stay with you long after summer has passed.

You begin to read.

The story unfolds easily, matching the rhythm of the day itself. Nothing feels rushed. Mid-June doesn't encourage urgency. It asks you to savor.

And so you do.

You linger over sentences. You reread beautiful passages. You pause occasionally, lifting your eyes from the page to admire the world around you. A butterfly lands on a nearby flower. Clouds drift lazily across a brilliant blue sky. Sunlight catches the rim of your glass, turning ordinary water droplets into something sparkling and beautiful.

The story begins to take hold. Characters step forward, becoming more vivid with every page. A setting comes alive. A mystery begins to reveal itself. Whatever genre you've chosen, you feel that familiar thrill—the quiet realization that you are becoming invested.

Hours seem to stretch differently in June. The day unfolds slowly, generously. There is enough time for reading, enough time for dreaming, enough time for doing absolutely nothing at all.

Eventually, you mark your place and close the book, though not because you're ready to leave it behind. Rather, because there is something lovely about knowing you'll return. Summer books are companions. They travel with you to porches and parks, beaches and backyard hammocks. They become intertwined with memories of sunshine and long evenings and days that felt infinite.

As you sit there, the book resting in your lap, you realize that this is one of the small joys you'll remember long after the season has passed.

Not a major event. Not a milestone.

Just the simple happiness of beginning a new story in the middle of June, while the world around you is blooming, the afternoon stretches endlessly ahead, and summer feels as though it has only just begun.

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Books Publishing June 14 - 20

The Very Unremarkable Life of Mrs. Etty Bloom by Talya Jankovits

In the insulated Hasidic community of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, tradition and cultural norms are as sacred as religion. Childhood friendships are cultivated to climb social ladders, matchmakers dictate futures, and young girls are primed for marriage and motherhood. So, when Etty Greenberger, a headstrong redhead and the only child of Holocaust survivors, commits one ugly and thoughtless act, she believes she has sabotaged her opportunity to secure a desirable match. Reluctantly, she agrees to marry Benji Bloom, a fishmonger’s son far below her marital aspirations, becoming Mrs. Etty Bloom. With each passing year, Etty grows further from the life she had hoped for, filled with disappointment and delusions of grandeur. As she grapples with loss, grief, and the challenges of motherhood, she also discovers friendship, love, and joy in the most unexpected places. It may take a lifetime, but Etty Bloom finally learns that an unremarkable life can be remarkable after all.

Somebody Worth Killing by Jessica Payne

Nadia Davis is living the dream as a successful working mom with a career she loves, two adorable little girls, and a devoted husband who has no idea that she’s secretly a hired assassin and psychopath who kills certified bad guys. So when Nadia finds out she’s been “mommy tracked” by her assassin’s agency and is no longer getting the bigger, more exciting jobs, she demands an important mark…somebody worth killing.

But it turns out that big kill is the last person she expects—her husband. How is the sweet, kind, teller-of-dad jokes she’s promised her life to an evil villain who needs exterminating? Has their whole life together been a lie? Now Nadia must choose between the two things she loves most in life, the career that keeps her sane or the family she thought she knew.

Vervain Hollow by Catriona Silvey

Two years ago, Laura was in a cult. But when the sprawling house in the hollow burned down with the cult’s magnetic leader trapped inside, Laura had nowhere to go but home. Brokenhearted, she finds herself longing for Vervain, their lost leader—despite the trauma of that strange and terrifying year, she knows the power he promised her was real. But when her estranged friend, Aliyah, calls to tell her that another acolyte has been lured back to the hollow by a message from Vervain, Laura only hears one thing: He’s still alive. As Laura and Aliyah venture back to the house of their nightmares to find the truth, Laura soon realizes that not everything she remembers can be trusted—and that the darkness will do anything to get her back.

Dhampira by Amy Pennza

A long-lost noble of the ruthless vampire court discovers she might not need to choose between her two suitors in this blood-pounding new romantasy from the USA Today bestselling author of the Bitten and Bound series.

Corinthe has spent a lifetime longing for excitement outside her sleepy human village. As a dhampir born of a human mother and vampire father, her unique abilities make her desired by those who lurk across the Feyline—the boundary that keeps the magical realm in perpetual twilight where vampires hold dominion. To stay safe, she’s concealed her supernatural strength and taste for blood from her human neighbors, but when her yearning for excitement accidentally exposes her gifts, she is captured to sell to the highest bidder.

Terrified, she expects the worst. But rescue comes in the form of Vander, a handsome stranger who whisks her from the auction stage and across the Feyline . . . where he reveals himself to be a vampire knight of King Rasimir’s court. Notorious for his cruelty, the deranged king is determined to extend his rule to the farthest reaches, and Vander has been tasked with delivering Corinthe to him.

Now a pawn in the vampire court, Corinthe learns that Rasimir intends to marry her off to the arrogant Prince Lorcan and exploit her daywalking abilities for his own gain. But a wedding isn’t the only obstacle in her path to freedom. While Vander burns with dangerous charm, Lorcan watches her with hungry eyes. And both men claim they can help her—if she can trust them.

Shattered by Dr. David Jeremiah with Sam O'Neal

The Vanished series continues with Shattered: In a turbulent world reshaped by the Rapture, ancient prophecies stir as the ominous Antichrist rises.

In a world turned upside down by the cataclysmic events of the Rapture, the unraveling of divine prophecies stirs chaos and uncertainty. Saul Katz, a gifted scientist, finds his life irrevocably changed as he joins the 144,000 chosen evangelists.

In the shadows of Istanbul, John Haggerty embarks on his own perilous journey, driven by vengeance. He holds Matthias Vilks, the ominous face of the Antichrist, accountable for the collapse of America and his own heart-wrenching loss. But between the dangerous lures of power and the call to resist the satanic forces gathering, Haggs finds his choices shadowed by peril.

As darkness gathers and prophecy, betrayal, and redemption intertwine, faith and courage are the world's final bastions of hope against impending doom.

Lost in the Summer of '69 by Eliza Knight

Summer, 1969. Eleanor Bell, a widow, has always given everything she had to her family, forgoing her own dreams of becoming a singer. When she receives a diagnosis of early Alzheimer’s on the eve of her sixty-ninth birthday, she decides to go on an epic musical bucket-list trip to fulfill her dreams: A summer tour of festivals.

Except she forgets, maybe on purpose, to tell anyone where she’s going. Leanne Miller discovers her mother missing, and she enlists the help of her somewhat distant college-aged daughter, Nora, to help her find Eleanor. The last thing Nora wants to do before starting as one of Yale's first female undergrads is to hit the road. But then Nora hears something strange on the radio—her grandmother’s voice. Nora and Leanne embark on a road trip in her husband’s Lincoln Continental from Atlanta, to California, Denver, Seattle, back to New York, and then New Orleans, always one step behind Eleanor, who has been dubbed the Dame of Rock n’ Roll by none other than Johnny Carson. It's an epic celebration of savoring the encore no matter what the next act may bring.

Romantic Hero by Kirsty Greenwood

Gertie Bickerstaff writes happily-ever-afters for a living. . . . Or she did, until her own love life fell apart. Now her ex is thriving, her deadline is looming, and she can’t write a single word.

The last thing Gertie needs is more drama—like waking up to find a confused and rugged cowboy on her sofa. And not just any cowboy, but River Oakley, the villain from her unfinished novel. Somehow very real . . . and very shirtless.

River wants to go home. Gertie wants her life back. So they strike a deal: he’ll use his cunning ways to help her win back her ex, she’ll finish the novel, and, surely, he’ll return to whatever world he rode in from.

But as River Oakley proves to be so much more than just the bad guy, Gertie has to choose: the ending she thought she wanted . . . or the plot twist she never saw coming.

The Lake Club by Lina Patton

A sizzling, soapy summer debut, in which two women in a wealthy lakeside suburb clash over a cute male nanny, pulling the town’s darker secrets to the surface.

DRAMA LOVES A DEEP END

When Danika Crawley attends events at the Aldon Lakes Country Club, heads turn. Danika has it all—beauty, money, a successful husband, and two perfect children. She plans on making this summer her best season yet and has a secret weapon to secure the envy of her neighbors.

Augie Elling has lost it all. Reeling from a post-grad scandal amidst her now-former life in New York, she returns to Aldon Lakes with her tail between her legs. Augie wants to keep her head down, save money, and find a way to leave her hometown for good, but someone keeps distracting her.

Danika and Augie have one thing in common: they are both a little obsessed with Chat, the male nanny Danika hired for the summer. But, unbeknownst to either woman, Chat’s appearance in town sets off a chain reaction that threatens Aldon Lakes' carefully maintained ecosystem. As the heat rises between the three of them, the truth behind a long-buried scandal comes to light, and everyone at the club must reckon with the consequences.

The Lake Club is both an addictive, rollicking beach read, and a stylish, deft exploration of a lesser-known region of American wealth.

Wildflower by Becky Jenkinson

A magical florist journeys from the kingdom’s capital to its wild woods to fulfill an unusual request, and stumbles upon friendship, conspiracy, and the buds of new love in this debut cozy fantasy.

“Wildflower is a lovely respite from reality, featuring a charming cast of characters, snappy dialogue, and so much heart. Prepare to be enchanted.”—Brigitte Knightley, author of The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy

The book contains hand-drawn floral sketches inside!

Cursed from birth to always tell the truth, magical florist Felicity “Fliss” Farrow chooses her words carefully to avoid trouble. But when she receives an anonymous request for a mysterious flower, her search leads her directly into trouble’s path: to Willoh Vane.

Fliss knows the outcast—yet teasingly handsome—sorcerer is rumored to have used dark magic to corrupt the northern forest five years ago. She’s witnessed the resulting feud with Prince Bastion, whom her best friend, Card, is soon to marry. Despite her divided loyalty, Fliss reluctantly accepts Will’s help with gathering rare flowers and finds herself increasingly drawn to him.

As the royal wedding approaches, Fliss fears the flowers she’s delivered are intended for a sinister purpose. But when her warnings are ignored, can she and Will save the kingdom from disaster, and ultimately discover what Fliss has sought for so long—the truth.

The Geography of Desire: A Memoir of West Africa by Linda Gambill

A young woman escapes her dead-end life in East Tennessee to search for purpose, adventure, and love in West Africa.

It’s 1978, and twenty-four-year-old Linda Gambill is stuck in a dead-end job, a nightly marijuana habit, and a troubled relationship with a former professor. Desperate to explore the world and find her place in it, she makes good on a long-held dream. She joins the Peace Corps.

A year later, she arrives in Medina, a devout Muslim village in The Gambia, West Africa. She’s tasked with teaching health and nutrition to the village women, but they have no confidence in a young white woman trying to change their ways. Instead of finding a sense of belonging, Linda becomes so depressed she can barely leave her hut.

When tragedy strikes, her perspective shifts from self-absorption to service. She learns the local language, forges friendships, and begins to make her mark on the village, all the while falling in love with two very different men. But it is only when a coup breaks out that the course of her life becomes clear. Richly sensual and poignant, The Geography of Desire is the story of one woman’s transformative journey amidst the challenges and beauty of West Africa, showing how the people we set out to change, in the end, change us.

Thief by Tarryn Fisher

I've lost her three times. The first was to impatience. The second was to a lie so deep we couldn't work our way through it, and the third time - this time - I've lost her to a better man.

Caleb Drake never got over his first love. Not when he got married. Not when she got married. Not when they broke each other beyond repair. When life suddenly comes full circle, Caleb must decide how far he is willing to go to get Olivia Kaspen back. But for every action in life there is a consequence, and soon Caleb finds out that sometimes love comes at an unbearably high price.

Liberty Street by Heather Marshall

From the #1 internationally bestselling author of Looking for Jane comes a riveting novel about one journalist's harrowing journey into an infamous real-life 1960s women's prison—and the detective who uncovers her story decades later.

1961: Emily Radcliffe works as an editorial assistant at Chatelaine magazine, surrounded by the best women journalists in the country, whose articles tackle the controversial topics no other women’s publication dares to touch. When a bombshell letter from an inmate at the notorious Mercer Women’s Prison lands on Emily’s desk, she senses a scoop that could launch her career as a real, hard-boiled journalist. But after going undercover to investigate the inmate’s shocking claims, Emily discovers that getting into the prison is the easy part; the real challenge will be getting back out . . .

1996: Unidentified female remains are discovered in an unmarked grave in a small-town Ontario cemetery, and Detective Rachel Mackenzie is tasked with unraveling the mystery. But when the investigation leads her to the now-shuttered Mercer Women’s Prison, Rachel’s own dark history threatens to surface from where she's kept it carefully buried.

Inspired by true events, Liberty Street weaves back and forth through time to shine a light on mental health, incarceration, and the various "prisons" that hold women captive.

The Reel Life of Zara Kegg by Brad Barkley

16-year-old Zara still feels like an outsider in Carolina Beach. Working during the beach’s off-season as the lone projectionist at the Palace—a rundown retro cinema that shows only vintage ’50s sci-fi and horror flicks, including a major Godzilla marathon—she spends her nights in a dusty booth, fueled by coffee, pushups, and the occasional existential crisis. Then she meets Zachary, who might be the most interesting person she’s ever met. As their friendship deepens into something more, Zara learns about the struggles Zachary hides beneath his charm and wonders if trust is possible.

Every Lie I Told by Hilary Davidson

From bestselling and award-winning author Hilary Davidson, Every Lie I Told is a propulsive, twisty thriller about the devastating consequences of the lies we tell to protect others--and ourselves.

How far would you go to protect a killer?

Jackie Swift does whatever it takes to succeed. At work, she spins lies to protect questionable clients at a shady public-relations firm. At home, she helps her younger sister, Madi, evade consequences for dangerous choices she's made about friends and drugs. But Jackie's professional and personal worlds collide one night when she gets a call from Madi telling her she overdosed. Rushing to the rescue, Jackie stumbles on an awful scene at an Upper East Side mansion. Madi is nowhere to be found, but she's left behind a dead body.

Worse for Jackie, she knows the dead man all too well: it's her former boss and mentor, and she's been paid to cover up his crimes in the past.

Jackie is willing to do anything to protect her missing sister, even as the NYPD builds a case against Madi, who may be involved in the deaths of other sexually abusive men. As Jackie searches for her sister--and sets up plausible suspects to take Madi's place in the eyes of the police--she's haunted by the terrible things she's done in service of her career. And she soon discovers there are people who've been waiting in the shadows for a chance to take her down.

Libertad by Cassandra James

In this conclusion to a sweepingly epic seafaring romantasy duology—perfect for fans of Daughter of the Pirate King, Curious Tides, and The Hurricane Wars—Ximena Reale is trying to bring down an empire. But with her loyalties torn, she finds herself grappling with the true price of freedom...and love.

Alongside her sister, Ximena Reale now sails under the banner of the legendary pirate Gasparilla. But, between the bounty on “Gasparilla’s” head and the Empire’s renewed efforts to stomp out piracy, the sisters’ fellow pirates are suddenly wary of swearing allegiance to their cause.

After a betrayal in the one place they were supposed to be safe, Gasparilla’s crew hits the high seas again and Ximena is reunited with Cazador Dante de León. Her longtime rival has been tasked with capturing her, and Ximena doesn’t know if she can trust the information he’s feeding her about the empire’s plans to take over the Northern Archipelago’s silver mines. “Gasparilla” heads north to rob the robbers, but the Empire has a few nasty tricks up their sleeves—including putting a traitor in the pirates’ midst.

With the armada closing in, Ximena finds herself scrambling to protect the people she loves. The price of freedom is higher than it’s ever been—but is Ximena willing to pay, even if it costs her everything?

House of Teeth by Anne Shaw Heinrich

Jules Marks and his five little sisters can finally relax. Their feckless parents from Shakey's Half are doing time in the Paradise County Jail, and their Uncle Larry, Aunt Sally and Aunt Clarice have swooped in to give them the safety and security they deserved all along. As they settle into the closest thing to normal they've ever known, their neighbors and classmates are quick to remind them not to get too comfortable. Poulson's only dentist makes a generous offer to help the children fix their long-neglected teeth, but many folks object to the free treatment they receive. Meanwhile, Jules is figuring out how to be a man as he holds onto an ugly secret involving his dear friend, Violet Sellers. When cancer strikes the family, Jules decides to right a wrong that's gone unchallenged for far too long.

Simple Stories by Lyonel Trouillot

This vibrant collection of 22 stories offers a kaleidoscopic view of Haiti and a wonderful encapsulation of the acclaimed author’s work.

In a country plagued by dictatorship and insurrection, poverty and corruption, where police officers and gang members become hard to distinguish, art provides a sense of meaning and respite.

As people from all walks of life protest their tyrannical leader, a painter tries to reconcile the brutal violence he sees with the beauty of his lover.

A wealthy industrialist’s kidnapping ties back to his past with a humble laundress from the seaside.

A lovesick servant girl turns to magic to win her master’s heart.

Having escaped the shantytowns he grew up in, a wannabe James Bond feels their pull again when he gets involved with an alluring young woman—and her pimp.

Written with the masterful language of a poet, and filled with characters at once lifelike and mythical, Lyonel Trouillot’s story collection creates a multifaceted portrait of modern Haiti.

Live From the Afterlife by Sarah Lariviere

Set in an alternate America that feels dangerously close to our own, a ghost, the boy she loves, and their friends pick up the pieces of a shattered rebellion--turning from violence to art. Fierce, fast-moving, and full of heart, it’s Feed meets Severance meets Fahrenheit 451.

The first time Gigi Durant and her renegade theater group tried to take down America’s Favorite Dictator, it ended in the murder of Max Bowl—her raunchy, loudmouthed, beloved best friend. Now Gigi is dead, shot for performing Shakespeare. But if the police state that’s taken over their city—all of America, really—thought silencing her would end the rebellion, they were wrong. Because Gigi is still tethered to her story, her ghost lingering in the consciousness of Axl Fischer, her old love. And she’s not giving up.

This time, the revolution isn’t about burning down, it’s about building up. This time, the troupe is determined to subvert the dictator’s propaganda not with weapons, but with pirate broadcasts and satire sharp enough to shred the lies. This time, with Axl leading the fight, and Gigi driving the mission from beyond, the group risks everything to defend dangerous beliefs: that voices can’t be silenced, and that when art refuses to die, freedom will prevail.

The Story Eaters of Yamm by Kevin Hincker

An irreverent, suspenseful, profoundly original novel about a group of science fiction writers hired to gameplan an alien invasion, led by Larry Palczewski, a struggling novelist who can't perceive time.

What starts for Larry as a desperately needed source of free lunches turns sinister and inconvenient when the alien snails the group is fictionalizing actually launch an invasion, and begin taking over humanity's novels. Then it is up to Larry, unlikeliest of protagonists, to author a new ending before humankind is eaten by the ultimate bad story: his own.

“Read this hilarious, profound, outsider sci-fi, where neurodivergence is just one of many alternative worldviews. By the end you’re so enmeshed in Larry’s brain you’re predicting his thoughts.”

Meet Me at the Seaside Cottages by Jenny Colgan

This summer, escape to the Seaside Cottages in the Scottish isles with this delightful mother-daughter story about second chances in love, life, and home renovations, by New York Times bestselling author Jenny Colgan.

EVERYONE IS SEARCHING FOR THEIR PERFECT HOUSE. BUT HOME IS REALLY WHERE THE HEART IS...

Janey Carter has a lot to be grateful for—a home by the sea in the Scottish isles, a job that she loves, two kids who have successfully launched, and a network of kind and supportive friends. But since her husband left, her confidence has taken a nosedive. And then, out of the blue, her thirty-year-old daughter Essie announces she’s moving back home. Janey loves Essie dearly, but she was never the easiest to live with, and Janie has been enjoying the empty nest life.

Yes, Essie Carter has just lost her job, can’t afford her rent in Edinburgh, and her boyfriend isn’t ready to commit. She hates to admit defeat and isn’t wild about moving back to the remote island community where she was raised. But maybe the sea air will clear her head?

No sooner is Essie back under her mother’s roof than an unusual opportunity pops up: the shabby and unloved Seaside Cottages next door come up for sale. Janey has some experience renovating the island’s famous stone fisherman’s cottages, Essie needs something to do, and they could both use a little Air B&B income to warm their pockets. Mother and daughter slowly bond over the shared challenge, which delivers some much-needed revelations for Essie, and offers Janey a surprise second chance at love as well.

“If I could live in a Jenny Colgan novel, I'd be happy forever.” — bestselling author Jill Mansell

The Forgotten Briefcase by Joseph Perrulli

The Forgotten Briefcaseis an intimate memoir of love, loss, and the long road back to oneself. Drawn from decades-old journals, letters, and personal mementos, Joseph recounts his private relationship with Nicole Brown Simpson at a pivotal moment in her life, as she was beginning to reclaim and rediscover herself - revealing a fresh and profoundly human portrait of the woman behind one of America's most public tragedies.

Thirty-three years after burying the past inside a forgotten briefcase, Joseph rediscovers the memories he never allowed himself to face: photographs, cards, letters, and a century-old novel he had once given Nicole - a book she claimed had changed her life forever. But it isn't until Joseph's own near-death experience that he realizes the briefcase held more than reminders of Nicole - it held the fractured pieces of himself.

As Joseph returns to the places they once shared, he begins to understand why the novel - and Nicole's memory - never truly left him. The Forgotten Briefcase is a moving testament to the power of love, memory, and second chances, and to the freedom that can only come from finally confronting the past.

My Twin the Murderer by Lindsay Kent

Neuroscientist Evelyn Malcolm is on the cusp of perfecting a drug to cure Alzheimer’s when she’s arrested–alongside her twin, Vivian, a troubled addict–for the murder of Ben O’Neill. Their DNA ties them to the crime scene–but which sister committed the crime? The sisters turn to Vivian's underground ties for answers, only to uncover a chilling truth. To clear their names, the twins must navigate a hallucinogenic underworld and unravel the secrets of their past. But their fragile bond fractures under the weight of guilt, betrayal, and buried trauma. Evelyn has always feared Vivian’s recklessness—but now she wonders if the real danger isn’t her sister, but something inside herself.

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