Jun 2

Jun 2 Books Publishing This Week

The first week of June feels like standing at the beginning of something wide open. The air has changed completely now—warm in the mornings, golden by afternoon, soft even after the sun goes down. When you wake, sunlight is already spilling across the room, bright and generous, carrying with it the feeling that the day has been waiting for you.

You open the window without thinking twice. The breeze that drifts in smells like fresh grass and blooming flowers warmed by the early sun. Somewhere nearby, a lawn sprinkler clicks rhythmically. Birds chatter loudly from trees now dense with leaves, and the whole world feels alive in a way that makes you want to linger inside each moment rather than rush through it.

The book you’ve been meaning to start rests nearby, almost glowing in the morning light. There’s something especially satisfying about beginning a new book in early June. The season no longer feels tentative. Spring has fully given way to summer’s edge, and everything around you seems to be stretching outward—days growing longer, evenings softer, possibilities wider.

You move slowly through your morning ritual. Coffee poured over ice. Maybe fresh fruit set beside you without much thought. You carry everything outside or near an open window, searching instinctively for sunlight. The warmth on your skin feels earned after the long stretch of colder months.

You settle into your chair, legs tucked beneath you, the book resting in your lap.

For a moment, you don’t open it.

You simply sit there, noticing the way the leaves move in the breeze, the distant hum of traffic softened by birdsong, the smell of summer beginning to settle into the world. Early June carries a kind of quiet optimism—not loud or performative, but steady. The kind that makes you believe there is still time for everything.

Then you open the book.

The spine gives gently. The pages are crisp beneath your fingertips, cool against the warmth of the morning air. The first line meets you softly, as though it understands exactly where you are.

You begin to read.

The story unfolds with ease, slipping into the rhythm of the day. You don’t have to force your attention. The words arrive naturally, one after another, pulling you forward without urgency. You take a sip of your drink and glance up occasionally, letting the world remain around you instead of disappearing completely.

Because June is not a season that asks you to retreat.

It invites you to remain present.

You notice everything while you read—the way sunlight shifts across the page, the breeze catching the corner of the paper, the sound of a neighbor laughing somewhere in the distance. A bee drifts lazily past. Wind moves softly through the trees, creating patterns of light and shadow across your arms.

You turn another page.

The characters begin to sharpen, their voices clearer now, their world unfolding layer by layer. You feel that familiar sensation building—the quiet attachment that begins before you even realize it’s happening.

The morning stretches easily around you.

Time feels softer in early June, less rigid. There’s no pressure to hurry. No need to check the clock. The day feels abundant, full of room for both stillness and movement.

You pause occasionally, not from distraction but from contentment. You lean back in your chair and let the warmth settle into your shoulders. You breathe deeply and return to the story.

The book deepens. So does the morning.

When you finally close it—just a few chapters in—you mark your place carefully and rest the book against your lap. The sunlight has shifted now, warmer and brighter than before. The day stretches ahead, open and alive.

The first week of June feels like possibility without pressure.

And this new book, beginning quietly in your hands while summer waits just beyond the horizon, feels like part of that promise.

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Books Publishing May 31 - June 6

The Confession Artist by Christine Carbo

In her acclaimed series of mysteries set in and around Glacier National Park, Christine Carbo explored the perilous intersection between humans and the natural world. In her new standalone thriller, THE CONFESSION ARTIST (Thomas & Mercer; June 1, 2026; $16.99 Paperback), Carbo shifts her focus from the remote Montana wilderness to a vast and virtually inescapable landscape rife with threats from anonymous monsters: the digital world.

Two Lives with You by Lauren Ho

"Who knew flirting with your husband who doesn't know he's your husband could be this romantic?"--Mindy Kaling

What if they never married? For an overwhelmed husband and wife, that what-if wish comes true in an emotional and bittersweet novel about choices, sacrifice, and the love that they might lose forever.

When Dana and Nigel got married, they had such promise. After sixteen years, the cracks are showing.

Dana is a burned-out ER nurse, and Nigel is a recently unemployed stay-at-home dad whose professional identity is disappearing. Questioning the directions their lives have taken, Dana and Nigel are each granted a wish from a mysterious stranger. For one week they can escape the pressure of their lives in favor of ones in which they never married.
Waking up in an alternate reality where their youthful, individual dreams have come true is, at first, a marvel. When they meet by chance in Bali, Dana recognizes Nigel instantly, but he feels only an inexplicable connection to this stranger. And they discover there's a catch to their wishes.

Returning to normal--and to the long-haul love they vowed would be forever--won't be as easy as they thought. As the clock ticks down, Dana and Nigel face an impossible choice that will test the very foundation of their relationship and alter their lives forever.

Queer Saints by Antonio Pagliarulo

Queer Saints is not only a compendium of queer people who have lived extraordinary lives, accomplished extraordinary feats, and who now dwell comfortably in the spirit realm; it is also a spiritual gateway that invites you to explore more deeply the power of folk magic and its practices, of co-creation, allyship, and mystical solidarity.

Divergent Witchcraft by Jenny C. Bell

Divergent Witchcraft brings together the transformative magic of traditional witchcraft and the intuitive healing of New Age spirituality in one inclusive, empowering guide. Whether you have a divergent mind and process information in a different way or are simply seeking a fresh, accessible way to connect with magic, this book meets you where you are with compassion, clarity, and power.

Tarot of the Unconscious by Aliza Einhorn

When author and longtime tarot reader and teacher Aliza Einhorn returned to school in order to become a psychoanalyst, she thought that she would have to put divination behind her. Instead, she discovered new insights regarding tarot and intuition. The result is Tarot of the Unconscious: Uncovering the Hidden Link Between Psychoanalysis and the Cards.

Inspired by Sigmund Freud and the deep-diving talk therapy of psychoanalysis, Tarot of the Unconscious is a unique exploration of the seventy-eight cards of the tarot. Einhorn probes the uncanny correspondences between the mysterious tarot and the groundbreaking ideas of Freud, the father and inventor of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is the origin of all talk therapy known today. Freud popularized the concept of the unconscious: the idea that we don’t know why we do what we do and that our motivations are often hidden from us. Numerous tarot and other spiritual books examine the teachings of Carl Jung, but Tarot of the Unconscious uniquely draws connections between tarot and Freud.

Tarot of the Unconscious features seventy-eight new tarot spreads that Einhorn created especially for this book. She also teaches readers to bravely create their own spreads. Einhorn writes, “In this book, we have Tarot for your Melancholia, Tarot for the Journey Home, Tarot for Not Getting Out of Bed, Tarot for Your Dark Night of the Soul. You get the picture. Tarot, like life, is not all love and light and neither is psychoanalysis, and neither is any real healing or creative process.”

Einhorn offers interpretations of each of the seventy-eight cards but also teaches readers how to interpret cards, as well as how to hone and rely upon their intuition. Tarot of the Unconscious is suitable for tarot readers of any level. It will help transform nervous tarot novices into confident, creative tarot practitioners and will offer new thought-provoking perspectives to seasoned tarot experts as well.

Young Aleister Crowley and the Magicians' Revolt by Lon Milo DuQuette and Jim Bratkowsky

The year is 1900, and this isn’t just a new club; it’s a war zone. Crowley, a world-class mountaineer and acclaimed poet, unwittingly arrives amidst a power struggle as formidable magicians revolt against their leaders, MacGregor Mathers and his wife, Moina Mathers.

Empowered by an ancient Arabic grimoire, the Mathers claimed contact with “Secret Masters,” but now their influence is waning. As historical figures like William Butler Yeats and Bram Stoker populate the ranks, Crowley finds himself caught in a magical crossfire. His naive pursuit of enlightenment accidentally ignites an all-out wizard war with magical attacks recoiling upon his adversaries. Yet, aided by unseen forces, Crowley uncovers the interdimensional secrets of the ancient book, unleashing its power himself. This epic adventure culminates in a climactic magical showdown, where Crowley’s self-realization becomes his ultimate weapon.

Between the darkness and the light stands Aleister Crowley.

Medicine Wheels by Byron Graves

The American Indian Youth Literature and Morris Award-winning author of Rez Ball returns with the unforgettable story of a gifted young Ojibwe athlete learning to ride in his father’s footsteps while practicing for a skateboarding championship.

When Bryce’s mom walks out on her abusive boyfriend and back into jail for breaking her probation, he’s left facing the summer of his junior year with no parents, no phone, and only the clothes on his back.

With nowhere to call home, Bryce crashes at his grandparents’ house on Wolf Creek reservation. Wolf Creek is full of memories and old friends—including Robbie and Mikayla, who hang out at the local skate park.

Skateboarding reminds Bryce of his late dad: carefree, riding like he could fly. If Bryce could learn to ride like that, he’d take his crew to the top of the skateboarding championship at the end of the summer, and finally prove he’s not a loser, especially to the online-famous, captivating Mikayla. Summer is looking up, even as he’s falling on his face.

But when a fresh loss takes Bryce down, he’ll need to learn to lean on his Ojibwe community to get back on the board. Only then can he discover his father’s real legacy—and the true meaning of unconditional love.

The Open Era by Edward Schmit

Recently-turned-pro tennis player Austin Hardy has been out since high school and it’s never been a big deal. That is, until he becomes the first openly gay man to compete in a Grand Slam tournament. Suddenly, being gay is a huge deal, with headlines to prove it.

Unprepared for this new spotlight, Austin’s anxiety disorder hits a breaking point, and he trips and falls at practice. Right next to the very attractive, very talented, and probably straight Diego Cruz, ranked second in the world.

The two professional rivals start a friendship off the court. But between their flirty banter, mixed signals, and looming showdown, Austin is thrown further off his game by Diego.

With the eyes of the world on Austin, the weight of history on his shoulders, and Diego across the net, he must decide whether love means nothing or if it means everything as he battles for the trophy during an electric two weeks at the US Open.

The Rainy Day Bookshop by RaeAnne Thayne

Sandwiched between caring for her mother and rebuilding the relationship with her estranged daughter, Emma, Rosie Lucas’s life is full. In the best way. With Emma and her 3-year old daughter, Olive, back home, Rosie has a partner for The Rainy Day Bookshop, the family business, and a chance to fix the past. What she doesn’t have time for is a romantic relationship. And even if she did, Andrew Morgan is the last person she’d choose. Not only is he an arrogant and reclusive writer, but he’s a single dad with two young kids. She’s already been there, done that. Still as an irresistible flirtation builds between them, he becomes her unexpected confidante on the distance Rosie can’t seem to overcome with Emma, a secret she can’t quite unravel…

Emma isn’t proud of her past. But she’s pulled herself up by the bootstraps, caring for her own daughter, and protecting her mom at all costs. Just as she always has. She never told Rosie what she saw all those years ago and she never will. But some secrets refuse to stay buried, and sometimes the truth is more shocking than fiction. Rosie and Emma will have to navigate an unimaginable path forward. Together.

Pure Men by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr

A young professor grapples with homophobia in Muslim Senegal in this searching, heart-wrenching novel from the National Book Award–longlisted author of The Most Secret Memory of Men.

A viral video makes the rounds in Dakar, showing an incensed crowd that gathers to dig up a grave and drag the corpse from holy ground. When Ndéné, a French literature teacher, watches it, he’s surprisingly affected. Who was this man, and what could he have done to deserve such a fate? The answer soon becomes clear: he was a “góor-jigéen,” one of the so-called “men-women,” the shameful label given to homosexuals, cross-dressers, or any man who lives outside the accepted norm.

Haunted by the video, Ndéné sets out to learn more. With the help of a friend who works in night life, he explores a hidden side of Dakar, away from the rigid Islam of his family and university. Although he feels a certain disgust for homosexuality, he’s moved by the suffering and resilience of the people he meets. But the further he goes, the more he doubts his own identity, threatening to become an object of suspicion and scorn himself.

A powerful, nuanced portrait of queerness in a conservative society, Pure Men asks the fundamental question of how to find the courage to be true to yourself, whatever the cost.

Crossing the Bronx by David Hirshberg

Set in the gritty, working-class streets of The Bronx in the 1950s, CROSSING THE BRONX is a modern retelling of the Biblical story of rival brothers Jacob and Esau. It blends crime and a love story with an uncompromising sense of realism and explores themes of family division, political corruption, and clashing cultures.

CROSSING THE BRONX follows Jay deVenezia, who discovers his brother, Eric, and father are involved in a corrupt scheme to bribe New York City officials to build the Cross Bronx Expressway that will destroy the heart of their neighborhood. Jay and his girlfriend align with a community group to fight against powerful figures including the mob, city politicians, and Robert Moses, the “master builder” of New York. Their valiant efforts, which include illegal wiretapping and a well-planned neighborhood uprising, don’t win this battle, but do succeed in the war by rousing public opinion against future community-destroying building projects.

Like Hirshberg's previous two novels, CROSSING THE BRONX examines the evolving nature of the American Dream through the lens of first- and second-generation Americans trying to navigate a rapidly changing city. With cinematic naturalism, readers will connect with the vividly drawn characters, who reflect the essence of the human condition and show what causes us to change.

With CROSSING THE BRONX, Hirshberg has created another gripping tale that has it all: crime, romance, family dysfunction and betrayal, corrupt city politics, moral tension and ultimately, triumph over adversity.

Fancy Meeting You by Louise Marburg

Meet Laura Harrigan. Depending on who Laura is talking to, she’s a psychiatrist, a business consultant, or a mother of twin boys at Yale. In reality, Laura is an impetuous liar who is middle-aged, childless, and “involuntarily unmarried." She's a graduate of Harvard but works a job far beneath her capabilities, and most nights, she can be found at Baltimore’s least-glamorous dive bar, The Chicken Box, where the bartender knows when to call her an Uber.

FANCY MEETING YOU follows Laura over the course of her 50th year, which is marked by dreaded family functions, ill-advised romantic entanglements, and surprising new connections. Louise Marburg is at the peak of her observational powers here, delighting in the banality, hilarity, and minor humiliations of ordinary life. Arch and episodic, it's also a fresh take on the "woman at mid-life novel"—one that is not centered on marriage or motherhood, but rather on a prickly, wickedly funny heroine who is coming of age in her own time, on her own terms.

For the Bride by Becca Grischow

FOR THE BRIDE is a sapphic enemies-to-lovers romance that follows a Type-A maid of honor determined to do the most and a Type-B bridesmaid with her life only just put together. The two must somehow put aside their blistering animosity and plan the wedding of the summer—all while ignoring the growing tension between them.

Now that Alice is firmly sober, has a new job in music that she loves, and has reconnected with her best (and only) friend Ginny, she finally feels like she is getting her life together. Just in time, too, as Ginny is getting married and has asked her to be a bridesmaid! However, the maid of honor is Renee Roberts, the complete opposite of her and long-time Alice-hater, who is not ready to forgive and accept the new Alice. Every second Alice spends around Renee makes her feel like who she used to be, rather than the person she’s spent years trying to make herself into. But, over the days and nights they’re spending helping Gin throw a DIY summer wedding of epic proportions, the two discover that though they have nothing in common, that might be precisely what each of them needs. Heartfelt and hopeful FOR THE BRIDE is a banter-filled sapphic romance with deep emotional resonance about found family, second chances, and finding love in the unexpected.

Defrosted by Cristina LePort, MD

A Frightening Vision of the Future, And an Electrifying New Thriller, from the Acclaimed Author of Dissection and Change of Heart

Dr. Cristina LePort raises the bar with Defrosted, a captivating fusion of science, medicine, and political intrigue that redefines the boundaries of the thriller genre.

Two centuries into the future, cryogenically preserved scientist Dr. Peter Royce and his wife, Monica, awaken to a dystopian world where human worth is dictated by productivity and freedom is a distant memory. A devastating biological entity, known as mitocancer, looms as a global threat, and Peter must uncover the truth of his past to save humanity's future.

From the icy wilderness of Alaska to the corridors of power in a reimagined Washington, D.C., Defrosted explores the clash of high-tech medical breakthroughs and ethical dilemmas. As power plays escalate and secrets unravel, Peter, Monica, and a cast of vividly drawn characters are thrust into a battle for survival that questions the very essence of humanity.

Channeling Marilyn by Mima Tipper

Seventeen-year-old Lexa Donovan longs for a glamorous life. But when she’s chosen to star as sexy showgirl Cherie in her school’s spring production of “Bus Stop,” she can’t help but panic. One thing timid, plus-size Lexa knows for sure is she’s the exact opposite of the most famous Cherie ever: sex-goddess Marilyn Monroe. On the verge of quitting, Lexa’s world turns upside down when Monroe’s spirit takes up residence in her body. With the world’s greatest acting coach now on her side, Lexa’s ready to give the play her all. But before the curtain rises on opening night, Lexa and Marilyn must learn to trust their own hearts and act on what each truly needs to move forward—in life and in death.

The Anti-Marriage Pact by Lindsay MacMillan

Four friends. One pact. Zero compromises... Until now.

When EJ and her three roommates swear off marriage and motherhood with their infamous "Anti-Marriage Pact," they think they've got life figured out. No white dresses, no baby fever, no losing themselves to societal expectations. Just fierce friendship, creative ambitions, and the gritty freedom of Brooklyn.

But the bonds that once felt unbreakable start to fray as one friend and then another begins to find love. Meanwhile, Chris walks into EJ's life—a buttoned-up tax accountant who dares to question everything she believes about love, commitment, and what it really means to live on your own terms. Now EJ finds herself caught between loyalty to her sisters-in-arms and the terrifying prospect of opening her heart to something she's spent years rejecting. As her carefully constructed world begins to crack, EJ must confront the possibility that maybe, just maybe, she's been wrong about everything.

A wickedly funny and brutally honest exploration of modern feminism, female friendship, and the courage it takes to rewrite the rules of your own life

Breakout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, Nicola Yoon

Trapped at a luxurious resort off the coast of Florida, a group of elite teens are about to have a spring break they will never forget . . . but not all of them are coming home. The star-studded team of authors behind New York Times bestsellers Blackout and Whiteout returns with a thrillerfull of intrigue, betrayal, and heart-stopping romance.

For Thurgood Marshall Academy's best and brightest--five friends who've been thick as thieves since kindergarten--this spring break is all about forgetting: they want nothing more than to wash away last year's tragedy, and the human-shaped hole it left in their friend group.

It's a hole the new kid, Anthony Brooks, seems to fit right into. So when he invites the Five to join him on a private island for a week at his dad's luxury resort, they agree with zero hesitation. No one's counting on a freak tropical storm swooping in and killing the vibe. And speaking of killing, they're also ill-prepared for the mounting collection of dead bodies... including (another) one of their own.

As their dream trip unravels, everything they tried to leave behind--secrets, lies, betrayals, dead best friends--seems to be washing up on the shore of their lives for everyone to see. Will any of them make it out alive?

From the bestselling, award-winning team behind Blackout and Whiteout—Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon—comes a thriller that begs the question: is it possible to outrun the worst thing you've ever done?

Their Will Undone by R.J. Valldeperas

A debut YA fantasy must-read for fans of The Winner’s Curse, What the River Knows, and This Woven Kingdom.

When a maiden is selected to marry the emperor, her journey to the palace will see her fighting both a spark of magical power and her growing feelings for her broody escort in this romantic fantasy duology opener, inspired by a true story from the Inca empire.

In Amaru, it is an honor to be chosen in the annual harvest and serve the gods'-favored emperor. Nina’s brother has already been chosen, but when the emperor’s men come a second time for her sister, Nina volunteers instead. She is taken to the acllahuasi, a gilded cage where women train to become servants or wives for the ruling class. It is there that a soldier comes to collect her, and Nina learns of her fate—to become a wife...to the emperor.

As the emperor's trusted friend and soldier, Kasik is ordered to retrieve Nina and deliver her untouched. But the emperor’s betrothed is not as he expected. The distrust between Nina and Kasik is thicker than the trees surrounding them, and Kasik’s honor is put to the test when their path back to the capitol leads them into dangerous territory. Their lives and hearts are in peril as forbidden desires are unearthed, along with a stirring of dark magic in Nina that inexplicably ties her to the gods.

What begins as a simple task becomes a tense journey that forces Nina and Kasik to confront where their true loyalties lie—with the emperor and the fate of their people, or with the desires of their own hearts.

The Laboratory Assistant, Natalia Loya

In a city on the brink of revolution, science and passion offer their own strains of violence.

Petrograd, 1916 After her aristocratic family's fall from fortune, Mariya is desperate to survive - and to support her widowed mother and sisters. Matters alleviate when she finds work as an assistant to Dr. Nikolas Rodin, a reclusive scientist. Though the job makes ends meet, she is soon pulled into his strange and secretive world: a world of flickering gaslights, whispered experiments, and a man whose brilliance is as alluring as it is unstable.

Tuberculosis and revolution both ravage Russia. And as political unrest swells and illness creeps closer, Mariya finds herself torn between a future of safety and a love that threatens to unravel everything. But in the dark corridors of the laboratory, nothing is as it seems - and the line between devotion and danger disappears entirely.

Darkly romantic and steeped in suspense, THE LABORATORY ASSISTANT explores the perilous chemistry of desire, madness, and the choices that haunt us.

The History We Carry by Margaret Whitford

“The History We Carry” by Margaret Whitford is a deeply compassionate memoir about a daughter confronting the complicated legacy of her mother’s trauma. After choosing not to return to her estranged mother’s bedside at the end of her life, Margaret Whitford begins uncovering the history that shaped their relationship—from wartime Europe to violence, loss, and complex PTSD. In doing so, she explores how generational trauma shapes identity, relationships, and the ways we move through the world, ultimately offering a powerful meditation on understanding, inheritance, and the possibility of healing.

A Pair of Aces

A gripping novel about two trailblazing women on opposite sides of the law—a prosecutor and a madam—who team up to bring down notorious Mob boss Lucky Luciano in 1930s New York, from the New York Times bestselling authors of the million-copy bestseller The Personal Librarian.

Eunice Carter, assistant district attorney for the City of New York and Manhattan's first Black female prosecutor, has her sights set on the one and only Lucky Luciano, head of New York City's five largest organized crime families. Other prosectors have tried to bring down Lucky, but they’ve all focused on the crime syndicate’s traditional businesses—bootlegging, gambling, loan sharking, and drug dealing—or tax evasion. No one has thought to approach the mob through its hand in prostitution. Until Eunice. But she can’t get Luciano alone.

Polly Adler has worked long and hard to build up her high-class brothel business. Her client list is filled with well-known names, both the famous and the infamous, who all know her booze is top-notch, her music first-rate, her food exquisite, and her girls the best. But Lucky has gone too far, putting her girls in danger, and Polly finally sees the chance to end his reign once and for all.

Together, Eunice and Polly fashion a case utilizing a network of women. Bridging the enormous divide between them and risking their own lives, they assemble evidence bit by bit, under the nose of the man they’re trying to convict. It is this very alliance—of two women from vastly different worlds—that launches the most sensational trial New York City has ever seen.

The Momma Puzzle by Hilary Plattner

In February 1968, Hilary Plattner’s mother died by suicide. It was the height of the Vietnam war and Hilary was six years old.
Years later, in an attempt to understand the mystery of her mother’s death, she studies the items her mother left behind: photographs and a file of papers from the 1950s when Momma worked as a Foreign Service secretary in Saigon. Hilary pores over letters written to her future father, her grandmother, and to her mother’s best friend.
She dreams of burning the pile of documents in a bonfire, and simply being done with it all. But she continues her investigation and eventually discovers an important piece of the puzzle: her mother’s medical records from a psychiatric hospital. Ultimately, she forms an image of who Momma was—and finds a way to release herself from the hold of her family history.

The Last Days of Summer by Sarra Manning

A heartfelt, funny, yet deliciously spicy enemies-to-lovers romcom set during a long summer weekend at an exquisite British seaside resort, centered around a group of old friends whose lives are about to change forever.

Sometimes all it takes is one long summer weekend for the person you thought you hated to become something more . . .

After a disastrous first meeting, Cassie and Marc are instant archnemeses. Despite Marc’s frustratingly sharp cheekbones and sexy French accent—and the fact that Cassie's best friends Lucy and Russell think he’s wonderful—Cassie is convinced that Marc’s a terrible person who did a terrible thing, full stop.

But, years later, when their friends are hit with bad news, Cassie and Marc decide to put aside their differences and give Lucy and Russell the best weekend ever. While they can’t change the past, they can help their friends make new memories with all of their favorite people. Which means convincing everyone that Cassie and Marc are head over heels in love, since their best friends have always thought they would be perfect together, and badly wish each would find an ideal partner.

After years of loathing Marc, it only takes four bittersweet days for Cassie to reconsider whether she got the man completely wrong all these years. But can the two let go of their troubled past, and together, face whatever the future will throw at them? Or is this doomed to be just another steamy vacation fling, never again to be acknowledged or repeated?

Nobody's Quest by Alyssa Day

The goddess needs a nobody. The prince needs a miracle. Soli Graymind might be both.

Soli has spent most of her life being invisible—an indentured servant, a library mold-scrubber, the girl no one sees unless she’s in the way. So, when the king’s guards show up with swords drawn, she assumes it’s a mistake.

It’s not.

Moments later, she’s standing in the throne room while the king tells her she’s been chosen to retrieve a set of ancient keys—only the keys can save the goddess and stop the chaos beyond the palace walls. Because the world isn’t waiting to be saved.

It’s already burning.

And beside him stands Prince Kaelen: devastatingly beautiful, mercilessly cold, and certain Soli won’t survive the hard journey ahead.

He’s probably right.

But Soli's survived a lifetime of hard everything. She may be a nobody—no training, no real power, and no idea why she was chosen—but she refuses to be expendable. Even if the quest ahead is anything but simple. When assassins, monsters, and impossible choices fracture the fragile alliance slowly building with the Prince, Soli realizes she can’t hide in the shadows anymore.

Because, for the first time in her life, she has something to lose…

A high-stakes romantasy filled with slow-burn romance, found family, and a heroine who never expected to be anyone’s first choice.

Miriam in the Shadows by John Winn Miller

In Miriam in the Shadows, award-winning author John Winn Miller delivers a heart-pounding World War II thriller that explores the cost of resistance, betrayal, and survival.

Spring 1944. The world is holding its breath.

While the Allies prepare to storm the beaches, the real threat lies deep inside a Nazi-occupied coal mine in northern France, where the Third Reich races to arm V-2 rockets with radioactive warheads.If they succeed, London burns, and D-Day is over before it begins.

Enter Miriam Maduro—a 26-year-old Jewish mother from Amsterdam, trained at the British Special Operations Executive’s “gangster school” to be a saboteur and silent killer. Captured and tortured by the Nazis, she escaped—twice—with the help of Jake Rogers, an American cargo ship captain with secrets of his own.

The SOE taps into Miriam’s survivor’s guilt and maternal instinct to coerce her into one final mission: infiltrate the concentration camp/rocket facility disguised as an engineer’s assistant and destroy it from within. Meanwhile, Jake’s story runs parallel—recruited by Naval Intelligence officer Ian Fleming, only to be betrayed by real-life MI6 villain Claude Dansey, who uses Jake as bait to sabotage Miriam’s mission and destroy the hated SOE from the inside. When Miriam discovers Jake is a prisoner just miles away, she faces the ultimate question: Will she complete her mission and save D-Day, or save the man she loves?

Delivering high-stakes espionage, historical depth, and an unforgettable heroine, Miriam in the Shadows takes readers deep into the world of espionage, deception, and sabotage.

Not a Strong Enough Word by Allie Samberts

Five years apart. One unfinished love story.

Scarlett Frye was once a literary genius. With two bestselling novels, a million-dollar book deal, and a love story of her own, she had it all—until the pressure broke her. Five years ago, she canceled her book tour, shredded her contract, and disappeared. She left everything behind, including Ryan Whitlock, the editor who believed in her… and the man she loved.

Now, after years of healing, she’s ready to write again.

For Ryan, Scarlett’s disappearance wasn’t just a professional loss, it was personal. It shattered his heart and sent him into a slump. That is, until an anonymous manuscript lands on his desk. The writing is brilliant, raw, and achingly familiar—it can only be Scarlett’s.

As fate brings them back together, Scarlett reluctantly agrees to let Ryan edit her comeback novel, even though it means working with the man she never stopped loving. Old passions reignite, but when pressure builds and buried secrets resurface, Ryan fears history will repeat itself.

Scarlett walked away once. But as they navigate love, loss, and the weight of the past, she and Ryan must be strong enough to rewrite their story before it’s too late.

The Thinning by Inga Simpson

An eclipse is coming, and with it, a young woman’s one chance to save the world, in this gripping speculative environmental thriller. Fin grew up in an observatory, learning about telescopes and planets, inspired by the passions of her mother and father, then leaders in their fields of astrophotography and astronomy. Those days are long over. Now Fin, her mother Dianella, and a band of outliers live deep off the grid, always on amber alert and always ready to run. In the outside world, things are not good: extinctions and a loss of diversity threaten what’s left of the environment. With a new disaster looming, Fin finds herself thrust into an unlikely partnership with a stranger who has appeared in their camp. Terry is one of a new breed of evolved humans, the Incompletes, who are widely distrusted. But the pair will need to work together during a dangerous journey if they are to play their part in a plan to help restore the natural world—and humankind. The Thinning is an exquisitely written novel of both nature and urgent psychological suspense. There are echoes of Margaret Atwood in its themes about fertility, and it is also reminiscent of Rumaan Alam’s Leave the World Behind, Megan Hunter’s The End We Start From, and Joanne Ramos’s The Farm.

What You Should Worry About by Meryl Branch-McTiernan

IT’S JANUARY OF 2020 and thirty-seven-year-old Layla Moody is trying to worm her way into a party at the Sundance Film Festival. When she’s not picking up other people’s abandoned drinks or skinny-dipping in the hot tub, she’s trying to gain access to someone who can jump-start her stymied career as a Hollywood television writer. After a run-in with one of her creative heroines, she lands an opportunity to get her show produced. The only catch is, she has to return to New York, which she’s been avoiding since her father’s death. But once she arrives, the city locks down because of Covid and she is stuck by herself, with only a few old friends willing to meet in person and her handy purple vibrator that keeps running out of batteries. Finally, in spite of warnings and stay-at-home orders, she throws caution to the wind and joins a share house on Fire Island where she spent summers in her twenties and returns to a casual hook up scene that ultimately allows her to get a new perspective on life in her 30’s. The novel is filled with sex and is very frank about female desire and expectations. As Jennifer Belle wrote, “What You Should Worry About is literary, feminist, sexual, brave, smart, and hilarious. Meryl Branch-McTiernan is a real voice of our city and time.”

Baker's Dozen by Dasha Kelly

Shay Baker—daughter, close friend, photographer—suddenly takes her own life, the ghosts of unanswered questions and unresolved feelings haunting those who survive her. Left in her wake is a series of mysterious photos and letters, some sent to key figures in her life, others to only passing relationships. One recipient, Royal, cannot square what he knew of Shay with her ultimate end, and resolves to stitch together insights from others chosen by her, setting off a sequence of revelations each more shocking than the last. Part mystery, part study of our shared lessons on desire, Baker's Dozen reveals and unravels grief, family history, and the ties that bind.

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