Books Publishing This Week
Books Publishing This Week: August 4 - 10
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Imagine this:
It's an August weekend morning, and the world outside is just beginning to stir. The early rays of sunlight filter through the curtains, casting a warm, golden hue across your room. The air is still cool, a gentle reminder of the night's lingering presence. You stretch and take a deep breath, savoring the promise of a lazy day ahead. Today, you've decided, is the perfect day to start a new book.
You swing your legs over the edge of the bed and pad softly to the kitchen, the coolness of the floor tiles a pleasant contrast to the warmth of the rising day. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee soon fills the air, wrapping around you like a comforting embrace. With a steaming cup in hand, you make your way to your favorite reading spot—a cozy corner by the window, where the light is just right, and the world outside serves as a tranquil backdrop.
The book sits on the table, its cover inviting and mysterious, promising adventures and new worlds to explore. You pick it up, feeling the slight resistance as you open it for the first time, the crispness of the pages whispering of untold stories. As you settle into your chair, you take a moment to appreciate this quiet ritual, this sacred time carved out just for you and the book.
The first few lines draw you in immediately. You can feel yourself being transported, your surroundings melting away as the author's words weave their magic. The worries and stresses of everyday life fade into the background, replaced by the excitement of the narrative unfolding before you. Each sentence, each paragraph, pulls you deeper into the story, and you gladly surrender to its pull.
Outside, the world continues its slow awakening. Birds chirp softly, the distant hum of traffic begins to build, and the sun climbs higher in the sky. But inside, you are in a different realm entirely. The characters come to life, their voices clear in your mind, their experiences and emotions as vivid as your own. You feel their joys and sorrows, their triumphs and struggles, as if they were your own friends, your own adventures.
Time seems to bend and stretch, the minutes slipping by unnoticed. The morning light shifts, casting new shadows and highlighting different details in your room, but you remain engrossed, your attention unwavering. Occasionally, you pause to sip your coffee, now lukewarm but still comforting, before diving back into the pages.
You read on, the story unfolding with a rhythm that feels both familiar and new. There are moments of tension, of suspense that quicken your pulse and make you hold your breath. There are also moments of quiet reflection, where the prose is so beautiful, so poignant, that you have to pause and let the words sink in. You marvel at the author's skill, the way they can capture such a range of emotions and experiences, and convey them with such grace and power.
As the hours pass, you become more deeply entwined with the story. You find yourself speculating about what might happen next, guessing at the twists and turns that lie ahead. You become so immersed that the real world seems to fade away, leaving only the vivid tapestry of the book's universe.
By the time you finally look up from the pages, the sun has climbed high into the sky, its light now bright and intense. The day has progressed, but you feel as if you've been on a grand journey, one that has left you both exhilarated and content. You close the book gently, savoring the lingering connection to its world.
There is a quiet satisfaction in starting a new book, in allowing yourself to be transported and transformed by its story. As you stand and stretch, you feel a renewed sense of wonder and appreciation for the simple pleasure of reading. The day stretches out before you, full of possibilities, but you know that you will return to your book soon, eager to continue the adventure it promises.
For now, though, you take a moment to relish the experience, to let the magic of the morning linger. You smile to yourself, grateful for this peaceful interlude, this chance to lose yourself in a story and find something new within its pages.
Scroll down to find out what book you might be reading…
The Thirteenth Husband by Greer Macallister
Historical fiction based on a real woman from history, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo meets the Victorian era with a dash of The Haunting of Hill House in THE THIRTEENTH HUSBAND, a scandalous tell-all narrated by the glamorous Aimee Crocker. The novel details everything from her mischievous days in German finishing school to dinners with Hawaiian royalty to lavish Astor parties in Manhattan, but behind Aimee’s public notoriety, there’s private pain.
When Aimee is ten years old, as the night dips into the witching hour, the Woman in White appears to her. Minutes later, Aimee’s father is dead—and Aimee inherits a fortune. But the Woman in White never really leaves Aimee, appearing as a sinister specter before every tragedy in her life. Despite Aimee’s wealth, her cross-continental travels, and her increasingly shocking progression through husbands, Aimee is haunted by the unidentifiable Woman’s mysterious motivations.
With immersive, effervescent writing and a protagonist who will capture the hearts of book clubs and Booktokers alike, THE THIRTEENTH HUSBAND is a powerful whirlwind of a novel about a woman followed by scandal and heartbreak yet living her life without shame, appreciating its little miracles and seizing the peace that comes only after a life lived without regret.
Plays Well With Others by Sophie Brickman
In the vein of Where’d You Go, Bernadette and Fleishman Is in Trouble, a wickedly funny and incisive epistolary debut novel following a mother trapped in the rat race of NYC parenting as her life unravels.
Annie Lewin is at the end of her rope. She’s a mother of three young children, her crypto-VC husband is never around, and the vicious competition for spots in New York City’s kindergartens is heating up. A New York Times journalist-turned-parenting-advice-columnist for an internet start-up, Annie can’t help but judge the insanity of it all—even as she finds herself going to impossible lengths to secure the best spot for her own gifted and precocious son, Sam.
As Annie comes to terms with the infinitesimal odds of success, her intensifying rivalry with hotshot divorce lawyer Belinda Brenner—a deliciously hateful nemesis, what with her perfectly curated bento box lunches, effortless Instagram chic, and expertly coiffed son Brando, who’s been studying Suzuki violin seemingly from birth—pushes her to the brink. Of course, this newly raw and unhinged version of Annie is great for the advice column: the more she spins out, the more clicks and comments she gets.
But when she commits a ghastly social faux pas that goes viral, she’s forced to confront a single question: is she really any better than the cutthroat preschool parents she always judged?
A shimmering epistolary novel incorporating emails, group texts, advice columns, newspaper profiles, and more, Plays Well with Others is a whip-smart, genuinely funny romp through the minefield of modern motherhood. But beneath its fast-paced, satirical veneer, Brickman gives us a fresh, open-hearted, all-too-real take on what it means to be a parent—fierce love, craziness, and all.
The Leap Year Gene of Kit McKinley by Shelley Wood
An inspired, sweeping, historical epic tracing the remarkable life story of a baby girl born on leap year day who grows one year older every four years. The Leap Year Gene imagines the fascinating life of Kit McKinley from WWI up to the present day, told through the voices of Kit and her family members, whose lives are forever altered by her secret.
The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava
Ember Lee Cardinal has not always been a liar—well, not for anything that counted at least. But her job search is not going well and when her resumé is rejected for the thirty-seventh time, she takes matters into her own hands. She gets “creative” listing her qualifications and answers the ethnicity question on applications with a lie—a half-lie, technically. No one wanted Native American Ember, but white Ember has just landed her dream accounting job on Park Avenue (Oklahoma City, that is).
Accountant Ember thrives in corporate life—and her love life seems to be looking up too: Danuwoa Colson, the IT guy and fellow Native who caught her eye on her first day, seems to actually be interested in her too. Despite her unease over the no-dating policy at work, they start to see each other secretly, which somehow makes it even hotter? But when they're caught in a compromising position on a work trip, a scheming colleague blackmails Ember, threatening to expose their relationship. As the manipulation continues to grow, so do Ember’s lies. She must make the hard decision to either stay silent or finally tell the truth, which could cost her everything.
Group Living and Other Recipes by Lola Milholland
Lola Milholland grew up in the nineties, the child of iconoclastic hippies. Both her parents threw open the doors of the Holman House, their rambling home in Portland, Oregon, to long-term visitors and unusual guests in need of a place to stay. Years later, after college and after her parents’ separation, Milholland returned home. There, she joined her brother and his housemates—an eccentric group of stop-motion animators and accomplished cooks—in furthering the experiment of communal living into a new generation.
Group Living and Other Recipes tells the story of the residents of the Holman House—of transcendent meals and ecstatic parties, of colorful characters coming together in moments of deep tenderness and inevitable irritation, of a shared life that is appealing, humorous, confounding, and, just maybe, utopian—with a wider exploration of group living as a way of life. From spending time at her aunt and uncle’s intentional community in Washington State to finding her footing in the kitchen as a student in Japan to mushroom hunting in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, Milholland offers an expansive and vibrant reevaluation of the structures at the very center of our lives.
Thoughtful, quirky, candid, and wise, Group Living and Other Recipes introduces a gifted memoirist and thinker, making a convincing case that “now is always the right time to reimagine home and family”—and introduces a gifted memoirist and food writer in the tradition of Laurie Colwin, Ruth Reichl, Gabrielle Hamilton, and M.F.K. Fisher.
In Every Life by Rea Frey
Author Interview with Rea Frey
Ben and Harper have had a rough start to their marriage. After a surprise late-stage cancer diagnosis, Ben comes up with one final wish for his wife: he wants Harper to find a new partner before he dies. Harper is resistant to this wacky plan. If she can’t have Ben, then she doesn’t want anyone. Finally, he lets it drop, but not before the New York Times sends a journalist to do a feature story about Ben’s life...and his idea. When Harper opens the door, she is stunned to find the one man who got away. Or, the man she spent one perfect week with a decade ago and never saw again: Liam Hale.
Suddenly, Harper is faced with her ultimate what-if:
What if Harper had ended up with Liam instead of Ben?
What if she’d pursued life as an artist instead of teaching?
What if it had all turned out differently?
After making a wish, Harper wakes up to find herself in a parallel universe...where her what-ifs become a reality. Is the grass really greener, or is she standing right where she should be, even as she inevitably faces the pain of losing the one she loves?
The Last Light Over Oslo by Alix Rickloff
Based on true events, this gripping historical novel set in Norway and Sweden in 1940, follows one of the first female US Ministers, Daisy Harriman, and her niece as the two are unexpectedly caught up in the German invasion of Norway.
Close Knit by Jenny Colgan
Author Interview with Jenny Colgan
Follow Gertie MacIntyre from knitting circle to air stewardess in this glorious and romantic summer novel set in Scotland’s windswept Northern isles, by beloved New York Times bestselling author Jenny Colgan.
In the northernmost reaches of Scotland, where a string of little islands in the North Sea stretches towards Norway, lives Gertie MacIntyre, a proud island girl by birth. Her social circle is small but tight: family and friends, particularly the women in her knitting circle. In the whitewashed cottages of their hometown, everyone knows everyone, and the ladies of the knitting circle know more than most. In a place of long dark winters and geographic isolation, the knitting circle is a precious source of gossip, home, laughter, and comfort for them all. And while she knits, Gertie’s busily plotting what to do with the rest of her life.
When Gertie develops a crush on Callum Frost, who owns the local airline, she dares herself to take a job as an air stewardess on the little plane that serves the local islands. Terrifying at first, the sixteen-seat puddle jumper also offers the first taste of real freedom she’s ever known. Will Gertie’s future lie in the skies? Or will she need to go further afield to find the adventure she craves?
The Chamber by Will Dean
Author Interview with Will Dean
And Then There Were None meets The Last Breath in this tense and suspenseful locked-room thriller that takes place inside a hyperbaric chamber from the author of the “brilliant, twisted, and oh so clever” (Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author) novel The Last Thing to Burn.
The Enemy by Sarah Adams
From the New York Times bestselling author of Practice Makes Perfect comes an expanded edition of The Enemy—a laugh-out-loud romance about rekindling old flames, with a never-before-seen chapter.
Enemies should never get a second chance. But this one might.
It’s been twelve years since June Broaden has seen her high school enemy (and secret crush), Ryan Henderson. That’s a long time to hold a grudge over some petty feud, but the sharp memory of him dangling a kiss at graduation, then pulling away at the last second, has fueled many angry fantasies since. Now it’s her chance to get even.
Ryan, along with most of her high school class, is back in town for her best friend’s wedding, and June is eager to show the former bully exactly what he’s missed out on. A lot has changed since their teenage days; June is now the Southern queen of gourmet donuts , not to mention one of the most desired bachelorettes in her small town.
What’s she’s not expecting, though, is for Ryan to show up looking like Adonis and touting his own career success as the youngest chef to ever win three Michelin stars. How dare he try to one-up her revenge plot? Luckily, June never backs down from a challenge.
It's All Relative by Rachel Magee
Helena's a "fly by the seat of her pants" kind of girl. Amelia's got her perfect life planned down to the minute. How will they ever get through their parents' wedding--let alone a life as stepsisters--without ripping each other apart?
Twenty-seven-year-old Helena Crosby is over her mom Nora's wedding--and it hasn't even happened yet. For months, Helena's been dreading the day she and Nora would become part of The Perfects, aka the Maddox family, led by oldest perfect daughter Amelia. Her complete opposite in every way, Amelia owns a house, runs her father's architecture firm, and is engaged to her also perfect (and dreamy) fiancé Gage, all before the age of thirty. Helena has no idea how she's going to fit into this family with their fancy traditions and strict timetables. Thankfully, her best friend Landon is joining the festivities as her emotional support plus one--and the perfect buffer between her and her new family.
Amelia Maddox has spent months planning the perfect wedding week for her dad Steve and his bride-to-be Nora. She'd planned for every consistency . . . except for her new free spirited stepsister's deadly shellfish allergy, her brother's insistence on blowing up his life, and an unexpected guest on Helena's arm. A guest she hasn't seen in years. A guest who held her heart years before her fiancé Gage ever did . . . her ex Landon Blake. But no matter--Amelia's kept the Maddox family together since her mother died a few years ago. She's not going to be thrown by Landon's deep blue eyes and sun-bronzed forearms and the way he makes her feel all warm and cozy, like she's come home to herself. Nope. She has duties to attend to: being the best daughter, sister, fiancée, boss, and wedding coordinator. And she's going to bring her Eldest Daughter Energy to it all and push down those inconvenient feelings, no matter what.
Through a whirlwind week of wedding activities and a few near disasters, both Amelia and Helena realize that sometimes the blueprints for the perfect family and relationship look better on paper than in real life--and that family isn't only made of the people you're born with. Family is also made of the people we choose over and over again.
The House on Cold Creek Lane by Liz Alterman
Author Interview with Liz Alterman
An unflinching examination of motherhood and the dark side of domesticity set against a suburban backdrop that's anything but blissful. This twisty tale invites readers to a slow motion unravelling that culminates in a devastating finale.
Who was I? What had I become?
Breathe, I commanded. You're doing this for your family.
When Laurel and Rob West move into their new home in New Jersey, it seems too good to be true. But Laurel can't shake off her old feelings of anxiety. The neighbour who pays far too much attention to the Wests' two young children . . . Rob watching her every miss step . . . and there's something people aren't telling her about this house . . .
I promised myself I wouldn't go to that neighborhood again. Not that street. Not so soon. But I couldn't help it. They made it too easy.
Corey Sutton is trying to outrun her past. Recently divorced and reeling from a devastating loss, she moves into her widowed mother's retirement condo in Florida. Everyone says she just needs some time to recover and rebuild . . . but is Corey beyond saving? She wants answers. And there's very little she won't do to get them.
Though Laurel and Corey have never met, the women have something in common, and if they're not careful, it may just destroy them both . . .
The Outlier by Elisabeth Eaves
An audaciously twisty psychological thriller in which finding the killer is only one of two mysteries its anti-heroine, Cate Winter, tries to unravel. The other: when pushed to extremes, what is she herself capable of?
Cate Winter, at 34, is a wildly successful neuroscientist and entrepreneur who has invented a cure for Alzheimer's that will improve the lives of millions. On the verge of selling her biotech company for an obscene sum, she is also about to become very rich.
But Cate has a secret that keeps her deeply uneasy about everything she is and does: she grew up at the Cleckley Institute, a treatment facility for the rehabilitation of psychopathic children. And, as far as she knows, she is the institute's only success: all of her peers have become thwarted, maladjusted or even criminal adults.
Then Cate discovers the existence of another ex-patient and outlier who might prove that her success isn't a fluke. He has not only stayed out of jail, but he's made a mark in business and science. Though his identity is confidential, she breaks the rules and drops everything to track him down. And when she finds him, living under an assumed name in Baja California, she is immediately obsessed. Like her, he is driven and brilliant, an innovator willing to do what it takes to perfect a new energy technology that will stop global warming. Here, at last, is her mirror, her ultimate collaborator, the possible answer to the enigma of her nature.
But in the wake of a mysterious death, Cate can't avoid suspecting him. If he is involved, do his ends justify his means? Ruthless herself, she's about to find out whether there are any moral lines she won't cross.
Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
NOTICE TO STAFF: There has been a disturbing increase in cheeriness, sprightly behavior, and overall optimism of late. Please resume your former dark, ominous terrors at your earliest convenience. ―Mgmt
Evie Sage has never been happier to be the assistant to The Villain. Who would have thought that working for an outrageously handsome (shhh, bad for his brand) evil overlord would be so rewarding? Still, the business of being bad is demanding, the forces of good are annoyingly persistent, and said forbidding boss is somewhat…er, out-of-evil-office.
But Rennedawn is in grave trouble, and all signs―Kingsley’s included―point to catastrophe. Something peculiar is happening with the kingdom’s magic, and it’s made The Villain’s manor vulnerable to their enemies...including their nemesis, the king.
Now it’s time for Evie to face her greatest challenge: protecting The Villain’s lair, all of his nefarious works, and maybe (provided no one finds out) the entire kingdom. No pressure, Evie.
It’s time to step out of her comfort zone and learn new skills. Like treason. Dagger work. Conspiring with the enemy. It’s all so…so…delightfully fun.
But what happens when the assistant to The Villain is ready to become his apprentice?
Hell Divers XII: Heroes by Nicholas Sansbury Smith
Two final dives. One mission that will determine the fate of humanity—forever.
The Forerunner has decimated the Vanguard Islands in a surprise attack from the Trident warship. King Kade Long—seeing no alternative—accepts a peace deal, committing to a perilous mission with X, the “Immortal,” to activate weather-modification reactors at the poles. But as Kade and X set off, the fragile peace is threatened by Gran Jefe’s one-man guerrilla war against the psychopathic knight, General Jack. Meanwhile, halfway across the world, Michael and his family begin to settle into their new life in the Canary Islands, only to discover that it’s not the sanctuary they believed it was.
Diving into the most inhospitable territory yet, the Hell Divers face horrific monsters bred for a single purpose: to keep them out at any cost. Their only hope of defeating the monsters and restoring the planet is for enemies to unite behind the Immortal and finally work together. But with blood being shed back home, these heroes may have nothing left to save.
In Hell Divers XII: Heroes, beloved characters will confront their fates in a desperate bid to resurrect the world, though not all will live to see the dawn of a new era.
A Farewell to Arfs by Spencer Quinn
Chet the dog, "the most lovable narrator in all of crime fiction" (Boston Globe) and his human partner PI Bernie Little are on to a new case, and this time they're entangled in a web of crime unlike anything they've ever seen before.
Their elderly next door neighbor, Mr. Parsons, thought he was doing the right thing by loaning his ne'er do well son, Billy, some money to help get himself settled. But soon, Mr. Parsons discovers that his entire life savings is gone. A run-of-the-mill scam? Bernie isn’t so sure that the case is that simple, but it's Chet who senses what they're really up against.
Only Billy knows the truth, but he's disappeared. Can Chet and Bernie track him down before it's too late? Someone else is also in the hunt, an enemy with a mysterious, cutting-edge power who will test Chet and Bernie to their limit—or maybe beyond. Even poker, not the kind of game they're good at, plays a role.
Spencer Quinn's A Farewell to Arfs ups the ante in the action-packed and witty New York Times and USA Today bestselling series that Stephen King calls "without a doubt the most original mystery series currently available."
The Heir of Venus by Laura Shepperson
To the world he's a legend. To her he's a liar.
Lavinia never asked to be fought over. But now her childhood sweetheart has waged a war that threatens to destroy everything she holds dear, all because Lavinia's father has promised her to somebody else–Aeneas.
Aeneas, rumored to be the son of Venus, is famed for his bravery, cunning, and his vision for a new great Empire. He is also secretive, slippery, and Lavinia wonders why he will never discuss the past he left behind.
So when a stranger arrives in the camp with stories about Aeneas that suggest he is not what he seems, Lavinia realizes she has to take her future, and that of her people, into her own hands.
With striking prose and an inquisitive eye cast back on mythology, The Heir of Venus is an impactful and relatable story of a fight for the truth, set in the rich world of Greek mythology.
The Paris Cooking School by Sophie Beaumont
Life doesn’t always serve up the perfect dish, but second chances are always on the menu…
Kate is bruised from a heartbreaking betrayal. Artistic Gabi is struggling to overcome a crippling creative block. Learning how to make culinary magic at the celebrated Paris Cooking School is the perfect antidote. Taking the first flight out of Australia, both women find themselves in the city of lights and love.
But for Sylvie, the school’s owner, things are not looking so promising. She is under siege from a harassment campaign that threatens to destroy everything she has worked for while also juggling a commitment-shy lover, Claude. Each woman will be transformed by what unfolds that spring–and the course of their lives will be changed forever.
A delicious novel about love, hope, and the consolations of the perfect strawberry tart.
All the Little Liars by Victoria Selman
Told across two timelines and tapping into a horrific crime, All the Little Liars is a gripping novel about toxic friendship, the ripple effects of murder, and sisterly love that asks: how much would you sacrifice to belong?
Love Lessons by Sidney Halston
Quirky, free-spirited Valerie Marquez likes to make sure her kindergarten class has fun while learning. Uptight, by-the-book Andrew Wexler is allergic to fun, and loud music gives him a migraine, which makes sharing a wall with the other kindergarten teacher who loves to blast music all day his worst nightmare. But during the end-of the school year party, their shared tension morphs into a night of wild sex. What neither expected was the surprise consequence of that night. A baby. And, if sharing a wall with her nemesis was hard, sharing a classroom with him, while she’s feeling hormonal and hungry, is much harder. Turns out that co-teaching isn’t the hardest thing they’ll have to overcome. Trying not to fall in love with her baby daddy is much harder.
The Duchess of Kokora by Nikhil Prabala
The Duchess of Kokora, Phera Ylir Mdana, has entered the marriage games of the neighboring kingdom of Ryene. But she's not there to woo the dashing Prince Dominic.
Her true objective? To win back one of the other contestants, Lady Rocelle Virae-Phera's true love and ex-fiancee.
Love proves to be a game like any other when Phera must not only mend matters with her childhood sweetheart, but conceal her true intentions in order to earn votes and stay in the competition.
As long-brewing political tensions simmer beneath the surface, the playful veneer of the competition begins to crack. In the end, Phera, Dominic, and Rocelle find themselves united in a desperate bid to prevent a duel that threatens the integrity of the kingdom, the stability of the continent, and any hope for a happily ever after.
This fantasy sapphic romantic dramedy is a must read for fans of The Selection, Bridgerton, or A Restless Truth, as well as anyone who's looking for a story with a lot of laughs, a lot of action, and a lot of heart.
