Books Publishing This Week
Books Publishing This Week: July 14 - 20
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Imagine this…
The hammock sways gently as you settle into its embrace, the fabric cradling you like an old friend. It's a warm July afternoon, and the sun is high in the sky, casting dappled shadows through the leaves of the oak tree above. The air is thick with the scent of blooming flowers and freshly cut grass, a symphony of summer smells that brings a smile to your face. You take a deep breath, savoring the moment before turning your attention to the book resting on your lap.
This book, with its pristine cover and uncracked spine, is a world waiting to be discovered. You've been saving it for a day just like this, a day when you have nothing but time to lose yourself in its pages. The anticipation is almost tangible, a delicious thrill that makes your fingers tingle as you trace the title with your fingertips. You open the cover, the paper whispering a promise of adventure as you flip to the first page.
The hammock rocks gently as you shift, finding the perfect position. The world around you fades slightly, the rustling leaves and distant hum of a lawnmower becoming a soothing background melody. It's just you and the book now, an intimate encounter that feels both new and comfortingly familiar. The first sentence hooks you immediately, drawing you in with its vivid imagery and intriguing premise. You smile to yourself, knowing you've made the right choice.
As you read, time seems to slow down. The hammock's gentle sway becomes a metronome to the rhythm of your reading, each turn of the page a satisfying click that punctuates the unfolding narrative. The characters come to life in your mind, their voices and faces as clear as if they were standing beside you. The plot twists and turns, keeping you on the edge of your seat even as you recline in the hammock's embrace.
The sun continues its slow journey across the sky, and the light shifts, casting new patterns through the leaves. You adjust your position, maybe reaching for a sip of the cold lemonade you've placed nearby. The condensation on the glass is a welcome coolness against your fingers, a small pleasure that enhances the experience. You take a moment to gaze around, appreciating the vivid blue of the sky and the lush green of the garden, before diving back into the book.
Every now and then, a light breeze stirs the air, rustling the pages and bringing with it the sweet scent of honeysuckle. It's the perfect kind of day, where the heat is just right and the distractions are few. You let yourself become completely absorbed, your mind traveling far from the hammock, exploring distant lands and meeting extraordinary people. The author's words are a bridge to another world, and you cross it eagerly, savoring each step.
Hours pass unnoticed as you lose yourself in the story. The shadows lengthen, and the air takes on a golden hue as afternoon begins its slow transformation into evening. You feel a sense of satisfaction growing within you, a contentment that comes from a day well spent in the company of a good book. The outside world might be bustling with activity, but here, in your hammock, time is suspended.
Eventually, you reach a natural stopping point. You mark your place with a sigh of reluctant satisfaction, knowing you'll return soon to continue the adventure. As you close the book, you stretch, feeling the pleasant fatigue that comes from a day of relaxation and mental journeying. The hammock sways one last time as you step out, your body light and your mind full.
You glance back at the hammock, a symbol of your peaceful retreat, and at the book, now a companion rather than a stranger. This July afternoon has given you more than just time to read; it has offered you a sanctuary, a moment of pure, unhurried pleasure. You carry that feeling with you as you head inside, already anticipating the next time you'll lounge in your hammock and lose yourself in a new adventure.
Scroll down to find what book you might be reading…
Unsexed: Memoirs of a Prostitute’s Daughter by Marina DelVecchio
Unsexed examines the role that sex plays in the life of one woman with two mothers who introduce her to polarized frameworks of female sexuality.
Born in Greece to a violent prostitute and then adopted by a cold and unloving virgin from New York, Marina inherits a sexual identity steeped in fear and shame—one that, as she grows older and becomes a wife and mother, trickles into her marriage and the parenting of her children. Without the tools needed to understand her complex mothers or to unpack the lessons they taught her, Marina relies on self-erasure to survive relationships that silence and define her—until she finally becomes fed up with those old patterns and begins to stand in her own power.
A memoir that unearths the layered emotional and sexual lives of women and exemplifies the satisfaction that comes when they assert their voices and power, Unsexed speaks to millions of women who have different narratives but face similar struggles in reclaiming their voices, bodies, and sexuality.
The Yellowstone Campaign by Tim Piper
Award-winning author Tim Piper takes readers on another harrowing adventure inspired by a true story through adventurer Jubilee Walker, in “The Yellowstone Campaign”. Mountain men through the decades have told tales of the exotic geography surrounding the source of the Yellowstone River, and Jubilee Walker, to the dismay of his fiancée, Nelly Boswell, can't resist the opportunity to see it for himself. When Jubil joins an expedition to explore the region, he and his companions brave an unforgiving wilderness to find that the truth is even stranger than the legends.
But a year later, when Jubil returns with a survey crew, he finds ruthless men exploiting the region for profit. Will Jubil's commitment to preventing the despoilment of Yellowstone's geographical wonders get him killed? Based on events of the 1870 Washburn Expedition and the 1871 surveys by Dr. Ferdinand Hayden and Captain John Barlow, the second installment of the Jubilee Walker series chronicles events leading up to the passage of the bill that designated Yellowstone as America's first national park.
Don't Eat The Pie by Monique Asher
When Sam got married, she knew her life would change…
But geez, becoming the caregiver for her mother-in-law was definitely not on the agenda. Alas, tis life. She will do it anyway and do it very well, she’s used to over-functioning. She’s even managed to befriend the old women on the island. Keeping up an optimistic attitude even when a dead body shows up next-door. And dutifully making a pie for the upcoming competition despite her lack of sleep from relentless nightmares and haunting shadows in the home next-door. None of that will stop her from being the perfect daughter in-law.
The Design of Us by Sajni Patel
One little lie leads to a weeklong ruse of fake dating in this destination wedding rom-com by Sajni Patel, author of Isha, Unscripted.
There’s only one person who can bring UX designer and sunshine incarnate Bhanu down: Sunny with the Denzel voice, aka her work nemesis and all-around killjoy. She hoped to get a reprieve from him while visiting her sister in Hawaii with family, but then she ran into the grump at the hotel. Not only is he there, but his ex-girlfriend is, too. But when Sunny's ex starts throwing around cruel accusations of why he doesn't have a girlfriend right in front of Bhanu, Bhanu instinctively claims to be his just to shut the woman up. After all, they're in Hawaii, and this lady needs to calm the hell down.
Bhanu is the bane of Sunny's existence, but he’s found himself stuck with her for the week because of her lie. Although, the last thing he wants is to bring tension to his best friend's wedding festivities, much less be the center of everyone’s pity, so he hates to admit he should really be thanking her. But soon enough it’ll be back to daily bickering and hopefully stomping her out for the coveted promotion they both applied for.
But the more time Sunny spends with Bhanu, the more he lets his guard down. And the more involved Bhanu gets with this fake-dating thing, the more her family comes to adore "the man who will prevent her from turning into moss." Will either of them last the week on their pretend romantic getaway without crossing the line?
The Windsor Conspiracy by Georgie Blalock
Author Interview with Georgie Blalock
Georgie Blalock, the acclaimed author of The Other Windsor Girl, delivers an enchantingly reimagined fictional portrait of Wallis Simpson through the lens of her cousin who is engaged to spy on the Duchess of Windsor for her alleged Nazi sympathies and finds much more than she bargained for!
American Amelia Montague defied her family five years ago to marry the man she loved, but that decision cost her everything. Disowned by her family, and left a penniless widow after her husband’s death, Amelia becomes her cousin Wallis Simpson’s private secretary in France. With no other prospects available, Amelia has no choice but to succeed, and under their Aunt Bessie’s direction, hopes to have a positive influence on Wallis and the Duke of Windsor.
During the next two years, Amelia realizes that not everything with the Windsors is glittering happiness. Beneath the façade of the besotted couple simmers Wallis’s rage at her stunted ambition, and the couple soon reveal themselves to be self-centered Nazi supporters who pursue their own interests at any cost.
When the Germans invade France, and the Windsors leave Amelia to escape the Gestapo on her own, Amelia finds herself in position to work for the most unlikely of employers: MI5 and the FBI. Convinced to work undercover, Amelia joins the Windsors in Nassau and soon realizes that Wallis’s treachery extends far deeper than the US and British government even knows…
Richly imaginative, Georgie Blalock’s novel stuns as it explores two women, opposites in every way, and the choices they make to survive both war and each other. . .
Riot Act by Sarah Lariviere
In an alternate 1991, the authoritarian US government keeps tabs on everybody and everything. It censors which books can be read, what music can be listened to, and which plays can be performed.
When her best friend is killed by the authorities and her theater teacher disappears without a trace, Gigi decides to organize her fellow Champaign High School thespians to put on a production of Henry VI. But at what cost?
The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
Inspired by C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, this wild and wondrous novel is a fairy tale for grown-ups who still knock on the back of wardrobes—just in case—from the author of The Wishing Game.
As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone or how they’d survived.
Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons’ investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.
Jeremy alone knows the fantastical truth about the disappearances, for while the rest of the world was searching for them, the two missing boys were in a magical realm filled with impossible beauty and terrible danger. He believes it is there that they will find Emilie’s sister. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark since their return for his own inscrutable reasons. But the time for burying secrets comes to an end as the quest for Emilie’s sister begins. The former lost boys must confront their shared past, no matter how traumatic the memories.
Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they called home for six months—for only then can they get back everything and everyone they’ve lost.
It Had to Be You by Eliza Jane Brazier
Two contract killers, each with a hit out on the other, must fight their growing attraction as they face off in an epic game of lust and murder across Western Europe.
When Eva and Jonathan hook up on the sleeper train from Florence to Paris, they think they’ll never see each other again. Which is too bad, because neither has ever felt a spark like this for another person. But love isn’t on the agenda in their line of work.
Six months later, they run into each other in the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles. This encounter is not by chance, because Eva has been hired to kill Jonathan. She’s a contract killer, but what she doesn’t know is that he is too.
Their meeting kicks off a high-stakes adventure across Western Europe. There will be tourism. There will be bodies. Eva and Jonathan might even fall for each other.
As the two get closer to completing their assignments, it becomes clear that they are also being hunted—by something even more dangerous than love. . . .
The Black Bird Oracle by Deborah Harkness
Diana Bishop journeys to the darkest places within herself—and her family history—in the highly anticipated fifth novel of the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling All Souls series.
Deborah Harkness first introduced the world to Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and witch, and vampire geneticist Matthew de Clairmont in A Discovery of Witches. Drawn to each other despite long-standing taboos, these two otherworldly beings found themselves at the center of a battle for a lost, enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782. Since then, they have fallen in love, traveled to Elizabethan England, dissolved the Covenant between the three species, and awoken the dark powers within Diana’s family line.
Now, Diana and Matthew receive a formal demand from the Congregation: They must test the magic of their seven-year-old twins, Pip and Rebecca. Concerned with their safety and desperate to avoid the same fate that led her parents to spellbind her, Diana decides to forge a different path for her family’s future and answers a message from a great-aunt she never knew existed, Gwyneth Proctor, whose invitation simply reads: It’s time you came home, Diana.
On the hallowed ground of Ravenswood, the Proctor family home, and under the tutelage of Gwyneth, a talented witch grounded in higher magic, a new era begins for Diana: a confrontation with her family’s dark past, and a reckoning for her own desire for even greater power—if she can let go, finally, of her fear of wielding it.
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Business Casual by BK Borison
Nova Porter isn’t looking for love, and she certainly has no explanation for her attraction to buttoned-up, three-piece-suit-wearing investment banker Charlie Milford. Maybe it’s his charm? Or maybe it’s his determination to help her fledgling business however he can. Either way, she’s distracted every time he’s around. With her new tattoo studio set to open in her hometown of Inglewild, she doesn’t have time for frivolous flirtations.
In an effort to get Charlie out of her system once and for all, Nova offers a proposition. One night. No strings. They’ll kick their uncomfortable attraction to the curb and return to their respective responsibilities. But their explosive night together scatters their expectations like fallen leaves. And with Charlie in town as the temporary head of Lovelight Farms, Nova can’t quite avoid him.
And Charlie? Well, Charlie knows a good investment when he sees one. He’s hoping he can convince Nova he’s worth some of her time.
Desperation Reef by T. Jefferson Parker
In this high-stakes thriller by three-time Edgar Award winner and New York Times bestselling author T. Jefferson Parker, ("A marvel...hits the high-water mark for crime fiction every time out." —Gregg Hurwitz), a big wave surfer and her sons compete in the same contest that killed her husband many years before.
Jen Stonebreaker hasn't entered into a big-wave surfing competition since witnessing her husband's tragic death twenty-five years ago at the Monsters of the Mavericks. Now, Jen is ready to tackle those same Monsters with her twin sons Casey and Brock, who have become competitive surfers in a perilous sport.
When he’s not riding waves, modeling for surfing magazines, or posting viral content for his many fans, Casey Stonebreaker spends his days helping with the family restaurant — catching fish in the morning and bartending at night. Casey’s love for the ocean and his willingness to expose illegal poachers on his platforms puts him on a collision course with a crime syndicate eager to destroy anyone threatening their business.
Outspoken Brock Stonebreaker couldn’t be more different from his twin. The founder of Breath of Life, a church and rescue mission that assists with natural disasters that no one else will touch, Brock has lived an adventurous and sometimes violent life. Not everyone appreciates the work that Brock's Breath of Life mission accomplishes, and threats to destroy his mission—and his family—swirl around him.
As the big-wave contest draws closer, a huge, late fall swell is headed toward the Pacific coastline. Jen's fears gnaw at her — fear for herself, for her sons, for what this competition will mean for the rest of her life.
Civilisation Francaise by Mary Fleming
When recent college graduate Lily Owens enrolls in the Civilisation Française course at the Sorbonne in 1982, she hopes to put a difficult childhood behind her and to find direction for adulthood. She moves into a mansion on the place des Vosges where her job is helping elderly, half-blind Amenia Quinon, another ex-pat American. Amenia is haunted by memories of World War II, as is her Jewish housekeeper, Germaine. The three women live alone in this house of silence and secrets, until Lily secretly lets her friend, Thibaud, move into the empty wing. When Thibaud lets in others, the abandoned part of the house quickly turns into a squat, causing turmoil and distress among the three women, but ultimately bringing them closer together. CIVILISATION FRANÇAISE is an engrossing, powerful story about facing our past, discovering a future, and the meaning of home.
Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey
Tallulah is smart, vivacious, and studying to be a marine biologist. She’s also twenty-six and broke. So, when Burgess, a battle-scarred hockey veteran and newly single dad, offers her a job as his live-in nanny, she jumps at the opportunity to get paid while living in a super fancy neighborhood and being around Lissa, his cool but introverted tween.
Her tween charge isn’t the only one who could use some help fitting in, though. According to…well, everyone except Burgess, he needs to get back on the dating scene, and adventurous Tallulah is just the girl to show him how. But as boundaries are slowly crossed and Burgess finds himself pulled between his daughter, who wants her parents back together, and his insane chemistry with Tallulah, a huge rift is formed, and Tallulah does the “right” thing—breaks her own heart and walks away.
Though Burgess knows it’s for the best—he’s too jaded, with too much baggage—a chance meeting, and a new push from his daughter, forces him to put everything on the line and fight to prove he learned his lessons well and is worthy of a happily ever after with Tallulah.
The Backtrack by Erin La Rosa
From the author of FOR BUTTER OR WORSE and PLOT TWIST comes a new speculative contemporary romance. One woman is sucked into the past—and shown glimpses of what her life could have been—as she listens to nostalgic hits on her old CD player. For fans of Rebecca Serle and Allison Winn Scotch.
When pilot Sam Leto jet-setted out of small town Georgia, she promised she’d never be back—even though it meant leaving behind her best friend, Damon Rocha. Now on a forced vacation home to pack up her childhood house (and help her injured grandmother), Sam is unexpectedly hit with nostalgia from her teens--especially her bedroom, perfectly preserved from the time she left all those years ago. Sam discovers an old CD player among her teenage possessions, and in listening to the burned disc inside, she receives flashbacks from her past life--senior prom, graduation, leaving home. But the memories aren't as she remembers them. They show an alternate past. What could have been. If she never left Georgia all those years ago, would she now have the life (and love) she always wanted for herself?
The Widow on Dwyer Court by Lisa Kusel
Perfect for fans of Kiersten Modglin’s The Arrangement, The Widow on Dwyer Court is a sexy psychological thriller that will leave you breathless.
Thirty-six-year-old stay-at-home soccer mom Kate Burke is happily married to Matt Parsons, although their marriage looks very different behind closed doors. Kate is no longer interested in having sex with her husband. So, while they still love each other madly, they make an arrangement: Matt can have one-night stands with other women on work trips, but when he returns home, he has to tell Kate about them—every juicy detail.
Because Kate has a secret life writing erotic romance novels, and Matt’s adulterous affairs are her bread and butter.
The family equilibrium is upset, however, when Annie Meyers, an eccentric young widow, moves to town with her daughter. At first Kate is smitten with this wild, witty woman, who gives her a much-needed break from the other picture-perfect suburban moms, although she’s not sure how much of her secret life she’s willing to share with her new friend. But it turns out Annie has secrets too—big ones that could destroy all their lives.
House of Shades by Lianne Dillsworth
In this dark, immersive tale steeped in atmosphere and drama, the author of Theatre of Marvels returns to Victorian London to tell the story of a young Black female doctor's dangerous quest to find the truth that unearth the secrets of the past. London, 1833. Doctress Hester Reeves has been offered a life-changing commission. But it comes at a price. She must leave behind her husband and their canal-side home in Kings Cross and move to Tall Trees--a dark and foreboding house in Fitzrovia. If Hester can cure the ailing health of its owner, Gervaise Cherville, she will receive payment that will bring her everything she could dream of. But on arriving at Tall Trees, Hester quickly discovers that an even bigger task awaits her. Now she must unearth secrets that have lain hidden for decades--including one that will leave Hester's own life forever changed.
Back in Black: An Anthology of New Mystery Short Stories by Don Bruns
Inspired by songs from AC/DC’s bestselling album, Back in Black, this anthology contains ten murder mysteries from ten bestselling writers—including a new Jack Reacher original by Andrew Child.
The third in the collection of the Music and Murder Mystery Series, Back in Black features one story for each song from the seminal hard rock album of the same name. This book showcases ten brilliant mystery writers at the top of their game, including Reed Farrel Coleman, Heather Graham, Tori Eldridge, Ward Larsen, and Andrew Child, among others.
Chilling and unexpected, Back in Black has a mystery for everyone.
Matters of the Heart by Kelly Irvin
Declan Miller has always had feelings for Bethel King. Back when they were in school, she was the smartest girl in the class and, in his opinion, by far the prettiest. Now the two of them are in their twenties and while the attraction is still there, Declan is as hesitant as ever to let Bethel know how he feels. His corny jokes and wisecracks cover a heart that's afraid of rejection.
Bethel can't deny Declan is nice, funny, hardworking, and pleasing to the eye--a perfect match if you asked any Plain girl in the area. But marrying Bethel would also mean marrying into her family. Two of her younger brothers have a rare form of muscular dystrophy, and her sister Claire is now showing signs of having it as well. Fiercely loyal and nurturing, Bethel has promised herself her siblings will always come first. With a good chance that she carries the gene and could pass it on to her children, Bethel has tried to convince herself marriage and family just aren't in the cards for her.
When a devastating diagnosis of his own turns Declan's world upside down, he looks to Bethel for understanding, compassion, and a realistic outlook. As they share their dreams and fears and grow together in faith, a bond begins to develop between them. Perhaps their combination of optimistic extrovert and thoughtful introvert really isn't such a bad thing--perhaps it's actually a part of God's beautiful design.
The Monosexual by Dean Monti
The MONOSEXUAL explores the story of Vincent Cappellini, an obsessed ultra-monogamist who struggles when his relationship with the love of his life abruptly ends. Twice-burned—once in love and once by the sun—he faces a host of challenges to his self-appointed sense of identity. Sunburn, bad sushi, a Frank Sinatra karaoke contest, and the road rage fury of a woman scorned are but a few of the trials Vincent will endure while facing the ultimate test to his monosexuality—a new woman in his life.
The Woman in the Garden by Jill Johnson
Eustacia Rose is about to learn that people are just as toxic as her plants...
Eustacia Rose is Professor of Botanical Toxicology and lives alone in London with only her extensive but exquisite collection of poisonous plants for company. She tends to her garden with meticulous care, buys the occasional rare specimen off the black market, and likes to look through her telescope at her neighbors (it's science, not spying). In all, Eustacia's life never changes.
That is, until the day she hears a scream and the temptation to investigate proves irresistible.
Through her telescope, Professor Rose is drawn into the life of an extraordinarily beautiful neighbor, Simone, and nicknames the men who visit her after poisonous plants according to the toxic effect they have on Simone. But who are these four men? And why does Eustacia Rose recognize one of them?
Just as she cares for and preserves her secret garden, she feels inexplicably compelled to care for and protect her neighbor. But when her precious garden is vandalized and someone close to Simone is murdered with a toxin derived from a rare poisonous plant, Eustacia find herself implicated in the crime and decides to take matters into her own hands…
