Hello, fellow bookworms! I know how incredibly difficult it is to keep up with all the books coming out each week. It’s basically impossible. But I am here to hopefully help navigate the new book word. Here is a list of twelve books to be looking out for this week.
Everyone in this Room Will Someday be Dead by Emily Austin (Contemporary Fiction)
Gilda is an anxious twenty-something, atheist, animal-loving lesbian. When she responds to a free counselling flyer at the Catholic Church, she accidentally replaces recently deceased Grace as the church’s new receptionist. Soon Grace’s friend is trying to get in touch with Grace using the church’s inbox and Gilda doesn’t have the heart to tell Grace’s friend the truth. But when the police discover suspicious circumstances surrounding Grace’s death, Gilda may just have to come out with what really happened.
Dear Miss Metropolitan by Carolyn Ferrell (Contemporary Fiction)
Three girls are abducted and held captive in a delipidated house in Queens. Years later, when two of the girls, now women are found, the neighbors line the streets claiming ignorance. But how could Miss Metropolitan, advice columnist and self-proclaimed “newswoman” miss a horror story occurring just across the street? Now two women must face survivor’s guilt and becoming a symbol as they adapt to their new present. A story that explores grief, rage, personal strength, and healing.
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller (Contemporary Fiction)
Fifty-year-old Elle has visited her family’s summer home, the Paper Palace, every summer of her life. She is married with three children, but last night Elle slept with her childhood love and oldest friend, Jonas for the first time with their spouses chatting away inside. Now Elle has to decide between her beloved husband Peter, and the life she always dreamed about with Jonas. Read as Heller paints the story of Elle’s life leading up to her final decision.
The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel (Historical Fiction)
Stolen from her German family to survive in the wilderness of Eastern Europe, a woman finds herself alone in 1941 after her kidnapper dies. As Jews begin fleeing into her woods searching for protection, she teaches them how to survive in exchange for surprising lessons on how to open up her heart after years of isolation. But when she is deceived, she runs away to a German village where her past and present collide.
Island Queen by Vanessa Riley (Historical Fiction)
Based on the real-life story of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, Island Queen tells the story of a woman who rose from slavery and became one of the most powerful and wealthy landowners in the West Indies. Doll bought her mother’s, her sister’s and her own freedom from her Irish father to build her own wealth and power as an entrepreneur, merchant, planter, and hotelier. Riley tells the story of an adventurer and survivor who stopped at nothing to rise against the odds.
The Very Nice Box by Eve Gleichman and Laura Blackett (Romance)
Ava is still heartbroken over a tragedy that killed her girlfriend, but after a ride home from her new boss at STADA, a Brooklyn-based furniture company, a relationship begins to bloom. Ava is reminded how rewarding it is to open up and she begins to fall in love despite what her instincts tell her. But her boss isn’t who he claims, and soon their relationship takes a sharp turn.
Incense and Sensibility by Sonali Dev (Romance)
Sonali Dev brings an Indian-American twist to Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility in this romance where Yash Raje is the first serious Indian Gubernatorial candidate in California. Yash knows what he wants and knows how to get it with his privileged background. After an incident that injured Yash’s best friend, Yash struggles to get back to campaigning without blacking out. The Raje family turns to the only person they can trust with Yash’s condition, his sister’s best friend and stress management coach India Dashwood. Yash has suppressed all his stressors and drama in order to succeed, but now he may need to bring it all up again, including his magical night with India ten years ago, in order to save himself.
The Stranger Behind You by Carol Goodman (Thriller)
Joan Lurie finally finishes her article exposing a famous newspaper tycoon as a sexual predator, but after celebrating her successful piece she is attacked and must go into hiding. Joan is moved to a highly secured apartment building in Manhattan called the Refuge where she meets 96-year-old Lillian who has been at the Refuge since the 1940s. As Joan and Lillian talk, Joan begins to connect Lillian’s story with her own research and attack getting her one step ahead of those who don’t want Joan to know the truth.
The Stranger in the Mirror by Liv Constantine (Thriller)
Addison is about to get married, but something is troubling her. She doesn’t know her real name, who she is, or why she was found bleeding next to a New Jersey highway. But she can’t shake the notion that she did something horrible.
Julian is trying to figure out what happened to his wife who disappeared without a trace two years ago because he would never leave him and their young daughter just like that, would she?
Rise to the Sun by Leah Johnson (Young Adult Romance)
Olivia has gotten her heartbroken one too many times, while Toni is still recovering after her father’s death. To heal, both Olivia and Ton decide to go to the Farmland Music and Arts Festival, but what they don’t expect is that they’ll have to work together to get what they want out of the weekend. The festival only continues to get more complicated as the weekend continues. Olivia and Toni will learn how much they need each other and music in this young adult romance.
Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim (Young Adult Fantasy)
Shiori is not only the only princess of Kiata, but she also possesses forbidden magic that she was good at concealing until her betrothal ceremony. Raikama, her stepmother who also possesses forbidden magic uses Kiata’s slip up in her favor. Banishing Kiata and turning the princes into cranes, Raikama threatens Kiata that each time she speaks, one of her brothers will die. Kiata journeys to find her brothers with no voice or money, only to find a conspiracy to overthrow the throne. Kiata must trust every boy she tried so hard not to marry and embrace her magic in order to save the throne.
Summer in the City of Roses by Michelle Ruiz Keil (Young Adult Fantasy)
In a magical retelling about the pain and beauty of growing up, Iph is faced with her first summer apart from her sensitive younger brother, Orr, who was sent to wilderness boot camp without Iph knowing. When their father finally tells Iph about Orr going away, he is already gone. Feeling betrayed, Iph storms off in search of her brother when George swoops in offering Iph a place to hide out while she figures out a way to track her brother down. Meanwhile, Orr has already escaped boot camp and is living in the closet of the all-girl punk band, the Furies. The siblings begin to learn more about themselves while trying to track each other down before their family is fractured forever.