Feature image @readingwithnikole
Summer 2023 has arrived and we can’t wait for all new book releases in store for this next year. From the season’s most anticipated romances to historical fiction to thrillers, this year is bound to bring new experiences, chills, loves and heartaches. Definitely make room on those bookshelves, and get excited for what the next few months have in store. Here is a list of the best books coming in summer 2023!
Happy Place by Emily Henry (4/25)
Since college, Harriet and Wyn have always been the perfect couple, going together like macaroni and cheese. Except now, they’ve broken up. And it’s been five months, and they haven’t told any of their friends. So when their friend group goes on their yearly trip to a cottage in Maine, the typically blissful week away is spent lying through their teeth. Naturally, they are forced to share a bedroom and deny how badly they still want each other. Will they be able to fake it in front of the people who know them best?
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Here’s what Emily Henry reads>>
A History of Burning by Janika Oza (5/2)
It’s 1898 and a teenage boy named Pirbhai is taken from his village in India, forced to work for the British on the East African Railway. It is here that he commits a brutal act that will haunt him and his family forever. An act of survival that will span across four continents and generations. His granddaughters, Latika, Mayuri, and Kiya, grow up during a divided time as the country moves toward independence, one of them carrying the weight of her family’s long held secrets. Under Idi Amin’s military dictatorship, the family is forced to flee, scattering across the globe, struggling to find their way back to each other.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst (5/2)
Mickey Hayward’s life is far from the messy one she left in Maryland. She’s got a devoted girlfriend, a flashy media job that makes her feel successful. At work, she is often overlooked and undervalued, but she is working hard to prove herself. Until she finds out she’s being replaced, and is enraged. She harnesses her rage to write a letter detailing all the racism, sexism, and mistreatment she dealt with as a Black woman in the media, hoping it will change the world. When her letter is met with silence, Mickey spirals into self-doubt, and finds herself back in Maryland where she is drawn to the simplicity of her old life, and the spark of an old flame. When her long-forgotten letter resurfaces and the world suddenly wants to hear what she has to say, she finds herself questioning what she really wants after all.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune (5/2)
Fern Brookbanks can’t stop thinking about the handsome stranger that she spent an adventurous twenty-four hours with in her early twenties. They shared everything that day, but Will Baxter didn’t show up a year later like they had planned. Now Fern is thirty-two, and her life isn’t how she thought it’d be: back home to run her mother’s lakeside resort, where her ex-boyfriend is the manager, and Fern needs a lifeline. When it shows up in the form of Will, she isn’t sure she can trust him, especially because she knows he’s hiding something. Can Fern save Will the way he saved her almost ten years ago?
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Love romance? Don’t miss the best romance reads coming out in 2023>>
The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren (5/16)
From the author of The Soulmate Equation, Felicity “Fizzy” Jones returns. When the beloved romance novelist is asked to give a speech, she suddenly feels like a fraud. She hasn’t been practicing the optimism that she preaches. She doesn’t even think she’s been in love. Maybe lust, but not all-encompassing love. Connor Prince is a father and a filmmaker, and he loves his job because he can be close to his daughter. When his job is on the line and he must make a reality TV series, he is out of his element, but when he meets Fizzy, he has an idea to film the queen of romance herself falling in love. Fizzy agrees, but only if the contestants are from a list of romantic archetypes. But maybe Fizzy’s happily-ever-after is behind the camera, instead.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Here are books for fans of Christina Lauren>>
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (5/16)
June Hayward and Athena Liu are authors breaking into the publishing industry, and both graduated from Yale. But June couldn’t even get a paperback deal, and Athena is a literary darling, telling more-than boring stories about white girls. When June witnesses a freak accident involving Athena, she steals her almost-finished manuscript, telling the story of Chinese laborers during WWI. June convinces herself that the story needs to be told, and edits the work as her own. Rebranding herself using an ambiguously ethnic author photo and the name Juniper Song, June finds herself very protective of her secret, convinced she deserves her stolen success.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
The Celebrants by Steven Rowley (5/30)
It’s been five years since Jordan Vargas last saw his college friends, and twenty-eight years since they graduated. Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig and Marielle are about to start a new decade, but they aren’t any closer to having their lives figured out. Reuniting in Big Sur over the years, the group has made a pact to throw each other “living funerals,” reminders that life is worth living and living to the fullest. But this time is different, and Jordan has a secret that will upend their pact for good.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Pageboy by Elliot Page (6/6)
Elliot Page was on the brink of discovering himself as a queer person when the massively successful movie, Juno, came out. Forced to play the role of glossy, young starlet both on and off the screen, Elliot found himself suffocating. Where acting once had been an outlet for his imagination, it soon became a bitter reality, and Elliot felt those dreams of finding himself as a trans person become further out of reach, until enough was enough. With Hollywood behind the scenes and personal insights, Pageboy is a winding journey of what it means to be ourselves when society is trying to create a different version of us.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Don’t miss the most anticipated memoirs coming out in 2023>>
All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby (6/6)
Titus Crown has spent years as an FBI agent and now he is back in his hometown, where the bigoted police force inspires him to become the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County. When another Black man is shot to dead by Titus’s deputies, he will stop at nothing to uncover the truth of what happened, leading him to uncover a serial killer who’s been hiding in plain sight. But even as the darkness threatens to consume Titus, he refuses to let it overtake the town he loves.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende (6/6)
It’s 1938 in Vienna and Samuel Adler is five years old the night his family loses everything, including his father. As it gets more difficult to ensure Sam’s safety, his mother sends him away from Nazi-occupied Austria on a Kindertransport train to England, with nothing but a his violin and a change of clothes. Eight decades later, Anita Díaz and her mother are fleeing El Salvador, boarding another train for the United States. Upon their arrival, seven-year-old Anita finds herself alone at a camp in Nogales, where she escapes her reality by entering a world of her imagination, Azabahar. Meanwhile, a young social worker enlists the help she needs to reunite mother and daughter.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
The Whispers by Ashley Audrain (6/6)
As the summer winds down, the folks on Harlow Street gather for a BBQ that goes late into the night, drinks flowing. Everything is fine until the typically picture-perfect hostess explodes at her son, exposing what is underneath. When her son falls from his bedroom window, she sits in utter silence at his hospital bedside, refusing to speak. The next three days are thick with tension as the women of Harlow Street grapple with what happened that late summer night.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See (6/6)
In this story of women helping women, Tan Yunxian was born into an elite family, yet her life has been riddled by tragedy. Raised by her grandparents to be useful, Yunxian learns early on about Chinese medicine from her grandmother, one of the only female doctors in China. She learns about the Four Examinations and all about women’s illnesses, most relating to childbearing. Yunxian forms a fast friendship with midwife-in-training, Meiling, and they vow to be friends forever. When Yunxian enters an arranged marriage, she is forbidden to see Meiling, to help the women and girls in the household, or to leave the family compound, the Garden of Fragrant Delights. Yunxian must question what it takes for a woman to break free of the traditions that hold her back from healing and treating women from all walks of life.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Banyan Moon by Thao Thai (6/13)
When Ann Tran loses her beloved grandmother, Minh, she returns home to face her estranged mother, Huơng. Ann’s mother is grieving, but still resents her mother for having a better relationship with Ann. The two learn that Minh has left them the Banyan House, bringing them together under the same roof for the first time in many years, forcing them to face the past, as well as their futures. Meanwhile, we hear the story of Minh, the only person that held them together.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
The Only One Left by Riley Sager (6/20)
The Hope murders of 1929 had everyone assuming that seventeen-year-old Lenora Hope was responsible. Afterwards, she never denied it, nor has she ever left the mansion where the massacre occurred. It is now 1983, and home-health caregiver Kit McDeere has arrived at Hope’s End to take care of Lenora, now confined to a wheelchair and only able to communicate through an old typewriter. One night, Lenora offers to tell her everything. As Lenora types her tale, Kit soon learns that there is a lot more to the story than people know. But as she learns more about the previous caretaker, she begins to wonder how much of Lenora’s story is true.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Love Riley Sager? Here’s his best books, ranked>>
Zero Days by Ruth Ware (6/20)
Jack and Gabe are married, and they are the best penetration specialists in the business, meaning companies hire them to break into buildings and hack their systems. When Jack arrives home after a routine assignment to find Gabe dead, she’s horrified, even more so when she discovers the police are closing in on their main suspect—and it’s her. On the run, Jack must decide who she can trust while trying to track down the real killer.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Here’s what to read if you love Ruth Ware>>
The Apartment by Ana Menendez (6/27)
The Helena is an art-deco apartment building in South Miami Beach. In seventy years, this building has witnessed change in both the city, as well as the inhabitants within. Apartment 2B has housed the likes of a Cuban concert pianist, a widow and new single mother, a man waiting on a green card so he can marry his lover, and they all live together. Then there’s the building manager and his secret identity, and Lenin, a troubled young refugee. When the new tenant, Lana, arrives, she is both overwhelmed and healed by her eccentric new neighbors.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue (6/27)
When Rachel meets James, it is love at first sight, and the two begin a life-changing friendship. They riot the streets of Cork city as the financial crisis looms over them, yet they remain bohemian spirited. Rachel, a student, falls in love with her married professor, Dr. Fred Byrne. James helps her devise a plan to for a reading at their local bookstore, with hopes that she can seduce him afterwards. But Fred’s desires catapult them all into a series of intertwined connections, secrets and compromises.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Hello Stranger by Katherine Center (7/11)
Sadie Montgomery is a struggling artist who just needs one lucky break. Landing a spot in a portrait competition, she thinks things may finally be going her way. But the competition lands on the same day of a surgery she must have. Sadie is reassured that the surgery is minor and that she’ll be unscathed, but while she’s in recovery, she discovers that she no longer can see faces. When she takes her dog to the vet, she meets Dr. Addison, who wants to take her on a date, but she is determined to keep her face blindness a secret. As she also develops a friendship with her obnoxious neighbor Joe, she soon finds herself falling for two guys, while she faces losing her career as an artist and confronting her haunting past.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead (7/18)
It’s 1971. Crime is at an all-time high. NYPD and the Black Liberation Army are having a shooting war, trash is piling the streets, and the city is on the brink of bankruptcy. Ray Carney, ex-fence and current furniture store owner, says his days of moving stolen goods around the city are over. When Carney needs a favor, he reaches out to Munson, an old police contact. But when Munson has favors of his own, staying out of the game becomes complicated. Years later, Carney and his partner-in-crime, Pepper, are finding it hard to find a reliable crew for their assorted felonies. As the story spans years, we see the crooked duo battle violent corruption while showcasing a portrait 1970’s New York.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong (7/25)
Every year in the capital twin cities of San-Er, thousands of people come to the palace to watch a set of games, where those brave and confident enough will fight to their death, winning unthinkable riches. Princess Calla Tuoleimi has been lurking in hiding since a massacre killed everyone in her palace of Er, including her parents. Turns out, she’s the one who did it. Before she gets caught, she plans to finish the job of taking down the monarchy. Her chance to greet her reclusive uncle will only present itself when he greets the victor of the games. Which only means one thing, she will have to win.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo (8/1)
Flor has a gift: she can predict the day of anyone’s death. When she plans a living wake, her sisters Matilde, Pastora and Camila question if she has seen her own death, or someone else’s—but Flor isn’t speaking up. Pastora, inspired by Flor’s wake, is inspired to solve her siblings problems. Matilde has secrets of her own, and she soon must confront the issues in her marriage. The next generation, cousins Yadi and Ona, have problems of their own. Yadi, reuniting with her formerly imprisoned first-love and Ona, married and trying to conceive. In the days leading up the wake, we journey through Santa Domingo and New York City, exploring the history of the Marte women.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange (8/1)
Tara Connelly knows that at thirty, rebuilding her life will not come easily, especially after serving eighteen months on a drug charge. She heads home to live with her siblings, her brother; a single dad struggling from ongoing effects of a brain injury, and her sister who has secrets that are starting to resurface. Tara works to rebuild her life, career, and even finds love unexpectedly, but the secrets that burden their family will need to be faced before they can truly be happy.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (8/1)
When Lara’s three daughters return to Northern Michigan to visit their mother at the family orchard, they beg their mother to tell them the story of famous actor, Peter Duke. Lara begins to recall her time with Duke at a place called Tome Lake, where they shared both a stage and a romance many years prior. As Lara tells the story, the daughters see her in a new light, and begin to consider their own lives and relationships.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Here are the best books for fans of Ann Patchett>>
Congratulations, the Best Is Over! by R. Eric Thomas (8/8)
A collection of insightful and hilarious essays that are a gentle reminder that life doesn’t always go according to plan, and that doesn’t mean we can’t find the way back home. When Eric Thomas goes viral after reading political news, he is ready to live his best-ish life, whatever that looks like. He finds himself doing things out of character, like moving to his hometown and going to his high school reunion, as he figures out his intersecting identities and wrestles with his past life in the midst of creating a new one.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman (8/15)
The power of words saves Mia Jacob when she finds The Scarlett Letter and suddenly her life is reflected back to her. The author manages to capture her experience at the Community, the oppressive cult in Massachusetts. As she reads, she is transported into a different world and finds the fluidity of time, and the strength of love.
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Wonderful assortment. Loved them.