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Hate to scare anybody with that title, but it’s almost August, meaning that we’re coming up on the last few precious weeks of summer. The good news is that there are still plenty of new books coming out to keep you occupied, whether you’re at the beach, pool, sweating through all your clothes on public transportation… whatever floats your boat. If you just keep adding to your summer reading list, that means it has to stay summer forever, right? Check out these titles that are coming out towards the end of the season.
In this essay collection, the child voice actor, former law student, and editor-in-chief of Catapult examines the ways in which the media, law, and other aspects of society pay lip service to social justice causes, and the ways in which our words and actions don’t always match up.
Born in South Korea, Rho and her family moved to America when she was 6. As she assimilated, she kept fulfilling others’ expectations, keeping silent about the traumas she endured in the process. At age 40, Rho experienced a catastrophic event that caused her to leave her job and reclaim her Korean identity.
A bachelorette party in Greece starts off picture-perfect and ends with a dead body. But whose? That’s the question. Bride Lexi arrives in Greece with a ragtag group of women who don’t all know each other, and who each have their own reasons for being on the trip.
From the author of Tell Me Lies and Too Good To Be True comes another twisty suspense novel that will keep you guessing until the very end. In her early 30s, Molly Diamond doesn’t fit in with the other women in the wealthy suburban town she lives in with her husband and young daughter. When a new neighbor named Sabrina moves to town, Molly thinks she’s finally met someone who gets her — but Sabrina has her own ulterior motives for befriending Molly, and they’re not so innocent.
Florence Day works as a ghostwriter for a famous romance book author, but when a breakup takes her by surprise, she starts to doubt if she even believes in love. Her (v handsome) editor won’t give her an extension, but then Florence has a family emergency and has to return home. In a twist that’s like Sweet Home Alabama meets The Sixth Sense (but not scary), Florence returns home for the funeral and sees a familiar face: her editor. Turns out, he’s dead and has some unfinished business to attend to on Earth.
Set in 1889 in the wake of a fire that ravaged Spokane, Washington, Fire Season is told from three perspectives, each one a grifter with a supernatural ability and who stands to benefit from the fire.
Hannah Jones didn’t quite fit in with her posh classmates at Oxford, but her wealthy, popular roommate April Clarke-Cliveden immediately took a liking to her and they became fast friends. One fateful night, Hannah finds April dead in her dorm room — murdered. Thrust into the spotlight, Hannah becomes the star witness of her late friend’s murder trial. Decades later, new evidence that emerges forces Hannah to wonder if she’d helped put the wrong man in prison, so she returns to Oxford to try to find out the truth.
This thriller starts with Paris Peralta, much younger wife to the famed comedian Jimmy Peralta, passed out on her bathroom floor, clutching a razor, covered in her husband’s blood. Her husband is dead, and Paris is the number-one suspect—except she knows she didn’t do it. But as Paris works to clear her name, she’s also working just as hard to keep her past a secret, since it can threaten to blow up everything.
In this queer fantasy romance, protagonist Velasin vin Aaro is set to marry a woman for political reasons — until it comes to light that he’s gay. While his family wants to disown him, he instead becomes betrothed to the brother of the same family. But a new faction opposes the alliance — so much so that they’re willing to kill for it. Vel and his new husband, Cae, have no choice but to trust each other so they can make it out alive. Pub Date: July 26
This feel-good rom-com is the sequel to Real Men Knit, the story of four brothers who are working to keep their late adoptive mother’s Harlem knitting shop in business. In Knot Again, Lucas Strong, a firefighter, decides to participate in an FDNY charity calendar and becomes something of a local celebrity. By chance, he ends up meeting the daughter of his high school flame, and the two rekindle their romance — but is it love or just lust? Pub Date: July 26
After graduating college, Sneha moves to Milwaukee to become a consultant. Even though it’s the Great Recession, she finally has a healthy bank account, new friends, and the freedom to date women. But it wouldn’t be a good book without any tension, and pretty soon, Sneha’s great life falls apart, so she has to try to put it back together again. Pub Date: August 2
Gamarra’s novel, a retelling of Much Ado About Nothing in the Trump age, was named a most-anticipated read by Buzzfeed, Bookriot, She Reads, and others. Beatriz is a first-generation immigrant who becomes linked to poster boy of white male privilege, Ben, after they save someone’s life at a party. Turns out, saving a life can change your feelings about someone, but is love enough for them to overcome all their differences? Pub Date: August 2
Even though Luc and Oliver got their happy ending in Boyfriend Material, in the sequel, there’s some trouble in paradise. Luc is feeling the societal pressure to propose, since it seems like everyone around him is taking that step. But even though Oliver is totally husband material, it’s going to take a lot to get these two from “I don’t know what to do” to “I do.” Pub Date: August 2
Mikaela Marchand is living the dream: she’s a high-powered attorney in NYC and dating a handsome doctor. But things go sideways when a decades-old photo of Mikaela and her former childhood best friend is used as a magazine cover (and ends up on a billboard in Times Square). Her best friend sues the magazine, and the photographer, who just so happens to be Mikaela’s ex. Of course, Mikaela’s firm is tasked with defending the magazine, meaning Mikaela has to defend her ex against her ex-BFF. Talk about conflicts of interest! Pub Date: August 2
35-year-old Mika Suzuki has no romantic prospects, no job, and a strained relationship with her roommate and parents. Then, out of the blue, Mika gets a call from the daughter she put up for adoption 16 years before — and her daughter wants a relationship. Mika makes up a little lie to impress her daughter which quickly spins out of control, and suddenly Mika is living a full-on fake life. Pub Date: August 2
This historical fiction novel focuses on Isabel Cooper, who is one of only two female codebreakers following the attack on Pearl Harbor. When the other female codebreaker at her station goes missing under mysterious circumstances, she becomes less focused on her mission of avenging the death of her brother, who was killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Over 20 years later, a fledgling journalist begins covering a disappearance, and ends up discovering wartime secrets and an unexpected connection to Isabel Cooper. Pub Date: August 2
Dorothy Moy has suffered from dissociative episodes and struggled with mental illness and is dismayed to see her 5-year-old daughter exhibit similar behaviors. In fact, her daughter starts remembering events from the lives of their ancestors, like Faye Moy, a nurse in China; Zoe Moy, a student in England; Greta Moy, the tech executive of a dating app, and others. As Dorothy works through her generational trauma she seeks to find peace for her daughter and the love she’s been looking for for years. Pub Date: August 2
Serena, Michelle, Kenya, and Lynette are childhood best friends who have helped each other through it all. They’re now 40 and still meet on the first Saturday of the month for lunch, even if their lives are vastly different from each other’s. This poignant novel traces the friendship as each woman deals with family issues, finds love, and learns about forgiveness. Pub Date: August 9
Garza’s latest novel is told through multiple POVs to paint a portrait of Fish Village, a neighborhood of popular tourist spot Galveston, where all the locals live. It’s also the only home Carly Castillo has ever known — she’s a descendant of the Karankawas, an indigenous Texas tribe that no longer exists. Carly struggles against the expectation to stay in Fish Village, and when Hurricane Ike threatens to wreak havoc when it hits land, the Galveston residents have to decide if they will weather the storm or pack up and leave their homes behind. Pub Date: August 9
Sarah Lai went from star Hollywood producer to a lecturer at an obscure college, all because of a harrowing incident that thwarted her career. When a journalist reaches out, Sarah realizes she can no longer hide what happened to her. As she starts revealing Hollywood’s dark secrets, Sarah realizes she may have been complicit in sins as well. Pub Date: August 16
After three years in Shanghai, Sophie Go moves back to Toronto, ready to embark on her new career as a professional matchmaker. There’s just one hiccup, though: she never actually graduated from matchmaking school, making her a pariah in the industry. Sophie turns to a secret club of Chinese bachelors called the Old Ducks and manages to persuade them to hire her as a matchmaker. Soon, she’s tasked with finding matches for seven septuagenarians all while coming to terms with her own desire for love. Pub Date: August 16
Imani Banks is a psychiatrist who lives in a nice townhouse in Brooklyn with her husband Philip. When Philip’s restaurant is forced to close during the lockdown, they decide to take in Tonya Sayre, a single mom to a teenager, as a tenant. But when a prominent couple in the neighborhood is murdered, Imani wonders if her new tenant had something to do with it — but she can’t exactly evict her in the midst of the pandemic, even if Tonya is a suspected killer. Pub Date: August 23
Think How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, but make it young adult. Kind of. Up-and-coming journalist Sasha meets Brazilian bad boy Daniel, a famous musician, and realizes that getting close to him would give her the chance to move up the ranks at the celebrity gossip magazine she works at. Daniel, though, is surprisingly sweet (not to mention, hot), potentially compromising Sasha’s story. But Sasha’s not the only one with a secret; Daniel is hiding news of his own. Pub Date: August 30
This historical novel, which takes place in 1836, tells the stories of a Black indigenous woman in New Orleans and a Jewish abolitionist in New York City, and their acts of resistance. Stella embroiders maps to help enslaved men flee the Confederacy and join the Union Army. Lily stitches quilts to send to soldiers. They are both in love with Union soldiers in the same battalion, and as they work to bring their men home, Stella and Lily’s lives intersect in unexpected ways. Pub Date: August 30
Ok, so, relatable premise: Lizzie has had more of her fair share of fuckups in life. I’m talking kitchen fires (been there), bangs (double been there), pyramid schemes (not so much, but I get it). She has one rule: don’t let anyone get too close. But when a stressful day caused by her ADHD causes her to break her rule, she has a hookup with love-shy Rake that changes everything. Pub Date: September 6
Selena Montgomery is the pen name of Stacey Abrams — yes, that Stacey Abrams. How does she find the time…? Anyway, Rules of Engagement is about Dr. Raleigh Foster, an operative for a top-secret intelligence organization who’s tasked with infiltrating a terrorist group. It all seems fairly straightforward, until she’s assigned the handsome Adam Grayson to not only be her partner in the mission, but also to pretend to be her romantic partner. Pub Date: September 6
I was told to include some nonfiction on here, so this—er, hysterical—memoir deals with Bassist’s issues with repressing her voice. It deals with feminist topics, the many ways women and femmes are gaslit and silenced, and how we are taught to silence ourselves. Pub Date: September 13
Images: TINO RENATO / Deathtothestockphoto.com
Another year, another round of books to read. I gotta say, if you’re thinking about making a goal to read a certain number of books in 2022, there is no shortage of good novels out there. From buzzy debuts to highly anticipated follow-ups, Q1 of 2022 has it all. So much so, that this was actually supposed to be a Most Anticipated 2022 reading list, but I ended up frontloading it with books coming out in the first three months! I can’t help it, I just want everyone to read these picks (mostly so I have people to talk about them with, but whatever). So read on for some books to add to your reading list this year. The upside is, you don’t have to wait long for most of these to come out.
Fiona and Jane by Jean Chen Ho (1/4/22)
This buzzy 2022 debut is told in alternating voices and traverses the globe. Ho depicts two women’s struggles with sexuality, class, family secrets, mental health, identity, and a whole lot more. It’s about two best friends (you can probably guess their names) who are polar opposites. Fiona is outgoing, beautiful, and ambitious. Jane is soft spoken and doesn’t like to stand out. They remain in touch throughout multiple significant life events, such as a crush on a teacher, college, family deaths, and more.
Honor by Thrity Umrigar (1/4/22)
Reese’s January book club pick (yes, that Reese) comes from the author of The Space Between Us. Smita, an Indian-American journalist, travels to India for an assignment: a Hindu woman, Meena, is brutally attacked for marrying a Muslim man, who is murdered. Meena’s attackers? Her own brothers. Smita works to tell Meena’s story while grappling with her perception of modern India, her privilege, and her own trauma.
Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins (1/4/22)
IDK, I just feel like if there’s an island that’s earned a mythic, Lord of the Flies-esque reputation for driving its inhabitants insane, the last thing you should do is sail there—but good thing the characters of Reckless Girls do exactly the opposite, or there wouldn’t be a book. Luxe is floating aimlessly after the death of her mother, so when she meets rich, handsome Nico, who wants to spend months sailing in Hawaii, she’s along for the ride. Literally. Even when that means picking up two college girls and sailing to aforementioned Lord of the Flies island. Their voyage starts off picturesque, but just like the images you see on IG, this one quickly becomes too good to be true.
The School For Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan (1/4/22)
The School for Good Mothers takes place in a slightly dystopian future where Child Protective Services overreaches its power: the agency will identify unfit parents and take away their kids at the slightest perceived offense. In this world, Frida Liu is like many parents: overwhelmed, stressed out, and trying to juggle raising a kid as a single parent and have a full-time job. It’s in this world that Frida makes a mistake and ends up getting her daughter taken away from her. Even worse? She’s placed in a state-sponsored institution where she has to earn back custody by being a “good mother”—whatever that means.
Find Me by Alafair Burke (1/11/22)
Burke’s last three works were optioned for TV, so you might want to get a jumpstart on Find Me before HBO Max or somebody picks it up. In her latest, three women search for the answers to long-buried secrets. Hope Miller has no clue who she really is—literally. 15 years ago, she emerged from a car accident in a small NJ town with no recollection of who she was or how she got there. Lindsay Kelly is Hope’s best friend and a Manhattan defense attorney, and who discovers one day that Hope’s disappeared. So Lindsay calls NYPD detective Ellie Hatcher to find Hope.
Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson (1/18/22)
This novel is being described as Younger meets The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, but it delivers so much more than romance—it tackles diversity in publishing (and the search for racial equity, opportunity, and stability in the workforce in general), mental health, self-worth, and more. Nora works as an Editorial Assistant for a publishing house, thinking it will get her on the path to her dream job. But five years and a million coffee orders later, and she’s no further along in her career. When her salary gets cut, Nora decides to do the unthinkable and moonlight for the rival publishing house. But when her employer’s most coveted author gets thrown Nora’s way, she has to decide where her loyalties lie.
Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? By Lizzie Damilola Blackburn (1/18/22)
This debut subverts the Strong Black Woman trope, gives a tribute to Black British culture, and tackles issues like colorism and Eurocentric beauty standards. Talk about a book that can do it all, right? Yinka Oladeji is a thirty-something banker who went to Oxford and is, by all accounts, killing it. Except in one area: she doesn’t have a husband, a fact her family doesn’t let her forget. Ugh, I know how that goes.
Good Rich People by Eliza Jane Brazier (1/25/22)
This book was a little creepy, but in a good way. Lyla thinks she hit the jackpot when she marries Graham, impossibly handsome and even more impossibly rich. But her marriage comes with strings: she will forever be under the thumb of her mother-in-law, Margot. Pretty literally, too, as she lives in the house right above them. These people are so rich that the only thing that gives them excitement is ruining other people’s lives. They’ve made a game of it, in fact. So when Demi, a new tenant, moves into their guesthouse, it’s Lyla’s turn to play the game. Only Demi isn’t as breakable as she seems, and she’s just as determined as Lyla not to lose. Let the games begin.
Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner (January 25, 2022)
Need a new domestic thriller that will keep you guessing and gives Girl on the Train and The Family Upstairs vibes? Look no further than Faulkner’s debut, which received a starred review from Booklist. Helen is finally pregnant after years of disappointment. When she meets a new friend, Rachel, at a pregnancy class, suddenly weird things start happening. Like, her husband is acting distant and Rachel keeps running into her everywhere. As Helen tries to figure out what’s going on, it becomes apparent that Rachel might not just be a stranger, and she may be after something.
The Accomplice by Lisa Lutz (1/25/22)
Lutz is the author of The Passenger, The Swallows, and The Spellman Files, to name a few, so you know this one’s about to be a twisty thriller. Enter, Owen: rich, charming, never happy, inextricably linked to his no-nonsense BFF, Luna Grey. Also enter: the deadly secret they share. Years later, Owen ditches his wife for a few hours to drink with Luna, but when Luna finds Owen’s wife dead, they become prime suspects. Their secret kept them together; will it drive them apart?
Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead by Elle Cosimano (2/1/22)
Our favorite author-turned-accidental-hitwoman, Finlay Donovan, is back with a whole new dilemma on her hands: someone’s put out a hit on her ex-husband, Steven. Finlay and Vero try to stop Steven from getting whacked, all without getting in the way of the killer. All the while, Finlay has to keep her kids alive (and none the wiser), juggle a love triangle, and figure out what secrets Vero is hiding, and why. Oh, and of course, submit the manuscript for her book, which just so happens to be about, you guessed it, a female assassin caught in a love triangle. The sequel was just as fun as the first one, so don’t miss this!
The Liz Taylor Ring by Brenda Janowitz (2/1/22)
Told between two timelines, The Liz Taylor Ring traces the impact a family heirloom has on three siblings and their parents. In present day, three siblings butt heads over who will inherit the 11-carat “Liz Taylor” inspired ring from their parents. And in 1970s Long Island, their parents are swept up in a romance of which their families disapprove.
Homicide and Halo-Halo by Mia P. Manansala (2/8/22)
Talk about just desserts, right? Sorry, you’re right, I’ll see myself out. Anywayyyy, the author of Arsenic and Adobo (I’m sensing a theme) is coming out with a new mystery that places Filipino heritage front and center. Lila Macapagal finds herself once again at the center of another murder (should we get this girl a mirror? Kidding) when the head judge of her local beauty pageant is found killed. Lila has to team up with her former pageant rival to solve the case and vindicate her former frenemy.
You Truly Assumed by Laila Sabreen (2/8/22)
Sabriya is a Black Muslim teen whose summer plans go out the window when a terrorist attack causes a rise in Islamophobia in her neighborhood. Sabriya turns to her blog, You Truly Assumed, for comfort, and something unexpected happens: it goes viral. So viral that two more girls, Zakat and Farah, join to help her run the site. As the blog becomes more popular, the girls are opened up to more vitriol. When one of them receives a threat, the three team up to figure out who’s behind the violence, and they have to decide if it’s better to shut down the blog or stand up for what’s right, even if it puts them at risk.
Chilean Poet by Alejandro Zambra (2/15/22)
This buzzy new novel is about, what else, an aspiring poet named Gonzalo who reunites with Carla, otherwise known as The One That Got Away. Gonzalo, Carla, and Carla’s 6-year-old son form a little happy family, but eventually, Gonzalo leaves for New York to pursue a poetry career. In his absence, his stepson Vincente discovers a love for poetry. Years later, as an 18-year-old, Vincente meets an American journalist and encourages her to write about (here it is) living Chilean poets. The search leads her to discover a vibrant community, but will it also put Vincente and Gonzalo back in contact?
Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake (2/22/22)
Blake’s adult debut serves up a queer rom-com that has as much depth as it does sizzle. Delilah Green left her small town of Bright Falls, Oregon, after high school and never looked back, moving to New York to make her way as a photographer. Like any artist in NYC who doesn’t have a trust fund, Delilah isn’t doing so hot financially, so when her family offers a big paycheck to photograph her stepsister’s wedding, she can’t exactly say no. The gig puts her up close and personal with Claire, the bride’s gorgeous best friend. *Eyes looking left emoji*
I’m So (Not) Over You by Kosoko Jackson (2/22/22)
Jackson’s adult debut is a heartwarming LGBTQ rom-com about second chances, with a classic fake relationship storyline as well. Aspiring journalist Kian Andrews is seemingly over his ex, Hudson Rivers, until he gets an urgent text to meet up. Is Kian finally getting an apology? Closure? Lol no, Hudson needs Kian to pretend to be his boyfriend and attend the wedding of the year as his plus-one. Kian agrees—only to find that their fake relationship might have more substance to it after all.
This Might Hurt by Stephanie Wrobel (2/22/22
Natalie hasn’t heard from her sister Kit in six months, when she suddenly receives a threatening email that prompts her to drop everything and try to visit her at Wisewood, the insular self-help retreat she checked into. They won’t say they’re a cult, but they’re a cult. The thing with cults, of course, is that they don’t want to let anyone from the outside in, and they definitely don’t want to let anyone on the inside out without a fight.
Like A Sister by Kellye Garrett (3/8/22)
Not only is Melina the daughter of a legendary hip-hop record exec, she’s also the sister of Desiree Pierce, a beloved influencer. Safe to say, the masters nonprofit student couldn’t be more different from her family—and she likes it that way. Until her sister Desiree turns up dead in the Bronx of an apparent overdose, and Melina is the only one who knows it’s all wrong. In order to find out what really happened to her sister, Lena has to immerse herself in her world. If you want twists, turns, and shade thrown at IG culture, this is the book for you.
I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston (5/3/22)
The author of Red, White and Royal Blue is making their official YA debut, and we truly love to see it. I really can’t wait for this one. Protagonist Chloe Green is so close to getting TF out of her shitty Alabama high school and winning valedictorian. There’s only one person standing in her way: prom queen Shara Wheeler. But a month before graduation, Shara kisses Chloe… then disappears. And Chloe’s not the only one: Shara has kissed the quarterback and her bad boy neighbor, left them cryptic notes, and ghosted. So these three unlikely heroes have to team up, solve the trail of clues, and figure out WTF is going on. I can already see the Netflix movie being made.
The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas (5/10/22)
If you like gothic horror (creepy manors and the like), then you’ll love this highly anticipated thriller that takes place at a haunted hacienda. When Beatriz is proposed to by the dashing Don Rodolfo Solórzano, she accepts—ignoring his first wife’s mysterious death in favor of focusing on what she’ll gain in the marriage. Namely, his sprawling country estate. But when Rodolfo goes to work in the capital, Beatriz starts feeling like she’s not alone in the hacienda. All she knows is that something is deeply wrong, and she might find the answers in investigating what happened to Rodolfo’s first wife—even if it comes at a grave cost.
On Rotation By Shirlene Obuobi (6/21/22)
Angie’s unlucky in love and in med school—she didn’t do so hot on Step One. With her little sister about to get engaged, her parents breathing down her neck, and yet another fuckboy leaving her, she just can’t catch a break. Until, like straight out of a rom-com, she meets a handsome stranger in a park and they spend a magical day together. Except there’s one problem: he has a girlfriend. And more problems keep popping up, namely, because a chance meeting makes this guy a part of Angie’s mutual friend circle.
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Images: Amazon (22); Alexandra Fuller / Unsplash
I don’t care what the calendar says (I feel like all my book roundups start this way), it is winter. And you know what that means: a winter reading list, because it’s that time of year again where we just cozy up with a good book. Or at least, that’s what I do. In honor of that, I’ve compiled my winter reading list. Please note that this is not a comprehensive 2021 reading list, which will be coming ASAP. (In more realistic terms, probably like, January.) But for now, here are 14 books you can dive into, from spicy romance to twisty thrillers to poignant historical fiction.
‘A Princess For Christmas’ by Jenny Holiday (October 13, 2020)
I could have included this in a fall roundup, but given that Christmas is in the title, it didn’t feel right. If you already watched The Princess Switch: Switched Again and all the other Christmas movies on Netflix but still need your holiday romance fix, pick up a copy of A Princess for Christmas. It’s basically got everything you loved from Princess Switch or Princess Diaries: a fictional kingdom called Eldovia, a princess who’s in way over her head, finding love in unexpected places. Leo, a cab driver in New York City, picks up Princess Marie of Eldovia and ends up with more than he bargained for—namely, a gig driving Princess Marie around for the remainder of her NYC trip. He doesn’t expect to fall for the princess, or that he will end up in Eldovia for Christmas.
‘Every Last Secret’ by A.R. Torre (December 1, 2020)
What would you do for the “perfect” life? That’s what Cat and Neena, two neighbors in Silicon Valley, are duking it out over. Cat Winthorpe seems to have it all: a beautiful house, social standing, and William, her dreamy husband. And that’s precisely what Neena Ryder wants: Cat’s husband. Neena tries to scheme her way into William’s life; meanwhile, Cat has a secret of her own that could blow up her charmed life. While the ending may not completely take you by surprise, Every Last Secret is a fun and fast ride.
‘Heiress Apparently’ by Diana Ma (December 1, 2020)
If you, like me, are still sad you finished Last Tang Standing, Diana Ma’s latest novel serves up a similar dose of fun, relatable, hot mess fiction, with a Lizzie McGuire Movie-esque twist. Really doesn’t get more fun than that. Gemma Huang disappointed her parents by foregoing college to pursue an acting career, which is how she finds herself living in LA with three roommates, barely scraping by. Things start looking up when she takes a gig in a production of M. Butterfly in Beijing, only to realize she apparently is the doppelgänger of one of Beijing’s most notorious socialites. And there might be a reason for that…
‘How To Catch A Queen’ by Alyssa Cole (December 1, 2020)
If the name Alyssa Cole sounds familiar, good—it should! I’ve been raving about her new thriller, When No One Is Watching, and she also has a romance novel coming out. And I can’t even figure out how to do my job plus one hobby and still have a somewhat normal sleep schedule. SMH, some people can really do it all. Anyway, How To Catch a Queen is the first book in the new Runaway Royals series. Shanti Mohapi weds the king of Njaza, and with it, her dreams of becoming a queen finally come true. What she hadn’t imagined since she was a little girl? Nobody in the kingdom respects her. The King is equally perplexed, since Shanti has all the answers to solve Njaza’s problems… except nobody will listen to her.
‘This Time Next Year’ by Sophie Cousens (December 1, 2020)
If you want Love, Actually but in book form, this is basically it. It’s about Minnie Cooper, whose New Year’s birthday has always been a source of woe in her life—especially because her mother missed out on winning the cash prize for giving birth to the first baby of the year born in London, thanks to a guy named Quinn Hamilton, who was born just moments earlier. Even worse, he stole her name! When Minnie runs into Quinn at, where else, a New Year’s party, she’s surprised to find herself wanting more.
‘White Feminism’ by Koa Beck (January 5, 2021)
We didn’t stop reading antiracist books in the summer, and Koa Beck, former Editor-in-Chief of Jezebel, has a new book out that is a necessary read. Beck explores how feminism has been commodified, and how it excludes women of color, from the suffragettes to corporate feminism, and how we can fix it for future generations.
‘You Have A Match’ by Emma Lord (January 5, 2021)
Protagonist Abby signs up for a DNA test and gets more than she bargained for: she finds out she has an older sister. But not just any sister: Savannah Tully, an Instagram model. Abby’s plan to find out how tf this happened? Meet up with Savannah at summer camp and find out the truth. But there are a few problems, or else this would be a sentence and not a book: Savannah is a total narc, so getting the truth isn’t as simple as it seems. Plus, Abby’s crush works at the camp. Oh, and Abby’s parents are hiding a secret that could blow everything up.
‘Lana’s War’ by Anita Abriel (January 12, 2021)
Ok, so. I think we’ve maybe reached a point where WWII fiction is an escape again and not a harbinger of things to come? Fingers crossed it stays that way. With that said, Lana’s War is set in 1943 Paris, where Lana Antanova witnesses her husband being executed by the Gestapo—right when she was about to tell him she was pregnant. A few months later, Lana is approached to join the resistance, putting her face to face with the man who killed her husband. Taking up residence with a wealthy Swiss industrialist in a villa, Lana helps Jews escape. Obviously, the Nazis want to stop her, and Lana has to try to protect herself, everything she’s worked for, and the people she’s beginning to love.
‘The Perfect Guests’ by Emma Rous (January 12, 2021)
From the author of The Au Pair comes another suspenseful read set in a creepy Gothic manor. Raven Hall is a sprawling manor in a coastal plain in eastern England. In 1988, 14-year-old Beth Soames is taken there by her aunt to stay with the Averell family. Beth quickly becomes like one of the family, until the Averells ask her to play a twisted game, and nothing is the same after that. Cut to 2019, when Sadie Lawson, a struggling actress, shows up with a suitcase and a dossier of the role she’s meant to play: a weekend guest. Can’t be too hard, right? Right, except the house feels haunted, the party guests feel off, and the host is not what they seem.
‘Waiting For The Night Song’ by Julie Carrick Dalton (January 12, 2021)
Julie Carrick Dalton’s debut gives me serious Where The Crawdad Sings vibes. Its protagonist is forestry researcher Cadie Kessler, who’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could help prevent serious damage to the wilderness. But then she gets a message from her estranged childhood best friend, and the two have to face a dark secret that they’ve kept hidden for over 25 years. As drought, foreclosures, and wildfires spark tensions between locals and displaced migrant farm workers, Cadie has to decide how far she’ll go to protect herself and the forest she loves.
‘Your Corner Dark’ by Desmond Hall (January 19, 2021)
Hall’s debut tackles gang life in Jamaica and pushes the limits of how far a teen will go for his family. Frankie Green gets a coveted scholarship letter, which should be his ticket out. Until his father gets shot, and he finds himself joining his uncle’s gang to pay for his father’s medical bills. Is there such thing as a point of no return? And is it too late for Frankie to build the life he’s always wanted?
‘The Obsession’ by Jesse Q. Sutano (February 2, 2021)
Think of The Obsession like the YA book version of You. Instead of Joe, we have Logan. Instead of Beck, we have Delilah. Some might call Logan a stalker, but he just thinks he’s romantic. Besides, nobody likes Delilah like he does, and they’re meant to be together. All he needs is the right moment to convince her they’re meant to be. When Logan witnesses Delilah kill her abusive stepfather, she may not have much of a choice but to be with Logan.
‘Wild Rain’ by Beverly Jenkins (February 2, 2021)
A little bit of romance, a little bit of historical fiction, Wild Rain tackles women’s rights, suffrage, and Black American history in Reconstruction-Era Wyoming. Did you know Wyoming was a pioneer in women’s rights and women’s suffrage? I didn’t either, but its territorial legislature passed a law in 1869 that gave women the right to vote. So with that in mind, Spring Lee, a property-owning Black female rancher, moves to Paradise, Wyoming. She has one rule: she does not need a man. Until she meets Garrett McCray, a Washington reporter who escaped slavery. When a dark spot from Spring’s past comes back to light, her ranch, her safety, and her newfound love are all on the line.
‘First Comes Like’ by Alisha Rai (February 16, 2020)
The third book in Rai’s Modern Love series, First Comes Like is about Jia Ahmed, a 29-year-old beauty influencer who doesn’t have time for love. But when a Bollywood legend slides into her DMs… well, that only happens once in a lifetime. Meanwhile, Dev Dixit grew up as Bollywood royalty, but his world was rocked by his brother’s unexpected death, and Dev finds himself as the guardian for his teen niece. Unable to deal with the constant public scrutiny, Dev sets off for America, where, one night in Hollywood, he meets a beautiful Instagram influencer. He’s surprised that he’s intrigued by her, and all the more surprised to find out someone has been catfishing her, posing as Dev. Who tf is catfishing Jia? And is Jia and Dev’s relationship doomed from the start?
‘Honey Girl’ by Morgan Rogers (February 23, 2021)
Twentysomething Grace Porter is a straight-laced overachiever who just got her PhD. Which is why it’s totally out of character when she goes to Vegas, gets hammered, and gets married to a woman whose name she doesn’t even know. After that trip, Grace does yet another unexpected thing and goes to New York for the summer to spend time with her new wife. But you can’t run from your problems forever, and soon, Grace’s come knocking at her door.
Images: Sincerely Media / Unsplash; Bookshop
Oh, hi. Didn’t see you there. It’s me, your friendly Betches Vanderpump Rules recapper and occasional book reviewer, here to talk about what I’ve been reading. Now, truthfully, I’ve been reading a lot less since quarantine started, since I’m one of those psychos who gets all her reading in during her daily subway commute. Now that I have to actually make time to sit down and read a book, I usually end up accidentally watching true crime documentaries instead. Oops!
Anyway, I’ve heard that reading is making a comeback—only took a little pandemic to get people to read things other than their phone screens. So in the spirit of books being a thing again, and also us not really having a summer so I don’t want this to be my summer reading list, here are the best books that came out during quarantine that you should read while in quarantine.
Please See Us by Caitlin Mullen (March 3, 2020)
This is a thriller, but it’s not a typical thriller. It is a cool thriller, but really, I would describe it more as a writer’s thriller. The focus is more on the striking prose and crafting vivid scenes than about having a fast-paced, action-packed read. Picture this: it’s Atlantic City, circa whatever year Atlantic City went to sh*t (I could Google it, but I’m not a historian). Two unlikely women meet and become friends: Clara Voyant, a teenage psychic, and Lily, an aspiring art curator who moves back to her hometown after being chewed up and spit out by the Manhattan art scene. Throughout all this, sex workers are being murdered and dumped in AC, and no one even notices. Told through multiple perspectives, including the “Janes” who are murdered, it’s an extremely compelling read.
BLACK WIDOW: A Sad-Funny Journey Through Grief for People Who Normally Avoid Books with Words Like “Journey” in the Title by Leslie Gray Streeter (March 10, 2020)
We’re all going through a sort of grief right now, and this “sad-funny journey through grief” just might be what we all need. Leslie Gray Streeter lost her husband to a sudden heart attack, and finds herself slapped with a label she doesn’t want: a widow. She doesn’t want pitying looks or whispered sympathies, she doesn’t want to wear a black dress and a big hat to her husband’s funeral. Black Widow takes readers through the more unexpected aspects of grief, “from coffin shopping to day-drinking, to being a grown-ass woman crying for your mommy, to breaking up and making up with God.”
The Herd by Andrea Bartz (March 24, 2020)
Yes, I know I’ve written about The Herd before, but I’m covering it again because it’s just that good. (But actually, if you remembered that I have covered it before, DM me @sarafcarter because you deserve recognition for your photographic memory of useless facts.) This thriller takes place in a famed all-female coworking space… no, not the one you’re thinking of, this one’s fictional. When the beloved founder is found dead, her best friends have to figure out who killed her, without compromising the future of the coworking space. And if you can’t get enough of Andrea Bartz’s writing, check out her articles for Betches.
A Mother’s Lie by Sarah Zettel (April 7, 2020)
Beth has spent her entire adult life running away from her past, ever since she narrowly saved her daughter from being abducted. But the thing about the past is that it, and the people from it, don’t really like to stay buried. And when those people from Beth’s past include her two grifter parents, whom she never told her daughter about, let’s just say, sh*t goes off the rails. Just a warning if you do buy this book: you may finish it in a day (speaking for myself).
The Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth (April 7, 2020)
It’s the adult debut from the author of the Divergent series, and if that didn’t sell you right there, I don’t know what to tell you. Okay, I do. An evil force called the Dark One tried to end humanity as we know it, and a group of elite teenagers called the Chosen Ones were called into battle to save the world. (Tbh, would be great if we oculd get a couple of supernatural teens to save us right about now.) Fast-forward 10 years, and the Chosen Ones are trying to resume normal lives—that is, until one of their own winds up dead, and they quickly realize the world still needs saving. Told through narrative and enhanced with magazine articles, government briefs, scholarly papers, and even stand-up comedy routine transcripts, the format is really fun and inventive.
You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle (April 7, 2020)
Need something lighthearted? You Deserve Each Other is like Bride Wars meets How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days. In it, Naomi Westfield is about to get married to her picture-perfect fiancé, Nicholas Rose. The only problem? She can’t stand him. Oh, and that they have an agreement that whoever calls off the engagement has to foot the entire bill. So when Naomi finds out that Nicholas wants out too, they are forced to go head-to-head in a battle of wits, emotional warfare, and pranks to see who will crack first.
Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel by Ruth Hogan (April 14, 2020)
Tilly was a bright, carefree little girl, and when her father suddenly disappeared, she and her mom moved into Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel in Brighton. She eventually falls in love with all the other quirky people there, including Queenie. But when Tilly’s mom sends her away to boarding school without warning or explanation, Tilly is betrayed and heartbroken to leave her makeshift family. As a woman, and after her mother’s death, she returns to the Paradise Hotel, determined to find out what really happened to make her leave the hotel, and the type of person her mother really was.
The House Of Deep Water by Jeni McFarland (April 21, 2020)
While most residents of River Bend, Michigan, never imagine leaving, it’s precisely the place three women were desperate to escape. Linda Williams is perpetually dissatisfied. Her mother, Paula, is the opposite—always too sure. Beth DeWitt is one of the town’s only black daughters, now a mother of two. Linda, Paula, and Beth’s paths collide and a scandal forces Beth to deal with her past. If you just binged Little Fires Everywhere, you’ll want to pick up this debut that examines family ties, racial microaggressions, and the power of intergenerational trauma.
Summer Darlings by Brooke Lea Foster (May 5, 2020)
Heddy Winsome is a working class girl from Brooklyn who wants nothing more than to live among the wealthy. She gets a taste of that life in the summer of 1962 when she lands a gig as a nanny for a rich family out on Martha’s Vineyard. But as she falls in love with someone on the island, she’s forced to reckon with the fact that what you see on the outside (glitz, glamour, nice houses, perfectly coiffed hair) isn’t always what’s going on on the inside.
The Paris Hours by Alex George (May 5, 2020)
Picture this: Sicily, 1912 Paris, 1927, between the two World Wars. While the city teems with artists and creatives, four regular people are searching for what they’ve lost. Camille, Marcel Proust’s maid, who was supposed to burn all his notebooks but hid one for herself. Souren, an Armenian refugee, who performs puppet shows for children. Guillaume, a lovesick artist who’s hounded by debt until Gertrude Stein walks into his studio. And Jean-Paul, a journalist who tells others’ stories so he can avoid telling his own. The Paris Hours is told over the course of one day in 1927, when all four characters’ stories collide.
Images: David Lezcano / Unsplash; Amazon (10)
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At a certain point, you start to feel like if you’ve read one thriller, you’ve read them all. The characters bleed together, even the most “shocking” of twists can be seen from 200 pages away, and if you have to read one more word in the first person narrative, you’ll scream. I know because I’ve thought this many a time. Even the titles of every thriller are the same. The ____ Girl. The _____ Wife. Are we as a society just out of new ideas? Fortunately, no. I’ve rounded up the best thrillers I’ve read this year with an ending you actually won’t see coming. And I promise, no spoilers. Stock up just in time for Halloween, because these reads will seriously haunt you.
‘The Starter Wife’ by Nina Lauren
I know, I know The ____ Wife. I was suspicious myself because the title is so overdone, but let me tell you, this is nothing like the Debra Messing USA original series of the same name. It’s kind of like Gone Girl but not (you’ll see why once you read it). But, even though the ending of this book was one I’ve read before, the ride was not predictable. This one’s about Claire, who marries hot English professor Byron. Claire is seemingly happy with her husband, but finds reminders of his late first wife, Colleen, everywhere. When she suddenly gets a call from Colleen, she tries to find out what exactly happened and how deeply implicated her husband is.
‘I Know Everything’ by Matthew Farrell
I Know Everything was seriously haunting, and even though the twist itself has been done before, I promise you haven’t seen it done in this way. Also, there were so many twists that even if you predicted one of them, there’s no way you figured out every single one. When a rich woman dies in a car accident, it seems like an open-and-shut case for Detective Susan Adler. But then details start emerging about the accident, and the woman’s husband, who stands to gain everything from her death—and suddenly, things aren’t so simple. I can pretty much guarantee you that you won’t solve the murder before Detective Adler. Warning, though: do not finish this book at night, or else you will not be able to sleep.
‘A Stranger on the Beach’ by Michele Campbell
In this tale of alternating perspectives, you’ll be constantly questioning who’s telling the truth and who’s an unreliable narrator. In this novel, rich Caroline hooks up with blue-collar Aidan after finding out her husband is lying to her, and possibly having an affair. To Caroline, her affair with Aidan is just physical, an escape from her marital problems. But Aidan falls hard and fast—and doesn’t want to let go, either. How hard will he hold on?
‘The Perfect Wife’ by JP Delaney
So I read on the back that this was about A.I. and I was like “ugh, pass,” but then I gave it a try and was really pleasantly surprised. The book opens with Abby Cullen-Scott waking up in the hospital—only to quickly learn that she’s not actually Abby Cullen-Scott, but a robot made in her likeness to replace the real Abby Cullen-Scott, who died in a mysterious accident. Or did she? A.I. Abby has to race against the clock to find out what happened to Human Abby before the same thing maybe happens to her.
‘The Runaway’ by Hollie Overton
If you want a thriller that feels more grounded in reality than others, pick up The Runaway by Hollie Overton. Taking place in LA, it toggles between the POV of Ash, a formerly homeless foster teen, and Becca, her soon-to-be-adoptive mother who also works as a psychiatrist for the LAPD. All seems to be going well until Ash up and disappears, and it’s up to Becca to find her, with or without the LAPD’s approval or help. What at first seems to be a normal expression of teenage angst quickly reveals the dark underbelly of life on the streets.
‘Tell Me Everything’ by Cambria Brockman
Protagonist/narrator Malin starts college at an elite private school, and finds herself friends with a pretty diverse group of kids who all seem fun, but they all have their secrets. At the end of the book, someone will wind up dead. Throughout the book, you’ll discover what everyone in this group that seems to have it all is hiding. There are so many surprises in Tell Me Everything that I’m pretty sure it’s mathematically impossible for anyone to get them all.
‘The Perfect Son’ by Lauren North
Following her husband’s tragic death, Tess Clarke wakes up in the hospital after her son Jamie’s 8th birthday. She knows he’s gone missing, but nobody believes her. Nobody is there for Tess except her best friend Shelly, who suspiciously became a huge part of her life right after her husband’s death. Alternating between the past and the days leading up to Jamie’s fateful 8th birthday, Lauren North takes the reader on a race against the clock.
‘Lost You’ by Haylen Beck
Libby has wanted a baby for as long as she can remember. Her dreams finally come true when Ethan arrives, even though it’s at the expense of her marriage. A hardworking and dedicated mother, Libby never gives herself a break. But when her friends convince her she deserves a vacation, she thinks “why not?” and books a trip with Ethan to a resort. The first few days of the trip go great, until the end of the third day, when Ethan is kidnapped. Libby’s worst fear has officially come to life. But she can’t find Ethan without confronting her past and risking losing him forever.
‘The Swallows’ by Lisa Lutz
This isn’t a thriller in the traditional sense, but there is mystery and intrigue and by the end of the novel, someone ends up dead. Also, Lisa Lutz is one of my favorite writers and wrote one of my favorite thrillers, The Passenger, so I’m going to show her some love here regardless. Anyway. The Swallows takes place at a New England prep school that has a secret underground subculture fueled by misogyny. Sound familiar? But the girls at the school are getting tired of this system. When a new teacher comes, she gives the women hope that they can finally end this gross culture once and for all. But where there’s a boy’s club, there are generations of men who have benefited from a system of misogyny, and they don’t want to give that up without a fight. And boy, is there a fight—and, like I said, someone winds up dead.
‘Take It Back’ by Kia Abdullah
Take It Back is more of a legal thriller than a true thriller with, like, murder, but there’s plenty of suspense and mystery nonetheless. In this classic tale of she-said-they-said, the victim is a teenage girl with facial deformities, and the accused are four good Muslim boys from hardworking immigrant families. The quest for justice becomes the trial of the decade. As the accuser’s story unravels, readers are left trying to figure out what the truth is.
Images: Clever Visuals / Unsplash; Amazon (10)
Betches may receive a portion of revenue if you click a link and purchase a product or service. The links are independently placed and do not influence editorial content.
Siobhan Adcock is the author of the novels, The Barter and The Completionist. Her short fiction has been published in Triquarterly and The Massachusetts Review, and her essays and humor writing have appeared in Salon, The Daily Beast, and Huffington Post. She lives with her husband and daughter in Brooklyn.
You’ve devoured all three seasons of Hulu’s award-winning drama. You’ve read the classic Margaret Atwood novel on which it’s based. You’ve surfed the wide, exciting wave of feminist dystopian fiction that has flooded bookstores, from justly praised bestsellers like Naomi Alderman’s The Power and Leni Zumas’s Red Clocks to lesser-known but powerful examples like The End We Start From by Megan Hunter, The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh, and Mother of Invention by Caeli Wolfson Widger. (Maybe you’ve even read my own feminist dystopian novel, The Completionist.)
And you’ve still got that itch to scratch, that need, that fever…and not for more cowbell. No. What you want are even more scorching feminist visions of the hideous, inescapable future that seems to be hurtling us toward, if we’re not there already, with every day of rising maternal mortality, normalized sexual violence, curtailed reproductive freedoms, and toxic masculinity.
Well, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is, women continue to face violence, discrimination, predation, and the rollback of basic freedoms while earning 50 to 70 cents on the dollar compared to men. The good news is, all of this seems to be producing some incredible works of speculative fiction. Ya win some, ya lose some, I guess.
For better or for worse—but mostly, it seems, for the better—the wave that started with the 2016 election shows no sign of slowing down. Here are a few of the new and upcoming books by women writers presenting an unflinching, often enraging vision of a future that, at times, can bear an unsettling resemblance to our present. Read these while you wait for season four of The Handmaid’s Tale, and the long-awaited release of Atwood’s sequel, The Testaments, this fall.
The Farm by Joanne Ramos
Imagine a future in which surrogate motherhood becomes a luxury capitalist enterprise, a kind of Gilead driven by dollars rather than Bible verses, and you’ll have taken a first step into Ramos’s novel. Women willing to serve as surrogates (many of them low-income or women of color) are offered the handsomely paid opportunity to live in a posh “gestational retreat,” but the catch is, their every move, morsel, and emotion are monitored in order to produce perfect babies. The novel’s heroine, a Filipina single mother named Jane, is a worthy successor to Offred.
Oval by Elvia Wilk
In a near-future Berlin, a young scientist, Anja, lives with her artist/influencer boyfriend, Louis, in a disintegrating house on an artificial mountain, part of an experimental corporate-owned “sustainable” community that is manifestly anything but sustainable. The same corporation that employs Anja and owns their house also acquires the rights to a new drug Louis is working on, called Oval, that may improve humankind’s capacity for kindness…or inspire a collapse. Wryly funny, dark, and smart, Oval is squarely in the tradition of Margaret Atwood’s other dystopian masterpiece, the Madaddam trilogy.
Tentacle by Rita Indiana
This thrilling dystopian/historical mashup of a novel by a Dominican author begins in a post-apocalypse Caribbean, where income inequality fostered by environmental disaster has run to its most rampant extremes. Acilde, a former sex worker turned housekeeper who is saving up for an injection that will reassign her gender to male, is unexpectedly thrown back in time to the colonial Caribbean, with the opportunity to save the ocean from devastation. But to dismiss this as a time travel novel is to diminish its exhilarating blend of post-colonial criticism, queer politics, humor, and pop culture (including emojis) as artistic expression.
The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
Purely by coincidence, yes, this is another feminist time travel novel, due out in September 2019. But Newitz, an award-winning author of speculative fiction and nonfiction, steers this traditional sci-fi trope in an exciting direction: A young woman living in a dangerous near-future, determined to fix the injustices of the past and protect other young women like herself, must fight for the power to create positive change that actually lasts. (If that sounds familiar, you might have been reading AOC’s Twitter feed.)
Motherland by Lauren Beukes
The new novel by bestselling author Beukes, coming in May 2020, takes place after a global pandemic has almost wiped out the global male population. Cole, a single mother of a young boy, is on the run through an America cruelly transformed by shifts in power, where men are a protected class. Like Naomi Alderman’s bestselling feminist dystopian novel The Power, in which women develop the ability to wield a mysterious electromagnetic force that has startling effects on men—and the power they wield—this novel looks to be set in a world in which gender dynamics have flipped, but not necessarily for the good.
Siobhan Adcock is the author of the novels, The Barter and The Completionist. Her short fiction has been published in Triquarterly and The Massachusetts Review, and her essays and humor writing have appeared in Salon, The Daily Beast, and Huffington Post. She lives with her husband and daughter in Brooklyn.
Imags: Hulu
