Hello everyone! I'm happy to be getting this new release list out before the end of the month so you have time to read it! I've been lucky to read two of the books on this list as advanced reader's copies, so be sure to look out for my reviews of those on my wrap-up post later this week! Let's dive in:
1. Mister Magic - Kiersten White (Aug. 1)
Synopsis:
Thirty years after a tragic
accident shut down production of the classic children’s program
Mister Magic,
the five
surviving cast members have done their best to move on. But just as generations of cultishly devoted
fans still cling to the lessons they learned from the show, the cast, known as the Circle of Friends,
have spent their lives searching for the happiness they felt while they were on it. The friendship. The
feeling of belonging. And the protection of Mister Magic.
But with no surviving video of the
show, no evidence of who directed or produced it, and no records of who—or what—the beloved host
actually was, memories are all the former Circle of Friends has.
Then a twist of fate brings the
castmates back together at the remote desert filming compound that feels like it’s been waiting for them
all this time. Even though they haven’t seen each other for years, they understand one another better
than anyone has since.
After all, they’re the only ones who hold the secret of that circle, the
mystery of the magic man in his infinitely black cape, and, maybe, the answers to what really happened
on that deadly last day. But as the Circle of Friends reclaim parts of their past, they begin to wonder:
Are they here by choice, or have they been lured into a trap?
Why I'm Excited: I'm lucky enough to have received an e-ARC of this book, so I've already read it! Check out my review here .
2. The Museum of Human History - Rebekah Bergman (Aug. 1)
Synopsis: After nearly drowning, eight-year-old Maeve Wilhelm falls into a strange comatose state. As years pass, it becomes clear that Maeve is not physically aging. A wide cast of characters finds themselves pulled toward Maeve, each believing that her mysterious “sleep” holds the answers to their life’s most pressing questions: Kevin Marks, a museum owner obsessed with preservation; Monique Gray, a refugee and performance artist; Lionel Wilhelm, an entomologist who dreamed of being an astrophysicist; and Evangeline Wilhelm, Maeve’s identical twin. As Maeve remains asleep, the characters grapple with a mysterious new technology and medical advances that promise to ease anxiety and end pain, but instead cause devastating side effects.
Why I'm Excited: First of all, the cover and title of this book are to DIE for. This is also one of my first-ever non-horror Sleeper Picks of the Month, no pun intended. I love this science fiction genre of self-examination. The lenses of self-improvement and anti-aging are relevant and interesting, and the synopsis mentions exploring issues around the opioid epidemic as well, which I am excited to read about.
3. Whalefall - Daniel Kraus (Aug. 8)
Synopsis:
Jay Gardiner has given himself
a fool’s errand—to find the remains of his deceased father in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of
Monastery Beach. He knows it’s a long shot, but Jay feels it’s the only way for him to lift the weight
of guilt he has carried since his dad’s death by suicide the previous year.
The dive begins well
enough, but the sudden appearance of a giant squid puts Jay in very real jeopardy, made infinitely worse
by the arrival of a sperm whale looking to feed. Suddenly, Jay is caught in the squid’s tentacles and
drawn into the whale’s mouth where he is pulled into the first of its four stomachs. He quickly realizes
he has only one hour before his oxygen tanks run out—one hour to defeat his demons and escape the belly
of a whale.
Why I'm Excited: I'm lucky enough to have received an e-ARC of this book, so I've already read it! Check out my review here .
4. Under the Influence - Noelle Crooks (Aug. 8)
Synopsis:
After a series of
go-nowhere jobs in the New York publishing world, Harper Cruz is broke, lonely, and desperate for a
salary that won’t leave her scrambling to make rent each month. So when she stumbles across a job
posting from an influencer offering triple her last paycheck, she automatically submits her
résumé.
Harper may not be familiar with self-help guru Charlotte Green, but her relentless
optimism and charismatic can-do spirit has created a cult-like following of women across the country.
When she selects Harper among thousands of other applicants in less than twenty-four hours, it’s obvious
she sees something she likes. Despite the pressure to accept the offer just as quickly as she’s been
given it, Harper decides to take a leap of faith and become the newest member of The
Greenhouse.
Accepting the job means a move to Nashville, and Harper is quickly dazzled by the
glamorous world Charlotte has built in Music City. The Greenhouse is more than a workplace—it’s a
family—and Harper soon finds herself swept into its inner circle. At first, she loves working in such an
inspirational environment, where mandatory dance parties, daily intentions, and group bonding activities
make up for long hours and Charlotte’s persistent demands for loyalty. But the deeper Harper is pulled
into Charlotte’s world, the more she realizes that having it all and being it all comes with a
price.
Why I'm Excited: We all know that I love a good book about cults or cultish behavior, and that's exactly what this appears to be. I'm also a sucker for a good book about influencer culture gone wrong - a guilty pleasure of mine, I suppose. This title is a recent discovery for me, but I already have high expectations.
5. Shark Heart - Emily Habeck (Aug. 8)
Synopsis:
A gorgeous debut novel of
marriage, motherhood, metamorphosis, and letting go, this intergenerational love story begins with
newlyweds Wren and her husband, Lewis—a man who, over the course of nine months, transforms into a great
white shark.
For Lewis and Wren, their first year of marriage is also their last. A few weeks
after their wedding, Lewis receives a rare diagnosis. He will retain most of his consciousness,
memories, and intellect, but his physical body will gradually turn into a great white shark. As Lewis
develops the features and impulses of one of the most predatory creatures in the ocean, his complicated
artist’s heart struggles to make peace with his unfulfilled dreams.
At first, Wren internally
resists her husband’s fate. Is there a way for them to be together after Lewis changes? Then, a glimpse
of Lewis’s developing carnivorous nature activates long-repressed memories for Wren, whose story
vacillates between her childhood living on a houseboat in Oklahoma, her time with a college
ex-girlfriend, and her unusual friendship with a woman pregnant with twin birds. Woven throughout this
bold novel is the story of Wren’s mother, Angela, who becomes pregnant with Wren at fifteen in an
abusive relationship amidst her parents’ crumbling marriage. In the present, all of Wren’s grief
eventually collides, and she is forced to make an impossible choice.
Why I'm Excited: I am so lucky that the publisher has sent me a physical galley of this book! I'm reading it next month and I am thrilled. This book has one of the strangest and most compelling synopses I've heard of this year, and I have zero idea what to expect.
6. Together We Rot - Skyla Arndt (Aug. 29)
Synopsis:
Wil Greene's mom has been missing
for over a year, and the police are ready to call the case closed--they claim she skipped town and you can't
find a woman who wants to disappear. But she knows her mom wouldn't just leave...and she knows the family of her
former best friend, Elwood Clarke, has something to do with it.
Elwood has been counting down the days
until his 18th birthday--in dread. It marks leaving school and joining his pastor father in dedicating his life
to their congregation, the Garden of Adam. But when he comes home after one night of after a final goodbye with
his friends, already self-flagellating for the sins of drinking and disobeying his father, he discovers his path
is not as virtuous as he thought. He's not his father's successor, but his sacrifice. For the woods he's grown
up with are thirsty, and must be paid in blood.
Now on the run from a family that wants him dead, he
turns to the only one who will believe him: Wil. Together, they form a reluctant partnership; she'll help him
hide if he helps her find evidence that his family killed her mother. But in the end they dig up more secrets
than they bargained for, unraveling decades of dark cult dealings in their town, led by the Clarke
family.
And there's a reason they need Elwood's blood for their satanic rituals. Something inhuman is
growing inside of him. Everywhere he goes, the plants come alive and the forest calls to him, and Wil isn't sure
if she can save the boy she can't help but love.
Why I'm Excited: Cult books that sound fun part two! I had been thinking recently that I might have grown out of looking at YA new releases, but I've been proven wrong this month! Add in that horror with a touch of romance, and I'm more than willing to give this one a try.
7. Vampires of El Norte - Isabel Cañas (Aug. 29)
Synopsis:
As the daughter of a rancher in
1840s Mexico, Nena knows a thing or two about monsters—her home has long been threatened by tensions with Anglo
settlers from the north. But something more sinister lurks near the ranch at night, something that drains men of
their blood and leaves them for dead.
Something that once attacked Nena nine years ago.
Believing
Nena dead, Néstor has been on the run from his grief ever since, moving from ranch to ranch working as a
vaquero. But no amount of drink can dispel the night terrors of sharp teeth; no woman can erase his childhood
sweetheart from his mind.
When the United States attacks Mexico in 1846, the two are brought abruptly
together on the road to war: Nena as a curandera, a healer striving to prove her worth to her father so that he
does not marry her off to a stranger, and Néstor as a member of the auxiliary cavalry of ranchers and vaqueros.
But the shock of their reunion—and Nena’s rage at Néstor for seemingly abandoning her long ago—is quickly
overshadowed by the appearance of a nightmare made flesh.
And unless Nena and Néstor work through their
past and face the future together, neither will survive to see the dawn.
Why I'm Excited: Yet another stunning cover this month. I'm normally not a vampire book girlie, but some titles can certainly tempt me. I love speculative fiction and I'm reading The Hacienda in October, so this should be a great follow-up to that.
8. House of Marionne - J. Elle (Aug. 29)
Synopsis:
17 year-old Quell has lived
her entire life on the run. She and her mother have fled from city to city, in order to hide the deadly
magic that flows through Quell’s veins. Until someone discovers her dark secret.
To hide from the
assassin hunting her, and keep her mother out of harm’s way, Quell reluctantly inducts into a debutante
society of magical social elites called the Order that she never knew existed. If she can pass their
three rites of membership, mastering their proper form of magic, she’ll be able to secretly bury her
forbidden magic forever. If caught, she will be killed.
But becoming the perfect debutante is a
lot harder than Quell imagined, especially when there’s more than tutoring happening with Jordan, her
brooding mentor and— assassin in training.
When Quell uncovers the deadly lengths the Order will
go to defend its wealth and power, she’s forced to choose: embrace the dark magic she’s been running
from her entire life or risk losing everything, and everyone, she’s grown to
love.
Still, she fears the most formidable monster she’ll have to face is the one
inside.
Why I'm Excited: Another YA book? AND fantasy romance?! Who am I becoming? Let's be real, it's the "rites of membership", enemies-to-lovers, magic society tropes and they get me every damn time.
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Hope you all had a wonderful July! Our book club read for July is Dead Eleven, so if you want to grab a copy before our meeting at the beginning of the month, please join us!
Let me know if there are any books you're looking forward to in the comments!