Category: Book News

Here are some of the new books out this week:

Books for Kids

Sophie Mouse: Lightning Bug Light Show – Book 21 in the darling Sophie Mouse chapter book series where Sophie helps a new friend.

Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults

Wander Lost – When their mom goes missing, a pair of brothers discover that their ancestor was once a board game character who escaped and came to life. And they have that same power where they can go into games!
Girls Like Her – A dead businessman. A teen in jail awaiting trial. And her state-appointed caseworker. Will anyone care enough to dig into what really happened?
Six of Sorrow – Six girls, born on the same day – good friends until they drift apart. But when one of them goes missing, they are drawn back together when it seems something more is going on.

Books for Adults

An Art Lover’s Guide to Paris and Murder (Hardcover) – Book 7 in the Countess of Harleigh Mystery series. Frances and George are in Paris looking into a suspicious death for George’s aunt when she is murdered. I have loved this series from the start, and I can’t wait to dive into this one!
A Daughter of Fair Verona (Hardcover) – First in a new series described as “Knives Out meets Bridgerton.” The oldest of Romeo and Juliet’s children (yes, that Romeo and Juliet) is uninterested in marriage, so she tends to find new wives for all of her suitors. Except the latest isn’t someone she can redirect – he’s already buried three wives, under mysterious circumstances. When he is then found dead, Rosie goes looking for his killer. YES, PLEASE!
Finding Mr. Write (Trade Paperback) – Daphne posed as a male author when she started pitching her latest book and now there’s a bidding war, and she needs to make her fake persona real. YES, PLEASE!
A Novel Love Story (Trade Paperback) – Something new from Ashley Poston. Eileen needs her book club retreat this year more than ever, but on the way her car breaks down in a town that seems plucked entirely out of her favorite book series. YES, PLEASE! (How many times is too many times to say that in one release week?)
Romancing Miss Stone (Trade Paperback) – First in a new Belize Dreams series. Bo heads to Belize to get his ex back when she breaks things off, but the chemistry between him and his guide becomes undeniable.
Rules for Second Chances (Trade Paperback) – A woman who is tired of playing a background character in her own life decides an improv class is the way to help. And her almost-ex is determined to use the class to win her back. Yes, this sounds great!
Tangled Up in You (Trade Paperback) – Part of the Meant to Be series of re-imagined fairy tales. This one is a take on Tangled where a sheltered young woman tries to navigate the “real world” of college and meets a player trying to reinvent himself. And it’s by Christina Lauren?! YES, PLEASE!
Under Your Spell (Trade Paperback) – A woman down on her luck ends up working with the hottest rock star in the world for the summer.
You’ll Never Find Me (Mass Market Paperback) – First in a new Angelheart Investigations series (after the novella “Into the Fire”). A PI estranged from her family – and the family investigation business – finds herself in over her head and reaching out to the family she thought she left behind. I picked up the novella to give this series a try!
You’ve Got Male (Trade Paperback) – An overwhelmed single mom goes viral when her best friend posts a clip of her describing her perfect mate. So when men start descending to make their case for being just what she’s looking for, she convinces her neighbor to be her fake boyfriend to make them go away. Yep, that’s on the list for this week, too!

Here are some of the new books out this week:

Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults

The Last Apple Tree – Feuding neighbors find common ground when they unearth a family secret.
All Roads Lead to Rome – Story agrees to fake date a Scottish heartthrob while he’s in Rome.
Poison in Their Hearts – The final book in the fantastic Castles in their Bones series. I will have to wait to read this until I can get a copy from the UK because I refuse to have my book cover styles not match. (First world problems!) And since I never got to do my book 2 re-read and tab, I will definitely be doing a series re-read before picking up this conclusion.

Books for Adults

The Lonely Hearts Trivia Night (Hardcover) – Five strangers join a trivia team, the Red Hot Quizzy Peppers, where they start to become friends.
The Memo (Trade Paperback) – A young woman gets the chance to relive her life and make different choices. The set up for this sounds quirky and clever!
One-Star Romance (Trade Paperback) – The maid-of-honor discovers the best man is the same person who gave her new novel a very public one-star rating.
A Very Unshakespeare Romance (Trade Paperback) – A police officer pretends to be a single dad when his cousin goes on the run and leaves him with the kids.

Here are some of the new books out this week:

Books for Kids

Taylor Swift (Little People Big Dreams) – A picture book biography.

Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults

The Cookie Crumbles – When best friends discover they are set to go to different high schools, one enters a bakeoff to go to a special boarding school where her friend could also attend for journalism. And when a mystery strikes the bakeoff alongside a huge storm, she might have her chance at a big story. This looks great!
Jupiter Nettle and the Seven Schools of Magic (Graphic Novel) – When Jupiter fails to get accepted into any of the Seven Schools of Magic, she gets a special invitation to attend anyway, but finds it harder than she expected. While doubting her abilities to make it at the Seven Schools, someone tries to attack them and Jupiter has a chance to show her stuff. This sounds great, too!
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman (Older Middle Grade) – When his mom goes missing for longer than usual, Hank has to reach out to the stranger listed as their emergency contact – for his sake and for his little sister’s. But asking for help, while the right thing to do, has unexpected consequences. I enjoy stories like this, so this one is on my list for June.
You Are Not Alone: A Kid’s Guide to Overcoming Anxious Thoughts and Believing What’s True – An edition of Get Out of Your Head for kids.
Icon and Inferno – Book 2 in the Stars and Smoke series for teens. A global pop star and a young secret agent team up again for a new mission. I have book 1 on my TBR, so I need to catch up on this series, soon!
The Shadows Between Us – If you haven’t already read The Shadows Between Us (it’s AMAZING), now’s the time to pick it up with these gorgeous sprayed edges. And then you will be ready when the companion book, The Darkness Within Us, releases in July.
The Wilderness of Girls – When Rhi is placed in foster care and starts working at a wilderness preserve, she discovers four feral girls who say they are lost princesses from another land. Could that be true, or are the victims of something much darker? Fascinating!

Books for Adults

Bigtime Series, Vol 2 (e-book) – Collects books 3-5 of the Bigtime series by Jennifer Estep into one volume.
Books and Broadswords (e-book) – Collects “Books and Broadswords” as well as “Rocks and Rapiers,” two fantasy stories by Jessie Mihalik, previously available online. I adored both, so of course I have already pre-ordered this collection.
Curvy Girl Summer (Trade Paperback) – Tired of her family’s insinuations that her big personality and/or her body are what is keeping her from finding a man, Aaliyah creates a fake boyfriend who loves her curves. Now, she just has to find such a man before a big family gathering where they are going to want to meet this “boyfriend.” Yes, please!
Natural Born Outlaws (e-book) – First in a new series by my friend Gini Koch, writing as A. E. Stanton. After watching her husband gunned down by people they thought were their friends, outlaw Belle Stark and her friends are looking for paybacks. I’m looking forward to picking this one up!
Not in Love (Hardcover) – A biotech engineer starts a steamy, secret relationship with the man trying to buy out her employer.
Rogue Sequence (Hardcover) – An incarcerated super soldier is given a chance at freedom if he will help the powers that be capture one of his former team members.
The Rom-commers (Hardcover) – An amateur screenwriter gets the chance to work on a romcom with her screenwriting idol, except he turns out to be a jerk who doesn’t believe in love and is only writing the script (which is horrible) as a means to an end. My husband and I have both enjoyed Katherine Center’s last couple books, and I’m looking forward to reading this one!
The Stars Too Fondly (Trade Paperback, LGBTQ+) – Four young adults exploring a space ship tied to the missing crew of the Providence find themselves on a space adventure.

Here are some of the new books out this week:

Books for Kids

A Crocodile Should Never Skip Breakfast – A crocodile who ferries animals across the river has to miss breakfast and then his passengers start to look yummy. This sounds hilarious!
Gorgeously Me! – A celebration of self from Jonathan Van Ness.

Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults

Roswell Johnson Saves the World! – First in a new series by Chris Colfer. A boy named for Roswell, New Mexico is abducted by aliens and discovers Earth is in danger.
They Call Me No Sam! – A misunderstood dog tries to save his family.
The Breakup Artists – Best friends run a business breaking up bad relationships for their peers.
Storm: Dawn of a Goddess – An origin story from Tiffany D. Jackson.
Wish You Weren’t Here (LGBTQ+) – Lifelong rivals find themselves in a cabin together at summer camp.

Books for Adults

Birding with Benefits (Trade Paperback) – An almost-empty nester agrees to pose as the girlfriend for a birder who needs a partner for a birdwatching contest. I love the uniqueness of the context for this story!
Cole and Laila Are Just Friends (Trade Paperback) – The latest from Bethany Turner. Best friends toy with the idea of becoming something more when they spend a week in New York while he decides if he’s going to leave their small town after a life-changing betrayal and she wonders if she wants to live across the country from her best friend.
Dead Tired (Hardcover) – Book 2 in the Expectant Detectives series. Alice and her mom-friends participate in an eco-protest as an effort to get some rest from their infants, but in the morning one of the other protesters is dead. I’m looking forward to digging into this one!
Isabel and the Rogue (Trade Paperback) – Book 2 in the Luna Sisters series. Two covert agents wonder if love is even possible for them when their work puts them at odds.
Lady Eve’s Last Con (Trade Paperback, LGBTQ+) – A small-time con woman meets her match when her plans to take down the man who broke her sister’s heart catch the attention of the man’s irresistible sister.
Leather & Lark (Trade Paperback) – Book 2 in the Ruinous Love Trilogy. A contract killer and an indie singer/songwriter team up in a fake marriage so he can track a killer for her and she can secure him freedom for a life he hates.
Love Signals (June 6, e-book) – A woman trying to beat her rotten ex on a work project gets pulled off the project to mentor some Hollywood A-lister for a new role.
Match Me If You Can (Trade Paperback) – A woman playing matchmaker to secure a new job finds her own maybe-happily ever after in jeopardy.
My Royal Showmance (e-book) – A woman working on a royalty dating reality show becomes a contestant.
Nice Work Nora November (Trade Paperback) – A woman brought back from an accident that made her clinically dead works through a reverse bucket list of things she wants to do with her new lease on life.
Pardon My Frenchie (Trade Paperback) – Ashanti’s doggie daycare is in jeopardy when a social media favorite poodle – and Duchess’s best doggie-friend – is taken out by Puddin’s owner’s grandson who doesn’t like dogs. So Ashanti – and Duchess – need to make nice. This could be fun!
Summer Romance (Trade Paperback) – A professional organizer with a personal life that’s a mess toys with the idea of a summer fling.
Unwedding (Hardcover) – Ellery thought it was unsettling enough to be taking her 20th anniversary trip to the Resort at Broken Point alone, but that’s nothing to how unsettled she feels after finding a dead body.
We Could Be Heroes (Trade Paperback, LGBTQ+) – An actor in a superhero movie starts an unexpected friendship with a bookseller/part-time drag queen while each wonders if their friendship could become something more.
The Wren in the Holly Library – First in a new series. In a post-war world where monsters are real, a thief sneaks into the Holly Library and finding a monster with a proposition.