Another month drawing to a close means another month to look ahead to the books being published the following month, even if I haven't gotten yet to all the books from the current month and before! Not surprisingly, with summer reading season upon us, June has a lot of good ones! I usually try to limit my monthly posts to 10 books but June has so many (with a ton of them publishing on June 1st), it was really hard so I went with 11! Note that while I have received free advanced copies of some of these books, that in no way affects my opinions or why I'm excited to read them.
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid (6/1/21) - I know I'm not the only Taylor Jenkins Reid super-fan, so I know this one is on many people's lists of most anticipated books this month! I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this one, and although usually I try to save advanced copies until right before/around publication date, I could simply not resist this one and read it all the way back in February! This book is set during a 24 hour period in Malibu in 1983, about 4 adult siblings on the day of their annual big party, along with flashbacks about their parents and family history starting in the 1950s. The book jumps between all 6 of those perspectives, along with brief glimpses into other people who cross their paths, and Reid is such a great writer that all of the characters - even ones we see for just a little bit - really come to life, as does the setting. Indeed, I’m not one who usually pictures a book while I’m reading it, but this one immersed me so much it was like I could see it all in my head as I was reading it. And I was so sad to say goodbye to the Riva family when I was done, as I really wanted to know what would happen to them after the book ended.
Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams (6/1/21) - Beatriz Williams is another must read author for me, one of my favorite writers of dual-time period historical fiction. I did not get an ARC of this one though, so I'll have to wait to read it just like everyone else! From the publisher's description, this book is about estranged twin sisters - Iris, who disappears from her London home along with her American diplomat husband and children, with speculation that they were either killed by the Soviet intelligent service or defected to Moscow; and Ruth, who receives a postcard from Iris four years later and heads to Russia with a counterintelligence agent in a plot to save her sister's family. Beatriz Williams is one of those authors whose books I will read regardless of what they were about, but that description would definitely intrigue me even if I didn't know the author.
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston (6/1/21) - I adored Casey McQuiston's debut novel Red White & Royal Blue, which in fact just barely missed the cut for my top 10 favorite books of 2020. And sounds like she is back with another LGBT romance charmer. According to the publisher, in this one, cynical 23 year old August moves to NYC and develops a crush on a woman she sees on the subway every day - only to find out that the woman has somehow been displaced in time from the 1970s and needs August's help. Early reviews for this one are glowing, and I can't wait to read it!
Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand (6/1/21) - Queen of the beach read Elin Hilderbrand is back again this summer, and seems like pretty much no one got an advanced copy of this one, so I guess we'll all be lining up at bookstores/libraries for this one. This one sounds a bit different than her usual as there is a supernatural element - the main character is killed in a car accident but is able to watch her family from beyond the grave and granted three "nudges" to change the outcome of events down on earth, all while also watching the investigation of her death and worrying about secrets from her past that could come back to haunt her family.
Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon (6/1/21) - Although I haven't gotten to Nicola Yoon's first novel Everything Everything, I loved her perhaps even more famous novel The Sun Is Also a Star - it's taken five years since then, but she's finally back with her third book. In this young adult novel, high school senior Evie doesn't believe in love, especially when she starts to see visions of how strangers' romances began and will end. But then she meets a boy who forces her to question everything. Sounds cute!
Girl One by Sara Flannery Murphy (6/1/21) - The publisher describes this one as "Orphan Black meets Margaret Atwood in this twisty supernatural thriller about female power and the bonds of sisterhood." The main character is one of nine babies conceived without male DNA and raised in an experimental commune that was later destroyed leaving the children scattered. Years later, after the disappearance of her mother, she goes on a journey to find the others in a quest to find out what happened to her mother. I'm currently in the middle of reading this one, and so far, so good!
The Warsaw Orphan by Kelly Rimmer (6/1/21) - I read Kelly Rimmer's last novel, The Things We Cannot Say, in January, and it's definitely in contention so far for my favorite books of 2021. The Warsaw Orphan is another World War II novel, this one set in Poland where a teenager becomes involved with smuggling Jewish children out of the ghetto. I will admit that something this heavy is not usually what I think of when I think summer reading, but I definitely will be reading this book at some point.
One Two Three by Laurie Frankel (6/8/21) - I loved Laurie Frankel's last book, This Is How It Always Is, which was one of my top ten books of 2018 and a fantastic book club book too. Her new book, according to the publisher, is about three teenage triplet sisters living in a small, poor, environmentally contaminated town.
All Together Now by Matthew Norman (6/15/21) - Matthew Norman's previous book, Last Couple Standing, was an entertaining book about marriage and parenthood that both my husband and I really enjoyed reading. This new book sounds good too, about a 35 year old man who is secretly dying, and brings his high school best friends together for a weekend where all kinds of surprises and secrets will be revealed.
The Layover by Lacie Waldon (6/15/21) - This debut rom com novel sounds like a lot of fun and a perfect summer read! Per the publisher, "An unexpected tropical layover with her nemesis turns a flight attendant's life upside down in this witty, breezy debut romantic comedy about life -- and love -- 30,000 feet above the ground." Just the kind of book I want to read while chilling pool/beachside this summer.
Lady Sunshine by Amy Mason Doan (6/29/21) - Sounds like this book is set in two time periods - the 1979, when Jackie spent the summer at her uncle's estate where famous musicians and artists came and went; and twenty years later, when she inherits the estate but when she returns to sell it, finds out it has been promised to a producer to record a tribute album to her late uncle. Sounds like my kind of book, and it has amazing advanced reviews and blurbs from authors I love.
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Any of these already on your list or that you'll be adding to your list? Any other June releases you're particularly excited for?
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