BP Note: Welcome to July! I decided to post this one a day early in honor of the US Bank Holiday tomorrow. I wanted to make sure people had enough to read. We once again have an interesting mixture here. I am noticing an increase in “cozy” titles in our lists, probably a sign of our emotional state. We also have several Fantasy Romance offerings, I still can’t quite bring myself to use the current mashup buzz word. *Shakes fist* “get off my lawn!” Anyways I hope you find at least one title here to read and like always share what you are looking forward to in the comments. My TBR is never big enough. Take care of yourself and tell those who matter to you that they matter. We never know when that will be enough to move mountains.
Happy reading!
~E_
- Contemporary Romance
- Cozy Fantasy
- Cozy Mystery
- Fantasy Romance
- Historical Mystery
- Mystery
- Paranormal Romance
- Science Fiction
- Space Opera
- Urban Fantasy
Contemporary Romance
Love’s a Script (Hearts Collide #1) by Mimi Grace – 1 Jul (Self)
As a professional matchmaker and a chronic people pleaser, Mary Neilson knows all about harmony. So she never meant to clash with public radio news show host Ruben Byers during an on-air interview. Their tense exchange on the state of modern dating generates unprecedented buzz for the show and prompts Ruben’s boss to assign him a feature exploring the subject further. Worse still, he must join Hearts Collide Matchmaking as one of Mary’s clients for research.
Mary reluctantly accepts the challenge of finding the vexing but handsome radio host a match, hoping her success will improve her chances at a coveted promotion. And despite Ruben’s reservations and unexpected attraction to Mary, he is committed to seeing the process through.
However, the chemistry between them is obvious and hard to resist. When it threatens to upset their objectives, will they cling to their defined roles or accept that matters of the heart can’t be scripted?
Give Me a Reason by Jayci Lee – 29 Jul (St. Martin’s Griffin)
For ten years, Anne Lee told herself that Frederick Nam was her past. In order to save her father from bankruptcy, she left Frederick for an acting career in Korea. This was the only way she could stop him from following her and ruining his future. It was the best way she could love him.
After Anne left, Frederick spent years loving her, missing her, and hating her until he decided to live his life for himself. He followed his dream and became a firefighter in Culver City. He didn’t need romance. He had his work and his friends.
When Anne returns to Los Angeles, she and Frederick are thrown together in the same wedding—she as her cousin’s bridesmaid and he as his friend’s groomsman. Even though he is angry and distant with her, Anne can no longer deny that she never got over him. Not even close.
With so much hurt and uncertainty between them, Anne and Frederick suffer their love in silence. But all it would take is a single leap of faith to bring them together…
Cozy Fantasy
A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna – 15 Jul (Berkley)
era Swan used to be one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she resurrected her great-aunt Jasmine from the (very recently) dead, lost most of her magic, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was exiled from her Guild. Now she (slightly reluctantly and just a bit grumpily) helps her aunt run an enchanted inn in Lancashire, where she deals with her quirky guests’ shenanigans, tries to keep said talking fox in check, and longs for the future that seems lost to her. But then she finds out about an old spell that could hold the key to restoring her power…
Enter Luke Larsen, handsome and icy magical historian, who arrives on a dark winter evening and might just know how to unlock the spell’s secrets. Luke has absolutely no interest in getting involved in the madcap goings-on of the inn and is definitely not about to let a certain bewitching innkeeper past his walls, so no one is more surprised than he is when he agrees to help Sera with her spell. Worse, he might actually be thawing.
The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Durst – 15 Jul (Bramble)
Terlu Perna broke the law because she was lonely. She cast a spell and created a magically sentient spider plant. As punishment, she was turned into a wooden statue and tucked away into an alcove in the North Reading Room of the Great Library of Alyssium.
This should have been the end of her story . . . Yet one day, Terlu wakes in the cold of winter on a nearly-deserted island full of hundreds of magical greenhouses. She’s starving and freezing, and the only other human on the island is a grumpy gardener. To her surprise, he offers Terlu a place to sleep, clean clothes, and freshly baked honey cakes—at least until she’s ready to sail home.
But Terlu can’t return home and doesn’t want to—the greenhouses are a dream come true, each more wondrous than the next. When she learns that the magic that sustains them is failing—causing the death of everything within them—Terlu knows she must help. Even if that means breaking the law again.
This time, though, she isn’t alone. Assisted by the gardener and a sentient rose, Terlu must unravel the secrets of a long-dead sorcerer if she wants to save the island—and have a fresh chance at happiness and love.
Cozy Mystery
Something Whiskered (Cat in the Stacks #17) by Miranda James – 29 Jul (Berkley)
Charlie Harris and his wife, Helen Louise Brady, have arrived in Ireland for their honeymoon. After a few days in Dublin, they head to County Clare, ancestral home to Helen Louise’s extended family, the O’Bradys. Her cousin Lorcan runs Castle O’Brady as a bed-and-breakfast with his wife Caoimhe and their daughter and son-in-law. But upon arrival at the castle, the newlyweds are shocked to see a body falling from the roof.
The dead man is centenarian Finn, Baron O’Brady, Lorcan’s grandfather, which means that Lorcan now becomes the new Baron O’Brady. Was someone in a hurry for Lorcan to assume the title and ownership of the estate? Or is there another reason for wanting Finn dead? And why is a ghostly cat making an appearance in their room-is he trying to warn them? Charlie and Helen Louise must answer these questions and more as they realize the local garda can’t solve the crime alone. And along with Diesel they will have to investigate themselves or risk something wicked coming their way…
Fantasy Romance
The Quiet Side (A Sage’s Sanctuary #0.5) by Casey Blair – 8 Jul (Self)
When Kovan, the strongest living avatar of a god, is tasked with removing a magical field preventing priests from wreaking destruction unchecked, he defects, leaving behind everything he knew for the sanctuary of the Quiet side.
Alone for the first time and unable to work the magic that has defined his life, Kovan finds Tasa, who has made her home on the mountain at the Quiet’s heart and knows about everything—unlike Kovan, who no longer knows how to do anything that matters, from baking bread to protecting her, let alone the Quiet side.
Tasa takes Kovan in despite the risk to her safe haven because no matter how his belief in her makes her feel, Kovan isn’t staying. No one ever does, and he’ll have more important places to be once he learns to stand on his own.
But when the priests come looking for Kovan, the sanctuary they’re creating one loaf of bread at a time is at risk… unless they can discover their real strength together.
Rebellious Royals (An Accidental Fairy Tale #3) by A.H. Hadley – 9 Jul (Self)
Being human at a school for fae was never going to be simple—but now it’s full-on chaos.
Turns out, my closest friends are fae royalty in hiding. Or… they were hiding. The Winter Queen’s been revealed. The Summer Prince is making it clear “charming” doesn’t describe him. Yet instead of tearing each other apart like the stories say they should, they’re in this together.
Yeah. That doesn’t fit the concept of a divided kingdom at all.
See, the legends say Winter is evil. The rumors claim that if it falls, Summer will rise. It’s all just a bunch of cheap cliches, but the one thing everyone agrees on? The two courts are meant to stay separate. So now Winter-born students are being attacked, and like a curse, no one knows who’ll get hit next.
Which is why we need to act like heroes.
I’ve got friends worth fighting for, a school worth saving, lovers to kiss, and a really bad habit of running straight at danger. Lucky for me, so do my friends. Together, we’re going to prove the Mad Queen has been wrong all along.
Because this fight isn’t about a crown, or a season.
It’s about finding a happily ever after for everyone.
The Last Tiger by Julie Riew & Brad Riew – 29 Jul (Kokila)
In a colonized land where tigers are being hunted to extinction and ancient magic stirs, two star-crossed teens from opposite worlds—Lee Seung, a servant yearning for freedom, and Choi Eunji, a noble girl defying tradition—join forces to try and reshape their respective fates.
But their relationship evolves from begrudging accomplices to bitter adversaries as they soon find themselves on opposite sides of a battle over the last tiger, a symbol of their people’s lost freedom and key to the liberation of their country. As the ties between Seung and Eunji are complicated by their conflicting loyalties, tensions rise—especially when a charming princeling of the empire begins to rival for Eunji’s affection.
In this friends-to-enemies-to-lovers story of forbidden romance, antagonists turned allies, oppression and liberation, neither Seung nor Eunji can abandon their mission—or each other. And as they embark on separate quests to find the elusive creature, each must also find the power within themselves to make their own destiny.
The Wrath of the Dragons (Fear the Flames #2) by Olivia Rose Darling – 29 Jul (Delacorte)
Cayden Veles, renowned Demon Commander of Vareveth, overthrew the throne to save Elowen Atarah, the woman he searched for since childhood. Now he’s determined to fulfill his quest for revenge against her father, even if it means forcing the only person he’s ever wanted into a marriage of political convenience.
Elowen Atarah has everything she thought she’d ever want. Finally reunited with her dragons, she now has an army to enact vengeance, but as events transpire, she begins contemplating if she wants more. As her father’s only living heir, the Imirath throne is her right and destiny. But fighting and winning a war will require trusting Cayden Veles, her partner in crime and now king to her queen; the man she both longs for and doubts, especially after opening her heart only to become a pawn in his game.
Navigating the shifting allegiances amongst all the kingdoms of Ravaryn will require all their strategy and strength, with devastating and bloody attacks on one side and cutthroat diplomacy for alliances on the other. But Elowen and Cayden must find a way to stand strong within the power they’ve gained, or risk losing everything.
Historical Mystery
The Misplaced Physician (Irregular Detective #3) by Jeri Westerson – 1 Jul (Severn House)
London, 1895. Former Baker Street Irregular Timothy Badger and his partner in detection Benjamin Watson are in a the eminent Dr John H. Watson has been kidnapped! The physician was enjoying a glass of sherry at his Baker Street residence before being bundled away in a barouche coach wearing only one slipper. Did Dr Watson know his captor, and where is he now? Could the mysterious ransom notes arriving in the post hold the answer?
With their mentor Sherlock Holmes out of the country, recovering the missing doctor could well be the biggest case the intrepid duo is ever likely to face . . . and if they don’t do so quickly, it could be their last!
The Shakespeare Secret by D.J. Nix – 29 Jul (Alcove Press)
Everyone knows of William Shakespeare the rakish former actor and famous playwright. But few know the three women writing every word of his sonnets and plays: Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, a frustrated poet; Emelia Bassano, a court musician with a passion for complex stories; and Jane Daggett, a seamstress with an impressive ability to spin fantastic plots. Frustrated by the patriarchal restrictions of their sixteenth century society, they come together to write anonymously.
Soon the three women come under the scrutiny of one of the Queen’s spies, who notices their surreptitious meetings and odd behavior and suspects they are involved in an ongoing plot to kill the Queen. To help guard their secret as they face inquisition, they hire an actor named Will Shakespeare to be the face of their endeavor and divert attention.
As the plague deepens its grip on London and the Queen’s man traces their every move, the women are forced to choose between admitting what they’ve done and betraying each other to the Crown, or hiding the truth at risk of endangering the Queen herself.
Mystery
The World’s Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant by Liza Tully – 8 Jul (Berkley)
Olivia Blunt doesn’t want to be an assistant detective for the rest of her life. She’s determined to learn everything she can from her mentor and renowned investigator, Aubrey Merritt, but the latter is no easy grader.
After weeks of fielding phone calls from parties desperate for the world-renowned detective’s help, a case comes across Olivia’s desk that just might be worthy of Merritt’s skills. On the evening of her sixty-fifth birthday party, Victoria Summersworth somehow fell over her balcony railing to her death on the rocky shore of Lake Champlain. She was a happy woman—rich, beloved, in love, and matriarch of the preeminent Summersworth family. The police have ruled it a suicide, but her daughter Haley thinks it was murder.
Merritt is ever the skeptic, but Olivia believes Haley. Plus, she’s desperate to prove her investigative skills to her aloof boss. But the Summersworth family drama is a complicated web.
Paranormal Romance
Atonement Sky (Psy-Changeling #9) by Nalini Singh – 15 Jul (Berkley)
Justice-Psy Eleri Dias knows the end is near for her, her mind one step away from fatal psychic exposure. In the short time that remains, she is determined to atone for an act of omission that has haunted her for a long, cruel decade. But that decision not only means facing a powerful changeling wing leader, but also putting herself in the path of a serial killer.
Falcon wing leader Adam Garrett is fiercely protective of his family and his clan. After losing his parents as a teenager in a shocking act of malice, Adam has no forgiveness in him for the J-Psy who betrayed him, betrayed them, at the most painful moment of his life. But the evil that stalks his territory will allow him no respite, forcing him once more into contact with the J he has never been able to forget.
Everything that could’ve been between Eleri and Adam was lost years ago, a shimmering promise crushed. As they work to uncover a monster, the moment of reckoning looms ever closer. Soon, there may be no more time left for either atonement…or love…
Legion (Dark in You #11) by Suzanne Wright – 17 Jul (Piatkus)
She calls to the demons inside him and there’s no keeping them away . . .
Being a siren, Naomi has attracted attention all her life, but when working as a ghost artist, she can at least maintain some anonymity. She’s never felt anything pull at her inner demon, until a certain crime boss locks eyes with her. He watches her like he’s hunting her, and it’s only a matter of time till he catches her . . .
Luka, leader of an underground demonic crime syndicate, is known for running a tight ship. He lives by a twisted code that can change by the minute. So, when danger threatens the women he loves, there’s no stopping his inner demons. He’s waited and bided his time, and now that he’s finally got her, he’ll do anything to keep her.
When foes creep up on them, Luka and Naomi will do whatever it takes to keep each other safe, even if it means unleashing the demons that live within them . . .
Fated Mates and How to Seduce Them (Fated Mates #4) by A.J. Sherwood – 25 Jul (Self)
After Ian Moore steps in to save resident playboy and vampire André Castor from a spiked drink, he expects life to go back to normal. Why, he doesn’t know, but that assumption seems reasonable, right?
Only André doesn’t want it to go back to normal. He’s found a cute, trustworthy human, which is an anomaly in his world. Can’t he just keep Ian?
Ian knows how this game ends, patiently waiting for the playboy to move on…so why is André proving him wrong?
Finally written in order, I treat canon like a buffet but in a gentle way, new ship here all aboard!, fated mates, vampires and humans, stubborn to lovers, sometimes vampires need to be rescued too, André is part cat, Ian has been adopted and has no idea what to do from here, marriage proposal, love at first sight, or at least Crippling Crush at First Sight, Fluff, so much fluff, I’m not even sorry, Casper the kitty, the VSB is on the eternal shitlist, playboy meets his match, Casper the Cat is a matchmaker, say no to drugs kids, unless the drug is love.
Science Fiction
Volatile Memory by Seth Haddon – 22 Jul (Tordotcom)
With nothing but a limping ship and an outdated mask to her name, Wylla needs a big pay day. When the call goes out that a lucrative piece of tech is waiting on a nearby planet, she relies on all the swiftness of her prey animal instincts to beat other hunters to it.
What you found wasn’t your ticket out—it was my corpse wearing an AI mask. When you touched the mask, you heard my voice. A consciousness spinning through metal and circuits, a bodiless mind, spun to life in the HAWK’s temporary storage. I crystallized, and I was alive.
Masks aren’t supposed to retain memory, much less identity, but the woman inside the MARK I HAWK is real, and she sees Wylla in a way no one ever has. Sees her, and doesn’t find her wanting or unwhole.
Armed with military-grade tech and a lifetime of staying one step ahead of the hunters, Wylla and HAWK set off to get answers from the man who discarded HAWK once before: her ex-husband.
Space Opera
On Impact (Reliance Space Opera #2) by Heather Texle – 15 Jul (Until It Looks Right)
When an assassin kills a Ritruvian official using an illegal bionic weapon, the galaxy teeters on the edge of war. My team must locate the remaining weapons and shut down Tazza Industries, the company that developed them.
I have history with Tazza. Six months ago, they used me as a test subject, implanting a cutting-edge chip into my brain designed for espionage and covert operations. Instead of killing me, it gave me a deadly advantage—and a purpose.
To take them down and avoid an interplanetary war, I’ll need to confront my darkest fears—and trust the lethal skills I never wanted.
Urban Fantasy
Pearl City (Phoenix Hoard #3) by Julia Vee and Ken Bebelle – 15 Jul (Tor Books)
Blade.
Butcher.
Thief.
Worldbreaker.Emiko Soong has been called many things but Worldbreaker is the worst.
She unmasked the General and returned to San Francisco where her power is greatest. But the city, once her sanctuary from Jiaren intrigues, turns into her living nightmare. Clan war tears at the seams and her life becomes a treacherous quicksand of friend and foe. Unsure of who to trust, Emiko finds herself more alone than ever.
When an ancient power rips through the Realm to land in her city, the General will stop at nothing to take this power for his own. Emiko must face her past, her present, and her future, as she races to stop the General.
Is Emiko’s fate written to be the destroyer of worlds, or can she chart her own course to save her family?
The monthly Must Have list is a compilation of the upcoming release titles that we, The Book Pushers, just can’t wait to get our hands on. Don’t see a title you’re excited about listed here? Add it to the comments section below. Let us know what you’re looking forward to!