Lots of fun releases on the way in August! For example, I was lucky enough to read an early copy of Regina Black's debut, The Art of Scandal, and I think you should read it. More about that below.
I'm trying to squeeze every last drop out of summer so I'm keeping this short! Hope you find something great to read this month.
This post contains affiliate links.
Here in the Northern Hemisphere it's the hottest month of the year. I'm trying to push the non-urgent responsibilities away and spend more time in my garden and with friends and family. That means less reading and that's fine by me. Books don't spoil! I'll still be chipping away at the newest Shop Your Shelves board, but some of these July releases are sneaking onto the TBR anyway.
This post contains affiliate links.
New quarter, new Shop Your Shelves board! Once again, I reused some squares, but some are brand new! I also added some that are much more open to interpretation, so make sure to read the square descriptions. One change to the "rules" - I moved re-reads to the Don't section. Like reading new books, re-reads are great... but not the point of this particular challenge.
Below you'll find rules, explanations for the squares and a link to square and story boards.
I pitched this book to one of my reading Discord servers as "if Jessie Mihalik wrote erotic romance." I didn't mention that the FMC reminded me of Inara from Firefly, but that too!
An adjunct professor and a widower find love behind the bar in Mickey Chambers Shakes It Up. Charish Reid is an auto-buy/auto-read author for me because of her skill with character building, humor and tension. I was a little hesitant to pick this up because I don't enjoy books with lots of alcohol, but I'm happy to report this book strikes just the right balance by focusing on the workplace dynamics rather than endless descriptions of alcoholic drinks. If that's a concern for you, have no fear! I would put this in the same category as Natalie Caña's stellar debut, A Proposal They Can't Refuse, but with more heat.
June is often a pretty light month for new books, but I'm thinking it's not this year? Or maybe there are just a bunch I happen to be excited about this time around. There's not much better than sitting in the shade with a good book and listening to birds, so I'm going to hurry up and finish this post so I can go do that!
Wishing you all the good things and the strength to fight against the bad ones. Pride is a tough month this year, so please remember to advocate for your queer and trans siblings.
This post contains affiliate links.
Ratings are based on whether or not I recommend them to fellow readers - DNF (Did Not Finish), Pass, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary), Read It, Read it Soon.
It's May! May and June are objectively the best months of the year, so let's go outside and touch grass. (Bring a book.)
This post contains affiliate links.
In a Jam reminded me why I fell in love with romance novels. It's beautifully written, with dedicated arcs for both of the main characters and a hard won romantic arc that somehow feels epic and down-to-earth at the same time.
