Welcome to an updated version of my old new release roundup! If you’ve been here a while you might remember that I used to send these out monthly, but stopped doing it this year.
Well, I missed it! One of the things I enjoy the most is learning about all the new books coming out, so I’m bringing it back, but with a new spin. On the last Tuesday of each month I’ll send out a newsletter highlighting my top 10 new releases of the upcoming month (this issue is for June releases). But what I’m most excited about is sharing the spreadsheet I create for myself with you! I reference this resource daily, and I’m hoping it’s something that will be helpful for you, too. In it I not only track all the upcoming releases that have caught my eye, but a quick summary of each book, who’s narrating the audiobook, and blurbs from authors and other book websites to help you decide if you want to add these books to your TBR.
Now, onto the June book releases I’m most excited about!
Fiction
Charm City Rocks by Matthew Norman – Norman is a local author whose previous books I’ve read and enjoyed (Domestic Violets and All Together Now), and I’m always excited to read a book that takes place where I live. @whatkarireads’ review pushed this way up my list, especially when she called it a love letter to Baltimore – I’m hoping to read it within the next couple of weeks.
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
Everything is Fine by Cecilia Rabess – I love a debut, especially one that’s getting plenty of buzz (Curtis Sittenfeld, a favorite of mine, said she “couldn’t have loved it more”). This book takes place in and around 2016, putting the relationship between Jess, the only Black woman at Goldman Sachs, and Josh, her white male colleague, into question.
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
My Murder by Katie Williams – The premise of this sounds clever: Lou has been recently murdered by a serial killer and is brought back to life by a government project. But when questions arise about her death, Lou realizes she needs to start investigating what really happened.
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
Talking at Night by Claire Daverley – Another debut! Aside from the fact that the cover is gorgeous, the story of two teens falling in love in the ‘90s, coming apart, and then finding their way back to each other again and again is one I have a feeling I’ll love.
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
Holding Pattern by Jenny Xie – I’m a sucker for a mother-daughter story, particularly one that’s about getting to know each other as adults. When Jenny moves home after blowing up her life, she’s surprised to find her once depressed and lonely mom now happy and in love. It also sounds like there might be a mental health component, which I’m always here for.
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan – Monaghan’s debut, Nora Goes Off Script, was my favorite romance of last year, which makes me a little nervous to read her sophomore novel. However, readers I trust have said it lives up to expectations, so fingers crossed! I might do this one on audio since it has dual narrators and that tends to be my preference with romance.
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue – Set in Ireland (I love books set there), this is a story about Rachel, who works in a bookstore, and her friend James, and all the ways in which growing up, falling in love, and keeping secrets affects all of the relationships in your life. This book started getting buzz when it was first announced a few months ago, partly because O’Donoghue is known for her young adult series, All Our Hidden Gifts.
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
Banyan Moon by Thao Thai – Use the words “sweeping” and “generational” in a book description and I’m immediately interested. From the publisher: “A sweeping, evocative debut novel following three generations of Vietnamese American women reeling from the death of their matriarch, revealing the family’s inherited burdens, buried secrets, and unlikely love stories.”
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
Nonfiction
All the Gold Stars by Rainesford Stauffer – My favorite, Anne Helen Petersen, had Stauffer on her podcast a couple of months ago and it was such a good conversation I immediately preordered this book. I’ve followed Stauffer for a while (her first book, An Ordinary Age, is on my TBR) because she speaks to so many topics I find fascinating: ambition, higher education, mental health, work and labor, etc. I’ll be listening to this one very soon.
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
Pageboy by Elliot Page – This blurb from the publisher says all I need to know: “The Oscar-nominated star who captivated the world with his performance in Juno finally shares his story in a groundbreaking and inspiring memoir about love, family, fame — and stepping into who we truly are with strength, joy and connection.”
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
Which of these books are you excited to pick up?
And now for the Release Roundup spreadsheet!
Every month, just before I send out this newsletter, I’ll update it with the following month’s releases.
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