Ahh summer! The season where we look forward to vacations, the beach, and reading a lot of great summer releases. Cue the sound of tires screeching! This year my vacation is delayed, I’m scared of the crowds at the beach, and will probably spend any time off in my own home where I will be living vicariously through the characters I’m reading about. The new normal, at least for a little while longer.

When I was looking at the June releases I was surprised at the number of books I’m interested in reading! I know my ARC schedule is pretty packed but there are even a few more that I didn’t realize were coming out next month that I’ve now added to my TBR. Here are my top 5 most anticipated.

#5 MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK RELEASE

Penny Reid is giving Cletus and Jennifer from the Winston Brothers series their own mystery series! My hope is that it’s as quirky and fun as the Winston Series. I have a feeling I’m going to be surprised!

Synopsis:

Jennifer Sylvester made her deal with the devil . . . and now they’re engaged!

But all is not well in Green Valley. A chicken choker is on the loose, 61 dead birds most “fowl” need plucking, and no time remains for Jennifer and her devilish fiancé. Desperate to find a spare moment together, Jenn and Cletus’s attempts to reconnect are thwarted by one seemingly coincidental disaster after another. It’s not long before Cletus and Jenn see a pattern emerge and the truth becomes clear.
Sabotage!

Will an undercover mission unmask the culprit? Or are these love-birds totally plucked?

‘Engagement and Espionage’ is the first book in the Solving for Pie: Cletus and Jenn Mysteries series, is a full-length cozy mystery, and is a spin-off of Penny Reid’s Winston Brothers series. This novel is best read after ‘Beard Science,’ Winston Brothers #3.

Click this link to purchase!* Engagement and Espionage (Solving for Pie: Cletus and Jenn Mysteries Book 1)

#4 MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK RELEASE

A romantic retelling of Jo & Laurie from Little Women’s romance. Wait, what? Yes, if Jo & Laurie had a romance, here is what Margaret Stohl and Melissa De La Cruz have imagined it to be. How can I pass this one up?

Synopsis:

Bestselling authors Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz bring us a romantic retelling of Little Women starring Jo March and her best friend, the boy next door, Theodore “Laurie” Laurence.

1869, Concord, Massachusetts: After the publication of her first novel, Jo March is shocked to discover her book of scribbles has become a bestseller, and her publisher and fans demand a sequel. While pressured into coming up with a story, she goes to New York with her dear friend Laurie for a week of inspiration–museums, operas, and even a once-in-a-lifetime reading by Charles Dickens himself!

But Laurie has romance on his mind, and despite her growing feelings, Jo’s desire to remain independent leads her to turn down his heartfelt marriage proposal and sends the poor boy off to college heartbroken. When Laurie returns to Concord with a sophisticated new girlfriend, will Jo finally communicate her true heart’s desire or lose the love of her life forever?

Click this link to purchase!* Jo & Laurie

#3 MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK RELEASE

I’m going to let the synopsis speak for itself. It looks so good!

Synopsis:

It’s 2 A.M. on a Saturday night in the spring of 2001, and twenty-eight-year-old Cecily Gardner sits alone in a dive bar in New York’s East Village, questioning her life. Feeling lonesome and homesick for the Midwest, she wonders if she’ll ever make it as a reporter in the big city—and whether she made a terrible mistake in breaking up with her longtime boyfriend, Matthew. 

As Cecily reaches for the phone to call him, she hears a guy on the barstool next to her say, “Don’t do it—you’ll regret it.” Something tells her to listen, and over the next several hours—and shots of tequila—the two forge an unlikely connection. That should be it, they both decide the next morning, as Cecily reminds herself of the perils of a rebound relationship. Moreover, their timing couldn’t be worse—Grant is preparing to quit his job and move overseas. Yet despite all their obstacles, they can’t seem to say goodbye, and for the first time in her carefully constructed life, Cecily follows her heart instead of her head. 

Then Grant disappears in the chaos of 9/11. Fearing the worst, Cecily spots his face on a missing-person poster, and realizes she is not the only one searching for him. Her investigative reporting instincts kick into action as she vows to discover the truth. But the questions pile up fast: How well did she really know Grant? Did he ever really love her? And is it possible to love a man who wasn’t who heseemed to be? 

The Lies That Bind is a mesmerizing and emotionally resonant exploration of the never-ending search for love and truth—in our relationships, our careers, and deep within our own hearts.

Click this link to purchase!* The Lies That Bind: A Novel

#2 MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK RELEASE

OK, I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for a good sports romance, especially if it’s the girl that’s the athlete. I’ve never read a book by Hannah Orenstein before, but the synopsis caught my interested and I’ll be reading this one sooner rather than later.

Synopsis:

From the author of the Love at First Like and Playing with Matches, an electrifying rom-com set in the high stakes world of competitive gymnastics, full of Hannah Orenstein’s signature “charm, whimsy, and giddy romantic tension” (BuzzFeed).

The past seven years have been hard on Avery Abrams: After training her entire life to make the Olympic gymnastics team, a disastrous performance ended her athletic career for good. Her best friend and teammate, Jasmine, went on to become an Olympic champion, then committed the ultimate betrayal by marrying their emotionally abusive coach, Dimitri.

Now, reeling from a breakup with her football star boyfriend, Avery returns to her Massachusetts hometown, where new coach Ryan asks her to help him train a promising young gymnast with Olympic aspirations. Despite her misgivings and worries about the memories it will evoke, Avery agrees. Back in the gym, she’s surprised to find sparks flying with Ryan. But when a shocking scandal in the gymnastics world breaks, it has shattering effects not only for the sport but also for Avery and her old friend Jasmine.

Perfect for fans of Emily Giffin and Jasmine Guillory, Head Over Heels proves that no one “writes about modern relationships with more humor or insight than Hannah Orenstein” (Dana Schwartz, author of Choose Your Own Disaster).

Click this link to purchase!* Head Over Heels: A Novel

MY MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK RELEASE

I can’t even tell you how excited I am that we have another book in the Hollows series! I don’t know how she got talked into writing another Rachel Morgan book after the series had been completed, but THANK YOU!

Synopsis:

RACHEL MORGAN IS BACK–AND THE HOLLOWS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME.

What happens after you’ve saved the world? Well, if you’re Rachel Mariana Morgan, witch-born demon, you quickly discover that something might have gone just a little bit wrong. That the very same acts you and your friends took to forge new powers may have released something bound by the old. With a rash of zombies, some strange new murders, and an exceedingly mysterious new demon in town, it will take everything Rachel has to counter this new threat to the world–and it may demand the sacrifice of what she holds most dear.

Click this link to purchase!* American Demon (Hollows Book 14)

These are the books I’m most looking forward to reading when they’re released next month, but gosh, there are so many more than what’s on this list! What June releases are you most looking forward to reading? Let me know!

Happy Reading!

Deb

*Amazon Associate- if you should purchase a book through one of the above links, I’ll receive a small stipend.