Pre-order Pool Party: Our Most Anticipated Summer Reads
You know what is always guaranteed to brighten your future-self’s day? Pre-ordering a book! We’re raving about our favorite reads coming out over the next few weeks. Romance, memoirs, thrillers, and more to keep you company poolside this summer.
Jen’s Picks
American Royalty by Tracey Livesay (out June 28th)
I am a sucker for a book with a Duke, or a Prince, or really any type of peerage honestly. I very much have a type. This new rom-com from Tracey Livesay tells the story of a British Prince who is reluctantly hosting an American Rapper, whose stage name (of course) is The Duchess, for a benefit concert. Sparks fly as soon as they meet and the on-page chemistry is all heart eyes. Tracey Livesay is incredibly good at bringing you into the story with her wonderful dialogue and character building and this is a pool/beach/fire pit worthy romance!
Heartbreaker by Sarah MacLean (out August 23)
This book was absolute romance bonkers. We are talking about dramatic church wedding interruptions, a master thief who makes her mission to be unnoticeable and a Duke (of course there is a Duke) who only has eyes for her. We have carriage races in the country, and my favorite ONLY ONE BEDS. As in multiple only one bed scenarios (thank goodness for the regency bed shortage of the era). Also a low key praise kink.
Like I said, absolute bonkers. If you love historical romance, you are going to need to read this and swoon with me.
Angie’s Pick
The Man Who Could Move Clouds by Ingrid Rojas Contreras (out July 12th)
A stunning memoir told straight from the heart filled with magic, ghosts, and violence. Told in shifting timelines, this follows Rojas Contreras personal experiences with amnesia and how they connect her to her mother and her grandfather’s curandero ways. This book gave me chills in the best way and I can’t wait to put it into the hands of everyone I know.
Abby’s Picks
Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks by Patrick Radden Keefe (out June 28th)
This is a great book for readers eager to snatch up some true crime tales in short bites. A collection of some of Keefe’s previously published pieces from The New Yorker, this book will have you wondering about everything from wine forgery to the intricacies of mob families, all with his signature charm and humor. Perfect for those with only an hour or two by the pool or eager to kill time on a road trip, this will have you gobbling up each unique tale and begging for more.
Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey (out July 19th)
You had me at Sarah Gailey meets haunted house! They’ve made a name for themselves by writing the oddest things, from an alternative history of the US with Hippos (believe me, it’s great) to their most recent gem, Echo Wife, a domestic thriller with clones that had me screaming by the end. Their newest one sounds just as exciting, where the daughter of a serial killer returns home to her mother. And of course there are ghosts.
Ally’s Picks
The Crane Wife by CJ Hauser
Sometimes when a viral essay gets stretched out into a book, it feels like just that. A stretch. A check cashed and an easy way to roll one successful story into another longer one. But not with CJ Hauser. I'd trust her with any form: essay, book length memoir (like this one), novel. I love how she writes so vividly about the natural world, and how she keeps things Frank and funny even when life gets tough.
The Family Remains by Lisa Jewel
This is the least "indie bookseller" recommendation, fine I'll admit it. Why? Cause you'll find thriller writer Lisa Jewel everywhere! It's for good reason - she just nails it when it comes to creepy page turners that are poolside perfection. I don't even know what this one is about but I *do* know I'll devour it while baking in the sun and sipping on a seltzer. Ahhhh. I can't wait. It isn't summer until I read her latest and pass it around to my mom and sister on the annual family beach trip.
In the similar psychological-thrillers-written
-by-British-ladies vein: There's a new Ruth Ware coming out soon too!
Babel by RF Kuang
Did you know there are people out there who are Marshall Scholars studying at Cambridge and all the while they also write amazing, award winning novels? Rude. Like save some of the talent for the rest of us, would ya? Just kidding - RF Kuang is the best! She often comes by the shop unannounced and signs all our copies of The Poppy War, which then sell out as soon as she tweets about it. I'm excited to read Babel, a stand alone fantasy about academia, translation, and colonialism. Maybe we’ll even have some surprise signed copies!
The Viral Underclass by Steven W Thrasher
I recently read Premonition by Michael Lewis and have become slightly obsessed with reading about the pandemic and public health in general. I highly recommend that book, though it only briefly touches on the way disease and inequality intersect. It's more about systems and their limits and the heroic individuals committed enough to their work to subvert bureaucracy and make a difference. If you were to take Ally's Class in Depressing but Very Interesting Pandemic Books the other book on the sylllabus would be On Immunity by Eula Biss. This summer the class will read The Viral Underclass by Steven Thrasher. Please turn in reader response essays no later than ... wait sorry got carried away there for a second.
Rachel’s Picks
Scandalized by Ivy Owens (out August 23)
Don’t let the fact that you’ve never heard of Ivy Owens before throw you off - you’re not going to want to miss this one. I’m so excited for this steamy end-of-summer read that’s being blurbed by some of the biggest names in romance right now (ever heard of Tessa Bailey or Ali Hazelwood?). This childhood friend romance has damsel in distress elements, a hardworking investigative journalist heroine and a famous hero with chemistry that’s off the charts, yet it also packs an emotional punch. I think we’re going to be talking about this long after the leaves have turned for fall.
The Hookup Plan by Farrah Rochon (Out August 2)
Book #3 in The Boyfriend Project Series (that can all be read as standalones), I’ve been most excited for London’s story. I love an enemies to lovers set-up, especially when a heroine who’s had to stand on her own for so long is learning the lesson that she really can rely on someone else. A hook-up at a high school reunion with your arch nemesis? You can only imagine the hijinks that will occur. The female friendships that these books contain are just an added bonus to the fun romance within these pages.
Melissa’s Picks
Cornbread & Poppy Go to the Carnival by Matthew Cordell (Out June 21)
I adore this full-color early chapter series, created by Matthew Cordell, a Caldecott Medalist, and starring the most charming odd couple friendship between two anthropomorphic mice. In this second installment, Cornbread and Poppy are off to a summer carnival. But what happens when they can’t agree on what to do there? (Ages 6-9)
Chunky Goes to Camp by Yehudi Mercado (Out June 14)
Chunky was my family’s favorite graphic novel of 2021: an infectious story about a Mexican Jewish boy and his altar-ego of sorts, whose passion for comedy shines through multiple failed attempts at a team sport. It’s impossible not to fall in love with Hudi! Now, in the sequel, Hudi and Chunky head to Jewish summer camp, where they get mixed up in a prank war and hijinks ensue. (Ages 8-12)
Amari and the Great Game by B.B. Alston (Out Aug 31)
I wouldn’t wish summer over for anything…except maybe for the hotly anticipated sequel to Amari and the Night Brothers?! Think Harry Potter meets Men in Black meets Black Girl Magic, and you’ll understand why the series opener slayed every young reader in its path. I get asked almost daily when the sequel is coming out. Well, the answer (for now) is August 31!
Hannah’s Picks
Abolition Feminisms Vol 1: Organizing, Survival, and Transformative Practice (Out August 16th)
This may not be everyone’s idea of a summer read, but for me, summer is the perfect time to dive deeper into a topic that I want to learn more about. I am very excited to dig into this anthology on abolition feminisms and to learn more about anti-violence organizing that rejects carceral framings.
All This Could Be Different (Out August 2nd)
I’ve had my eye on this one for a while, but as soon as I heard @Lupita.Reads rave about it on Instagram, I bumped it up to the top of my reading list. I can’t wait to get lost in this queer coming of age story about an immigrant building a life for herself in the U.S.