Hello, librarians.
Welcome to summer! May these warmer months bring you rest, relaxation, and much reading fulfillment. We hope our staff suggestions for the August LibraryReads List will prove to be perfect pool-side partners, beach-side buddies, and hammock-hanging helpers.
As a reminder, votes for the August LibraryReads List are due July 1st.
Happy reading!
-The LLF Team (Virginia, Chris, and Lainey)
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Vortex by Catherine Coulter
For fans of: The Big Kahuna by Janet Evanovich
In the latest installment in Catherine Coulter’s #1 New York Times bestselling FBI Thriller series, agents Sherlock and Savich find themselves dealing with powerful pieces of the past that could have dire consequences in the present.
Praise for Catherine Coulter:
"Catherine Coulter is one of the bonafide rockstars of the thriller genre."
—The Real Book Spy
"The things you can count on in a Catherine Coulter book are a complex storyline with plenty of action, intrigue, and unexpected twists and turns."
—Fresh Fiction
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021
Bombshell by Sarah MacLean
Also from the author: Daring and the Duke
and Brazen and the Beast
New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean returns with a blazingly sexy, unapologetically feminist new series, Hell’s Belles, beginning with a bold, bombshell of a heroine, able to dispose of a scoundrel—or seduce one—in a single night.
Praise for Sarah MacLean:
"Sarah MacLean's books are fierce."
—Julia Quinn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Bridgerton series
Previous LibraryReads Selections:
Brazen and the Beast (July 2019)
Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover (November 2014))
No Good Duke Goes Unpunished (December 2013)
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021
Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So
For fans of: A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum
and Lot by Bryan Washington
A vibrant story collection about Cambodian-American life—immersive and comic, yet unsparing—that offers profound insight into the intimacy of queer and immigrant communities.
"So (1992–2020) conjures literary magic in his hilarious and insightful posthumous debut, a collection that delves into a tightly knit community of Cambodian-American immigrants in California’s Central Valley…. After this immersive introduction to the Central Valley community, readers won’t want to leave."
—Publishers Weekly ⭐ review
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
For fans of: The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs
and The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick
An unforgettable and heartwarming debut about how a chance encounter and a list of library books helps forge an unlikely friendship between two very different people—a lonely London widower and a troubled teenager.
"If you love books, read this. If you love people, read this. If you love crying with sadness, crying with happiness, and feeling like you have been wrapped in the blanket of someone else's life, read this."
—Debbie Johnson, bestselling author of Maybe One Day
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021
Palm Beach by Mary Adkins
For fans of: The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward
A thought-provoking page-turner from the author of When You Read This and Privilege—a powerful novel that captures the painful divide between the haves and have-nots and the seductive lure of the American dream, for readers of Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney and Emma Straub.
"Mary Adkins' Palm Beach is a rare page-turner that gives you all the fun and decadence of a beach read while exploring the relevant issues around wealth inequity. I opened it up and could not stop reading!"
—Jessica Anya Blau, author of Mary Jane
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021
Sisters in Arms by Kaia Alderson
For fans of: Code Girls by Liza Mundy and
Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly
Kaia Alderson’s debut historical fiction novel reveals the untold, true story of the Six Triple Eight, the only all-Black battalion of the Women’s Army Corps, who made the dangerous voyage to Europe to ensure American servicemen received word from their loved ones during World War II.
"Sisters in Arms is heartwarming but fierce, a novel brimming with camaraderie and fire, starring women you’d love to make your friends…. Kaia Alderson’s debut is a triumph!"
—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code
Going to ALA Annual? Kaia Alderson is the featured speaker on the Chapter One Stage: Debut Authors on Wednesday, 6/23, from 12:30 – 1:00pm ET. Click here to add to your ALA schedule!
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021
So We Meet Again by Suzanne Park
For fans of: The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai
From the author of the "genuinely funny" and "delightful" Loathe at First Sight (NPR), a young Korean American woman’s journey to finding a new career and new love means learning to embrace the awkward and unexpected—exploring familial expectations, finding your voice, and unimaginably falling for your childhood rival.
"Some books just feel like an old friend, their first pages embracing you with an instant familiarity and warmth you can’t help but sink into. Suzanne Park’s So We Meet Again is that kind of book…. A cinematic, charming heart-squeeze-of-a-book that has found its way to my Ultimate Comfort Reads shelf."
—Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021
The Sisters of Auschwitz by Roxane van Iperen
For fans of: The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz
by Jeremy Dronfield
The unforgettable story of two unsung heroes of World War II: sisters Janny and Lien Brilleslijper who joined the Dutch Resistance, helped save dozen of lives, were captured by the Nazis, and ultimately survived the Holocaust.
"Offering fascinating insights into Amsterdam’s Jewish Quarter, the fate of the Frank family, and the bonds of sisterly devotion, this standout history isn’t to be missed."
—Publishers Weekly ⭐ review
Going to ALA Annual? See Roxane van Iperen on the "HarperCollins Presents Tales From Around the World" author panel, available on demand starting Wednesday, 6/23! Click here to add to your ALA schedule!
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021
Down Range by Taylor Moore
For fans of: Hunter Killer by Brad Taylor
In this action-packed debut thriller for fans of C. J. Box, DEA agent Garrett Kohl fights to protect his home on the Texas High Plains when a vicious criminal enterprise threatens his family.
"Combining the suspense and intrigue of a Tom Clancy thriller with the action and grit of a hard-hitting western, Taylor Moore's Down Range is sure to entice fans of both genres, as he weaves a wild tale of betrayal, vengeance, and death on the Texas High Plains."
—Philipp Meyer, New York Times bestselling author of The Son
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021
When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen
For fans of: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
A haunting novel about a Black woman who returns to her hometown for a plantation wedding and the horror that ensues as she reconnects with the blood-soaked history of the land and the best friends she left behind.
"LaTanya McQueen's When the Reckoning Comes is so deliciously uncomfortable there were moments where I had to put the book down, take a deep breath, and like Mira, its protagonist, urge myself to go further. This is a novel, like Octavia Butler's Kindred, that reminds its readers that as long as people don't acknowledge how much of the past still shapes the present, it will bring its whips, its hatchets, and fists to make us learn."
—Megan Giddings, author of Lakewood
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021
Listen to a podcast interview between LaTanya McQueen and LLF's Lainey Mays!
Edge Case by YZ Chin
For fans of: Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan
When her husband suddenly disappears, a young woman must uncover where he went—and who she might be without him—in this striking debut of immigration, identity, and marriage.
"Edge Case is a beautifully subtle novel about precarity and dislocation. YZ Chin writes with wisdom, precision and humor, tracing the routes by which we become strangers to each other and ourselves."
—Katie Kitamura, author of A Separation
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021
Ramadan Ramsey by Louis Edwards
For fans of: Swing Time by Zadie Smith
The Whiting Award-winning author makes his long-awaited comeback with this epic tale, spanning from the Deep South to the Middle East, that bridges four countries, two cultures, and three families who struggle to love and survive in the face of war, natural disasters, and other calamities beyond their control.
"New Orleans music industry veteran and Whiting Award winner Edwards (Oscar Wilde Discovers America) returns after almost two decades with an ambitious globe-trotting epic as luscious and musical as the city he calls home."
—Publishers Weekly ⭐ review
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021
Battle Royal by Lucy Parker
For fans of: Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
Beloved author Lucy Parker pens a delicious new romantic comedy that is a battle of whisks and wits, where two bakers learn they will be fighting for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bake a cake for an upcoming royal wedding.
"Lucy Parker’s books are marvels of wit and warmth and empathy, and Battle Royal is no exception. It’s as delicious as the cakes baked by Sylvie and Dominic, from first page to last."
—Olivia Dade, bestselling author of Spoiler Alert
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021
Then She Vanishes by Claire Douglas
For fans of: Have You Seen Me? by Kate White
A twisty, compulsive thriller full of jolting shocks and startling secrets involving two sisters, a disappearance, a double murder, and a reporter determined to find the truth from the bestselling author of Local Girl Missing, Last Seen Alive, and Do Not Disturb.
"Then She Vanishes lifts the stone on a cold case disappearance and asks chilling questions about friendship, loyalty, love, and obsession."
—Gilly Macmillan, New York Times bestselling author of
What She Knew and The Nanny
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021
Breathe by Joyce Carol Oates
For fans of: Monogamy by Sue Miller
From the bestselling and award-winning author comes a deeply personal novel following a desperate woman's final days with her dying husband: part intimately detailed love story, part horror story rooted in real life.
Praise for Joyce Carol Oates:
"Timely, monumental…. Yet another piercing examination of American culture by the writer this reviewer considers our country's greatest living novelist…. It is brilliant. How blessed we are to have her as a novelist in our chaotic, confusing times."
—Star Tribune on Night. Sleep. Death. The Stars.
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021
The Sister-in-Law by Pamela Crane
For fans of: The Nanny by Gilly Macmillan
From the USA Today bestselling author of Little Deadly Secrets comes a gripping story about the frailty of family and a battle of wills between a wife and a sister-in-law, bent on revenge.
Praise for Pamela Crane:
"Crane succeeds at painting families and friendships in vivid detail; women will see their tussles and triumphs in these pages, and will relish the twists and moments of brave camaraderie and bold revenge…. A satisfying read that has echoes of Liane Moriarty and of Emily Giffin’s All We Ever Wanted."
—Booklist on Little Deadly Secrets
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021
In Polite Company by Gervais Hagerty
For fans of: Sunset Beach by Mary Kay Andrews
This luminous and captivating debut novel sneaks the reader inside the private lives of Charleston’s aristocracy, following the journey of a former debutant who forges a path from tradition to seize a future meant for her all along.
"Peek behind the veil of Charleston’s cobbled streets, Southern charm and pedigreed society. In Polite Company offers a nuanced look at birth and death, privilege and discrimination at odds between generations. Gervais Hagerty is an author to watch!”
—Mary Alice Monroe, New York Times bestselling author of The Islanders
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021
Her Turn by Katherine Ashenburg
For fans of: Good Karma by Christina Kelly
A delightful debut novel in the vein of Younger and
The Unbreakables, with a hint of Nora Ephron, about a journalist who stumbles into an unusual relationship with the woman married to her former husband.
"What a gem this novel is. Hilarious, wise, and humane, Her Turn follows one woman’s twisting path through a maze of love and betrayal and forgiveness. It is infused with the joyful spirit of Nora Ephron and lit with a charm all its own."
—Elizabeth Renzetti, author of Shrewed
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021
The Quiet Zone by Stephen Kurczy
For fans of: How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell
In this riveting account of an area of Appalachia known as the Quiet Zone where cell phones and WiFi are banned, journalist Stephen Kurczy explores the pervasive role of technology in our lives and the innate human need for quiet.
"What a fascinating book! This corner of America is unique for its electromagnetic silence—but once Stephen Kurczy starts looking he finds that it's unique in other ways too. The Quiet Zone will live on in your memory."
—Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021
The Last Debutantes by Georgie Blalock
For fans of: The Queen's Secret by Karen Harper
Fans of The Kennedy Debutante and Last Year in Havana will love Georgie Blalock’s new novel of a world on the cusp of change…set on the eve of World War II in the glittering world of English society and one of the last debutante seasons.
"A fascinating portrayal of London high society overshadowed by the threat of World War II…. Atmospheric, moving and compelling, The Last Debutantes is a must read!"
—Christine Wells, author of Sisters of the Resistance
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021
The deadline to submit your votes is July 1!
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We hope you enjoy the books! For more information about LibraryReads, visit their website. Remember: Vote early! Vote often!
-Chris
This week's podcast episode features a conversation between editor Sara Birmingham and Adam Harris, author of The State Must Provide. We were so excited to facilitate this important conversation. The State Must Provide serves as a definitive history of the pervasiveness of racial inequality in American higher education. Adam is a staff writer at The Atlantic where he has covered education and national politics since 2018. He was previously a reporter at the Chronicle of Higher Education where he covered federal education policy and historically black colleges and universities. In the interview, Adam and Sara spoke about some of the history of racial injustice within higher education and how the book came to be. It was also interesting to hear Sara's experience editing this book because she came on board after the initial draft was written. 
