Hello, librarians!
Below, you will find our staff suggestions for the June LibraryReads list. We have novels by beloved bestselling authors, new entries in librarian-favorite series, and acclaimed debuts sure to make a splash. Keep reading to find out more!
Enjoy and happy reading!
-The LLF Team (Virginia, Chris, and Lainey)
Remember, votes for the June LibraryReads list are due May 1st!
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Mrs. Lincoln's Sisters by Jennifer Chiaverini
Also from the author: Resistance Women and
Enchantress of Numbers
The New York Times bestselling author of Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker returns to her most famous heroine, Mary Todd Lincoln, in this compelling story of love, loss, and sisterhood rich with history and suspense.
"Through meticulously researched historical detail and sympathetic portrayal of each character, including Mary herself, Chiaverini provides a fascinating glimpse into the women of an influential family on the front lines of some of the most important moments of that indelible time."
—Booklist
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LibraryReads Votes Due: May 1, 2020
The Light of Days by Judy Batalion
For fans of: The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone and Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
One of the most important stories of World War II, already optioned by Steven Spielberg for a major motion picture: a spectacular, searing history that brings to light the extraordinary accomplishments of brave Jewish women who became resistance fighters—a group of unknown heroes whose exploits have never been chronicled in full, until now.
"A remarkable portrait of young Jewish women who fought in the Polish resistance during WWII…. pays vivid tribute to the breadth and scope of female courage. "
—Publishers Weekly review
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LibraryReads Votes Due: May 1, 2020
Listen to a podcast interview between Judy Batalion and her editor!
Watch Judy Batalion's presentation at the UFL Gala Author Tea at ALA Midwinter 2020!
Dance Away with Me by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Also from the author: First Star I See Tonight and
Heroes Are My Weakness
At long last, the legendary New York Times bestselling author returns with a heartfelt novel of womanhood, a wild heart, and the healing power of love.
"In this superbly written stand-alone, this master storyteller's flair for highly imaginative plots and flawless characterization are on full display, resulting an emotionally enriching, breathtakingly brilliant tale of heartbreak and hope…lively writing liberally laced with multiple layers of delicious wit and snarky charm."
—Booklist review
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LibraryReads Votes Due: May 1, 2020
Her Last Flight by Beatriz Williams
Also from the author: The Golden Hour and The Summer Wives
The beloved New York Times bestselling author returns with a remarkable novel of both raw suspense and lyric beauty—the story of a lost pilot and a wartime photographer that will leave its mark on your soul.
Praise for The Golden Hour: "Bestselling author Beatriz Williams skillfully sets a story of love and sacrifice against the backdrop of war in her fascinating new novel…. Readers will be spellbound by Williams’ elegant prose, fascinating characters and unforgettable settings while fully engrossed by the novel’s dual plots."
—BookPage
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LibraryReads Votes Due: May 1, 2020
Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
For fans of: Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey and
The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
The author of Get a Life, Chloe Brown (a LibraryReads pick for November 2019!) returns with another charming romantic comedy about a young woman who agrees to fake date her friend after a video of him "rescuing" her from their office building goes viral.
"Hibbert’s follow up to Get a Life, Chloe Brown, featuring Dani’s sister, is another superb and emotionally rich romance. Grief and turmoil are expertly balanced with hilarious wit, making the story both complex and immensely readable. The characters are vibrant, and their chemistry is scorching. Remarkable."
—Library Journal review
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LibraryReads Votes Due: May 1, 2020
Watch a replay of Talia Hibbert's guest appearance on Door to Door!
Watch on : https://youtu.be/A4MMMxeaLqo
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
For fans of: The Lost Man by Jane Harper and
An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena
A wedding celebration turns dark and deadly in this deliciously wicked and atmospheric thriller reminiscent of Agatha Christie from the author of The Hunting Party.
"I didn’t think Lucy Foley could top The Hunting Party, but she did! I loved this book. It gave me the same waves of happiness I get from curling up with a classic Christie. A remote, atmospheric island, a wedding no one is particularly happy to be at, old secrets – and a murder. The alternating points of view keep you guessing, and guessing wrong. I can’t wait for her next book."
—Alex Michaelides, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient
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LibraryReads Votes Due: May 1, 2020
Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan
For fans of: Assymetry by Lisa Halliday and
The Idiot by Elif Batuman
An intimate, bracingly intelligent debut novel about a millennial Irish expat who becomes entangled in a love triangle with a male banker and a female lawyer.
"Echoes of Sally Rooney's Conversations with Friends resound in this exacting debut novel about a young Irish woman living in Hong Kong who becomes embroiled in a love triangle with a wealthy man and woman."
—O, the Oprah Magazine
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LibraryReads Votes Due: May 1, 2020
Nine Shiny Objects by Brian Castleberry
For fans of: America Was Hard to Find by Kathleen Alcott and The Incendiaries by R. O. Kwon
A stunning literary saga in the tradition of Don DeLillo and Jennifer Egan—a luminous debut novel chronicling the unexpectedly, eerily intersecting lives of a line of dreamers over the course of half a century that reveals the divided heart of modern America itself.
"Sharply-tuned, funny, satisfyingly strange, and preternaturally poised, unspooling in immaculate prose. Brian Castleberry has that rare, can’t-be-taught ability to turn smoothly at any point in any direction, giving each sentence, no matter how casual, a quiet current of electric suspense."
—William Finnegan, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Barbarian Days
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LibraryReads Votes Due: May 1, 2020
The Distant Dead by Heather Young
For fans of: The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton and
The Weight of an Infinite Sky by Carrie La Seur
A young boy finds himself at the center of a murder mystery in this timely and twisty thriller from the author of the acclaimed The Lost Girls—a compelling and indelible story set in small town America that examines the burden of guilt, the bitter price of forgiveness, and the debts we owe our dead, both recent and distant.
"Stunning…. An ideal recommendation for fans of Kate Atkinson."
—Booklist review
"[The Distant Dead] is at heart about the timelessness of human curiosity, the eternal possibility of forgiveness, and the everyday miracle of survival. Electrifying, ambitious, and crushingly beautiful."
—Kirkus review
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LibraryReads Votes Due: May 1, 2020
The Lightness by Emily Temple
For fans of: Severance by Ling Ma and
Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
A stylish, stunningly precise, and suspenseful meditation on adolescent desire, female friendship, and the female body that shimmers with rage, wit, and fierce longing—an audacious, darkly observant, and mordantly funny literary debut for fans of Emma Cline, Ottessa Moshfegh, and Jenny Offill.
"A complex, psychological study of a young woman haunted by her past—and her capacity to hunger for violence and self-destruction…. A dark, glittering fable about the terror of desire."
—Kirkus review
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LibraryReads Votes Due: May 1, 2020
Thin Girls by Diana Clarke
For fans of: Dietland by Sarai Walker
A dark, edgy, voice-driven literary debut novel about twin sisters that explores body image and queerness as well as toxic diet culture and the power of sisterhood, love, and lifelong friendships, written by a talented protégé of Roxane Gay.
"From one sentence to the next, Clarke leaves her readers splayed open, throbbing with the most beautiful, necessary ache. She writes with unyielding honesty and breathtaking tenderness. Thin Girls is a brutal, and unrelenting examination of what it means to be a woman in a body, wanting, needing, wanting, needing so much. With her assured, elegant prose Clarke makes you hope against all hopes that both Rose and Lily can find a way to satiate and save themselves and each other."
—Roxane Gay
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LibraryReads Votes Due: May 1, 2020
The Book of Rosy by Rosayra Pablo Cruz and Julie Schwietert Collazo
For fans of: Dear America by Jose Antonio Vargas
A searing tale of the human lives behind the Trump administration-made immigration crisis, written by two remarkable mothers—a Central American woman whose children were taken from her by the United States government at the southern border, and the American who helped reunite the family—offering a timely and urgent look at a migrant experience, family separation and reunification, and the power of individuals banding together to overcome even the cruelest and most unjust circumstances.
"[The] haunting and eloquent…narrative of a Guatemalan woman's desperate search for a better life."
—Kirkus review
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LibraryReads Votes Due: May 1, 2020
Watch a video introduction by Rosy and Julie!
The Empire of Gold by S. A. Chakraborty
Also from the author: The City of Brass and
The Kingdom of Copper
The final chapter in the bestselling, critically acclaimed Daevabad Trilogy, in which a con-woman and an idealistic djinn prince join forces to save a magical kingdom from a devastating civil war.
"Chakraborty (The City of Brass) brings her epic fantasy series to a stunning conclusion. Rich details, familial ties, and magical politics sing in this lush world built from Middle Eastern history and imagination."
—Library Journal review
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LibraryReads Votes Due: May 1, 2020
The Summer Deal by Jill Shalvis
Also from the author: Almost Just Friends and
The Lemon Sisters
From New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis comes a friends-to-frenemies-to-sisters story…and then add in a love story (okay, two love stories).
"Readers will find it easy to root for Shalvis’s stubborn, vulnerable heroines to recognize both the decency and compassion of the sexy men who love them and their own worthiness to be loved. This heartfelt tale is thoroughly satisfying."
—Publishers Weekly
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LibraryReads Votes Due: May 1, 2020
Dark August by Katie Tallo
For fans of: The Marsh King's Daughter by Karen Dionne and The Dry by Jane Harper
An electrifying, page-turning debut about a young woman haunted by her tragic past, who returns to her hometown and discovers that there might be more to her police detective mother’s death—and last case—than she ever could have imagined.
"Dark August is a tightly-paced cauldron of a thriller about small town corruption, murder and mayhem, in the vein of Sharp Objects and All The Missing Girls. A macabre and confidently twisty debut."
—Lisa Gabriele, internationally bestselling author of The Winters
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LibraryReads Votes Due: May 1, 2020
Don't Turn Around by Jessica Barry
For fans of: The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy and
Sunburn by Laura Lippman
The riveting follow up to Jessica Barry’s debut Freefall—a controversial, of-the-moment thriller about two women fighting for their right to live.
"Jessica Barry has written a grab-you-by-the-throat novel of suspense that follows the trail of two women pushed to the extreme. Don’t Turn Around is the female-driven thriller you've been waiting for."
—Danielle Trussoni, New York Times bestselling author of Angelology and The Ancestor
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LibraryReads Votes Due: May 1, 2020
We hope you enjoy the books! For more information about LibraryReads, visit their website. Remember: Vote early! Vote often!
-Chris