Hi and welcome to the reading world!
Today’s post is another installment of anticipated new releases, this time for June!
As usual, I want to start off this post with a disclaimer: there are a ton of incredible sounding upcoming releases, and this list is by no means comprehensive nor will I be able to read every single one of these. I’m just curious about these books coming out soon and want to share a little about them in case one also is of interest to other readers!
June 7
Chen keeps readers on the edge of their seats as she weaves an addictive tale about the high/low world of counterfeit luxury handbags . . . A glittering, provocative read. -- JANICE Y.K. LEE, New York Times bestselling author of The Expatriates Sly and thoroughly compelling . . . Chen's ingenious plot will keep you breathless to the last page. -- CLAIRE MESSUD, New York Times bestselling author of The Burning Girl For fans of Hustlers and How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, the story of two Asian American women who band together to grow a counterfeit handbag scheme into a global enterprise--an incisive and glittering blend of fashion, crime, and friendship from the author of Bury What We Cannot Take and Soy Sauce for Beginners. Money can't buy happiness... but it can buy a decent fake. Ava Wong has always played it safe. As a strait-laced, rule-abiding Chinese American lawyer with a successful surgeon as a husband, a young son, and a beautiful home--she's built the perfect life. But beneath this façade, Ava's world is crumbling: her marriage is falling apart, her expensive law degree hasn't been used in years, and her toddler's tantrums are pushing her to the breaking point. Enter Winnie Fang, Ava's enigmatic college roommate from Mainland China, who abruptly dropped out under mysterious circumstances. Now, twenty years later, Winnie is looking to reconnect with her old friend. But the shy, awkward girl Ava once knew has been replaced with a confident woman of the world, dripping in luxury goods, including a coveted Birkin in classic orange. The secret to her success? Winnie has developed an ingenious counterfeit scheme that involves importing near-exact replicas of luxury handbags and now she needs someone with a U.S. passport to help manage her business--someone who'd never be suspected of wrongdoing, someone like Ava. But when their spectacular success is threatened and Winnie vanishes once again, Ava is left to face the consequences. Swift, surprising, and sharply comic, Counterfeit is a stylish and feminist caper with a strong point of view and an axe to grind. Peering behind the curtain of the upscale designer storefronts and the Chinese factories where luxury goods are produced, Kirstin Chen interrogates the myth of the model minority through two unforgettable women determined to demand more from life.
Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen
Published by HarperCollins Publishers on June 7, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Crime, Fiction / Friendship, Fiction / Women
Pages: 288
A razor‑sharp debut novel of three best friends navigating love, sex, faith, and the one night that changes it all. It’s always been Malak, Kees, and Jenna against the world. Since childhood, under the watchful eyes of their parents, aunties and uncles, they’ve learned to live their own lives alongside the expectations of being good Muslim women. Staying over at a boyfriend's place is disguised as a best friend’s sleepover, and tiredness can be blamed on studying instead of partying. They know they’re existing in a perfect moment. With growing older and the stakes of love and life growing higher, the delicate balancing act between rebellion and religion is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate. Malak wants the dream: for her partner, community, and faith to coexist happily, and she wants this so much she's willing to break her own heart to get it. Kees is in love with Harry, a white Catholic man who her parents can never know about. When he proposes, she must decide between her future happiness and the life she knows and family she loves. Jenna is the life of the party, always ready for new pleasures, even though she’s plagued by a loneliness she can’t shake. Through it all, they have always had each other. But as their college years come to a close, one night changes everything when harsh truths are revealed. As their lives begin to take different paths, Malak, Kees, and Jenna—now on the precipice of true adulthood—must find a way back to each other as they reconcile faith, family, and tradition with their own needs and desires. These Impossible Things is a paean to youth and female friendship—and to all the joy and messiness love holds.
These Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany
Published by Grand Central Publishing on June 7, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Coming of Age, Fiction / Cultural Heritage, Fiction / Friendship, Fiction / Women
Pages: 416
"The beautifully ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is completely silent one weekday morning, until a woman's terrified scream echoes through the room. Security guards immediately appear and instruct everyone inside to stay put until they determine there is no threat. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers who had been sitting in the reading room get to chatting and quickly become friendly. Harriet, Marigold, Whit, and Caine each have their own reasons for being in the reading room that morning--and it just happens that one of them may turn out to be a murderer. For readers of Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore, with shades of The Secret History, THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY is an unexpectedly twisty literary adventure that examines the complicated nature of friendship and shows us that words can be the most dangerous weapons of all"--
The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
Published by Poisoned Pen Press on April 11, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths, Fiction / Thrillers / Crime, Fiction / Women
Pages: 288
A wedding weekend spirals out of control in this bold, electrifying, hilarious novel about the complexities of female friendship Robin and Ellie have been best friends since childhood. When Robin came out, Ellie was there for her. When Ellie's father died, Robin had her back. But when Ellie asks Robin to be her maid of honor, she is reluctant. A queer academic, Robin is dubious of the elaborate wedding rituals now sweeping the nation, which go far beyond champagne toasts and a bouquet toss. But loyalty wins out, and Robin accepts. Yet, as the wedding weekend approaches, a series of ominous occurrences lead Robin to second-guess her decision. It seems that everyone in the bridal party is out to get her. Perhaps even Ellie herself. Manically entertaining, viciously funny and eerily campy, So Happy for You is the ultimate send-up to our collective obsession with the wedding industrial complex and a riveting, unexpectedly poignant depiction of friendship in all its messy glory.
So Happy for You by Celia Laskey
Published by Harlequin Enterprises ULC on June 7, 2022
Genres: Fiction / LGBTQ+ / Lesbian, Fiction / Literary, Fiction / Women
Pages: 352
Cat Sebastian returns to Georgian London with a stunning tale of a reluctant criminal and the thief who cannot help but love her. Marian Hayes, the Duchess of Clare, just shot her husband. Of course, the evil, murderous man deserved what was coming to him, but now she must flee to the countryside. Unfortunately, the only person she can ask for help is the charismatic criminal who is blackmailing her--and who she may have left tied up a few hours before... A highwayman, con artist, and all-around cheerful villain, Rob Brooks is no stranger to the wrong side of the law or the right side of anybody's bed. He never meant to fall for the woman whose secrets he promised to keep for the low price of five hundred pounds, but how could he resist someone who led him on a merry chase all over London, left him tied up in a seedy inn, and then arrived covered in her husband's blood and in desperate need of his help? As they flee across the country--stopping to pick pockets, drink to excess, and rescue invalid cats--they discover more true joy and peace than either has felt in ages. But when the truth of Rob's past catches up to him, they must decide if they are willing to reshape their lives in order to forge a future together.
The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian
Published by HarperCollins Publishers on June 1, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Crime, Fiction / LGBTQ+ / Bisexual, Fiction / Romance / LGBTQ+ / Bisexual
Pages: 352
June 28
"Ruby Barrett's writing leaves me breathless." --Rosie Danan A fiery restaurant owner falls for her enigmatic head chef in this charming, emotional romance Amy Chambers: restaurant owner, micromanager, control freak. Amy will do anything to revive her ailing restaurant, including hiring a former reality-show finalist with good connections and a lot to prove. But her hopes that Sophie's skills and celebrity status would bring her restaurant back from the brink of failure are beginning to wane... Sophie Brunet: grump in the kitchen/sunshine in the streets, took thirty years to figure out she was queer. Sophie just wants to cook. She doesn't want to constantly post on social media for her dead-in-the-water reality TV career, she doesn't want to deal with Amy's take-charge personality and she doesn't want to think about what her attraction to her boss might mean... Then, an opportunity: a new foodie TV show might provide the exposure they need. An uneasy truce is fine for starters, but making their dreams come true means making some personal and painful sacrifices and soon, there's more than just the restaurant at stake. Carina Adores is home to romantic love stories where LGBTQ+ characters find their happily-ever-afters. Book 1: Hot Copy Book 2: The Romance Recipe
The Romance Recipe by Ruby Barrett
Published by Harlequin Enterprises ULC on June 28, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / LGBTQ+ / Bisexual, Fiction / Romance / Workplace
Pages: 368
'Obaro writes beautifully about the complicated labor of friendship and parentage. Dele Weds Destiny explores caregiving as a kind of deferment, but also as discovery, of desire, of fury, of home' Raven Leilani, author of Luster Three women. Three decades. Zainab, Funmi and Enitan first meet at University in northern Nigeria, all learning how to become themselves. It's an experience that binds the three very different women together. When Enitan moves to New York to elope with a white man, Zainab and Funmi are left behind, with drastically different fortunes. Over the course of thirty years, their lives and friendships diverge and change. Enitan is separating from her husband, trying to understand her daughter Remi. Zainab finds herself the sole breadwinner for her husband and their four sons. And Funmi is living a life of confined luxury, as the wife of a successful, shady businessman. But theirs is a friendship that can endure decades of distance. And in 2015, they are reunited for the first time for the wedding of Funmi's daughter, Destiny. Here they will reflect on their pasts, the things they loved and lost - but the present brings unexpected surprises too, because their daughters, Remi and Destiny, might just be as rebellious and open-hearted as they once were. DELE WEDS DESTINY is the heartfelt, vivid and sparkling debut novel by editor and writer Tomi Obaro, a dazzling new voice in fiction. A story of three women, we witness the shared histories, betrayals and triumphs play out, and their unforgettable, enduring friendship. 'A generous and patient consideration of life, and of lives . . . I am so thankful for the world of this book and so excited for everyone who gets to sit in it' Hanif Abdurraqib, author of a Little Devil in America 'A wonderful novel full of richly-drawn, complicated, nuanced characters all trying to love and connect with each other. An ode to the bonds of friendship across decades, Dele Weds Destiny is a marvelous debut' Jami Attenberg, author of All This Could Be Yours 'Fast-paced, glamorous, and bursting with emotion, Dele Weds Destiny is a thrilling debut. The bonds between women -- as friends, and across the generations -- are the jewels that make this story shine!' Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage 'Tomi Obaro has a true gift for honoring the details that illuminate our most human tensions . . . Dele Weds Destiny is a black diamond of a debut' Saeed Jones, author of How We Fight for Our Lives 'This enchanting debut is an affectionate portrait of three women at middle age, cannily exploring the ways the self is forged in youth. With an admirably light touch, Tomi Obaro documents how class, race, faith, and power define the lives of women in Nigeria and America, past and present' Rumaan Alam, author of Leave the World Behind
Dele Weds Destiny by Tomi Obaro
Published by Hodder & Stoughton on June 28, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Friendship, Fiction / General, Fiction / Humorous / General, Fiction / Literary, Fiction / Women
Pages: 304
The friendship of a lifetime.
Significant strides have been made in recent years in the movement for LGBTQ+ rights, visibility and empowerment, but the conversation is far from over. After years of feeling the crushing dearth of information on bisexuality, psychological scientist and bestselling author Dr Julia Shaw dug deep and found a colourful and fascinating world that she is bringing out of the shadows. It is a personal journey that starts with her own openly bisexual identity, and celebrates the resilience and beautiful diversity of the bi community. In Bi: The Hidden Culture, History and Science of Bisexuality, Shaw explores all that we know about the world’s largest sexual minority. From the hunt for a bi gene, to the relationship between bisexuality and consensual non-monogamy, to asylum seekers who need to prove their bisexuality in a court of law, there is more to explore than most have ever realised. This rigorous and fun book will challenge us to think deeper about who we are and how we love.
Bi by Dr Julia Shaw
Published by Canongate Books on June 2, 2022
Genres: Psychology / Human Sexuality, Science / General
Pages: 256
What are some books you’re looking forward to next month? Feel free to leave a comment with your most anticipated new releases!
Thanks for stopping by!
Rae