Hide Your Wallet

August’s New Releases

The first day of August falls on a Tuesday, which means you barely have to wait to start getting new books delivered to your home or ereader. It’s a lighter month for us at SBTB in terms of new releases, but here are a few other anticipated titles coming out!

  • Keep the Wonder Woman love going with Leigh Bardugo’s Wonder Woman: Warbringer ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).
  • Royally Endowed by Emma Chase ( A | BN | K | AB ) has a bodyguard/royal romance!
  • A big one – The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin is out! ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
  • J.R. Ward finishes up with her Bourbon Kings trilogy with Devil’s Cut ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).
  • Sue Grafton is nearing the end of her longstanding Kinsey Millhone series with Y is for Yesterday ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).
  • Illegal Contact by Santino Hassell ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) comes out this month, full of bisexual, football player goodness.
  • Are You Sleeping

    Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber

    Author: Kathleen Barber
    Released: August 1, 2017 by Gallery
    Genre:

    The only thing more dangerous than a lie…is the truth.

    Serial meets Ruth Ware’s In A Dark, Dark Wood in this inventive and twisty psychological thriller about a mega-hit podcast that reopens a murder case—and threatens to unravel the carefully constructed life of the victim’s daughter.

    Josie Buhrman has spent the last ten years trying to escape her family’s reputation and with good reason. After her father’s murder thirteen years prior, her mother ran away to join a cult and her twin sister Lanie, once Josie’s closest friend and confidant, betrayed her in an unimaginable way. Now, Josie has finally put down roots in New York, settling into domestic life with her partner Caleb, and that’s where she intends to stay.

    The only problem is that she has lied to Caleb about every detail of her past—starting with her last name.

    When investigative reporter Poppy Parnell sets off a media firestorm with a mega-hit podcast that reopens the long-closed case of Josie’s father’s murder, Josie’s world begins to unravel. Meanwhile, the unexpected death of Josie’s long-absent mother forces her to return to her Midwestern hometown where she must confront the demons from her past—and the lies on which she has staked her future.

    Amanda says: A thriller that has to do with a true crime podcast!

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  • The Cottingley Secret

    The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor

    Author: Hazel Gaynor
    Released: August 1, 2017 by William Morrow Paperbacks
    Genre: , ,

    The New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Came Home turns the clock back one hundred years to a time when two young girls from Cottingley, Yorkshire, convinced the world that they had done the impossible and photographed fairies in their garden. Now, in her newest novel, international bestseller Hazel Gaynor reimagines their story.

    1917… It was inexplicable, impossible, but it had to be true—didn’t it? When two young cousins, Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright from Cottingley, England, claim to have photographed fairies at the bottom of the garden, their parents are astonished. But when one of the great novelists of the time, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, becomes convinced of the photographs’ authenticity, the girls become a national sensation, their discovery offering hope to those longing for something to believe in amid a world ravaged by war. Frances and Elsie will hide their secret for many decades. But Frances longs for the truth to be told.

    One hundred years later… When Olivia Kavanagh finds an old manuscript in her late grandfather’s bookshop she becomes fascinated by the story it tells of two young girls who mystified the world. But it is the discovery of an old photograph that leads her to realize how the fairy girls’ lives intertwine with hers, connecting past to present, and blurring her understanding of what is real and what is imagined. As she begins to understand why a nation once believed in fairies, can Olivia find a way to believe in herself?

    Redheadedgirl says: A reimagining of the two girls in Yorkshire who managed to convince the world (including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) that they photographed fairies in their garden.

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  • Beauty Like the Night

    Beauty Like the Night by Joanna Bourne

    Author: Joanna Bourne
    Released: August 1, 2017 by Berkley
    Genre: ,
    Series: Spymasters #6

    In the newest Spymaster novel, “master of romance and suspense”* Joanna Bourne offers a stirring tale of intrigue, espionage, and attraction.
     
    Sèverine de Cabrillac, orphan of the French revolution and sometime British intelligence agent, has tried to leave spying behind her. Now she devotes herself to investigating crimes in London and finding justice for the wrongly accused.

    Raoul Deverney, an enigmatic half-Spaniard with enough secrets to earn even a spy’s respect, is at her door demanding help. She’s the only one who can find the killer of his long-estranged wife and rescue her missing fourteen-year-old daughter.

    Sèverine reluctantly agrees to aid him, even though she knows the growing attraction between them makes it more than unwise. Their desperate search for the girl ​unleashes treason and murder. . . and offers a last chance for two strong, wounded people to find love.

    Redheadedgirl says: IT’S JOANNA BOURNE!

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  • The Half-Drowned King

    The Half-Drowned King by Linnea Hartsuyker

    Author: Linnea Hartsuyker
    Released: August 1, 2017 by Harper
    Genre: ,

    Since the death of Ragnvald Eysteinsson’s father in battle, he has worked hard to protect his sister Svanhild and planned to inherit his family’s land when he comes of age. But when the captain of his ship tries to kill him on the way home from a raiding excursion, he must confront his stepfather’s betrayal, and find a way to protect his birthright. It is no easy feat in Viking-Age Norway, where a hundred petty rulers kill over parcels of land, and a prophesied high king is rising.

    But where Ragnvald is expected to bleed, and even die, for his honour, Svanhild is simply expected to marry well. It’s not a fate she relishes, and when the chance to leave her stepfather’s cruelty comes at the hand of her brother’s arch-rival, Svanhild is forced to make the ultimate choice: family or freedom.

    Drawing from the Icelandic Sagas, The Half-Drowned King takes inspiration from the true story of Ragnvald of Maer, the right hand man of King Harald Fairhair, first king of all Norway, and his sister, Svanhild, as she tries to find freedom in a society where the higher her brother rises, the greater her worth as a political pawn.

    Redheadedgirl says: Historical fantasy saga about VIKINGS. In the 9th century! Power struggles and politics! I’ve only read about 1/3 so far but it’s REALLY GOOD.

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  • The Hot One

    The Hot One by Carolyn Murnick

    Author: Carolyn Murnick
    Released: August 1, 2017 by Simon & Schuster
    Genre:

    A gripping memoir of friendship with a tragic twist—two childhood best friends diverge as young adults, one woman is brutally murdered and the other is determined to uncover the truth about her wild and seductive friend.

    As girls growing up in rural New Jersey in the late 1980s, Ashley and Carolyn had everything in common: two outsiders who loved spending afternoons exploring the woods. Only when the girls attended different high schools did they begin to grow apart. While Carolyn struggled to fit in, Ashley quickly became a hot girl: popular, extroverted, and sexually precocious.

    After high school, Carolyn entered college in New York City and Ashley ended up in Los Angeles, where she quit school to work as a stripper and an escort, dating actors and older men, and experimenting with drugs. The last time Ashley visited New York, Carolyn was shocked by how the two friends had grown apart. One year later, Ashley was stabbed to death at age twenty-two in her Hollywood home.

    The man who may have murdered Ashley—an alleged serial killer—now faces trial in Los Angeles. Carolyn Murnick traveled across the country to cover the case and learn more about her magnetic and tragic friend. Part coming-of-age story, part true-crime mystery, The Hot One is a behind-the-scenes look at the drama of a trial and the poignancy of searching for the truth about a friend’s truly horrifying murder.

    Elyse says: A memoir of a friendship and a murder.

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  • Yesterday

    Yesterday by Felicia Yap

    Author: Felicia Yap
    Released: August 1, 2017 by Mulholland Books
    Genre:

    How do you solve a murder when you only remember yesterday?

    Imagine a world in which classes are divided not by wealth or religion but by how much each group can remember. Monos, the majority, have only one day’s worth of memory; elite Duos have two. In this stratified society, where Monos are excluded from holding high office and demanding jobs, Claire and Mark are a rare mixed marriage. Clare is a conscientious Mono housewife, Mark a novelist-turned-politician Duo on the rise. They are a shining example of a new vision of tolerance and equality—until…

    …a beautiful woman is found dead, her body dumped in England’s River Cam. The woman is Mark’s mistress, and he is the prime suspect in her murder. The detective investigating the case has secrets of his own. So did the victim. And when both the investigator’s and the suspect’s memories are constantly erased—how can anyone learn the truth?

    Told from four different perspectives, that of Mark, Claire, the detective on the case, and the victim—Felicia Yap’s staggeringly inventive debut leads us on a race against an ever-resetting clock to find the killer. With the science-fiction world-building of Philip K. Dick and the twisted ingenuity of Memento Yesterday is a thriller you’ll never forget.

    Elyse says: A murder mystery set in a world where people can only remember one day into the past.

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  • Diary of a Teenage Jewel Thief

    Diary of a Teenage Jewel Thief by Rosie Somers

    Author: Rosie Somers
    Released: August 7, 2017 by Entangled: Teen
    Genre:

    Most sixteen-year-olds shouldn’t know where museums keep their rarest jewels (the basement) and they really shouldn’t know that vans make the worst getaway cars. But for Marisol Flores, a life of jewel thievery is a birthright handed down from generation to generation, even if she didn’t ask for it. So when a rival thief targets Mari and her mother, Mari’s more than happy to flee to the anonymity of bustling New York City.

    Blending in is a dream come true for Mari, but keeping her former thieving ways a secret gets way more complicated when handsome Will Campbell sets his sights on her. She can’t help but like his terrible puns and charming grin…but when her past catches up with her, it’s not only her life—and her anonymity—that’s at stake.

    Will could be the next target.

    Redheadedgirl’s pick!

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  • Wicked Like a Wildfire

    Wicked Like a Wildfire by Lana Popovic

    Author: Lana Popovic
    Released: August 15, 2017 by Katherine Tegen Books
    Genre: ,
    Series: Hibiscus Daughter #1

    All the women in Iris and Malina’s family have the unique magical ability or “gleam” to manipulate beauty. Iris sees flowers as fractals and turns her kaleidoscope visions into glasswork, while Malina interprets moods as music. But their mother has strict rules to keep their gifts a secret, even in their secluded sea-side town. Iris and Malina are not allowed to share their magic with anyone, and above all, they are forbidden from falling in love.

    But when their mother is mysteriously attacked, the sisters will have to unearth the truth behind the quiet lives their mother has built for them. They will discover a wicked curse that haunts their family line—but will they find that the very magic that bonds them together is destined to tear them apart forever?

    Amanda says: This book is much anticipated and I’m curious!

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  • The Duchess Deal

    The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare

    Author: Tessa Dare
    Released: August 22, 2017 by Avon
    Genre: , ,
    Series: Girl Meets Duke #1

    When girl meets Duke, their marriage breaks all the rules… 

    Since his return from war, the Duke of Ashbury’s to-do list has been short and anything but sweet: brooding, glowering, menacing London ne’er-do-wells by night. Now there’s a new item on the list. He needs an heir—which means he needs a wife. When Emma Gladstone, a vicar’s daughter turned seamstress, appears in his library wearing a wedding gown, he decides on the spot that she’ll do.

    His terms are simple:
    – They will be husband and wife by night only.
    – No lights, no kissing.
    – No questions about his battle scars.
    – Last, and most importantly… Once she’s pregnant with his heir, they need never share a bed again.

    But Emma is no pushover. She has a few rules of her own:
    – They will have dinner together every evening.
    – With conversation.
    – And unlimited teasing.
    – Last, and most importantly… Once she’s seen the man beneath the scars, he can’t stop her from falling in love…

    Elyse says: Tessa Dare writes a Cinderella/Beauty and the Beast story!

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  • Thrilled

    Thrilled by Edie Harris

    Author: Edie Harris
    Released: August 22, 2017 by SFe Media
    Genre: ,
    Series: Blood Money #4

    No engineer alive can do what Gillian Faraday does in her California lab, and her newest weaponry project is poised to take the tech world by storm. Only one problem: a deadly enemy is demanding the prototype in exchange for her brother’s life.

    For months, Gillian has kept this secret, racing to beat the clock and save the youngest member of their family. Her FBI handler, however, knows she’s keeping something from him–something big–especially when Gillian escapes from under his ever-watchful eye.

    Agent Theo Rochon can’t believe he’s chasing the woman who has become his best friend halfway across the world. He isn’t prepared for what happens when he catches up with her, or for anger and distrust to turn to searing heat.

    Gillian is determined to save her brother, but Theo refuses to compromise his asset’s safety. Together, they set out to finish a dangerous game that can only end in blood.

    Amanda says: I coincidentally met the cover model at RT this year and I’m all about the super smart heroine, who’s showed up in previous books.

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  • Ready to Run

    Ready to Run by Lauren Layne

    Author: Lauren Layne
    Released: August 22, 2017 by Loveswept
    Genre: ,
    Series: I Do, I Don't #1

    The Bachelor meets The Runaway Bride in this addictive romance novel about a reality TV producer falling for her would-be star: a Montana heartthrob who wants nothing to do with the show.

    Jordan Carpenter thinks she’s finally found the perfect candidate for Jilted, a new dating show about runaway grooms: firefighter Luke Elliott, a known player who’s left not one but three brides at the altar. The only problem? Luke refuses to answer Jordan’s emails or return her calls. Which is how she ends up on a flight to Montana to recruit him in person. It’s not Manhattan, but at least the locals in Lucky Hollow seem friendly . . . except for Luke, who’s more intense—and way hotter—than the slick womanizer Jordan expected.

    Eager to put the past behind him, Luke has zero intention of following this gorgeous, fast-talking city girl back to New York. But before he can send her packing, Jordan’s everywhere: at his favorite bar, the county fair, even his exes’ book club. Annoyingly, everyone in Lucky Hollow seems to like her—and deep down, she’s starting to grow on him too. But the more he fights her constant pestering, the more Luke finds himself wishing that Jordan would kick off her high heels and make herself comfortable in his arms.

    Amanda says: It reminds me of a light, fluffier version of the TV show UnReal.

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  • Disorderly Conduct

    Disorderly Conduct by Tessa Bailey

    Author: Tessa Bailey
    Released: August 29, 2017 by Avon
    Genre: ,
    Series: Academy #1

    You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone…

    Police academy cadet Charlie Burns can’t believe his luck when the gorgeous blonde he meets in a bar murmurs those magic words: “Nothing serious, ’kay?” Mind-blowing, no-strings sex with Ever Carmichael—it’s the holy grail of hookups for a guy who’s too busy following in his law enforcement family’s footsteps to think about getting serious. Charlie’s all about casual…that is, until Ever calls it quits and his world tilts on its axis.

    Ever knows that when you control the relationship game, you can’t get played. But for the first time, she wants more than short-term satisfaction. Step one: end her fling with commitment-phobic Charlie. Step two: sacrifice herself to the ruthless NYC dating scene. Yet everywhere she turns, there’s Charlie, being his ridiculously charming self. No online match or blind date compares to the criminally hot cop-in-training, but they’re over. Aren’t they?

    If love is a four-letter-word, why does the idea of Ever seeing someone else tie Charlie up in knots?  Now he’s desperate to win her back…and a little date sabotage never hurt anyone, right?

    Amanda says: I will read anything by Tessa Bailey!

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  • Deacon

    Deacon by Kit Rocha

    Author: Kit Rocha
    Released: August 29, 2017 by Kit Rocha
    Genre: ,
    Series: Gideon's Riders #2

    Book #2 in an explosive new series from bestselling author Kit Rocha features Ana, the woman who shattered the glass ceiling when she joined the Riders, and Deacon, the mysterious and taciturn man who leads them.

    Amanda says: This series is so exciting and original. Also…peep those covers!

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Comments are Closed

  1. MirandaB says:

    Rhys Bowen’s “On Her Majesty’s Frightfully Secret Service” is out this month (actually, today).

  2. Severine was the funniest and most adorable child earlier in Joanna Bourne’s series and I’m so looking forward to seeing her as an adult.

  3. WOW this is a really great release month! The new Joanna Bourne and Tessa Dare novels were already on my list (both are auto-buy authors for me), but THE HALF-DROWNED KING totally caught my eye. I’ve been in the mood for some great historical fiction while I wait for the next Philippa Gregory to come out, and this one sounds interesting – I’ve never read Viking/9th century before! Thanks for pointing me toward something new.

  4. Donna Marie says:

    Joanna Bourne! Joanna Bourne! JOANNA BOURNE!!!
    Soooo excited for this book. Not obvious at all.

    Also looking forward to a new the Maggie Hope book The Paris Spy from Susan Elia MacNeal. And then there’s The Golden Age and Other Stories by Naomi Novik, a collection of short stories inspired by Temeraire fan art. Squee!! And lastly, In His Hands by my crush of the moment Adriana Anders.

  5. Olivia says:

    KAREN ROSE!! Auto buy and right before a beach vacation, I’m so set!

  6. cleo says:

    I’m looking forward to the new Satino Hassell and I am beyond excited about the new KJ Charles – Spectered Isle! It’s the first in her new series, Green Men – M/M pnr/uf set in the 1920s about a motley crew of occult experts and ghost hunters fighting to protect England from supernatural threats unleashed by WWI. It’s the next generation / continuation of The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal (mm Victorian ghost hunters). Have I mentioned that I’m looking forward to it?

  7. Ginger says:

    Penny Reid’s Beard in Mind released today!

    And can’t wait for Tessa Dare, Tessa Bailey and Deacon. It’s going to be an expensive month.

  8. SeventhWave says:

    Beauty Like the Night (awesome title!) hit my Kindle last night and I very nearly had a Bad Decisions Book Club sort of night! It’s incredible right from the first paragraph – but I expected nothing less.

  9. I’m practically camping out at the mailbox, waiting for the new Joanna Bourne. I know what I’ll be doing this weekend.

    Thanks for the list, even if my bank account whimpers when I hit that link.

  10. The Half-Drowned King sounds perfect for my significant other. He loves all things Vikings. Thanks for the recommendation!

  11. Peggy says:

    So tough to stay within my book budget! (Thanks for the great list!)

    Plus – Antisocial by Heidi Cullinan is released August 8th!

  12. Cassandra says:

    Joanna Bourne and Penny Reid for the win! Although I still haven’t caught up yet with all the great books that released last Tuesday. Need more time to read!

  13. roserita says:

    FINALLY! Karen Chance’s “Ride the storm” is out today. I have been hanging off the cliff for a couple of years now. Plus, there’s a new G.A. Aikin coming out the 29th, featuring Branwen the Awful and Aidan the Charming. Dragons ahoy!

  14. Crystal says:

    That cover for Beauty Like the Night is CALLING me.

    I must be strong, though. I already have preorders sitting out there for Duchess Deal and WW: Warbringer.

  15. Thank you for alerting me to the Joanna Bourne!!!!

    I’ve had Stone Sky by NK Jemisin pre-ordered for awhile, and I just bought ZAIDE BISHOP’S Second Heart that was released yesterday (a really unusual post-apoc series from Carina Press … sort of Brooke Shields Blue Lagoon and Jurassic Park and everybody but one tribe of women and one tribe of men are dead. Maybe). First Fall in that series is still 99 cents, which is great. The world-building was first class. Everything was thought of.

  16. Laura says:

    OMG!!! Made it to the words “Joanna Bourne”, will be back to finish this post tomorrow. WILL I EVEN GO TO WORK TOMORROW!!! EEEEEEEEE KTHANXBAI

  17. Susan says:

    My people! I have found my Monos people (Yesterday)! LOL

    OK, this came out last month, but I just saw today that Jordan Castillo Price released a new PsyCop book written from Crash’s POV. I’d much prefer a Vic POV, but am willing to give it a shot.

    I already had a mini-melt over the Bourne book at DA. I want it so much but refuse to pay $2 more for the ebook than the paper. (And I was even more ticked when someone said it’s on sale on Amazon UK.)

    @roserita: I had mixed feelings when Ride the Storm hit my Kindle in the wee hours of the morning since it’s been soooo looong since the last one. I’m afraid I won’t be able to remember enough without rereading the series from the start, but I don’t have time to do that.

    @Anna Richland: I bought both of the Zaide Bishop books on a whim earlier today without having heard anything about them, so I’m glad to read the thumbs up.

  18. Hey Susan – glad you bought the Eden series. The world-building is great (so great that I wish the books were ‘big’ full-length novels, rather than what are really two long sequential novellas that work together to tell a full story, but are distinct separate things packaged two in each. Read the first volume of two stories — it will go fast — I’d love to see what you think!

    Oh, there is dub con in the second story of the first book, by the way. It fits the characters though – I don’t want to glorify dub con or excuse it because it is a female character forcing a male – but it is deeply motivated by the characters.

    I think the way gender is handled in the first one is EXTREMELY interesting, but there are a few points in the second book where I thought a bit more discipline, both on pronoun clarity and on fictional message consistency, should have been applied. (that’s really an editing thing though). In #2, there was one gender-related speech that I imagine could be interpreted a lot of different ways, depending on the reader, and I hope that doesn’t blow back on the author. Our current American political situation about the rights of trans people was impossible to get out of my mind at one point in the second book, unfortunately, but again — the author wrote this in a different time and place, so I had to tell myself “this is not a reflection or in any way related to the news, it’s a story, written quite awhile before current events because of publishing timelines”. It all fits in with the evolution of gender in the story.

    One thing that stuck out – the second book had what are think are a few tiny editing/proofreading gaps that I didn’t see in the first one. Example, a character uses measurements of both feet and meters very close together — I don’t know if this is an Australian thing, and they actually do use both old and metric systems interchangeably, or a thing that happens with incomplete Americanization for the US market, or what. Frankly, the only jarring note about the world-building for me was weights/measures in the second one. There are a few weights (ton) that I don’t think the characters would have had a language for when the previous world ended, and that I don’t think they would have developed in that fashion. But they did have a lot of schooling in the previous world, so maybe that is the basis …

    (I really liked to think about this world when I wasn’t reading it – very easy to be immersed in, interesting but didn’t take intense focus, which fit what I need right now, if that works for people … for 99 cents!)

  19. Helen R-S says:

    Anna – as an Aussie, I’d say we are mainly metricated (legally that’s what must be used in commerce) but with some imperial measurements used in conversation. Height is one thing that’s often still described in imperial – I’d be much more likely to say my brother is 6’2″ than use centimetres.

    Things have been metric as long as I remember (I’m in my 30s) but people of my generation do have parents and grandparents who grew up in the imperial era and still use imperial measurements. And things like tape measures often still have both metric and imperial on them.

    According to Wikipedia metrication in Australia began in 1970 and was completed in 1988: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrication_in_Australia

  20. […] releases: Tor.com (sf, fantasy, genre-benders) and Smart Bitches […]

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