If you’re new to Hide Your Wallet, this is where we list new releases we’re pretty excited for in the coming month.
Each reviewer has a book maximum (five per person), and we’ve separated HYW into two parts. The first HYW of the month will cover books that release from the 1st to the 14th. The second HYW will cover books released from the 15th to the end of the month.
We also think this will help us feature books from smaller publishers who don’t have buy links up as early as the bigger trade houses.
As always, if we missed any books that you’re particularly looking forward to, tell us all about them in the comments.
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Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match
Author: Sally Thorne
Released: September 6, 2022 by Avon
Genre: Gothic, Historical: European, Romance, Science Fiction/FantasyFrom USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game Sally Thorne comes something a little unexpected… a historical rom-com that imagines Victor Frankenstein’s sheltered younger sister, and her attempts to create the perfect man.
For generations, every Frankenstein has found their true love and equal, unlocking lifetimes of blissful wedded adventure. Clever, pretty (and odd) Angelika Frankenstein has run out of suitors and fears she may become the exception to this family rule. When assisting in her brother Victor’s ground-breaking experiment to bring a reassembled man back to life, she realizes that having an agreeable gentleman convalescing in the guest suite might be a chance to let a man get to know the real her. For the first time, Angelika embarks upon a project that is all her own.
When her handsome scientific miracle sits up on the lab table, her hopes for an instant romantic connection are thrown into disarray. Her resurrected beau (named Will for the moment) has total amnesia and is solely focused on uncovering his true identity. Trying to ignore their heart-pounding chemistry, Angelika reluctantly joins the investigation into his past, hoping it will bring them closer. But when a second suitor emerges to aid their quest, Angelika wonders if she was too hasty inventing a solution. Perhaps fate is not something that can be influenced in a laboratory? Or is Will (or whatever his name is!) her dream man, tailored for her in every way? And can he survive what was done to him in the name of science, and love?
Filled with carriages, candlesticks, and corpses, Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match is the spooky-season reimagining of the well-known classic that reminds us to never judge a man by his cadaver!
Aarya: I think this is inspired by Sally Thorne’s real-life gothic dollhouse?
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Contract Season
Author: Cait Nary
Released: September 6, 2022 by Carina Press
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
Series: Trade Season #2A heartbroken hockey player and an up-and-coming country music star fake it for the cameras (or do they?) in Cait Nary’s delightfully sexy new novel.
Brody Kellerman has a plan. First, become the best defenseman in professional hockey. Second, get over his ex-boyfriend so he can focus on his game. Hooking up with the singer at his buddy’s wedding was the perfect solution, but it was never meant to be more than a one-night stand.
Seamus Murry has never planned a thing in his life, including hooking up with a smoking-hot hockey player. Being ghosted sucks, but at least one good thing came from it—the breakout hit song of the summer. Now he’s one of country music’s brightest stars, but one slipup—or in this case, video—might cost him his career.
When their video goes viral, Brody and Seamus agree to fake a relationship. But soon it’s impossible to remember what is real and what’s pretend, and although Brody has no intention of falling for freewheeling Seamus’s charm…life doesn’t always go according to plan.
Lara: I loved this! SWOON!
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The Decoy Girlfriend
Author: Lillie Vale
Released: September 6, 2022 by G.P. Putnam's Sons
Genre: Contemporary Romance, RomanceA laugh-out-loud funny and whip-smart romantic comedy from the author of The Shaadi Set-Up, about a young woman who takes the place of her celebrity doppelgänger, and must fake-date the actress’s sexy costar boyfriend.
Writer Freya Lal has a huge secret: she’s a dead ringer for It-girl actress Mandi Roy. Her second novel is due in a month, but inspiration is nowhere to be found. Desperate to shake off her writer’s block, Freya leans into her look-alike abilities and indulges in some mistaken identity for simple perks, like scoring a free mimosa or getting into a trendy nightclub.
Actor Taft Bamber appears to have it all: gorgeous, talented, and Mandi’s love interest both on- and off-screen. But what nobody knows is that their relationship is a PR stunt, and after years of playing make-believe, he’s yearning for something real.
When Freya’s latest impersonation of Mandi goes viral thanks to Taft’s accidental interference, rumors of a breakup threaten Hollywood’s golden couple. To make amends, Freya is forced to give Mandi a little time off: she’ll pretend to be the actress for a month, move in with Taft, and squash the rumors by acting completely in love. But as Freya and Taft play house, it becomes impossible to ignore that their instant chemistry isn’t just for the cameras. While faking it, they might have just found the real thing.
Elyse’s pick!
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Do You Take This Man
Author: Denise Williams
Released: September 6, 2022 by Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance, RomanceAfter butting heads, an event planner and a wedding officiant begin an enemies with benefits arrangement as wedding bells chime around them in the newest rom-com from acclaimed author Denise Williams.
Divorce attorney RJ would never describe herself as romantic. But when she ends up officiating an unplanned wedding for a newly engaged couple in a park, her life is turned upside down. The video of the ceremony goes viral, and she finds herself in the unlikely position of being a sought-after local wedding officiant. Spending her free time overseeing “I dos” isn’t her most strategic career move, but she enjoys it, except for the type A dude-bro wedding planner she’s forced to work with.
Former pro-football event manager Lear is a people person, but after his longtime girlfriend betrayed him, he isn’t looking for love. He knows how to execute events and likes being in control, so working with an opinionated and inflexible officiant who can’t stand him is not high on his list. He’s never had trouble winning people over, but RJ seems immune to his charms.
Surrounded by love at every turn, their physical attraction pulls them together despite their best efforts to stay an arm’s length apart. Lear refuses to get hurt again. RJ refuses to let herself be vulnerable to anyone. But when it comes to happily ever after, their clients might not be the only ones saying “I do.”
Aarya’s pick!
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The Holiday Trap
Author: Roan Parrish
Released: September 6, 2022 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, RomanceFor fans of Alexandria Bellefleur and Alexis Hall comes a charming, hilarious, and heartwarming LGBTQIA+ romcom about two separate couples finding love over the holidays from acclaimed author Roan Parrish!
Greta Russakoff loves her tight-knit family and tiny Maine hometown, even if they don’t always understand what it’s like to be a lesbian living in such a small world. She desperately needs space to figure out who she is.
Truman Belvedere has just had his heart crushed into a million pieces when he learned that his boyfriend of almost a year has a secret life that includes a husband and a daughter. Reeling from this discovery, all he wants is a place to lick his wounds far, far away from New Orleans.
Enter Greta and Truman’s mutual friend, Ramona, who facilitates a month-long house swap. Over the winter holidays, each of them will have a chance to try on a new life…and maybe fall in love with the perfect partner of their dreams. But all holidays must come to an end, and eventually Greta and Truman will have to decide whether the love they each found so far from home is worth fighting for.
Aarya: The Holiday is one of my favorite Christmas movies ever!
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Killers of a Certain Age
Author: Deanna Raybourn
Released: September 6, 2022 by Berkley
Genre: Mystery/ThrillerOlder women often feel invisible, but sometimes that’s their secret weapon.
They’ve spent their lives as the deadliest assassins in a clandestine international organization, but now that they’re sixty years old, four women friends can’t just retire – it’s kill or be killed in this action-packed thriller by New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author Deanna Raybourn.
Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills.
When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses paid vacation to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the termination of field agents, and the women realize they’ve been marked for death.
Now to get out alive they have to turn against their own organization, relying on experience and each other to get the job done, knowing that working together is the secret to their survival. They’re about to teach the Board what it really means to be a woman—and a killer—of a certain age.
Amanda: I’m here for any lady assassins of any age.
Sarah: So good so good loved it so good omg terrific.
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Self-Made Boys
Author: Anna-Marie McLemore
Released: September 6, 2022 by Feiwel & Friends
Genre: Historical: American, LGBTQIA, Young Adult
Series: Remixed Classics #5Stonewall Honor recipient and two-time National Book Award Longlist selectee Anna-Marie McLemore weaves an intoxicating tale of glamor and heartbreak in Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix, part of the Remixed Classics series.
New York City, 1922. Nicolás Caraveo, a 17-year-old transgender boy from Minnesota, has no interest in the city’s glamor. Going to New York is all about establishing himself as a young professional, which could set up his future—and his life as a man—and benefit his family.
Nick rents a small house in West Egg from his 18-year-old cousin, Daisy Fabrega, who lives in fashionable East Egg near her wealthy fiancé, Tom—and Nick is shocked to find that his cousin now goes by Daisy Fay, has erased all signs of her Latina heritage, and now passes seamlessly as white.
Nick’s neighbor in West Egg is a mysterious young man named Jay Gatsby, whose castle-like mansion is the stage for parties so extravagant that they both dazzle and terrify Nick. At one of these parties, Nick learns that the spectacle is all for the benefit of impressing a girl from Jay’s past—Daisy. And he learns something else: Jay is also transgender.
As Nick is pulled deeper into the glittery culture of decadence, he spends more time with Jay, aiming to help his new friend reconnect with his lost love. But Nick’s feelings grow more complicated when he finds himself falling hard for Jay’s openness, idealism, and unfounded faith in the American Dream.
Aarya: Incredible cover. I’ve been really impressed by what I’ve read from the Remixed Classics series so far.
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Bindle Punk Bruja
Author: Desideria Mesa
Released: September 13, 2022 by Harper Voyager
Genre: Historical: American, Science Fiction/FantasyA part-time reporter and club owner takes on crooked city councilmen, mysterious and deadly mobsters, and society’s deeply rooted sexism and racism, all while keeping her true identity and magical abilities hidden –inspired by an ancient Mexican folktale.
Yo soy quien soy. I am who I am.
Luna–or depending on who’s asking, Rose–is the white-passing daughter of an immigrant mother who has seen what happens to people from her culture. This world is prejudicial, and she must hide her identity in pursuit of owning an illegal jazz club. Using her cunning powers, Rose negotiates with dangerous criminals as she climbs up Kansas City’s bootlegging ladder. Luna, however, runs the risk of losing everything if the crooked city councilmen and ruthless mobsters discover her ties to an immigrant boxcar community that secretly houses witches. Last thing she wants is to put her entire family in danger.
But this bruja with ever-growing magical abilities can never resist a good fight. With her new identity, Rose, an unabashed flapper, defies societal expectations all the while struggling to keep her true self and witchcraft in check. However, the harder she tries to avoid scrutiny, the more her efforts eventually capture unwanted attention. Soon, she finds herself surrounded by greed and every brand of bigotry–from local gangsters who want a piece of the action and businessmen who hate her diverse staff to the Ku Klux Klan and Al Capone. Will her earth magic be enough to save her friends and family? As much as she hates to admit it, she may need to learn to have faith in others–and learning to trust may prove to be her biggest ambition yet.
Amanda: Magic! Jazz age! Intrigue!
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The Enigma of Room 622
Author: Joel Dicker
Released: September 13, 2022 by HarperVia
Genre: Mystery/ThrillerA burnt-out writer’s retreat at a fancy Swiss hotel is interrupted by a murder mystery in this metafictional, meticulously crafted whodunit from the New York Times bestselling author of The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair.
A writer named Joël, Switzerland’s most prominent novelist, flees to the Hôtel de Verbier, a luxury resort in the Swiss Alps. Disheartened over a recent breakup and his longtime publisher’s death, Joël hopes to rest. However, his plans quickly go awry. It all starts with a seemingly innocuous detail: at the Verbier, there is no room 622.
Before long, Joël and fellow guest Scarlett uncover a long-unsolved murder that transpired in the hotel’s room 622. The attendant circumstances: the succession of Switzerland’s largest private bank, a mysterious counterintelligence operation called P-30, and a most disreputable sabotage of hotel hospitality. A European phenomenon, The Enigma of Room 622 is a matryoshka doll of intrigue–as precise as a Swiss watch–and Dicker’s most diabolically addictive thriller yet.
Translated from the French by Robert Bononno
Amanda: A Swiss locked room mystery! The cover gives me Wes Anderson vibes
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Lucy on the Wild Side
Author: Kerry Rea
Released: September 13, 2022 by Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance, RomanceA charming and wildly funny new romantic comedy by Kerry Rea, author of The Wedding Ringer.
Lucy Rourke has two great loves in her life: the gorilla troop she cares for as a primatologist and the laundry list of reality TV shows she watches to escape the fact that her actual love life doesn’t exist. And like a reality contestant gunning for the final rose, Lucy’s laser-focused on one thing: getting promoted to head keeper. So when a wildlife docuseries hosted by hotshot TV personality Kai Bridges chooses her zoo as its summer filming location, she sees an opportunity to showcase her beloved gorillas to the world and land a starring role in her department.
When Kai and his film crew arrive, however, it’s obvious to Lucy that Kai cares more about sky-high ratings than the gorillas, and he considers her a camera-averse know-it-all whose wardrobe consists entirely of khaki. But she’s surprised to discover there’s more to him than his rugged good looks and cheesy catchphrases…and that maybe a promotion isn’t the only thing she wants. But when secrets from their pasts threaten to complicate everything, Lucy discovers that happiness and success aren’t the same thing—and that finding joy just might mean getting a little wild.
Aarya: Several of my friends loved this author’s debut, and I’m intrigued by the setting of her new book.
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Nona the Ninth
Author: Tamsyn Muir
Released: September 13, 2022 by Tor.com
Genre: LGBTQIA, Science Fiction/Fantasy
Series: The Locked Tomb #3Her city is under siege.
The zombies are coming back.
And all Nona wants is a birthday party.
In many ways, Nona is like other people. She lives with her family, has a job at her local school, and loves walks on the beach and meeting new dogs. But Nona’s not like other people. Six months ago she woke up in a stranger’s body, and she’s afraid she might have to give it back.
The whole city is falling to pieces. A monstrous blue sphere hangs on the horizon, ready to tear the planet apart. Blood of Eden forces have surrounded the last Cohort facility and wait for the Emperor Undying to come calling. Their leaders want Nona to be the weapon that will save them from the Nine Houses. Nona would prefer to live an ordinary life with the people she loves, with Pyrrha and Camilla and Palamedes, but she also knows that nothing lasts forever.
And each night, Nona dreams of a woman with a skull-painted face…
Amanda: Easily one of my most anticipated reads of the year. Should probably do a reread of the series beforehand!
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I am excited about Elena Armas’ “The American Roommate Experiment,” coming out next week. I loved her first book, “The Spanish Love Deception,” hopefully this one will be just as good.
I feel as if I’m constantly amending my TBR these days to reflect new release dates. Several books that were on my August TBR have been postponed to September. As of right now, the following books are showing with publication dates in September:
September 2: NICKY THE DRIVER by Cate C. Wells. The second book in Wells’s Underboss Insurrection series. It’s a dark mafia romance with a forced marriage element.
September 6: FORCE OF NATURE by Skye Warren & Amelia Wilde. This book has been retitled once and postponed multiple times. A small plane crashes on a deserted island stranding the couple who were on board, but the island may not be as deserted as the couple think.
September 6: DISSENT: A CHARITY ANTHOLOGY. Over 150 writers (including many Romancelandia favorites) have contributed stories to this anthology. All proceeds will be donated to reproductive rights organizations.
September 13: TWO FOR THE SHOW by Skye Warren: In the sequel to ONE FOR THE MONEY, the heroine discovers she is pregnant by a man who has reasons for not wanting to have children. This book has been postponed a number of times, so I’m cautiously hopeful that it will arrive on September 13. I’m still baffled as to why, in a book with a pregnant heroine, the cover features a woman’s hand holding an alcoholic drink.
September 22: COWBOY, HOLD ME FOREVER by Genevieve Turner. Opposites-attract cowboy romance from the always-reliable Turner.
September 22: WONDERLAND by Rachel Ember: Part of the new m/m Vino & Veritas series titled In Vino Veritas. This is a second-chance romance that also features an abandoned amusement park.
September 27: WHEN THE RIVER RISES by Rachel Ember. Ember has been one of my discoveries this year. This is the fifth book in her m/m Wild Ones series. It features enforced-proximity and bodyguard tropes.
September 27: RECKLESS FORTUNE by M. M. Crane (aka, Megan Crane/Caitlin Crews). I loved BOLD FORTUNE, the first book in Crane’s Alaska-set Fortunes of Lost Lake series and I’m looking forward to the second book with a bush pilot and a woman determined to win a contest to help her family.
September 27: BEST MAN RANCHER by Maisey Yates. Yates is the queen of contemporary cowboy romances. This one features the best man and the maid of honor at the wedding of his brother and her sister. The heroine is a widow and is still grieving her loss, but a one-night-stand with the hero leads to an unplanned pregnancy.
September 27: UPPER HAND by Amelia Wilde. The sequel to POWER PLAY with a hero bent on revenge and the young women who is standing in his way.
I am super excited for the Deanna Raybourn! My friend who introduced me to the Veronica Speedwell books is a librarian, so she’s already read an ARC of KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE and I’m dying for it to come out so I can read it and discuss it with her!
Testing comments – and also, if you’re interested in more from Denise Williams, she was my guest on episode 514. She’s a wedding officiant and that was part of the inspiration for this book:
https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/podcast/514-officiating-the-hea-with-denise-williams/
Random, but that’s two books in the last half dozen years with leads named–like it’s their given actual name–Nona/Nonna. As someone who grew up with an Italian grandmother, I feel like I’m seeing books with main characters named “Granny” or “Grandma” or whatever you call/ed your grandmother.
It’s not a dealbreaker, but it is kinda odd to me. (I did grow up with the OG Strega Nona, but that was deliberate naming!)
@DDD, I now consider release dates purely aspirational until the book is actually on shelves. It’s just how the world is now. I’m flexible, but I do get worried around the holiday season when my wish list is (as always) mostly books and some are preorders. I did last year have a book get bumped to March but the gift giver was kind enough to just keep the preorder active. I’m pretty reluctant to put more Dec release books on my list this year, though.
Really excited about THE DECOY GIRLFRIEND and BACK TO THE GARDEN by Laurie King. Her Kate Martinelli series in the 90’s was one of the first I read with a queer protagonist! Glad she is going back to writing contemporary mysteries!!
I one-clicked the Deanna Raybourne so hard when it went up for pre-order that I sprained my finger. Sixtyish covert ops assansin? This is the second career I’m looking for.
And then there’s WHAT IF? 2 from Randall Monroe. I know lots of us enjoyed the first WHAT IF? with it’s amusing cartoons and science based responses to absurd, but interesting questions like: What would happen if you made a periodic table out of cube shaped bricks, where each brick was made of the corresponding element? I need this level of intellectual inquiry and humor in my life.
I requested the library purchase Killers of a Certain Age and NOW I AM FIRST IN LINE!! Can’t wait for it’s release.
I enjoy and appreciate all of the reviews and recommendations from the bitchery but I have not posted before. My taste definitely runs to the strange and unusual. If that’s your jam, I recommend Lily Mayne’s Monstrous series – post-apocalyptic m/m fantasy where one m is human and the other is a being most humans consider monsters. The 6th book, Seraph, comes out 9/9 but you should read this series in order to fully understand what’s going on. The first book and still my favorite, Soul Eater, was the first thing I’ve read in the ‘monster’ genre (unless you count all aliens as monsters, which I don’t). I’ve read every other book in the series as soon as I could get them. As you’d expect, the ‘beauty and the beast’ trope appears to varying degrees but there is enough variety in the characters, relationships and stories that it doesn’t seem repetitive to me. I like the way the stories highlight the benefits of tolerance, danger of uninformed assumptions and (no surprise) that humans can be real monsters. Also monster sex is awesome. There is explicit m/m content and graphic depictions of torture and violence (NOT by the main characters but they are sometimes victims).
@AtasB, I have a good friend named Nona. In her case, it’s a shortening of Winona, a name she does not care for.
Really, my whole month revolves around the Nona the Ninth release. Waiting for it, then reading it, and probably immediately rereading it (that’s what I did with the other two in the series).
I’m really excited for Contract Season, I pre-ordered it after reading Season’s Change, which I loved. Might need to do a re-read of that before the new one comes out!
Doesn’t the plot of THE DECOY GIRLFRIEND sound a lot like the plot of THE STAND-IN.
I’m dream casting Killers of a Certain Age: Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu, Viola Davis, and Gillian Anderson (but with her Agent Scully red hair).
It sounds like an awesome book, I’ll have to see if my libraries have it!
Got all of these on my TBR pile!!