Let’s all celebrate the last release week in June! It’s a doozy.
I also noticed that some books originally on our list got pushed back by a month or two.
This time, we have historical romances, wild sounding mysteries, and some popular contemporary romance releases.
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A Most Agreeable Murder
Author: Julia Seales
Released: June 27, 2023 by Random House
Genre: Historical: European, Mystery/ThrillerWhen a wealthy bachelor drops dead at a ball, a young lady takes on the decidedly improper role of detective in this action-packed debut comedy of manners and murder.
“If you grew up reading Jane Austen and Agatha Christie (or are a fan of Bridgerton and Knives Out), you will adore A Most Agreeable Murder.”–Kate Stayman-London, bestselling author of One to Watch
Feisty, passionate Beatrice Steele has never fit the definition of a true lady, according to the strict code of conduct that reigns in Swampshire, her small English township–she is terrible at needlework, has no musical ability, and her artwork is so bad it frightens people. Nevertheless, she lives a perfectly agreeable life with her marriage-scheming mother, prankster father, and two younger sisters–beautiful Louisa and forgettable Mary. But she harbors a dark secret: She is obsessed with the true crime cases she reads about in the newspaper, even going so far as to try to solve them herself. If anyone in her etiquette-obsessed community found out, she’d be deemed a morbid creep and banished from respectable society forever.
For her family’s sake, she’s vowed to put her obsession behind her. Because eligible bachelor Edmund Croaksworth is set to attend the approaching autumnal ball, and the Steele family hopes that Louisa will steal his heart. If not, Martin Grub, their disgusting cousin, will inherit the family’s estate, and they will be ruined, or even worse, forced to move to mime-infested France. So Beatrice must be on her best behavior…which is made difficult when a disgraced yet alluring detective inexplicably shows up to the ball.
Beatrice is just holding things together when Croaksworth drops dead in the middle of a minuet. As a storm rages outside, the evening descends into a frenzy of panic, fear, and betrayal as it becomes clear they are trapped with a killer. Contending with competitive card games, tricky tonics, and Swampshire’s infamous squelch holes, Beatrice must rise above decorum and decency to pursue justice and her own desires–before anyone else is murdered.
Sarah: A sudden murder of an eligible bachelor at a family ball is too tempting for an eldest sister who isn’t supposed to screw up her sisters’ marriage prospects. Well, the dude is dead so she might as well investigate.
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Appointment in Bath
Author: Mimi Matthews
Released: June 27, 2023 by Perfectly Proper Press
Genre: Historical: European, Romance
Series: Somerset Stories #4A chance meeting between the sheltered daughter and the forward-thinking son of rival Victorian families sparks a forbidden romance in USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews’s fourth book in her acclaimed Somerset Stories series.
Shy and stammering Meg Burton-Smythe has spent the whole of her life living on the fringes of local society. She’s more comfortable with her daydreams than she is with people. But when a dashing, golden-haired hero rides to her rescue one morning, she dares to hope that her dreams might finally come true. There’s only one problem: her handsome rescuer is the son of her father’s sworn enemy.
Ivo Beresford doesn’t believe in clinging to the past. Freshly returned from a lengthy grand tour, he’s looking to the future, eager to spearhead the building of a new railway extension in Somersetshire. But an unexpected encounter with Meg Burton-Smythe, the isolated only daughter of his parents’ oldest foe, sets the past and the future colliding.
Resolved to put ancient grudges to rest—at least where innocent young ladies are concerned—Ivo encourages lonely Meg to embark on a secret acquaintance. After all, what harm can a friendship do? It isn’t as though there’s any danger of the two of them falling in love…
Lara: Mimi Matthews never lets me down.
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The Earl’s Egyptian Heiress
Author: Heba Helmy
Released: June 27, 2023 by Harlequin Historical
Genre: Historical: European, Historical: Other, RomanceA Victorian romance set between Egypt and London
A season with the earl
For the Egyptian heiress
Ranya Radwan’s mission is clear: restore her family’s honor by retrieving the deed to their business from the Earl of Warrington. Until she finds herself enthralled by the new earl, Owen. Accompanying him from Egypt to England to find the deed, Ranya’s swept into an unfamiliar world of society balls and luncheons, but is captivated waltzing in Owen’s arms. Yet her duty to her family means returning to Egypt, not following her heart…
Shana: I love the cover!
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The First Date Prophecy
Author: Kate Tamberelli
Released: June 27, 2023 by Kensington Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance, RomanceDanny Tamberelli, 90’s Nickelodeon star from All That and The Adventures of Pete and Pete, teams up with his real-life wife Kate Tamberelli for a zany, big-hearted, and truly laugh-out-loud debut rom-com set in Brooklyn, steeped in 90’s nostalgia, and inspired by their very own love story. Perfect for fans of Christina Lauren & Emily Henry!
For two talented romantic misfits who’ve been looking for love for so long, a prophecy from a psychic could be just another disastrous-first-date anecdote—or it could be the beginning of a love story for the ages . . .
Brooklyn-based aspiring writer Lucy Minninger has no trouble putting the comedy in her rom-coms. It’s the romance part of the equation that’s the problem. But even as the rejection slips pile up, and her second dates dwindle, Lucy refuses to give up hope—or her HeartThrobs™ dating profile . . .
Former child star Rudy Riziero made his mark on some of the most popular kids shows of the ՚90s. But that early success has pigeonholed him into a stand-up routine riffing on his past work, while the slick single life he envisioned was clearly a fantasy. He’s actually ready for a relationship, if he could just find someone uninterested in who he used to be . . .
When Lucy and Rudy match online, they’re eager to meet. But after their first date ends in a psychic’s prophecy that is equal parts great fortune and certain doom, their flirty quips end and their search for answers to some of life’s big questions begins: Is there really one person for everyone? Do destinies really intertwine? Where can you find the best tacos in Brooklyn?
And when it matters most, will they throw caution—and fate—to the wind, trust their instincts—and write their own futures?
Did you all know that Danny Tamberelli of The Adventures of Pete & Pete wrote a book with his wife?!
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The Other Side of Mrs. Wood
Author: Lucy Barker
Released: June 27, 2023 by Harper
Genre: Historical: European, Literary Fiction, Paranormal, Mystery/ThrillerFor fans of The Lost Apothecary or the Mermaid and Mrs Hancock, a deliciously atmospheric historical novel about the rivalry between two female mediums during Victorian London’s obsession with Spiritualism.
Mrs. Violet Wood is London’s premier medium. Her ambition and work ethic are relentless, and her unique abilities have earned her quite the reputation among London’s elite. Mrs. Wood knows just how to read her wealthy patrons and deliver them exactly the messages they long to hear from their loved ones visiting from beyond the grave.
However, one London newspaperman is on a quest to expose the false mediums among them, just as the pressure increases to outperform the upstart Americans—who, to Mrs. Wood’s horror, are promising their audiences more and more fantastical visions. When Mrs. Wood learns her own finances are in crisis, she realizes she must raise her own profile to secure her career and her place in society, or risk being quickly replaced by the next big thing.
Her solution? Accepting as an apprentice the sweet young girl who appears at her door, who carries an uncanny talent for the craft. But is Miss Bird everything she appears to be? And will she be Mrs. Wood’s salvation, or her downfall?
Amanda: I’m a sucker for anything with a medium. Dueling mediums?! Even better!
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The Seven Year Slip
Author: Ashley Poston
Released: June 27, 2023 by Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Time Travel, RomanceAn overworked book publicist with a perfectly planned future hits a snag when she falls in love with her temporary roommate…only to discover he lives seven years in the past, in this witty and wise new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Romantics.
Sometimes, the worst day of your life happens, and you have to figure out how to live after it.
So Clementine forms a plan to keep her heart work hard, find someone decent to love, and try to remember to chase the moon. The last one is silly and obviously metaphorical, but her aunt always told her that you needed at least one big dream to keep going. And for the last year, that plan has gone off without a hitch. Mostly. The love part is hard because she doesn’t want to get too close to anyone—she isn’t sure her heart can take it.
And then she finds a strange man standing in the kitchen of her late aunt’s apartment. A man with kind eyes and a Southern drawl and a taste for lemon pies. The kind of man that, before it all, she would’ve fallen head-over-heels for. And she might again.
Except, he exists in the past. Seven years ago, to be exact. And she, quite literally, lives seven years in his future.
Her aunt always said the apartment was a pinch in time, a place where moments blended together like watercolors. And Clementine knows that if she lets her heart fall, she’ll be doomed.
After all, love is never a matter of time—but a matter of timing.
The latest Ashley Poston with a time slip element!
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Will They or Won’t They
Author: Ava Wilder
Released: June 27, 2023 by Dell
Genre: Contemporary Romance, RomanceOn screen, they’re in love. Off screen, they can’t stand each other. Two co-stars with a complex history reunite to film the final season of a beloved paranormal drama in this tension-filled will they won’t they romance from the author of How to Fake It in Hollywood.
Lilah Hunter and Shane McCarthy are madly in love— at least, their characters are. As the stars of the hit paranormal TV show Intangible, they spent years pining for each other on-screen… until Lilah ditched the show at the end of season five in hopes of becoming a film star. With no such luck, she’s back to film the much-hyped ninth and final season, in which their characters will get together at last.
But coming back means facing one of the biggest reasons she left: Shane. Ever since their secret behind-the-scenes fling imploded at the end of the first season, the two of them have despised each other.
Now back on set together for the first time in years, with the world’s eyes on them and their post-show careers on the line, they’ll have to grit their teeth and play nice. But under pressure to give Intangible’s fans the happy ending they’ve been waiting for, Lilah and Shane are forced to get closer than ever. And if they’re not careful, they just might get blindsided by one final twist: a real-life happy ending of their own.
Elyse: I love celebrity romance.
Aarya: Ignore the cover; I’ve heard it’s super angsty and sexy.
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My tbr is chock-full this week:
CROWNE JEWEL (June 27) is the next book in CD Reiss’s Crowne Brothers series—although the heroine of this book is the only sister in the Crowne family. This one features a lot of catnip: second-chance, bodyguard, bossy (when he needs to be) hero, and role-play.
HER VOW TO BE HIS DESERT QUEEN (June 27) is the second in Jackie Ashenden’s Three Ruthless Kings trilogy of Harlequin Presents romances. This one features a marriage-of-convenience between a sheikh and the woman who jokingly promised to marry him many years before.
WILL THEY OR WON’T THEY (June 27) by Ava Wilder is the story of an actor and an actress reunited to film the final season of a show on which they once co-starred. I loved Wilder’s HOW TO FAKE IT IN HOLLYWOOD, and I’m looking forward to WILL THEY OR WON’T THEY, but $11.99 for an ebook is a little too rich for my blood, so I’ll be waiting for either a library loan or a price drop.
OUT OF OFFICE (June 29) by Ruth Cardello is the second book in her Twin Find duet, about identical twins separated at birth and adopted by different families. The hero of this book seeks revenge on the man he feels ruined his life; but, because that man is dead, decides to take his revenge on the man’s daughter—a woman who is, of course, completely ignorant of what her father did. I enjoyed the first book in this duet, STRICTLY FAMILY, and am looking forward to another interesting story featuring a hero discovering his biological family.
I read an arc of Will They or Won’t They and I was really disappointed. First of all, the cover does not match the story at all and I was so annoyed because I thought I was going to get a rom-com. And then the characters were so immature that by the time I was 75% of the way through, I just wanted it to be over. And then to add insult to injury, I despised the ending.
I have to thank commenter LisaM, who mentioned in the latest “Whatcha Reading?” post that Connie Willis has a new book out today! It’s called THE ROAD TO ROSWELL, and the blurb describes it as “part alien-abduction adventure, part road trip saga, part romantic comedy.” I’ve already bought it in hardcover!
This week I’m excited about Avery Flynn’s ANGER BANG; the last in the Lights Out m/m F1 racing series, Beth Laycock’s ROOKIE MISTAKES; Jennifer Bernard’s THE REBOUND (fifth in her fabulous Lake Bittersweet small-town contemporary series); and Maryann Jordan’s BENNETT, part of her Lighthouse Security Investigations West Coast romantic suspense series.
Everything’s on my TBR (especially the Matthews!) except for A MOST AGREEABLE MURDER, which I gave roughly a C.
Got halfway through How to Fake It in Hollywood and had to take a break. Angst per se does not put me off, however, though I’m not triggered by any particular trope, I do have problems with certain kinds of stories involving substance abuse, and this book definitely fits the bill. Dressing it up as a celebrity romance in a cheery illustrated cover dramatically increases the problem by adding the element of surprise. Anyway, I’m unlikely to tackle Will They or Won’t They anytime soon, as much because of the trendy, tropey cover as any warnings of angstiness. I am so ready for this fashion to be over. It feels too much like bait and switch.
It sounds like Ava Wilder’s marketing team have missed the point again. I rarely write reviews on Amazon but I felt compelled to point out the disparity between the fluffy visuals and the serious content of How to Fake it in Hollywood. Such a shame.
And it sounds like the high price isn’t going to do her any favours either.
If we, the customers, can see this, why can’t the professionals?
Luckily, I pre-ordered in the UK at a reasonable price.
I am so excited to read Appointment in Bath and Dianne Freeman’s A Newlywed’s Guide to Fortune & Murder. Also grabbed The Kiss Curse, the follow up to The Ex Hex while it is on sale.
@AnneUK & PamG: Because I haven’t read WILL THEY OR WON’T THEY yet, I can’t comment on the inappropriateness of the cover, but I will say—as much as I dislike illustrated covers in general—that I thought the cover of HOW TO FAKE IT IN HOLLYWOOD was actually quite reflective of the material: at first glance, it appears to be the standard celebrity/fake relationship illustrated cover, but on closer inspection you see that the hero is utterly detached, the heroine is clinging to him, but they’re not really interacting with each other and they both literally have stars in their eyes. I usually dislike illustrated covers on principle, but I did think HOW TO FAKE IT IN HOLLYWOOD was the rare illustrated cover that worked—but perhaps only after you’ve read the book.