Happy Tuesday! It’s time to talk about a new crop of book releases.
There are definitely a couple books that many of us are excited for and we suspect you all are too! I also appreciate everyone’s insight and comments about historical romances last week. Sarah and I may record some sort of podcast segment talking about the lack of historicals, so stay tuned!
What’s on your TBR pile this week? Let us know in the comments!
Cross the Line
Author: Simone Soltani
Released: July 23, 2024 by Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance, New Adult, Romance
Series: Lights Out #1Her brother’s best friend sends her heart racing in this sparkling Formula 1 romance.
Formula 1 driver Dev Anderson’s career is on the line. After a social media disaster leaves him with an angry team and sponsors threatening to jump ship, he needs someone to help save his image. At a party in Monaco, he bumps into the woman who can fix it all. There’s just one problem: she’s his best friend’s little sister. And, okay, maybe there’s another problem—he kissed her last year and hasn’t been able to stop thinking about it since.
Recent college grad Willow Williams needs a job. She may have a talent for seeing the bright side of any bad situation, but it’s hard to stay positive when she’s struggling to get hired. So when Dev offers her a temporary solution, she can’t help but say yes. Even if it means ignoring the crush she’s had on him since childhood.
Willow and Dev are determined to keep things strictly professional, regardless of old feelings and the blazing chemistry between them. But in the glittering and high-stakes world of Formula 1, some lines are meant to be crossed…
Formula 1 is having a moment right now!
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!Jewel Me Twice
Author: Charish Reid
Released: July 23, 2024 by Canary Street Press
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Mystery/Thriller, RomanceLove can catch you red-handed.
He was her partner—both in crime and between the sheets. It’s been five years since professional thief Celeste St. Pierre laid eyes on Magnus Larsson. These days, she runs a Manhattan antique store, but her talent for stealing beautiful, shiny things hasn’t faded. And as a chance reunion over a locked safe proves, neither has the heat between her and the gorgeous, ice-cool Magnus.
For Magnus, only one thing beats the thrill of getting away with robbery—and that’s the woman he’s tried hard to forget. Their last job together ended in disaster. But if they’re going to honor their mentor’s last wishes to pull off the theft of the century, they’ll have to temporarily put their grudges behind them.
Crisscrossing Europe on a real-life treasure hunt, Celeste and Magnus quickly rediscover how well they work together. The higher the stakes, the hotter the sexual tension. But one slipup and it won’t be only jewels on the line, but a future that, just maybe, has been the ultimate prize all along…
Sarah: Love the cover – two thieves pull off one last job.
Shana: Charish Reid is an autobuy author for me.
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!Ne’er Duke Well
Author: Alexandra Vasti
Released: July 23, 2024 by St. Martin's Griffin
Genre: Historical: European, RomanceIn this steamy Regency romp, Lady Selina is determined to find the Duke of Stanhope the perfect wife―the only problem is she’s starting to think that might be her.
Peter Kent―newly inherited Duke of Stanhope and recently of New Orleans, Louisiana―must become respectable. Between his radical politics and the time he interrupted a minor royal wedding with a flock of sheep―not his fault!―he’s developed a scandalous reputation at odds with his goal of becoming guardian to his half siblings. For help, he turns to the cleverest and most managing woman of his acquaintance, Lady Selina Ravenscroft.
Selina is society’s most proper debutante, save one tiny secret: she runs an erotic circulating library for women. When Peter asks for her help, she suggests courtship and marriage to a lady of unimpeachable reputation. (Which is to say, definitely not herself.)
But matchmaking doesn’t go according to plan. Peter’s siblings run rampant on Bond Street. Selina ends up in the Serpentine. And worst of all, the scorching chemistry between Peter and Selina proves impossible to resist. For the disreputable duke and his unpredictable matchmaker, falling in love just might be the ultimate scandal.
Amanda: Claudia’s post on Vasti’s novellas had me adding this full-length debut to my TBR pile!
Claudia: I enjoyed this one a lot, female main character is a “fixer” who has to learn how to rely on others and I feel seen, ha!
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love
Author: India Holton
Released: July 23, 2024 by Berkley
Genre: Historical: European, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
Series: Love's Academic #1Rival ornithologists hunt through England for a rare magical bird in this historical-fantasy rom-com reminiscent of Indiana Jones but with manners, tea, and helicopter parasols.
Beth Pickering is on the verge of finally capturing the rare deathwhistler bird when Professor Devon Lockley swoops in, capturing both her bird and her imagination like a villain. Albeit a handsome and charming villain, but that’s beside the point. As someone highly educated in the ruthless discipline of ornithology, Beth knows trouble when she sees it, and she is determined to keep her distance from Devon.
For his part, Devon has never been more smitten than when he first set eyes on Professor Beth Pickering. She’s so pretty, so polite, so capable of bringing down a fiery, deadly bird using only her wits. In other words, an angel. Devon understands he must not get close to her, however, since they’re professional rivals.
When a competition to become Birder of the Year by capturing an endangered caladrius bird is announced, Beth and Devon are forced to team up to have any chance of winning. Now keeping their distance becomes a question of one bed or two. But they must take the risk, because fowl play is afoot, and they can’t trust anyone else—for all may be fair in love and war, but this is ornithology.
Amanda: Holton’s books are a little silly, but I think they’re great for a summer read.
Sarah: Rival ornithologists hunt magical bird, fall in love, banter a lot.
Claudia: This was my first India Holton book! And I went in without fully knowing it was fantasy (with a bit of steampunk thrown in). It was fun and fast paced, and brought me joy!
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!Primal Mirror
Author: Nalini Singh
Released: July 23, 2024 by Berkley
Genre: Paranormal, Romance
Series: Psy-Changeling Trinity #8New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh takes us into a family dark with shadowy secrets, as the world of the Psy hangs on the edge of a final catastrophic collapse…
Daughter of two ruthless high-gradient telepaths, Auden Scott is not the child her Psy parents wanted or expected, even before her brain injury. Her thoughts are scattered, her memories fuzzy—or just terrifyingly blank. The only thing she knows for certain is that she must protect her unborn baby…a baby she has no recollection of conceiving and who draws an abnormal intensity of notice from her dead mother’s closest associates.
Leopard alpha Remi Denier is a man driven by the primal instinct to protect. Protect his pack, protect his allies… and protect the mysterious woman who has become a most unlikely neighbor. With eerie eyes that see too much and a scent that alters in ways disturbing and impossible, Auden Scott is the enemy…but nothing about this strange Psy is what it seems, Remi’s feline heart as fascinated by her as the human half of his soul.
Then Auden asks Remi to help her shatter the wall of secrets that is the Scott bloodline. What they unearth will reveal a nightmare beyond imagination. This time, the battle is to the death…
Aarya: I’ve been waiting for Remi’s book for years.
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!Unexpectedly Wed to the Heir
Author: Lydia San Andres
Released: July 23, 2024 by Harlequin Historical
Genre: Historical: Other, Romance
Series: Caribbean Courtships #4“A sweet, satisfying, utterly intoxicating historical romance.” – Olivia Waite, The New York Times on Compromised into a Scandalous Marriage
His vow?
To protect her!
After dressmaker Aura Soriana’s father passes away, her home and livelihood are left on the line. With only herself to count on, she’s cautious when she meets handsome Eduardo Martinez, heir to a shipping empire, and has no time for his easygoing attitude and showy gestures!
When Eduardo discovers Aura’s home has been broken into, and the dangerous men pursuing her are linked to his family, the only way to keep her safe is to claim she’s his fiancée! Yet if independent Aura’s to meet him at the altar, Eduardo must face his past and show her she can rely on him…
Aarya: I love San Andres’s worldbuilding so much.
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!
Only one book on my tbr this week: PREGNANT PRINCESS BRIDE (July 23) by Caitlin Crews is the next in her always reliably angsty Harlequin Presents. In this one, a princess has a passionate night with a man she has always loved…but three months later, she has to let him know there’s a “little souvenir” of their time together.
I have three books I’m excited for:
DO ME A FAVOR by Cathy Yardley
This was mentioned a few days ago here at SBTB, and I really enjoyed her book ROLE PLAYING, so eager to jump into this one.
VISCOUNT IN LOVE by Eloisa James (have to support the historicals!)
I think I’ve read everything James has written, so won’t stop now!
SOMETHING BORROWED by Lily Morton
Morton is a new to me author I’ve discovered this summer. I’ve gone through a lot of her books, but the first one I read was CONFETTI HEARTS, and this is the second in the series. She does a great job with setting, and has some very memorable characters.
Skye Kilean put out a 2nd, bonus list of new, under the radar, queer books released in July.
https://skyewritesromance.com/new-queer-romances-july-2024-bonus/
Ne’re Duke Well was a b-leveler for me. The rest are on my TBR!
Looking forward to reading “The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love” and “Jewel Me Twice” as soon as it’s my turn at the library… anything to get the terrible taste of the ending of “The Emperor and the Endless Palace” out of my head. I was excited to see this in June’s Queer Romance list (it checked a lot of boxes!), but it is sadly MOST DEF NOT A ROMANCE! Consider yourselves warned, I couldn’t put anything in the comments for that post, they’re closed.