Happy Tuesday!
It’s the last release week in August. How are we feeling? Because I have to tell you, September is looking brutal for new releases. I personally had to whittle my preorders down to five books.
This week, a highly anticipated release from a known bestseller, a historical romance, and shifters, make it onto our to-read lists.
Which new releases made it onto your TBR piles? Let us know in the comments!
The Gilded Heiress
Author: Joanna Shupe
Released: August 26, 2025 by Avon
Genre: Historical: American, RomanceFrom USA Today bestselling author Joanna Shupe comes a spicy Anastasia story full of secrets and betrayal, set among the glittering streets of New York City’s Gilded Age.
In 1880 a baby was stolen from the wealthiest family in America. Though no ransom was ever demanded, the Pendelton family never gave up hope . . . and their reward became the stuff of legend.
After being raised in a children’s asylum, Josie Smith ends up on the streets and quickly learns how to take care of herself. Her singing voice draws crowds on every corner, and she’ll stop at nothing to become famous and travel the world, loved and adored by all. Maybe then she won’t think about the family who gave her away as an infant.
Leo Hardy isn’t afraid to use his charm and wits to make a fast buck, especially with a mother and five siblings to support. When he stumbles upon a beautiful young woman singing on the street, Leo notices her striking resemblance to the infamous missing baby’s mother, Mrs. Thomas Pendelton. The Hardys lost everything thanks to the Pendeltons, and once Leo sees Josie, he seizes the opportunity to settle the score. All he needs to do is pull off the biggest swindle of his career.
As the two are catapulted into Knickerbocker High Society, they grow closer to their goal, as well as to each other. But secrets can only stay hidden for so long. Soon the truth unfolds, and both Josie and Leo must separate what’s real from what’s just gilding.
Amanda: Uh…”spicy Anastasia.”
Claudia: What Amanda said! I’m also here for Gilded Age romance anytime.
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We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!Katabasis
Author: R.F. Kuang
Released: August 26, 2025 by Harper Voyager
Genre: Science Fiction/FantasyTwo graduate students must set aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul, perhaps at the cost of their own.
Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality—her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world—that is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault.
Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands, and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams. Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdoch, has come to the same conclusion.
Amanda: We all know this is going to be an instant bestseller.
Elyse: Anything by Kuang is auto-buy for me.
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Author: Tricia O'Malley
Released: August 26, 2025 by Gallery Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Paranormal, Romance
Series: The Scottish Charms #1From the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Tricia O’Malley, a cozy romantasy about a Scottish witch returning to her ancestral village to break a family curse—only to clash with one stubborn warlock determined to protect his town from her haywire magic.
She’s hexed. He’s vexed. And for Scotland’s most magical small-town, their feud might just spell disaster.
Sloane MacGregor swore she’d never return to Briarhaven, but with her twenty-fifth birthday looming—the day witches come into their magic—her grandmother summons her and her sisters back for one tiny task: break the centuries-old curse haunting their bloodline.
Knox Douglas, Briarhaven’s grumpy mayor, has worked tirelessly to make his town a haven for magical folk. The last thing he needs is a cursed MacGregor wreaking havoc. It doesn’t matter he once crushed on her. For the sake of Briarhaven, Sloane has to go.
But magic has other plans—and in Briarhaven, love really is a witch.
Sounds like a good release to get ready for fall.
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We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!The Secret Crush Book Club
Author: Karmen Lee
Released: August 26, 2025 by Afterglow Books by Harlequin
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, RomanceA dedicated single mother and a librarian with a secret write their own sweet and sexy love story in this small-town rom-com about family, friendships and embracing the next chapter.
Nothing cures a lonely heart quite like a good book
and an unexpected crush…
For Dani, life is a juggling act. As a single mom devoted to her son and family, she barely has a moment to herself. But when her sister announces she’s moving out of the house, the ache of loneliness creeps in, and Dani can’t help but wonder if there’s something else she’s been missing in her life…
Zoey came to Peach Blossom eager to start her new job as the town’s librarian and do a little research for her next book. Yet she never expected to find inspiration in fellow book club member Dani, whose captivating brown eyes tell a story of their own. Before they know it, lingering glances over their favorite fiction turn into first dates and sizzling nights.
As their connection deepens, the two women must decide if they should turn the page on what their lives used to look like or if this thrilling plot twist is the happily-ever-after they’ve been chasing all along.
From showing up to glowing up, the characters in Afterglow Books are on the path to leading their best lives and finding sizzling romance along the way. Don’t miss any of these other fun titles…
Shana: This series makes me happy.
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As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!To Kill a Badger
Author: Shelly Laurenston
Released: August 26, 2025 by Kensington Books
Genre: Paranormal, Romance
Series: Honey Badger Chronicles #6Laugh-out-loud humor, a feminist outlook, and one-of-a-kind shape-shifting romance come together with the continuation of the fan-favorite Honey Badger Chronicles from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Shelly Laurenston.
Nelle Zhao is a social media maven who knows what matters. And the only thing that matters right now is survival. Not easy, though, when her honey badger teammates attract trouble the way she attracts attention. She didn’t know when it became her job to protect the ones she cares about from themselves, but even she has to admit…she’s really good at it. Too bad some people don’t appreciate when she’s being helpful. Especially Keane Malone, who doesn’t know how to accept a friendly paw. But Nelle excels at helping! And at ignoring other people’s irrational demands, such as doing it all alone. Keane, poor pretty kitty, doesn’t understand the kind of assistance a shit-starting honey badger like Nelle can truly offer . . .
Keane knows two things—he doesn’t like other people, and he is going to crush the de Medicis, an evil coalition of male lion shifters who are not only snatching innocent humans for fun and profit, but also killed his father. And for once, he may not be able to fight this fight alone, forcing him to let long-legged, jet-setting Nelle join the fight. And getting close to Nelle is suddenly bringing out his roar . . .
Book six in Laurenston’s Honey Badger Chronicles.
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“Briarhaven” is a very English name for an ancestral Scottish village.
Apparently I care too much about fictional place names, and this place name irks me mightily, but I wanted to give it a chance to prove it’s reasonable, so.
From poking around on the internet, I have found three examples of Scottish towns or villages ending in -haven:
1. Stonehaven. This is the best one, hands down, because both parts of the name are unambiguously English. Simple Wikipedia claims the town has had this name since the sixteenth century and that there is also a Gaelic name, Cala na Creige, which means the same thing. No references are cited though. The Gaelic name is definitely real, but I’m not finding any indication of which name came first or why the English name appears to be the normal one. The town is old.
2. Belhaven. This is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Buel na h-Aibhne.
3. Strathaven. Similar deal, from Strath Aibhne.
So there is some precedent here, but it’s not great.
The second problem with this name, honestly, is that it doesn’t really look like an English town name either, at least not one of any longevity. Yes, it’s totally made from English words, and plenty of English towns are clear compounds, but those are organic in a way this just isn’t. They have meanings for reasons. “Briarhaven” means “bramble/thorny harbor,” which doesn’t make any sense.
For contrast, Wikipedia’s list of English towns has only two beginning with briar, and they both make sense: Briarfield (“bramble/thorny field”) and Briarley (looks like it should mean “bramble/thorny meadow”), which make sense.
“Briarhaven” looks American to me. Many American towns and cities were given names in a deliberate fashion rather than sort of developing them, so they don’t always have to make sense. They can just have Vibes. “Briarhaven” is definitely a name with Vibes. But not Scottish vibes.
Honestly it’s kind of twee for a town name even by the more liberal American standard, though. I mean, it’s absolutely a possible name for the US in a way it’s not for England and Scotland, but to me it sounds like the name you’d give your estate or something more than anything else.
I’m so sorry. I care way too much about this.
Star, no I’m with you. Briarhaven sounds like a nursing home or a golf course to me. Tricia O’Malley is a US citizen, living in the Caribbean, married to a Scotsman. So she definitely has more connection to Scotland than I do, but. . . it sounds weird to me and I respect that it would pull you out of the story. I would be like that about an Italian or Spanish name that sounds weird.
I can’t believe I forgot To Kill A Badger comes out today! I had pre-ordered it so I’m ready to go. I’ve been in the midst of a big declutter project but that will have to take a backseat for now. I can’t wait to read it!
Have the Shupe, The Secret Crush Book Club, To Kill a Badger and Love’s a Witch on my list; may ask to review one of these for the site.
@Jill Q — you get it! And thank you, seriously: “nursing home” was my first thought, but I already felt like I was being too nitpicking, so it makes me feel infinitely better to know that it’s not just me.