Get ready for a heavy bag full of books to the beach !

Are you travelling this summer? Or maybe you are staying put? Whatever your summer adventures will be this year, Summer 2023’s marked with exciting and thrilling books that are hitting our shelves this summer! Prepare for stories that will chill your spine or heat your nights. Whatever your reading taste this summer, here are highlighted summer releases that keep you entertained through any heat wave!

End of June Releases

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue

Rachel is a student working at a bookstore when she meets James, and it’s love at first sight. Effervescent and insistently heterosexual, James soon invites Rachel to be his roommate and the two begin a friendship that changes the course of both their lives forever. Together, they run riot through the streets of Cork city, trying to maintain a bohemian existence while the threat of the financial crash looms before them.When Rachel falls in love with her married professor, Dr. Fred Byrne, James helps her devise a reading at their local bookstore, with the goal that she might seduce him afterwards. But Fred has other desires. So begins a series of secrets and compromises that intertwine the fates of James, Rachel, Fred, and Fred’s glamorous, well-connected, bourgeois wife. Aching with unrequited love, shot through with delicious, sparkling humor, The Rachel Incident is a triumph. (Credit: Knopf Publishing Group)

The Illusions by Liz Hyder

At a time of extraordinary change, two women must harness their talents to take control of their own destiny.

Bristol, 1896. Used to scraping a living as the young assistant to an ageing con artist, Cecily Marsden’s life is turned upside down when her master suddenly dies. Believing herself to blame, could young Cec somehow have powers she little understands?

Meanwhile Eadie Carleton, a pioneering early film-maker, struggles for her talent to be taken seriously in a male-dominated world, and a brilliant young magician, George Perris, begins to see the potential in moving pictures. George believes that if he can harness this new technology, it will revolutionise the world of magic forever – but in order to achieve his dreams, he must first win over Miss Carleton.

As a group of illusionists prepare for a grand spectacle, Cec, Eadie and George’s worlds collide. But as Cec falls in love with the bustling realm of theatre and magic, she faces the fight of her life to save the performance from sabotage and harness the element of real magic held deep within her. (Credit: Bonnier Books)

• The Trial by Rob Rinder (Expected Publication Date: June 22)
• Conviction by Jack Jordan (Expected Publication Date: June 22)
• You’ve Been Served by Kristen Alicia (Expected Publication Date: June 27)
• Truly Darkly Deeply by Victoria Selman (Expected Publication Date: June 27)

July Releases

Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates

Expected Publication Date: July 11

When Christa joins a tour group heading deep into the snowy expanse of the Rocky Mountains, she’s hopeful this will be her chance to put the ghosts of her past to rest. But when a bitterly cold snowstorm sweeps the region, the small group is forced to take shelter in an abandoned hunting cabin. Despite the uncomfortably claustrophobic quarters and rapidly dropping temperature, Christa believes they’ll be safe as they wait out the storm.

She couldn’t be more wrong.

Deep in the night, their tour guide goes missing…only to be discovered the following morning, his severed head impaled on a tree outside the cabin. Terrified, and completely isolated by the storm, Christa finds herself trapped with eight total strangers. One of them kills for sport…and they’re far from finished. As the storm grows more dangerous and the number of survivors dwindles one by one, Christa must decide who she can trust before this frozen mountain becomes her tomb. (Credit: Poisoned Pen Press)

The King is Dead by Benjamin Dean

Expected Publication Date: July 18

Heavy is the crown James has been born to wear, especially as the first Black heir to the British throne. But with his father’s recent passing, and with a new boyfriend to hide, James is woefully unprepared for the sudden shine of public scrutiny.When his secrets come spilling forth across tabloid pages and the man he thought he loved has suddenly disappeared, James finds himself on the precipice of ruin. As every detail of his life becomes public knowledge, his sense of safety is shattered and the people he trusts the most become the likeliest suspects.What dangers lurk behind the palace walls–and will the new king find out before it’s too late? (Credit: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

• Penance by Eliza Clark (Expected Publication Date: July 6)
• The Duchess Effect by Tracey Livesay (Expected Publication Date: July 11)
• Queen of Exiles by Vanessa Riley (Expected Publication Date: July 11)
• The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi (Expected Publication Date: July 11)
• The Summer Skies by Jenny Colgan (Expected Publication Date: July 11)
• Good Fortune by C. K. Chau (Expected Publication Date: July 11)
• Frontera by Julio Anta and Jacoby Salecedo (Expected Publication Date: July 18)
• Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Expected Publication Date: July 18)
• How To Die Famous by Benjamin Dean (Expected Publication Date: July 20)
• Trouble by Lex Croucher (Expected Publication Date: July 20)

A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh

Expected Publication Date: July 20

They say the camera never lies. But on this show, you can’t trust anything you see.

Stranded in the Welsh mountains, seven reality show contestants have no idea what they’ve signed up for. Each of these strangers has a secret. If another player can guess the truth, they won’t just be eliminated – they’ll be exposed live on air. The stakes are higher than they’d ever imagined, and they’re trapped.

The disappearance of a contestant wasn’t supposed to be part of the drama. Detective Ffion Morgan has to put aside what she’s watched on screen, and find out who these people really are – knowing she can’t trust any of them. And when a murderer strikes, Ffion knows every one of her suspects has an alibi… and a secret worth killing for. (Credit:Little, Brown Book Group)

The Exiled by Sarah Daniels

Expected Publication Date: July 20

Trust no one.

It is six months since the Arcadia set sail for the first time in forty years. But this wasn’t the freedom the inhabitants were hoping for. Esther Crossland did what she had to do, but it has left a trail of destruction in her wake. Now the wrecked ship is abandoned. Its inhabitants are in exile, trapped in sprawling make-shift shelters made up of warehouse, tents, shipping containers.

Esther and Nik, architects of the rebellion, are on the run. Esther is in hiding, desperate to do something to help her people, and Nik seems to have abandoned all hope, on a journey taking him further and further from home. And neither of them want to face up to their true feelings about one another . . .

Not only that, there is a new villain in town. With the fall of Commander Hadley, it’s left to the ruthless Admiral Janek to deal with the traitors, and her own past is beginning to catch-up with her.

Then the shaky ceasefire negotiated by General Lall, Nik’s mum, falls apart. Nik and Esther find themselves in a world of betrayals and double crossings – a game of power, with no one to trust but themselves.

It’s time for the final showdown. (Credit: Penguin Random House Children’s UK)

• Baby Does a Runner by Anita Rani (Expected Publication Date: July 6)
• The Samurai and the Prisoner by Honobu Yonezawa (Expected Publication Date: July 18)
• To Have and To Heist by Sara Desai (Expected Publication Date: July 18)
• Kill For Me Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh (Expected Publication Date: July 20)
• The Dive by Sara Ochs (Expected Publication Date: July 20)
• Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington (Expected Publication Date: July 25)
• The Sweetest Revenge by Lizzy Dent (Expected Publication Date: July 25)
• Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge (Expected Publication Date: July 25)

August Releases

The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard

Expected Publication Date: August 1

One year ago, Lucy’s sister, Nicki, left to meet friends at a pub in Dublin and never came home. The third Irish woman to vanish inexplicably in as many years, the agony of not knowing what happened that night has turned Lucy’s life into a waking nightmare. So, she’s going to take matters into her own hands.

Angela works as a civilian paper-pusher in the Missing Persons Unit, but wants nothing more than to be a fully-fledged member of An Garda Síochána, the Irish police force. With the official investigation into the missing women stalled, she begins pulling on a thread that could break the case wide open–and destroy her chances of ever joining the force.

A nameless man drives through the night, his latest victim in the back seat. He’s going to tell her everything, from the beginning. And soon, she’ll realize: what you don’t know can hurt you …(Credit: Blackstone Publishing)

Broadway Butterfly by Sara Divello

Expected Publication Date: August 1

Manhattan, 1923. Scandalous flapper Dot King is found dead in her Midtown apartment, a bottle of chloroform beside her and a fortune in jewels missing. Dot’s headline-making murder grips the city. It also draws a clutch of lovers, parasites, and justice seekers into one of the city’s most mesmerizing mysteries.

Among them: Daily News crime reporter Julia Harpman, chasing the story while navigating a male-dominated industry; righteous NYPD detective John D. Coughlin, struggling against city corruption; and Ella Bradford, the victim’s Harlem maid, closest confidante, and keeper of secrets. Adding fuel to the already volatile crime: a politically connected Philadelphia socialite, an Atlantic City bootlegger, Dot’s dicey gigolo lover, a sultry Broadway dancer, and a cagey sugar daddy guarding secrets of his own.

From Broadway’s glittering lights to its sordid underbelly to the machinations of the country’s most powerful men, Julia embarks on a quest for justice. What she discovers, twist after breathtaking twist, might be even more nefarious than murder. (Credit: Thomas & Mercer)

Radiant Pink, Volume 1: A Massive-Verse Book by Meghan Camarena and Melissa Flores and illustrated by  Emma Kubert

Expected Publication Date: August 1

When Eva – a video game streamer who is secretly the superhero RADIANT PINK – is invited to the biggest charity stream event of the year, she sees her chance to use her platform for good. But when a surprise attack sends her hurtling across dimensions, Eva will have to rely on everything she has to make it home in one piece.(Credit: Image Comics)

The Khan by Saima Mir

Expected Publication Date: August 1

Successful London lawyer Jia Khan is a long way from the grubby Northern streets she knew as a child, where her father, Akbar Khan, led the Pakistani community and ran the local organized crime syndicate. Often his Jirga rule – the old way – was violent and bloody, but it was always justice of a kind.

Now, with her father murdered, Jia must return to take his place. The police have always relied on the Khan to maintain the fragile order of the streets. But a bloody power struggle has broken out among warring communities and nobody is safe.

Justice needs to be restored, and Jia is about to discover that justice always comes at a cost. (Credit: Agora Books)

• Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine (Expected Publication Date: August 1)
• Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister (Expected Publication Date: August 1)
• Island Man by Joanne Skettett (Expected Publication Date: August 1)
• The Embroidered Book by Kate Heartfield (Expected Publication Date: August 1)
• Jezebel by Megan Barnard (Expected Publication Date: August 1)
• Someone You Trust by Rachel Ryan (Expected Publication Date: August 1)
• The Party House by Lin Anderson (Expected Publication Date: August 1)
• Bring Me Your Midnight by Rachel Griffin (Expected Publication Date: August 1)
• The Last One by Will Dean (Expected Publication Date: August 8)
• Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane (Expected Publication Date: August 8)

None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

Expected Publication Date: August 8

Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summer crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins.A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.

Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly she starts to realize that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life–and into her home.But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family’s lives under mortal threat.Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done? (Credit: Atria Books)

Whirly Twirly Me by Manjeet Mann and illustrated by Amanda Quartey

Expected Publication Date: August 8

A sensitive and reassuring picture book on understanding and handling big feelings from award-winning author Manjeet Mann

Some days are good days. Some days are bad days. And some days are whirly twirly days, where the strops have you in a flop and everything is TOO MUCH. But what if you weren’t just angry?

Written by award-winning author Manjeet Mann, this brilliant picture book helps young readers explore difficult feelings and identify their emotions.

Sensitively written and accompanied by beautiful artwork by Amanda Quartey, this book reassures little readers it’s normal to feel a lot of things at once and helps them to embrace their own whirly twirly days.

• Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward (Expected Publication Date: August 8)
• Tell Me What I Am by Una Mannion (Expected Publication Date: August 15)
• Where The Dead Sleep by Joshua Moehling (Expected Publication Date: August 15)
• The Trade Off by Sandie Jones (Expected Publication Date: August 15)
• House of Odysseus by Claire North (Expected Publication Date: August 22)
• Daughter of the Dragon: Anna May Wong’s Rendezvous with American History by Yunte Huang (Expected Publication Date: August 22) 
• Storyland: A New Mythology of Britain by Amy Jeffs (Expected Publication Date: August 22) 
• Board to Death by CJ Connor (Expected Publication Date: August 22) 
• Trese Vol 6: High Tide at Midnight by Budjette Tan and illustrated by Kajo Baldisimo (Expected Publication Date: August 29)  

I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea 

Expected Publication Date: August 29

Laure Mesny is a perfectionist with an axe to grind. Despite being constantly overlooked in the elite and cutthroat world of the Parisian ballet, she will do anything to prove that a girl of her circumstance can take center stage. To level the playing field, Laure ventures deep into the depths of the Catacombs and strikes a deal with a pulsating river of blood.The primordial power Laure gains promises influence and adoration, everything she’s dreamed of and worked toward. With retribution on her mind, she surpasses her bitter and privileged peers, leaving broken bodies behind her on her climb to stardom.

But even as undeniable as she is, Laure is not the only monster around. And her vicious desires make her a perfect target for slaughter. As she descends into madness and the mystifying underworld beneath her, she is faced with the ultimate choice: continue to break herself for scraps of validation or succumb to the darkness that wants her exactly as she is–monstrous heart and all. That is, if the god-killer doesn’t catch her first. (Credit: Henry Holt & Company)

The Coworker by Freida McFadden

Expected Publication Date: August 29

Two women. An office filled with secrets. One terrible crime that can’t be taken back.

Dawn Schiff is strange.

At least, everyone thinks so at Vixed, the nutritional supplement company where Dawn works as an accountant. She never says the right thing. She has no friends. And she is always at her desk at precisely 8:45 a.m.

So when Dawn doesn’t show up to the office one morning, her coworker Natalie Farrell–beautiful, popular, top sales rep five years running–is surprised. Then she receives an unsettling, anonymous phone call that changes everything…

It turns out Dawn wasn’t just an awkward outsider–she was being targeted by someone close. And now Natalie is irrevocably tied to Dawn as she finds herself caught in a twisted game of cat and mouse that leaves her wondering: who’s the real victim?

But one thing is incredibly clear: somebody hated Dawn Schiff. Enough to kill. (Credit: Poisoned Pen Press)

Truth Be Told by Kia Abdullah

Expected Publication Date: August 29

ARE YOU READY TO START THIS CONVERSATION?

Kamran Hadid feels invincible. He attends Hampton school, an elite all-boys boarding school in London, he comes from a wealthy family, and he has a place at Oxford next year. The world is at his feet. And then a night of revelry leads to a drunken encounter and he must ask himself a horrific question.

With the help of assault counsellor, Zara Kaleel, Kamran reports the incident in the hopes that will be the end of it. But it’s only the beginning…(Credit: HQ)

Night of the Living Queers: 13 Tales of Terror & Delight edited by Shelly Page and Alex Brown

Expected Publication Date: August 29

No matter its name or occasion, Halloween is more than a Hallmark holiday, it’s a symbol of transformation. NIGHT OF THE LIVING QUEERS is a YA horror anthology that explores how Halloween can be more than just candies and frights, but a night where anything is possible. Each short story is told through the lens of a different BIPOC teen and the Halloween night that changes their lives forever. Creative, creepy, and queer, this collection brings fresh terror, heart, and humor to young adult literature. (Credit:Wednesdays Books)

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