Hoohoo, friends of the blade!
August has so many interesting book releases! There is everything from historical romance, paranormal stories, fantasy and contemporary romance. I am so intrigued by all of these releases! So how about we have a look at them?
Guide: đłď¸âđ = LGBT+ | âď¸ = Fantasy | đ = Romance
6th August
Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid
The Lady knows the stories: how her eyes induce madness in men.
The Lady knows she will be wed to the Scottish brute, who does not leave his warrior ways behind when he comes to the marriage bed.
The Lady knows his hostile, suspicious court will be a game of strategy, requiring all of her wiles and hidden witchcraft to survive.
But the Lady does not know her husband has occult secrets of his own. She does not know that prophecy girds him like armor. She does not know that her magic is greater and more dangerous, and that it will threaten the order of the world.
She does not know this yet. But she will.
The Pairing by Casey McQuiston
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Theo and Kit have been childhood best friends, crushes, lovers and, after a brutal breakup four years ago, estranged exes.
Itâs not until Theo and Kit are trapped on board a tour bus that they discover that theyâve each had the same idea: to take their dream European food and wine tour â alone. And now theyâre stuck with each other for three weeks of the most romantic sights and sensuous flavours of France, Spain, and Italy. But itâll be fine. Theyâre absolutely over each other.
So, when Theo suggests a friendly wager to see who can sleep with their hot Italian tour guide first, Kit is game. In fact, why stop there? Why not a full-on European hookup competition?
But sometimes a taste of everything only makes you crave what you canât have.
A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
âď¸
Cordelia knows her mother is unusual. Their house doesnât have any doors between rooms, and her mother doesn’t allow Cordelia to have a single friendâunless you count Falada, her mother’s beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him. But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers donât force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers arenât sorcerers.
After a suspicious death in their small town, Cordeliaâs mother insists they leave in the middle of the night, riding away on Faladaâs sturdy back, leaving behind all Cordelia has ever known. They arrive at the remote country manor of a wealthy older man, the Squire, and his unwed sister, Hester. Cordeliaâs mother intends to lure the Squire into marriage, and Cordelia knows this can only be bad news for the bumbling gentleman and his kind, intelligent sister.
Hester sees the way Cordelia shrinks away from her mother, how the young girl sits eerily still at dinner every night. Hester knows that to save her brother from bewitchment and to rescue the terrified Cordelia, she will have to face down a wicked witch of the worst kind.
This Ravenous fate by Hayley Dennings
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It’s 1926 and reapers, the once-human vampires with a terrifying affliction, are on the rise in New York. But the Saint family’s thriving reaper-hunting enterprise holds reign over the city, giving them more power than even the organized criminals who run the nightclubs. Eighteen year-old Elise Saint, home after five years in Paris, is the reluctant heir to the empire. Only one thing weighs heavier on Elise’s mind than her family obligations: the knowledge that the Harlem reapers want her dead.
Layla Quinn is a young reaper haunted by her past. Though reapers have existed in America for three centuries, created by New World atrocities and cruel experiments, Layla became one just five years ago. The night she was turned, she lost her parents, the protection of the Saints, and her humanity, and she’ll never forget how Elise Saint betrayed her.
But some reapers are inexplicably turning part human again, leaving a wake of mysterious and brutal killings. When Layla is framed for one of these attacks, the Saint patriarch offers her a deal she can’t refuse: to work with Elise to investigate how these murders might be linked to shocking rumors of a reaper cure. Once close friends, now bitter enemies, Elise and Layla explore the city’s underworld, confronting their intense feelings for one another and uncovering the sinister truths about a growing threat to reapers and humans alike.
The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
âď¸
1950s Hollywood: Every actress wants to play Salome, the star-making role in a big-budget movie about the legendary woman whose story has inspired artists since ancient times.
So when the filmâs mercurial director casts Vera Larios, an unknown Mexican ingenue, in the lead role, she quickly becomes the talk of the town. Vera also becomes an object of envy for Nancy Hartley, a bit player whose career has stalled and who will do anything to win the fame she believes she richly deserves.
Two actresses, both determined to make it to the top in Golden Age Hollywoodâa city overflowing with gossip, scandal, and intrigueâmake for a sizzling combination.
But this is the tale of three women, for it is also the story of the princess Salome herself, consumed with desire for the fiery prophet who foretells the doom of her stepfather, Herod: a woman torn between the decree of duty and the yearning of her heart.
The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava
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Ember Lee Cardinal has not always been a liarâwell, not for anything that counted at least. But her job search is not going well and when her resumĂŠ is rejected for the thirty-seventh time, she takes matters into her own hands. She gets âcreativeâ listing her qualifications and answers the ethnicity question on applications with a lieâa half-lie, technically. No one wanted Native American Ember, but white Ember has just landed her dream accounting job on Park Avenue (Oklahoma City, that is).
Accountant Ember thrives in corporate lifeâand her love life seems to be looking up too: Danuwoa Colson, the IT guy and fellow Native who caught her eye on her first day, seems to actually be interested in her too. Despite her unease over the no-dating policy at work, they start to see each other secretly, which somehow makes it even hotter? But when theyâre caught in a compromising position on a work trip, a scheming colleague blackmails Ember, threatening to expose their relationship. As the manipulation continues to grow, so do Emberâs lies. She must make the hard decision to either stay silent or finally tell the truth, which could cost her everything.
The Girl with No Refelction by Keshe Chow
âď¸đ
Princess Ying Yue believed in love…once upon a time.
Yet when sheâs chosen to wed the crown prince, Yingâs dreams of a fairy tale marriage quickly fall apart. Her husband-to-be is cold and indifferent, confining Ying to her room for reasons he wonât explain. Worse still are the rumors that swirl around the imperial whispers of seven other royal brides who, after their own weddings, mysteriously disappeared.
Left alone with only her own reflection for company, Ying begins to see things. Strange things. Movements in the corners of her mirror. Colorful lights upon its surface. And when, on the eve of her wedding, she unwittingly tears open a gateway, she is pulled into a mirror world.
This realm is full of sentient reflections, including the enigmatic Mirror Prince. Unlike his real-world counterpart, the Mirror Prince is kind and compassionate, and before long Ying falls in loveâthe kind of love she always dreamed of.
But there is darkness in this new world, too.
It turns out the two worlds have a long and blood-soaked history, and Ying has a part to play in the future of them both. And the brides who came before Ying? By the time they discovered what their role was, it was already too late.
13th AUGUST
A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire by Sarah Hawley
Glimmer Falls #3
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Werewolf Ben Rosewood is happy with his life. One hundred percent. Everything is fine. His business, Benâs Plant Emporium, is thriving, and heâs even expanding the shop. His anxiety disorder isâŚwell, itâs been better, but that comes with the territory of running a business and having beastly urges every full moon, right? As for romanceâwho has the time? Though his family is desperate to see him settled, Ben is fine approaching forty as a single werewolf. But after drunkenly bidding on and winning a supposedly-possessed crystal on eBay one night, he finds himself face-to-face with a beautiful but angry vampire.
Eleanora Bettencourt-Devereux is a rare breedâa vampire succubus born from two elite European bloodlines during medieval times. But thanks to an evil witch, sheâs been stuck in a crystal since she was thirty, forced to obey orders from the possessor of the rock. Eleanoraâs been dreaming of breaking the spell and severing the witchâs head for centuries. But did this witch really sell her to someone new, and for only ninety-nine cents?
Eleanora would claw this werewolfâs heart out and eat it, if only the binding spell would allow her to. But Eleanora and Ben soon realize they can help each other with both vengeful and less hostile needs. And why not have a little fun along the way?
Mistress of Lies by K.M. Enright
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The daughter of a powerful but disgraced Blood Worker, Shan LeClaire has spent her entire life perfecting her blood magic, building her network of spies, and gathering every scrap of power she could. Now, to protect her brother, she assassinates their father and takes her place at the head of the family. And that is only the start of her revenge.
Samuel Hutchinson is a bastard with a terrible gift. When he stumbles upon the first victim of a magical serial killer, he’s drawn into the world of magic and intrigue he’s worked so hard to avoid – and is pulled deeply into the ravenous and bloodthirsty court of the vampire king.
Tasked by the Eternal King to discover the identity of the killer cutting a bloody swath through the city, Samuel, Shan and mysterious Royal Bloodworker Isaac find themselves growing ever closer to each other. But Shan’s plans are treacherous, and as she lures Samuel into her complicated web of desire, treason and vengeance, he must decide if the good of their nation is worth the cost of his soul.
The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. MacLean
đłď¸âđâď¸đ
As head phoenix keeper at a world-renowned zoo for magical creatures, Aila’s childhood dream of conserving critically endangered firebirds seems closer than ever. There’s just one glaring caveat: her zoo’s breeding program hasn’t functioned for a decade. When a tragic phoenix heist sabotages the flagship initiative at a neighbouring zoo, Aila must prove her derelict facilities are fit to take the reins.
But saving an entire species from extinction requires more than stellar animal handling skills. Carnivorous water horses, tempestuous thunderhawks, mischievous dragons… Aila has no problem wrangling beasts. Inspiring zoo patrons? That’s another story. Mustering the courage to ask for help from the hotshot griffin keeper at the zoo’s most popular exhibit? Virtually impossible.
Especially when the hotshot griffin keeper in question just so happens to be her arch-rival from college: Luciana, an annoyingly brooding and even more annoyingly insufferable know-it-all with the grace of a goblin and the face of a goddess who’s convinced that Aila’s beloved phoenix would serve their cause better as an active performer rather than as a passive conservation exhibit.
With the world watching and the threat of poachers looming, Aila’s success is no longer merely a matter of keeping her job…
She is the keeper of the phoenix, and the future of a species now rests on her shoulders.
There’s just one thing she has to remember: she is also not alone.
20th AUGUST
A BĂĄnh MĂŹ for Two by Trinity Nguyen
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In Sà i Gòn, Lan is always trying to be the perfect daughter, dependable and willing to care for her widowed mother and their bånh mÏ stall. Her secret passion, however, is A Bånh MÏ for Two, the food blog she started with her father but has stopped updating since his passing.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese American Vivi Huynh, has never been to Viáťt Nam. Her parents rarely talk about the homeland that clearly haunts them. So Vivi secretly goes to Vietnam for a study abroad program her freshman year of college. Sheâs determined to figure out why her parents left, and to try everything sheâs seen on her favorite food blog, A BĂĄnh MĂŹ for Two.
When Vivi and Lan meet in SĂ i Gòn, they strike a deal. Lan will show Vivi around the city, helping her piece together her motherâs story through crumbling photographs and old memories. Vivi will help Lan start writing again so she can enter a food blogging contest. And slowly, as they explore the city and their pasts, Vivi and Lan fall in love.
Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore
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Ezra Friedman sees ghosts, which made growing up in a funeral home a bit complicated. It might have been easier if his grandfatherâs ghost didnât give him such scathing looks of disapproval as he went through a second, HRT-induced puberty, or if he didn’t have the pressure of all those relativesâliving and deadâjudging every choice he makes. Itâs no wonder that Ezra runs as far away from the family business as humanly possible.
But when the floor of his dream job drops out from under him and his mother uses the family Passover seder to tell everyone that sheâs running away with the rabbiâs wife, Ezra finds himself back in the thick of it. With his parentsâ marriage imploding and the Friedman Family Memorial Chapel on the brink of financial ruin, Ezra agrees to step into his mother’s shoes and help out . . . which means long days surrounded by ghosts that no one else can see.
And then there’s his unfortunate crush on Jonathan, the handsome funeral home volunteer who just happens to live downstairs from Ezra’s new apartment . . . and the appearance of the ghost of Jonathan’s gone-too-soon husband, Ben, who is breaking every spectral rule Ezra knows.
Because Ben can speak. He can move. And as Ezra tries to keep his family together and his heart from getting broken, he quickly realizes that there’s more than one way to be hauntedâand more than one way to become a ghost.
27th AUGUST
Magical Meet Cute by Jean Meltzer
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Faye Kaplan used to be engaged. She also used to have a successful legal practice. But she much prefers her new life as a potter in Woodstock, New York. The only thing missing is the perfect guy.
Not that she needs one. Sheâs definitely happy alone.
That is, until she finds her town papered with anti-Semitic flyers after yet another failed singles event at the synagogue. Desperate for comfort, Faye drunkenly turns to the only thing guaranteed to soothe herâpottery. A golem protector is just what her town needsâŚand adding all the little details to make him her ideal man canât hurt, right?
When a seriously hot stranger mysteriously turns up the next day, Greg seems too good to be trueâif you ignore the fact that Faye hit him with her bike. And that he subsequently lost his memoryâŚ
But otherwise, the man checks Every. Single. Box. Causing Faye to wonder if Gregâs sudden and spicy appearance might be anything but a coincidence.
Confounding Oaths by Alexis Hall
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The year is 1815, and Mr. John Caesar is determined to orchestrate a successful coming-out for his younger sister, Mary. Despite his best efforts, he is thwarted by the various interventions of a ragtag regiment of soldiers, a mysterious military cult, and a malicious fairy godmother.
When Mary is cursed by the fair folk, the dandyish Mr. Caesar is forced to work with the stolidly working-classâyet inescapably heroicâCaptain James to rescue her. While Mr. Caesar is no stranger to dallying with soldiers, until now he’s never expected one to stay. Or wanted one to. But even if the captain felt the same, there’d be no chance of anything lasting between them. After all, he and Mr. Caesar come from different worlds.
And lately, other worlds are the last thing either of them want to be dealing with . . .
Are you excited for any August book releases? Have you heard of any on this list? What is on your August TBR?
Until next time,
