Happy Wednesday! It’s peak summer holiday season, and so this week I’ve got some of the new books that might make for ideal reading as you hit your sunlounger this vacation season. And given the temperatures that we’ve had in the UK over the last few weeks it might even be cooler (or at least less humid) wherever it is you’re going on holiday. And unlike a normal Recommendsday post, these are books that I haven’t read but that I’m looking forward to, rather than stuff that I have read and recommend.
First up it’s the new Christina Lauren The Romance Revival which came out last week and which I haven’t read yet (obvs). Per the blurb: our heroine is Emery, who married Luca-the-Landscape-gardner three years ago in an impulsive moment. But now she’s consumed with her secret job – and telling herself Luca will understand once she can tell him about it. Until an accident takes him from her and now she’ll try everything to bring him back. Now this is the point where I can’t tell if this is going into necromancy or what. The cover doesn’t suggest the supernatural, but the blurb is talking about miracles of science and the wording of the aforementioned blurb seems very carefully chosen and so I think I could go either way on this one because at best it’s an amnesia plot and I have a mixed record on that front – and it’s possibly also paranormal/fantasy. I look forward to seeing what the reviews-with-spoilers say after release day! But this will undoubtedly work for some people – no matter whether or not it does for me!
Next up is Glow Job by Kristen Bailey which came out on Monday. This is about two people who meet at a chaotic wellness retreat on Ibiza – Chloe is there on holiday and Ben is trying to turn his uncle’s villa into a functioning retreat. It’s described as “for fans of Emily Henry, Beth O’Leary and Sophia Kinsella” which I am – although my cringe tolerance is sometimes too low for Sophie Kinsella so there’s a little question mark there for me but I know that I’m at the lower end of that particular scale. So I guess we have a bit of a theme here – books that I think will work for other people, but I’m less sure will work for me. This one is going to be in Kindle Unlimited when it comes out so there’s a low barrier to entry for those who are members.
Out next Thursday is the new novel from Jeevanki Charika – The Wedding Planner’s Guide to Stealing the Bride which is also described as for fans of Emily Henry (and Chloe Liese among others) and I am usually a big fan of Charika so I am optimistic. Kalpana is a romance author due to marry Marcus, a prize-winning literary author. Sampat is their wedding planner – skilled at working out what couples want from their big day. But this couple has very different ideas about their wedding – Marcus wants a traditional wedding in Sri Lanka, but Kalpana’s the third generation of her family born in the UK and doesn’t feel like that that’s her tradition. I can’t wait to read this – I’m going to try and get to it asap.
And of course I’ve already read a bunch of books that could be read on a sunlounger this year – including The Paris Match and Dolly All the Time which are romances, as well as The Shampoo Effect which isn’t but is really, really good.
Happy Humpday!
Verity Reads Books (lots of them) 