It’s my birthday month, and what better way to celebrate than talking about the books that I’m excited about publishing in July 2024.
Yes this is a little late, life got away from me. But here are 6 books that I’m really excited about that are coming out this month. Not included below is a St. Martin’s title that I’m so excited to read, but is not included in the below in solidarity with the boycott that is ongoing at the time of this post. For more information, please refer to Readers for Accountability.
The Next Best Fling by Gabriella Gamez
Series: Librarians in Love #1
Published by Grand Central Publishing on May 27, 2024
Genres: Fiction / General, Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / General, Fiction / Romance / Multicultural & Interracial, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy
Pages: 384
GoodreadsTwo broken hearts decide that the best way to get over their first loves is with a no-strings-attached relationship in this spicy and charming debut romance.
Librarian Marcela Ortiz has been secretly in love with her best friend for years--and when he gets engaged, she knows it's long past time to move on. But before she gets the chance, she has a bigger problem to contend with in the form of Theo Young, ex-NFL player and older brother of the man she's in love with. When she discovers Theo's plans to confess his feelings for his brother's fiancée at their engagement party, Marcela is quick to stop him--despite how tempting it is to let him run away with the bride-to-be. She manages to convince Theo to sleep off his drunken almost-mistake at her place and when they arrive at a family brunch the next day together, everyone wrongly assumes they hooked up.
Since Theo needs a cover for his feelings for the bride and Marcela needs a distraction from her unrequited feelings for the groom, they decide to roll with the lie. Until one late night at a bar, they take it a step further and discover a layer of attraction neither realized existed. Soon, they find themselves exploring the simmering chemistry between them, whether in library aisles or Marcela's bed. There are no boundaries for the rebound relationship they form--just a host of complicated feelings, messy familial dynamics, and uncovered secrets that threaten to tear them apart before they can even admit to themselves that their rebound is working. Maybe a little too well.
Sounds Like a Plan by Pamela Samuels Young, Dwayne Alexander Smith
Published by Atria Books on July 9, 2024
Genres: Fiction / African American & Black / General, Fiction / African American & Black / Mystery & Detective, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General
Pages: 320
GoodreadsOne Missing Person. Two Rival Detectives. Infinite Chemistry. This rollicking thrill ride told in alternating “he said/she said” perspectives is an irresistible blend of mystery, sexual tension, and humor.
Jackson Jones and Mackenzie Cunningham have a lot in common. They are both hard-working private investigators with their own firms in Los Angeles, each happily single, and very good at their jobs. But when they’re together, they are like oil and water.
After they find themselves working the same missing persons case, the idea of collaborating seems about as likely as a blizzard in Beverly Hills. But once it’s clear that they have been set up to take the fall for a murder, they have no choice but to join forces and make a plan that will expose the truth.
Bickering their way from Century City to Malibu and beyond, they find it increasingly hard to deny the sparks flying between them. But with a small army of mercenaries in hot pursuit and a killer intent on covering his tracks, there’s not a lot of time to sort through their complicated feelings. Told in alternating perspectives, this rollicking, romantic thrill ride makes for a swoon-worthy mystery.
Apples Dipped in Gold by Scarlett St. Clair
Series: Fairytale Retelling #2
on July 16, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Dark Fantasy, Fiction / Romance / Fantasy
Pages: 240
GoodreadsOrphaned at a young age, Samara is left under the care of her three, horrible brothers. Just when she thinks she cannot take another day of their abuse, a handsome prince offers for her hand in marriage.
Samara’s brothers agree in exchange for a large dowery but on her way to her new kingdom, her carriage is ambushed by Lore, the wicked Prince of Nightshade.
Samara believes that the fae has snatched away her chance at freedom to punish her for her crimes against his kind but punishment is only half of Lore’s plan.
The truth is that the Elven Prince has pined after Samara for seven long years. She is all he can think about—a toxin in his blood. Can the Prince of Nightshade, whose power over poisons rivals none in The Enchanted Forest, manage to find a remedy or will he succumb to her love?
Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto
Published by Grand Central Publishing on July 16, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, Fiction / Romance / Workplace
Pages: 384
GoodreadsTwo string players fight their attraction for each other as they compete for center stage in this spicy and emotional romance from USA Today bestselling author Julie Soto.
When professional—and self-taught—violinist Gwen Jackson plays, she disappears into the peaks and valleys of each song, a quiet passion that never quite explodes into pure emotion. Xander Thorne is the exact opposite. A cellist and a rock star, he’s all about big emotion, but not even his six-foot-four frame can contain his skill, his genius . . . and an attitude that borders on jerkitude.Not only did it take Xander a year to notice that he and Gwen both play in the Manhattan Pops, but he also always seems to have the perfect cutting criticism about her technique. When Gwen is offered the role of first chair of the orchestra, something Xander has secretly coveted for years, their existing hostility goes up a notch. Yet, despite her best efforts, Gwen can’t ignore the sizzling chemistry between them.
Forced to work more closely with each other, they can’t help exploring their attraction. As they begin to compose and play songs together, it’s clear that their powerful connection could make for a performance that would blow everyone’s minds. Suddenly, they’re box office dynamite, and the fragile romance growing between them is in danger of being crushed beneath a publicity stunt.
Jewel Me Twice by Charish Reid
Published by Harlequin on July 23, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / Multicultural & Interracial, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy
Goodreads“A steamy heist thrill ride I never wanted to end. The combustive chemistry between Celeste and Magnus kept me turning the pages of this witty, second-chance love story.” —Regina Black, author of The Art of Scandal
Love 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…
Cosmic Heat by Clio Evans
Published by Independently Published on 23 July, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Erotica, Fiction / Romance / Fantasy
Goodreads“An aerialist, a performer, an eclectic rising star—please welcome the Maximalist!"
Max has finally made it to the stage. As he shoots for the stars, the last thing he expected was to fall into the arms of the most striking aliens he’s ever seen.Moss has never been so charmed by a human before. A simple touch pulls them both into a passionate heat that can only be relieved in bed. But below all the lust and desire, there is a simmering bond that will bring them closer in more ways than one.
When trouble arises, Max and Moss have no choice but to take center stage. Can their cosmic connection conquer all?
Cosmic Heat is book three in the Galactic Gems series.
