Even though the season is slowly coming to an end, there is still time to sneak in some incredible summer reads! As always, the Write for Harlequin team have been burning through the TBR stacks and have compiled a list of books that we’ve loved over the last few months. Hopefully you will find something to read in the last few weeks of summer sun!
Emma Cole is reading…
Mayra, Nicky Gonzalez: Gonzalez’s debut is both fantastical and terribly grounded in the emotion and chaos of young friendship. Told in both the present and flashbacks, it’s the story of Ingrid and her childhood friend Mayra, and the house they find themselves in as adults after Mayra left their small hometown years previously. The two reconnect in a strange house in the Everglades, where things begin to unravel. There’s a very Southern Gothic feel to this story, and I loved the characterization and the relationship between these two women, going from being inseparable as they stumble through their teen years to their tentative steps to reacquaint themselves with each other.
Angel Down, Daniel Kraus: Absolutely heartbreakingly incredible. Best book I’ve read in ages. Kraus works a special kind of magic here, pulling you into a miserable, hopeless, horrible situation and makes you yearn for a happy ending, despite the despair and tragedy of war. And he does it in one brilliant sentence. I’ve never read anything like it. One of the most self-assured, unapologetic, unrelenting stories I’ve ever been pulled into. It’s breathlessly done, you feel every moment of violence, every second of fear, every knock backwards and still you want to move on with Bagger and Arno and the rest of these doomed soldiers. I will recommend this to every single person I know, it’s necessary, vital, inspiring, brutal, gorgeous.
Caroline Timmings is reading…
Water Moon, Samantha Sotto Yambao: I think the best word to describe this book is beautiful. I felt fully immersed in the fantastical world of this story. It was so imaginative and heartwarming. Hana and her father run a pawnshop, but it’s unique in that only certain people can find it. If they do, they’re offered the chance to revisit their greatest regrets and purge themselves of their weight. One morning, Hana wakes up to a ransacked pawnshop, her father missing, and a helpful stranger on her doorstep. Together, they go on a mission to find Hana’s father and it takes them to a world accessed through a pond, a night market in the sky, a community of black and white that can be folded away like scrap paper… The story is lovely, thought provoking, comforting, and a grand adventure all in one.
Sleeping Dogs Lie, Samantha Downing: This is an Audible Original, so you may need an Audible subscription to listen to it. I chose this title because I was going on a short road trip and wanted to finish something before I got home. At just over 2 hours listening time, this was perfect. I was really pleasantly surprised by this story. It was clever, funny, and endearing. Our heroine, Shelby, is a dog walker, and she arrives at a client’s home one morning to find him dead. You might think that he had enemies, or that his ex-wife wanted revenge, or that a disgruntled neighbor had reached their breaking point. You’d be wrong. I did predict the ending of this murder mystery, but that in no way detracted from my enjoyment of the story. All I’ll say is, if you like dogs at all, give this a listen.
Convenience Store Woman, Sayaka Murata: I love, love, loved this book. Keiko is an odd ball. She’s never fit in anywhere. Now, though, as an adult, she’s found a place where she can blend in. At a local convenience store, Keiko doesn’t have to wonder what to say or do in any given social situation. There’s an employee handbook that she follows to the letter. She knows what to do, what to say, and how to react to anything. She’s even managed to cultivate a small friend group and, as long as they don’t ask questions about her own life choices, she can pretend she understands theirs. However, things start going off the rails when a new employee joins the team at the convenience store. While he’s not at all like Keiko, he does have an equal amount of trouble fitting it. When the new employee offers a deal to Keiko that might enable them both to fit in outwardly while continuing on in their odd ways, she must decide if conforming is more important that being true to herself.
We hope that you’ve found a recommendation or two and that you are as excited for your upcoming reads as we are!
