strange and random happenstance

The Great Wherever by Shannon Sanders
Published by: Henry Holt and Co.
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The dead are relentless gossips, or at least these dead are.

An impulsive and heartbroken woman inherits her father's share of a Tennessee farm that is rich in family secrets and occupied with busybody ghosts in this sweeping family portrait.

At thirty-two, Aubrey Lamb is stumbling through adulthood. An underpaid gig worker in Washington, DC, she's grieving the end of a serious relationship and the recent loss of her father. When Aubrey learns she has inherited his stake in a sizable Tennessee farm she sees an opportunity to get out of the city - and to erase a mounting pile of debt.

Watching her arrival with great interest are four ghosts - Aubrey's ancestors, who've staked their own claims to the farm and who never hesitate to pass judgment on the mistakes made by the living, whether romantic, financial, or sartorial. As Aubrey reconnects with her living family, another story unfolds in parallel: the history of the land, beginning with its purchase by Thomas, Aubrey's great-grandfather and one of the first Black landowners in his community. Though Thomas hopes to give his children a homestead on which they could flourish, the land proves to be a burdensome inheritance. Over the years, it turns the Lambs against one another, culminating in a catastrophic tragedy that splinters the family and echoes through the decades.

Now, as the clock ticks on a potential sale of the farm, the ghosts fear expulsion from the home they've made, and Aubrey must weigh the hopes and burdens of her forebears with the very real needs of her future.

An expansive family saga told with a wry and distinctly modern voice, The Great Wherever is at once grand and intimate; it explores the ways we learn to define ourselves through and against our families, how we carry on after loss, and how the past lives on in all of us."

If only she could talk to the ghosts.... I mean, it could be a hit show....

Our Wicked Gifts by Kathryn Foxfield
Published by: Random House Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The daughter of a sinister magical family who made a deal with the devil must stop the man killing them off, one by one, in this deliciously dark fantasy thriller that's House of Hollow meets Succession, laced with a kiss-or-kill romance.

Cicely is the black sheep daughter of the powerful Winter family, who made a deal with the devil in exchange for riches and ruthless magic. Soren is the boy her family banished to the underworld. Their fates intertwine when Cicely's loathsome Uncle Dorian winds up dead at a masquerade ball.

Once overlooked for her lowly gift of discovering secrets, Cicely is now her family's only chance at survival, tasked with finding the killer before he takes out every last Winter. With time running out, Cicely narrows her sights on Soren, who she suspects is back for vengeance.

Yet the more Cicely investigates Soren - and gets to know him - the more she begins to question how much family loyalty is worth. After all, when it comes to being a Winter, one can have love or power, but rarely both..."

The Fall of the House of Usher with a side of Mayfair Witches. 

Habits of the Sea by Shea Ernshaw
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A new adult novel from New York Times bestselling author Shea Ernshaw, in which a woman rediscovers the mythical island she stumbled upon as a child - and the man she once met who apparently hasn't aged.

The night Clay Lockhart's wife dies, a violent storm tears their home - and the eight hectares of land beneath it - away from the Scottish coast, sending it adrift into the Atlantic. Thirty years later, twelve-year-old Ellie Mills discovers the fabled floating island off the coast of Nova Scotia and finds Clay still living in the weatherworn farmhouse perched on its highest hill.

When the island vanishes overnight, Ellie is left questioning whether it ever existed at all. But decades later, the island resurfaces - and Ellie, now in her thirties, returns, determined to uncover the truth. What she finds is even stranger: Clay hasn't aged a single day.

Faced with the impossible, Ellie learns that some mysteries aren't meant to be solved - and that a life shaped by wonder may hold more promise than one bound by certainty.

With her signature atmospheric, lyrical prose, Shea Ernshaw offers us an original work of folklore with a masterful modern touch. A haunting tale, Habits of the Sea spans centuries and coastlines, journeys through time and memory, and redefines the very meaning of love itself."

I mean, obvious there's magic involved, because how could someone survive on a floating island?

Metamorphosis by Shelby Nicole
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Stranger Things meets Twilight in this haunting gothic romance! A teen girl is swept into an opulent world of love, lies, and ghosts after she moves in with the wealthy, mysterious family she never knew she had. Book One in the Grove Hollow series, this is an 80s dark academia-tinged tale full of fated love, a cursed amulet, and twisted family secrets.

The year is 1985, and seventeen-year-old Jade Whitney is about to discover that her family holds a dark secret that will change her life forever. Sent to live with her great-aunt Ruth, Jade moves into Blythe House, her family's sprawling, gilded mansion - but picturesque Grove Hollow, New York, is anything but welcoming.

At Jade's new private school she's shunned by everyone except the Misfits, the school's outcasts, who spend their weekends exploring abandoned haunted mansions and listening to The Cure. But Jade's eye keeps wandering back to Brad, the charming, handsome rugby captain - and the only other kid at school to welcome her.

Everything changes when Jade finds a cursed locket in a derelict estate. The locket is connected to a Victorian ghost named William, who desperately needs Jade's help, and who Jade feels an undeniable attraction to. The closer they grow, the more urgent it becomes for Jade to decide where her heart truly lies - and if she's willing to let Will go."

Gilded Age mansions and The Cure!?! Can I be a misfit too?

Corpse de Ballet by Megan Kearney
Published by: First Second
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In her solo graphic novel debut, Megan Kearney weaves a fresh tale of dark academia and brutal competition. This psychological thriller is perfect for fans of Black Swan!

Arriving at Saint Anselmus in the middle of the year, Rosamund Hammond is ready to practice hard and prove she deserves to be there. But something at this boarding school doesn't feel right.

It turns out that just before Rosamund enrolled, a student disappeared without telling anyone. Was it really a leave of absence - or something more sinister? Together with her new roommate, Rosamund spirals deeper and deeper into an obsession with the truth. As the school prepares for its showcase performance of Coppélia, can she commit to her hard-earned ballet dreams while solving the mystery that's haunting her - or will she lose herself in the process?"

I have never been a fan of ballet. So I find it interesting that lately I've been really drawn into the dark underbelly of that world. This sure fits the bill.

The Inn at the Foot of Mount Vengeance by Chiara Bullen
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A young aspiring scholar is sent to research the mysteries of an adventurer's inn - only to uncover a centuries-old secret, while finding true friendship and a new home, in this uplifting cozy fantasy.

Mount Vengeance is legendary. For most, it's an adventure or a quest to prove themselves worthy of fame and glory. For Ainsworth Gladsly, it's the perfect thesis material.

Ainsworth is an ambitious research fellow and up-and-coming historian, finally ready to make his mark on the world. When his supervisor learns of the rumored Misnich Inn at the foot of Mount Vengeance, she sends Ainsworth to be the first to document the exploits of the bold adventurers who seek to face the perils of the mountain and the dragon said to inhabit it.

The inn is far from the sophisticated city life he's grown to love, but even as he grudgingly warms to its rustic charm - and its lovely innkeeper, Honey - the mystery of the mountain refuses to reveal itself. Worse, Ainsworth can't find evidence that anyone has ever undertaken the climb. Even the bravest warriors who stay at the inn turn away from Mount Vengeance the next day.

With Ainsworth's reputation on the line, he can't allow this mystery to remain unsolved - even if he has to push the adventurers up the mountain himself."

I mean, the best research is experience, so he should go up the mountain himself...

The Farewitch of Foxe Holler by Ellen Pauley Goff
Published by: S and S/Saga Press
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Steel Magnolias meets Practical Magic in this charming contemporary fantasy about a thirty-something kitchen witch who is recruited to help a reclusive warlock and discovers love on the other side of the next bake.

Honey Frost is Foxe Holler's dependable Farewitch. With a dash of flour and a pinch of charm, Honey carries on her family's legacy for healing any ailment with the right recipe. She just didn't expect to inherit the role twenty years early.

When the Holler's reclusive Warlock suddenly requests a Farewitch to cure his mysterious illness, Honey's ordered life turns upside down. Honey is reluctant to help - witches and warlocks do not get along. Then he tempts her with the one thing she can't resist: access to his infamous library of spellbooks and kitchen grimoires.

Soon, Honey is the newest resident of his moody farmhouse, which has one gorgeous kitchen. And a Warlock that maybe…isn't so frightful after all. Or old. Or bad looking.

Healing the Warlock would be simple if he weren't hiding a web of secrets. As Honey works to unravel his illness, a darker threat looms: the Widow Witch, who steals a soul from Foxe Holler every year, is due - and this time, she wants the Warlock."

I mean, even if it were a trap, a library and a nice kitchen would lure me in too.

Tsubaki Stationery Store by Ito Ogawa
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A spellbinding and heartwarming Japanese bestseller about a young woman who inherits a stationery store from her late grandmother and becomes the trusted scribe of the town.

You always told me that writing is life itself.

After many years abroad, Hatoko reluctantly returns to Kamakura to take over the stationery store left to her by her late grandmother. As the custodian of the store, she also inherits the profession of public scribe, a role Hatoko trained for as a child under the guidance of her strict grandmother.

As the locals seek out Hatoko's help, she takes on all manner of requests: writing letters of greeting, condolence, farewell, love, and more on behalf of those who come to her. A local community forms around Hatoko and the store, and when the secrets of her late grandmother begin to unravel, Hatoko learns that the role of the scribe requires much more than putting ink to paper.

Set to the rhythm of the four seasons and the Japanese rituals and festivities that come with them, Tsubaki Stationery Store is a charming story about the importance of community and the reconciliatory power of the written word."

Now I want a story about a stationary store... The pun is too good not to use.

Manor of Decay by Maxym M. Martineau
Published by: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the high-stakes sequel to Maxym M. Martineau's "enthralling" (Publishers Weekly) House of Blight, Edira must decide if the world is worth saving...and if she has enough power left to save herself too - perfect for readers of Rachel Gillig's The Shepherd King series and T. Kingfisher.

Edira Brillwyn is not enjoying retirement. She's traumatized and heartbroken by Orin and the battle at Fernglove Manor. Although her brothers are safe and financially secure at home in Willowfell, she fears wasting away her dwindling lifethreads. It's a welcome surprise when Seville comes knocking at her door - at least until she reveals that the blight has returned to the Ferngloves.

Edira has had a taste of the power her heartbond with Rorik provides, and she's certain there is a way to cure the blight for good...with Rorik's help. But Rorik doesn't think his life is worth saving, at least not worth Edira's few remaining years, or months. He's more concerned about keeping her alive than saving the world.

But other powerful Ever families have caught wind of Edira's talents and are desperate for a cure. As those families begin circling, centuries-long conflicts rise to the surface and, once again, Edira finds herself at the whims of power-hungry Evers fighting for their lives. Before she runs out of time altogether, Edira and Rorik will have to face the source of the blight: Death himself."

Look at that cover. It's so stunning I don't know how anyone could resist picking up this book.

Ladies of the Knight by Fiona Marchbank
Published by: Oni Press
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In a land where glamorous knights compete in showy tournaments for fame and fortune, George wants to be the best. Being small and untrained means no knight will give her a coveted spot as their squire, but George won't give up on her dreams so easily.

Serafina is the best knight around, no question. She's so good that she's getting bored and reckless in her jousts. It doesn't help that everyone is mesmerized by Aethelberg, her sparkling rival, who is much better at playing to the crowd, while Serafina would rather keep to herself and practice her swordplay. When Serafina's wife and patroness insists on her taking plucky George as a squire, Serafina suddenly finds herself in the position she never wanted - a mentor. Their partnership is going to be even harder than it looks, considering George can barely hold a sword without giving herself a black eye and Serafina is even pricklier than the lance she wields. But if either of them are going to take the league of knights by storm, they'll have to learn that neither of them can do it alone.

In her author-illustrator debut, step into Fiona Marchbank's (Fairest Of All: A Villains Graphic Novel, Of Her Own Design) colorful, medieval world for fans of Squire and Ella Enchanted and follow George on a quest to be the greatest knight in all the land..."

This is the female empowered book you need if you adored A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. And who didn't?

The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The stakes are high, the love is forbidden, and the slow burn turns steamy in this swoony, witty, and heart-stoppingly romantic sequel to instant New York Times bestseller The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy.

Osric is a member of the Fyren Order, a guild of assassins who gleefully murder for money. Aurienne is a Haelan, a scholar-healer whose Order's motto is Harm to none. Clear-cut absolutes separate them: good and bad, right and wrong, light and dark...

Until they don't.

When Osric first bribed Aurienne to heal him, he never imagined those lines would begin to blur. But every healing session draws them closer together. He finds himself developing unwanted feelings for Aurienne as her capable hands heal his body - and his heart.

Aurienne's perfect life has been flung into chaos in the form of a devastatingly handsome assassin. She should be in her research lab, not illicitly healing a Fyren every full moon - nor wrestling an attraction to him that threatens to slip into something else.

Things go superbly sideways when Osric and Aurienne discover more about the deadly Pox deliberately unleashed through the Tīendoms. The plague may be the work of another Order - an Order far nastier than either of them can handle.

As the lines between Osric and Aurienne continue to blur, the balance between peace and war, and love and hate, trembles, shifts, and hinges on a heartbeat."

OK, let's see what all the Harry Potter FanFic fuss is about.

The Red Sacrament by Sara Hinkley
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 512 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A savage, hypnotic dive into the lives and deaths of a coven of vampires living in 19th Century Paris on the cusp of revolt and revolution, perfect for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Laura Purcell and Elizabeth Kostova.

Paris, 1869. The Théâtre Saint-Siméon is the place to be, if you can get in. The black slips of paper that guarantee entry are rare and highly desired, and given only to certain persons. The actors on stage are magnetic and ageless, performing only at midnight and never seen during the day...

Arnault and his clan of vampires have survived for as long as they have by observing a rigid set of rules. At night, they perform on stage at the Théâtre Saint-Siméon, picking off just enough people in the audience to survive. But they understand the city, and how to live in it without being noticed.

Their peace is shattered first with a visit from Béatrice, a witch who forms a strange connection to Arnault; then with the arrival of Victor de Rouvray and his sister Françoise, vampires from a very different world. And, as Arnault grows closer and closer to the beautiful, enigmatic Victor, he risks becoming distracted from the constant bickering of his immortal friends, from the daily running of the theatre, and worse, from the premonitions of blood, death and starvation that he receives at night.

For a terrible change is on the horizon, revolt and revolution are brewing in the streets and soon, the city, and Arnault will never be the same again."

Interesting how they don't name-check Anne Rice or the Théâtre des Vampires....

Be Not Afraid by Jude Ellison S. Doyle and Lisandro Estherren
Published by: BOOM! Studios
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 160 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"What if your greatest blessing became a curse you couldn't escape?

From acclaimed horror writer Jude Ellison S. Doyle and artist Lisandro Estherren comes a Southern Gothic descent into religious dread, generational shame, and cosmic terror.

Cora Reims once embraced a vision of pure light - an angelic messenger who left behind a terrible miracle: her son, Jordy. Despite his angelic countenance, it soon becomes apparent that Jordy is a plague upon the Earth, spreading death and cruelty wherever he goes. After years of torment and generational shame for her transgression, Cora receives a divine revelation on the eve of Jordy's eighteenth birthday: God has finally heard her pleas and Heaven demands the destruction of her devastatingly powerful child.

As plagues descend on the town of Enoch and the townspeople's faith fractures under fear, Cora must now confront her past, her purpose, and the divine horror she once mistook for grace with the guidance of a mysterious, new stranger.

Collects Be Not Afraid #1–6."

If you want to read about angels raping women and giving birth to evil, be my guest, but know I hated it.

False Prophet by Afsheen Farhadi
Published by: Melville House
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The cult drama of The Girls meets Yellowface's searing exploration of lies, immigration, and identity in this propulsive literary thriller debut.

A grieving actor-turned-memoirist reimagines his mother's encounter with Jim Jones, the deadliest cult leader of all time - the only problem is, it's mostly all lies...

Actor Jal Persad is enjoying moderate success when the death of his mother, Rita, sends him into a tailspin - after all, how could he grieve a woman he barely knew? Rita had grown up in Guyana during the rise and fall of the Jonestown cult, but never spoke of her home to Jal, always keeping him at a distance.

After months of avoiding work, a misunderstanding at lunch with his manager leads Jal into a web of lies. He soon finds himself writing a memoir of his mother's adolescence, one that places her in direct contact with Jim Jones himself. There's just one issue - Rita never met the man. Suddenly, the book goes viral, and Jal must face the looming threat of exposure, and his own guilt.

Alternating between Jal's rapid rise and Rita's distorted story, False Prophet confronts the intergenerational legacy of colonialism, the allure of power, and the age-old question - how much of yourself are you willing to lose in order to succeed?"

A book that has its finger on the pulse of America and it's latest obsession, Jonestown.

Murder in the Crooked House by Soji Shimada
Published by: Pushkin Vertigo
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Crooked House sits alone on a snowbound cliff at the remote northern tip of Japan. A curious place to build a house, but even more curious is the house itself: a maze of sloping floors and strange staircases, full of bloodcurdling masks and uncanny dolls.

Christmas, 1983. Kozaburo Hamamoto, the aging 'lord' of the strange Crooked House, is hosting a grand gathering for his relatives. But when one of them is found murdered in seemingly impossible circumstances, the police are called. But they are unable to solve the puzzle, and more unsettling deaths follow as the guests start seeing bizarre sights on the estate.

Enter Kiyoshi Mitarai, the eccentric fortune teller, psychic and self-styled detective. Surely if anyone can crack these cryptic murders it is him. But you have all the clues too - can you solve the mystery of the murders in the Crooked House first?

The Haunting of Hill House meets Agatha Christie, this fiendish locked-room mystery is the thrilling follow-up to Soji Shimada's widely acclaimed crime novel, The Tokyo Zodiac Murders. Known as the "god of mystery," Shimada masterfully blends classical detective fiction with grisly violence and elements of the occult to creative a riveting, intricate puzzle that will delight horror and mystery fans alike."

Golden Age Detection and the occult!?! Was someone secretly reading what I wanted in my ideal book?

An Infinite Love Story by Chanel Cleeton
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When an astronaut is lost in space, his wife relives their epic love as she attempts to unravel what truly happened to him, in this sweeping love story set against the backdrop of the 1960s Space Race, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes.

When Joe Mitchell launches into space, the world is watching. It's 1968, and the country waits with anticipation and excitement for another successful mission, another celebration as America sets its sights on the Moon. And then comes the knock at the door.

Joe Mitchell's spacecraft has lost contact. He and his fellow astronauts onboard are feared to be dead. It's his wife Vivian's worst nightmare come to life, her grief suddenly taking center stage as the nation waits and mourns. In her quiet moments, Vivian relives their memorable story, unable to accept that this is the end to a love that felt as though it was written in the stars.

As the investigation surrounding Joe's lost spacecraft intensifies and the mishap is written off as an operator error, Vivian is determined to clear her husband's name and uncover the mystery of what happened in space. When someone starts sending Vivian messages - messages she believes only Joe could send - she begins to wonder if their love is stronger than space and time, and she'll do whatever it takes to bring her husband back to her."

I love the otherworldly aspect here. 

Miss Bates by Catherine Cliff
Published by: Pegasus Books
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A daring re-imagining of an Austen classic from the unflinching viewpoint of the misunderstood Miss Bates.

Henrietta Bates, the iconic bore of Austen's Emma, is the opposite of handsome, clever, and rich Emma: she is plain, ill-educated, and impoverished. An unmarried woman of quite a different order from that novel's proudly single heroine, she is an object of scorn and pity, whose survival depends upon the generosity of her neighbors which she barters for with an unrelenting shower of banal and grateful chatter.

But what if the woman we see in Emma were actually deliberately assuming a role, donning a mask, as a means of managing an untenable situation? What if there was a world of difference between her inward and outward voice? What would the Woodhouses's Highbury look like from her perspective?

Miss Bates by Catherine Cliff imagines answers to these questions as it chronicles Henrietta Bates's unexpected and, at times, violent life, navigating a world with no ready-made opportunities, where the stakes are of the highest order. In a debut that is by turns comedic, tragic, startling, and altogether brilliant, Miss Bates turns Austen's poignant and ridiculous side character into a feminist force who understands innately the life she has been dealt and how to slyly play it to her advantage.

This is no marriage plot; it is a spinster plot. Or maybe, the spinster's plot."

I am and always have been team Miss Bates! She, like Charlotte Lucas, are true heroines in my mind. Because they understand the realities of the world they have been thrust into.

Most Ardently Yours by Freya Sampson
Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From USA Today Bestselling author Freya Sampson comes a swoon-worthy, laugh-out-loud romance inspired by Jane Austen's beloved Pride and Prejudice that begs the question: what if your book boyfriend jumped from the pages of their story and into your life?

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single woman in possession of many romance novels, must be in want of a book boyfriend."

Zoe Knight, a struggling romance writer, has sworn off men for good. At least...the ones in real life. Once a believer in a happily ever after, she now curbs her loneliness with the help of the best book boyfriends in literature - and there is no better man than Jane Austen's Mr. Darcy. So when she stumbles into a classic London bookshop and argues with the annoyingly attractive store owner, Nick, who refuses to sell romance novels, she decides to liberate him of a dusty copy of Pride and Prejudice abandoned on a top shelf.

But this is no ordinary book.

After reading from the pages, Zoe finds herself in a remarkable situation: she has accidentally summoned the Mr. Darcy to the real world. Now, she's face-to-face with the man she's loved forever, and he's everything she dreamed he would be. Handsome? Check. Brooding? Check. Talks like he swallowed a thesaurus? Check and check. But even in all his regency perfection, can he ever be as good as in the novel? And if he's here, in her London apartment trying to figure out how to work a shower, what will happen to the literary world he came from? With Nick - the last man she could ever be prevailed upon to work with - urging her to send the fictional Darcy back to his own story, Zoe will have to decide what she really wants from a happy ending, before it's too late."

The thing about Darcy is, he needs to stay in his book. No matter how we might wish otherwise. 

Murder in the Wings by Amy Myers
Published by: Severn House
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"All the world's a stage...for murder!

Excitement is building for the first performance of Shakespeare's As You Like It by the Merriday Players at the new outdoor theatre in the grounds of Tanton Towers. Happy Huffkin café owner Cara Shelley is delighted to provide the refreshments.

But there's a hitch. Tensions are running high between the director of the play, Hannah Ashman, and members of the cast, all of whom are descendants of either Edward Merriday's first or second wives. When Hannah collapses after the first performance, the Happy Huffkin comes under scrutiny, and Cara must unmask a cunning murderer lurking in the wings. Has a family feud that's been running for over a hundred years finally got out of hand?

A contemporary Downton Abbey meets Agatha Christie - with a splash of Bridgerton! This charming English cosy mystery series, full of engaging, eccentric characters and packed with red-herrings, is perfect for armchair sleuths."

I love a good death on the boards!

The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts by Robert Thorogood
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The new cozy crime novel from the bestselling author of The Marlow Murder Club, now a major TV series on PBS Masterpiece!

Two dead celebrities. One village full of secrets.

Someone is killing celebrities in Marlow. First, it's a famous soccer player. Then, a bestselling thriller writer. When two shocking deaths rock their quiet riverside town, Judith, Suzie, and Becks - the unstoppable Marlow Murder Club - must untangle a dangerous web of blackmail and scandal to catch a killer.

But with their trusted police ally DI Malik suddenly suspended, and Judith's own past threatening to resurface, the women are on their own. Suspects are multiplying like tabloid headlines, secrets are stacking up, and time is running out.

Can the Marlow Murder Club crack the case before the killer strikes again - or will this be the end of their crime-solving adventures?"

Question, would Judith be a target because she's kind of a celebrity in her own right?

From Murder with Love by M.R.G. Davies
Published by: One More Chapter
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Kindle, 321 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Not all secrets stay buried with the dead...

The four members of Norcester's crime fiction reading group have been invited as guests of honour to a weekend celebrating the life of the late author of their favourite murder mystery detective novels.

But, when the author's secret archive is opened to the public after fifty years, there's a deadly surprise inside...

The quartet find themselves embroiled in a mystery that stretches back to the Cold War. With an accomplished Russian spy close on their tale, a runaway train filled with treasures, and time running out, they will once again have to use everything they've learned from their fictional hero to catch the killer..."

If the author is good enough the lessons imparted could save your very life!

A Neighbor's Guide to Murder by Louise Candlish
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From internationally bestselling author Louise Candlish, a witty psychological suspense novel in which an older woman's suspicions about her charming new neighbor ignite a dangerous spiral in their luxury apartment building.

In Columbia Mansions, secrets don't stay behind closed doors for long.

It's rare for a room to open up in London's storied Columbia Mansions, and lonely Gwen is thrilled when her neighbor's new subletter, Pixie, brings a friendly breath of fresh air to its stuffy halls. Their unexpected bond soon becomes the bright spot in Gwen's quiet life. But Gwen can't help noticing cracks beneath Pixie's cheerful surface - especially when it comes to her questionable financial arrangement with her live-in landlord, Alec.

As suspicions mount, Gwen's protective instincts go into overdrive, triggering a dangerous chain of events no one is prepared for. The last thing Columbia Mansions wants is a scandal on its hands...Let alone a murder."

Just have Pixie move in with Gwen, problem solved.

The Wedding Week by Aisha Saeed
Published by: Bantam
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Long-buried secrets resurface when a woman returns home for her sister's lavish resort wedding in the Everglades, where gossiping aunties and Burmese pythons aren't the only threats, in this suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Matchmaker.

It's been three years since Hena Mirza saw her family. Three years since her fiancé mysteriously vanished on their wedding day. Three years since everyone decided she was to blame.

When her younger sister, Lulu, calls with shocking news - she's getting married in forty-eight hours and their mother is dying - Hena's plan is simple: fly home, say goodbye, and leave before she reopens old wounds. But nothing about the trip is simple. This isn't a one-day event. It's an eight-day desi wedding with a guest list that eerily mirrors the one from her own failed nuptials. And though Hena feels unexpected sparks fly with two men in the wedding party - a childhood friend and a newcomer unfamiliar with her history - the remaining guests quickly make it clear: No one is happy she's back.

Then Lulu's carefully planned itinerary goes awry. Hena initially dismisses the strange incidents, but as days pass and the sabotage escalates, it becomes clear that someone is determined to destroy the wedding, just as Hena's was destroyed years ago. To survive this week, she'll have to uncover the culprit behind these attacks...before the past she's tried to outrun finally catches up to her."

Personally I want to hear more about the first wedding...

The Season of Sinking by Daphne Woolsoncroft
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From a hit true crime podcaster turned novelist, a woman's unsettling past creeps back into her consciousness as she returns to her hometown and begins to suspect the locals are hiding a terrible secret swirling around her mother's recent death.

When Imogen Bly's mother suddenly passes away, she leaves her Seattle apartment and returns to Lake Blair - the picturesque Washington town where she grew up. After Imogen and her twin sister Amelia arrive, ready to pack up their mother's home, strange things begin to happen, reminding Imogen of her long held feelings of dread surrounding her hometown.

Imogen enlists the help of her first crush, next-door neighbor Rory, to uncover the truth about her mother's death and the traumatic event she experienced as a child. But is the boy who got away really the man with something to hide? Or is the suspicious neighbor in the house across the lake behind it all?

When Imogen's own family's tragedies lead her to question the disappearance of a local young woman the previous year, her persistent unease becomes terrifyingly real and suddenly nowhere feels safe..."

Here's a helpful suggestion, hire someone to box up your mom's house and never go back.

Nightjar by Emily Ruskovich
Published by: Random House
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the award-winning author of the national bestseller Idaho comes a stunning collection of stories that explore how unexpected intuitions forever alter the lives of ordinary people.

Five years after moving into the isolated house in rural Oregon where her husband lived as a child, the protagonist of "Victor's Room" begins to doubt her husband's account of his family's past. In "Round Lake," a young woman's plans to meet a lover in Tokyo are upended when she learns a startling truth about her mother's death. In "Owl," winner of an O. Henry Award, a fur trapper reckons with the dreadful origins of his marriage after his wife is brutally injured by four adolescent boys.

Haunting and psychologically provocative, and set against the vivid backdrop of the Pacific Northwest, Nightjar illuminates the secret, instinctive knowledge that lies just under the surface of our awareness."

An exception to my rule of not reading short stories.

The Spy and the Snake by M.J. Robotham
Published by: Aria
Publication Date: July 7th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"One mission. One fake husband. One very real problem.

Maggie Flynn has finally earned her place at of MI5 - but with promotion comes paperwork. No more disguises, no more danger, just meetings, memos, and the quiet realisation that life feels a little too safe.

With her daughter away at university and her spirited mother pursuing her own adventures, Maggie's days in London are starting to feel decidedly ordinary. So when the chance arises to return to the field, she doesn't hesitate.

The assignment: fly to Budapest and pose as the wife of a notorious British defector in order to smuggle him back to the UK. It should be a straightforward operation. But Maggie Flynn has never done straightforward - and what's waiting in Budapest is anything but routine.

As Cold War tensions simmer and shadows linger on every corner, Maggie finds herself navigating a city steeped in secrets - and drawn to a mysterious stranger who may endanger the mission...or steal her heart."

I think spycraft 101 is avoid mysterious strangers. 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Afsheen Farhadi, Aisha Saeed, Amy Myers, Catherine Cliff, Chanel Cleeton, Daphne Woolsoncroft, Emily Ruskovich, Freya Sampson, Louise Candlish, M.J. Robotham, M.R.G. Davies, Maxym M. Martineau, Robert Thorogood, Soji Shimada

For years I put off watching The Mystery of Edwin Drood because I wanted to read the unfinished manuscript by Dickens in order to read Dan Simmons's Drood. Then when this movie came out, because even if they call it a miniseries, only two hour-long episodes only equals a movie, I still hadn't gotten around to my previous goals so I thought I'd wait. Well, seeing as it's now way over a decade later and I still haven't gotten around to reading, well, either of the aforementioned books, I figured it was time to watch this adaptation. Plus, I was going through severe Freddie Fox withdrawal. Who would have thought I'd ever like anyone other than Tom Hiddleston playing Loki!?! And now that Freddie's really the only socially acceptable male Fox, how could I not give into the craving? Which sadly this didn't quite assuage. In fact, if you really need a Freddie Fox fix Year of the Rabbit episode three, "Gangs," is perfection. There is of course the first few seasons of Slow Horses, but, things don't end up so well for him there.... Back to Dickens! There are many problems with this "miniseries," the most glaring of which is how forgettable it is. I just watched this and I am struggling to recall anything that happened. The problem was this should have been minimally a three-part adaptation. It's just too short to get the full panoply of Dickensian characters. This is exacerbated by the fact that the entire first episode is basically Matthew Rhys in a drugged fug, making anything happening too hard to comprehend even for Hunter S. Thompson. Which, if they had stretched this to three episodes would have been mitigated. Because the angry dissociation of the first episode would have been just part of our tale not half of it. Well, more than half of it because it's not like John Jasper is giving up the drugs anytime soon. And yes, I think if Dickens had survived Wilkie Collins would have possibly had a valid case for libel. But the saving grace of this series is David Dawson as Bazzard. David Dawson who just happens to play Joseph Merrick, "The Elephant Man," in the aforementioned episode of Year of the Rabbit, "Gangs." Seriously, go watch that episode. It might be one of the funniest things you'll ever watch in your entire life. While here David Dawson brings the Dickensian vibe this series was so sorely missing in its first half. He is the clerk to Edwin Drood's fiance's guardian. And given this is Dickens, that's actually a concise relationship. Usually they are all convoluted and full of secrecy. He basically gets stuck into all the mysteries and secrets and just solves everything. I'm sad that he couldn't solve the problem of this show, but there's only so much one character can do. Especially if he's given only one episode to do it in.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Bazzard, Charles Dickens, Dan Simmons, David Dawson, Drugs, Fifty-Five Years a Masterpiece, Freddie Fox, Hunter S. Thompson, Loki, Matthew Rhys, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Tom Hiddleston, Wilkie Collins, Year of the Rabbit

I know there are those out there who love this adaptation of the book by Winifred Holtby, but I am not one of them. I even gave it a second chance but I just can't with it. If anything I hate it even more. Given the cast and the crew you'd think this would be right up my alley, but the cat hanging out in the alley trying to upstage Anna Maxwell Martin and Douglas Henshall is the only part of this miniseries that I actually like. If you've watched the 1978 adaptation of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie you are in the wheelhouse of what I was hoping for with this series. A look at women overcoming the roles they were forced into because of their sex and raising each other up and tearing each other down within the setting of a local community and its school. And there are glimpses of that. But instead there's a prevalent dirty old man vibe that I can't get beyond. The creepy sexualization of children in a school presentation, the lecherous board member, and then the problem of David Morrissey's Robert Carne are too much for me. All the dramatic music in the world won't trick me into liking a series which holds up a rapist as the romantic ideal. But surely, that's not what this series is doing you say? Oh yes. It is. So Robert Carne has a wife Muriel. She is institutionalized and he has bankrupted himself to make sure she gets the best care despite the fact she would rather just be at home. But she wouldn't have had to be institutionalized if not for him. She had been told she is under no circumstance to have a child. Robert knows this. They practice safe sex with a diaphragm. He comes back from the war and finds her flirting with other men in her bedroom, he snaps and proceeds to rape her. Muriel gets pregnant with a child, their delicate daughter Midge, and she loses her mind. From the show you can assume it's unspecified hysteria that probably arises out of postpartum psychosis, though it's never spelled out. But what is spelled out is that this is all the result of having a child. Therefore it is Robert's fault. Supposedly the weight of caring for this woman he has never stopped loving is what has damaged his heart and he will one day succumb to an angina attack. Which, if I'm honest, he deserves. He deserves death and pain and more. If he loved this woman so much why did he destroy her? And he KNEW it would destroy her. Enter radical schoolteacher Sarah Burton played by Anna Maxwell Martin. She is the antithesis of everything Robert Carne stands for and yet she falls for him. She falls for him hard. And I am flummoxed as to why. They have one or two dances at a hotel over the holidays and are ready to jump into bed together, all while he's hallucinating his wife, and that was all it took to steal her heart. Does she have like a Heathcliff complex? That she falls for the worst in humanity? I really would like to know more about her fiance that died during the war. Was he also a deplorable? Because make no mistake, if this were contemporary and set in America Carne would be MAGA. And yet, as Sarah is declaiming her love for him, she says she hates everything he believes in and stands for. Um, girl, what someone believes in and stands for are what they are, so how do you love him exactly!?! As I said previously, I just can't with this. South Riding can go ride off into the sunset. Or better yet, die in a cliff collapse.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anna Maxwell Martin, David Morrissey, Douglas Henshall, Fifty-Five Years a Masterpiece, Heathcliff, Postpartum Psychosis, Pregnancy, Rape, Robert Carne, South Riding, Teacher, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Wuthering Heights

Six of Crows: A Darker Shore by Leigh Bardugo
Published by: Insight Editions
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 64 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From #1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo comes a new Grishaverse short story: a mystery told through found documents and set after the events of Crooked Kingdom.

In the years since the violent upheaval caused by the auction of Kuwei Yul-Bo, the merchants of Ketterdam have been under attack. Secret businesses exposed. Ships sunk. Slavers hunted as they once hunted their victims. All the work of a mysterious sea captain and her ship, the Wraith.

Now, two investigators meet to uncover the truth behind the latest disaster: a massacre on an island off the shores of Ketterdam. Among the evidence collected is private correspondence between notorious crime boss Kaz Brekker and an anonymous sailor aboard the Wraith known only as "I."

Follow along with the lead investigator as he tries to piece together how such a disaster transpired, and explore the Grishaverse like never before with new illustrations by E.K. Belsher, original music composed by E. Aaron Wilson, and in-world collectible items."

Fans of the Grishaverse have been deprived for too many years! Yes, I know it's only been six years since new material and three years since the second season of the show, but that's forever right!?!

Everybody's Perfect by Jo Walton
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Piranesi meets Swordspoint in an elegant relay race through fantasy Venice from Hugo award-winning author Jo Walton.

The Serenissima is built from mist and belief, a mythical shadow sister to Venice and crossroads of the nine worlds.

When a laborer called Tiry has a dream that Serenissima will have a doge, and that they will marry the sea, he tells it to a fortune teller named Khadsha. She tells her apprentice, a gondolier called Taddeo, who tells a cop named Gom, who's heard it from five people this morning already. And by that point, it's already settled into the bones of the Serenissima, more than half-fated.

Everybody's Perfect is a gentle, shifting, structurally inventive narrative of startling beauty that will make you rethink everything you think you know about fantasy."

Whispers and shadows!

Carrion Crow by Heather Parry
Published by: Pushkin Press
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"There are some things only your mother can teach you...

In this viscerally dark, queer Victorian gothic, longing and transformation take wing through the secret selves we nurture when no one is watching.

Marguerite Périgord is locked in the attic of her family home, a towering Chelsea house overlooking the stinking Thames.

For company she has a sewing machine, Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, and a carrion crow who has come to nest in the rafters. Restless, she spends her waning energies on the fascinations of her own body, memorising Mrs. Beeton's advice and longing for life outside.

Cécile Périgord has confined her daughter Marguerite for her own good.

Cécile is concerned that Marguerite's engagement to a much older, near-penniless solicitor, will drag the family name - her husband's name, that is - into disrepute. And for Cécile, who has worked hard at her own betterment, this simply won't do. Cécile's life has taught her that no matter how high a woman climbs she can just as readily fall.

Of course, both have their secrets, intentions and histories to hide. As Marguerite's patience turns into rage, the boundaries of her mind and body start to fray.

And neither woman can recognise what the other is becoming.

Strange, intense, and darkly beautiful, this haunting gothic novel from award-winning author Heather Parry is a story of mothers and daughters, and the dual capacity for both great kindness and unfathomable cruelty."

Once you have someone locked in an attic, the Gothic vibes are bound to follow!

Cursed Ever After by Andy C. Naranjo
Published by: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Cursed Ever After is a dazzling romantic fantasy debut brimming with snark, humor, and banter-filled romance perfect for fans of The Princess Bride and Once Upon a Broken Heart.

Love is not for cursed girls. Risa is better off without it.

Risa Porto is a Bad Thing who was born on a Bad Day and is cursed with Bad Luck. After years of taking the blame for every calamity, mishap, and minor inconvenience that befalls the townspeople of Barrow, Risa longs to escape her village. And on her seventeenth birthday, her wish is granted.

Sort of.

Risa owes a (very annoying) witch a favor, and it comes in the form of a quest: She must escort Prince Javi - the youngest, handsomest, and least significant of the kingdom's princes - through the dark (and deadly) Bosque to his wedding. This measly errand quickly spirals into a struggle with greedy assassins, a murderous cult, a vicious tyrant, and Risa's own curse.

Most unfortunate of all...

Risa is not immune to Javi's charms. The more time she spends with the prince, the stronger - and more irritating - her urge to kiss him becomes.

Don't miss this action-packed, Latinx subverted fairytale!"

If you actually want a prince to get somewhere, perhaps his guide shouldn't be cursed? 

The Anatomy of Magic by Alexis L. Menard
Published by: Forever
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the bestselling author of TikTok sensation House of Bane and Blood comes an unmissable new romantasy duet packed with searing chemistry and razor-sharp banter, perfect for fans of Quicksilver, Sarah J. Maas and Rachel Gillig.

Enter a world of forbidden magic...where falling in love could be the last mistake you ever make.

Nina Veyr has a dangerous secret - illegal magical abilities she cannot explain. If the city of Valveron's enforcers found her, she would be executed...or worse. For years, Nina has stayed in the shadows, picking pockets and smuggling enchanted relics to get by. Then she steals from the wrong man.

Max Antonin is the most powerful crime boss in the city. Cold, deadly, and breathtakingly attractive, Max has his sights set on Nina, and nothing will stand in his way. But when Nina is framed for a shocking murder, Max offers to help her find the true killers. She knows she can't trust him - that deals with a devil always come at a cost. But there's no way she can survive on her own.

As they follow a trail of bodies into the city's underworld, Nina feels a dangerous attraction pulling her ever closer to him. But can she trust her life and her heart to the city's most ruthless criminal?"

I so love a good forbidden magic story.

The Feywild Job by C.L. Polk
Published by: Random House Worlds
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Sparks fly when bitter exes are forced to team up for an elaborate Feywild heist, in this cozy fantasy romance by the bestselling author of the Kingston Cycle and Even Though I Knew the End.

Saeldian has sworn never to fall in love. That oath isn't just a personal promise, but rather a magical pact, granting them powerful abilities. The only catch? They must never give their heart away - a deal that Saeldian is perfectly content with. They've seen firsthand how messy love can get.

Saeldian prefers their no-strings-attached life as a con artist, pulling off heists and leaving a trail of broken hearts behind them. But when a grift goes horribly wrong, they catch the eye of a mysterious patron with a job offer they can't refuse.

The mission? Steal a gem called "The Kiss of Enduring Love" and return it to the Feywild. Simple enough, until Saeldian discovers their ex-partner, Kell - a charming bard - is part of the team.

The last time Saeldian saw Kell, things hardly ended on good terms. A kiss became a betrayal, leaving Kell hurt and confused for almost a decade. But Kell can't just walk away - not when this job might finally be his ticket back to the Feywild.

Forced to work together again, their adventure takes them from high-society parties to Feywild couple's therapy. But as Saeldian and Kell rekindle their chemistry, they realize the gem is much more than a fey bauble, and their simple heist has summoned powerful enemies...."

Not just a wonderful entry in the LitRPG genre, but a hearty welcome to C.L. Polk to its ranks!

When Dealing With Dragons by Dana Swift
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Bonding with dragons gave humans magic to craft metal - now, two school rivals have to work together to protect a priceless secret, all while fighting their growing attraction to each other, from Dana Swift, author of Cast in Firelight.

Copper-crafter Farren Walsh is set on following in her father's footsteps to become a dragon veterinarian. The only thing more powerful than her love for these magnificent creatures is her hate for those who exploit them for their precious metal. That includes her classmate, an arrogant dragon racer named James Murphy, whose silver-crafting family represents the worst of human greed and dragon abuse - plus, he's the biggest competition for the college scholarship she desperately needs.

When James strongarms his way into interning at her family's dragon sanctuary for the summer, it puts everything at risk. Farren isn't just the plain copper-crafter she seems. She's hiding a secret that could not only change her life, but their society as a whole. And James, trying to find refuge from his controlling father, harbors his own secret, years-long crush on Farren. Hating James might be harder than she thought, but Farren can't risk getting too close: the fate of an endangered species is at stake.

When Dealing with Dragons is a delightful young adult dual-POV romantasy about cross-class romance, finding family, and creating a better world for creatures big and small."

I always find it interesting that I was rather ambivalent about metal work considering how lore ties it to dragons and I adore dragons.... Maybe I should give it another go.

The Sisters and the Sword by Sam Davey
Published by: Diversion Books
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the second in the Pendragon Prophecy series, Sam Davey plunges into the heart of the Camelot story and the fraught relationships between grown siblings Morgause, Morgan, and Arthur.

A dark and mesmerizing retelling of Camelot - where magic and destiny entwine with sibling rivalries, forbidden love, and looming rebellion.

One year after the death of Uther Pendragon, High King of Britain, a lavish tournament is held in his memory, and as an opportunity for the nobles and allies to swear another year's fealty to King Lot of Orkney and his wife Queen Morgause. At the tournament, Arthur, an unknown youth, is seeking a replacement sword for his foster brother. He succeeds in pulling a mysterious sword from a stone anvil in the courtyard at Caer Lundein and is proclaimed King of all Britain. Merlin prepares the bewildered Arthur for kingship and reveals to Morgause that Arthur's reign will end if he faces in battle a noble knight born at Beltane (May 1) in the first year of his reign.

Morgan, a powerful priestess and sister to Morgause and Arthur, becomes Lady of the Lake - and she and Morgause, who blame Arthur for their violent and traumatic childhood, plot against him. Morgan, who has concealed her identity from Arthur, seduces her brother and becomes pregnant. At a grand Tournament and celebration in Caerleon, Merlin finally tells Arthur of the prophecy of the Beltane child, and Arthur is horrified to learn that Merlin can see no solution but to kill all of the noble children born on Beltane that year. Arthur tells Lot he will not follow Merlin's advice, but when he discovers Morgan is actually his sister, he believes Lot has helped to deceive him and turns back to Merlin's guidance. Lot joins the rebels, his four sons remaining loyal to Arthur, as the Once and Future King seals his fate."

Camelot has a lot of darkness in it. I love it!

Witch Season by Julia Bianco
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Exhilarating, dangerous, and seductive, Witch Season is an action-packed and fiercely romantic contemporary fantasy from debut author and screenwriter Julia Bianco.

That is the price of magic - not just the blood, but the pain to bring it out.

Katherine Barnes is an enforcer, charged with upholding the rules of the notorious Los Angeles-based Aestas coven. It's her job to maintain order and bring unsettled witches - people who aren't aware they have magic until it explodes out of them in a catastrophic burst - into the coven's fold. As a former unsettled witch, Katherine owes her life to Sylvia Page, coven leader and silver-haired rebel who founded Aestas years ago.

When Silas Khatri, heir to Noctis, the most powerful coven in the world, arrives to take Aestas to task for some of their more unconventional practices, Katherine's dislike for him reaches blistering levels. She hates his money, his good looks, his coven's dangerous attitude towards unsettled witches. She can absolutely overlook that he sets her off in more ways than one.

But a powerful threat is about to rise. Stronger than any one coven. More insidious than the decades-long power struggle that exists in the hidden witch world. One that will pull Katherine and Silas together despite their differences. And one that will lead to an all-out war."

I just love the location!

It's About Time by Carol J. Perry
Published by: Kensington Cozies
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this delightfully spooky series spin-off of Carol J. Perry's beloved Witch City Mysteries, Lee Mondello and her detective husband have plenty of experience solving crimes in Salem, Massachusetts - and now Lee's Aunt Ibby is starting a sleuthing career of her own in the witch city...

Nothing can spoil the mood at a one-year-old's birthday celebration like the cops arriving - but it's not because the party got too rowdy. Instead, Detective Pete Mondello has a search warrant for a tenant's apartment. When Lee's aunt Ibby leads the police to Josh Alper's locked door, she's surprised to learn that her renter has redecorated...with what appear to be masterpieces stolen from a museum back in 1972.

The paintings may be found, but Alper - an artist involved with a shady, cult-like group - is officially missing. So Ibby and her pals, who hold weekly watch parties of their favorite show, Midsomer Murders, decide to jump in and do some real-life sleuthing using the skills they've learned from DCI Barnaby. Ibby, a semi-retired librarian, may be in her sixties, but her tech skills are top-notch...and with some help from her friends Betsy and Louisa, as well as O'Ryan the clairvoyant cat, that spells trouble for any criminals in Salem.

But when Alper's body is found in the Salem Woods - felled by an unusually sophisticated weapon - Ibby must buckle down with her team and prove that she's just as talented an investigator as her beloved niece..."

I mean, can I go to their weekly Midsomer Murders watch parties? I'd also totally help solve crime.

The Loom Tree by Angela Mi Young Hur
Published by: Erewhon Books
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ninth House meets Babel for fans of myth and folklore in this contemporary fantasy about a Korean-American college student at a magical university where fairy tales intersect with family heritage to unleash powers beyond imagining.

"You always wanted magic to be real."

Sharon and her daughter V's points of origin hold common threads - both Korean American teenagers, raised by single mothers and searching for identity in the California suburbs. But during a Finals week celebration, high schooler V, compelled by strange impulses, crawls into a hollow tree trunk. That night in a fever haze, she sees gleaming strands of illegible text hovering over her body - flowing between her and her mother, leading to a long-forgotten diary.

With the aid of a luminous quill, a fountainhead of Sharon's memories spill onto the faded pages. V witnesses her mother map out her past through drawings, diagrams, and reclaimed histories of her brief time at Alvsdahl, an exclusive East Coast college. Here, legacies and heiresses claimed descent from Bluebeard or Cinderella, grappling for control over family stories that could grant them terrifying abilities or burn them to ash. An Asian girl with an unknown inheritance was no one - until her discoveries cracked open Alvsdahl's secrets.

Sharon's rewritten narrative - of classroom rivalries, animal professors, debauchery in the woods, threatening Godmothers, and world-shattering powers - unfolds line by line as V desperately tries to help her mother, ultimately learning how to wield Sharon's story to transform them both.

Lyrical and tender, Angela Mi Young Hur's The Loom Tree is a magical campus novel centering two young women walking the thorny path toward adulthood, the fractures between parents and their children, and the global mythologies connecting us all."

Here's to the stories that form us and are universal.

These Immortal Truths by Rachelle Raeta
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Both epic and intimate, These Immortal Truths is an enchanting and romantic historical fantasy that explores not only what it means to live forever, but what it means to truly live at all.

"Did I not tell you, Anna? Death will not come for you."

Anna is used to hunger and hardship. Ever since the pale shadows on her skin were mistaken for leprosy, she has lived alone in exile, each day focused only on survival.

Then a single act of kindness towards a beautiful stranger changes her life forever.

Suddenly, neither time nor harm can touch her, and Anna strives to embrace a life with boundless potential, one that isn't only about survival. But as decades and centuries pass, she is continually forced to abandon each new life before it has the chance to feel like home.

The only constant in her eternal existence is Khiran - the shapeshifting god who gave her immortality. No matter the years or distance, he always finds her when she most needs him.

But there is more to immortality than Anna knows, and as she travels the ages, she will discover the beauty - and cost - of a life without end."

I think the cost of life without end isn't worth it. 

4 Janes by Marian Yee
Published by: Little a
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 269 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Through time, space, and the transcendence of maternal love, Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre is reimagined in the parallel lives of one soul searching for meaning, connection, and a place to belong.

Jane Eyre is a missionary's wife.

A bookseller in Vietnam.

A time traveler.

A hero in a modern gothic tale.

What if Jane's story didn't end with her marriage to Edward Rochester? What if she never married him at all?

In one lifetime, Jane travels to India and Burma as Mrs. St. John Rivers. In another, she's Trang, a young woman selling books in Vietnam, vying for the love of the local priest. Yet another picks up where Brontë left her, now grieving the loss of her child and crossing time and space to find him. And finally, a young Vietnamese-American man searching for himself in Boston, a tutor whose relationship with a veteran feels strangely, achingly familiar...

Each thread tells Jane's story in sweeping, heartbreaking shades of loss, vulnerability, yearning, and the fierce love of mother and child that withstands time and space. While she may long for something more out of a life she didn't get to choose, she can still decide what to make of it."

This proves that Jane Eyre's struggles are universal and that's why her story endures. 

The Abduction of Rosalind Thorne by Darcie Wilde
Published by: Kensingtons
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Brimming with intrigue, the latest novel in this charming Jane Austen-inspired mystery series finds resourceful Rosalind Thorne - a discreet sleuth for Regency London's ladies of ton - facing her most perilous, and awkward, predicament yet...

Rosalind is newly, happily engaged to ex-Bow Street officer Adam Harkness, but lunching with the new fiancée of her old love is still discomfiting. Yet, Clara Kinsdale needs her help, and Rosalind is not one to turn away a lady in distress. It seems Clara's father, Sir Anthony Kinsdale, has fallen for beautiful widow Mrs. Sylvia Lynn - who may be a fortune hunter, or worse...

Sir Anthony is a profligate baronet, who has pinned his financial hopes on two events: Clara's marriage, and his horse winning the upcoming sweepstakes at Lansdown, on which he has wagered heavily. Clara is afraid that her father is being fleeced by the charming - and cunning - Mrs. Lynn and wants Rosalind to expose her.

But Clara does not realize that her sisters, Elizabeth and Cynthia, are harboring their own secrets and Elizabeth especially will do whatever she must to obstruct plans to separate their father from Mrs. Lynn.

Rosalind and Adam travel to Bath to meet the family. But their gathering is interrupted by Admiral Walsingham, who is leasing Kinsdale House. Despite his dire finances, Sir Anthony is evicting the admiral - though his reasons appear laughable. Not laughable is that Sir Anthony is found dead soon after their argument, having apparently tumbled from his bedroom window while intoxicated.

It would be easy to assume the tragedy was an accident, except Admiral Walsingham is found dead at nearly the same time. Secrets, schemes, fraud and forbidden love all drag Rosalind and Adam into a web of high-stakes gambling, murder - and extreme danger. But can they unravel it before they become the next victims..."

Oh, so many intrigues, I can barely contain my anticipation! 

The King's Collar by Jeff Tanner
Published by: Koehler Books
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 316 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Boston, May 1929. Expelled from Harvard and disowned by his father, Charlie Bohannon is down to his last nickel when he stumbles across a chance at salvation: a priceless Egyptian statuette hiding in the smoky recesses of a speakeasy. Learning it was stolen from a long-ago expedition led by his college dean, he sees returning it as his only shot at redemption - but the plan shatters when the artifact is stolen and the thief is murdered.

From the corrupt halls of power where Joseph Kennedy pulls the strings to the seedy docks of the Atlantic, Charlie suddenly finds himself in the crosshairs of several dangerous men. They don't just want the statue; they want its legendary counterpart: the jewel-encrusted King's Collar. They think Charlie can find it. And they'll happily kill for it.

Aided in his quest to find the King's Collar by daring socialite Olivia and salty ex-sailor Punchy, Charlie plunges into a shadow-game where killers hide in plain sight. When his friends are kidnapped, the hunt for the Collar becomes a race against time. In the cutthroat world of the Prohibition era, Charlie must find the treasure - or pay for it with their lives."

Stolen Egyptian artifacts? Yes please!

The Secret Thread by Eve Chase
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"At a lavish summer party on an English country estate, tensions between social classes lead to deadly consequences that won't stay buried in this twisty, engrossing suspense novel by the author of The Midnight Hour.

Even the darkest secrets unravel in time....

2024: Jo O'Mara, a young writer, lands a job working for Mimi Mott, a wealthy style icon and legendary founder of a decorating empire. Newly widowed and in her seventies, Mimi is preparing to auction off her possessions, through them finally telling the story of her early life. Famously private, Mimi has kept her past shrouded in mystery. Jo doesn't dare reveal how closely it touches her own.

Tasked with collecting the untold tales behind each auction lot, Jo peels back the layers of Mimi's origin story and discovers it's far darker than anyone ever suspected.

1969: Mimi and her sister, Pamela, live in a cramped, musty staff cottage on the grounds of Rushwood, an idyllic English country estate owned by the Caswell family, their demanding new employer. Working alongside their gardener parents, the girls have been raised with their hands in the soil and know only a traditional, simple life - but spirited Mimi hungers for more.

When the Caswells' adult children, Nancy and Lawrence, arrive at Rushwood for the summer, the sisters are drawn into a privileged, intoxicating world, unsettling their own, and passions spark under the blazing sun - until a shattering death at Rushwood's high-society party tears Mimi and Pamela apart.

Now time is running out. Jo discovers both a missing auction piece and a missing sister and vows to find them no matter how dark the secret they expose - or the cost to herself."

I love that this is basically, writing auction catalog leads to mystery! It's like an episode of Lovejoy!

Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale
Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New York Times bestselling author Shannon Hale offers up mystery, romance, and a lot of fun in the second book in the Austenland series.

Newly updated edition with brand new content!

Preorder the third book in the series, Christmas in Austenland, coming in September 2026!

When Charlotte Kinder treats herself to a vacation at Austenland, she happily leaves behind her ex-husband and his new wife, her children, and the rest of her recently upended life in America. It's been a long time since Charlotte has felt hopeful, let alone loved. Maybe doing something as outrageous as donning a bonnet and staying at an English manor house can help re-start her damaged heart.

Yet once the parlor games begin at Pembrook Park, Charlotte finds herself more uncertain than ever. Can she trust the feelings she has for a certain actor, or is his roleplaying that quality? Is the world-famous starlet concealing more than her real name? Has the respite of the country given her too much time to question her life choices? And when Charlotte suspects murder among them, she can't help but wonder how much of their true selves everyone may be hiding...

The second book in this utterly delightful series gives readers the chance to relish all the fun of Regency romance and mystery, from the comfort of their modern lives."

I loved how this second book veered straight into Agatha Christie from Bridget Jones. I can't wait to re-read it in anticipation of the third volume!

Sweet Spot by Kemper Donovan
Published by: A John Scognamiglio Book
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The USA Today bestselling host of the "All About Agatha" podcast injects the spark and fizz of a Golden Age Murder Mystery into the present day, as a ghostwriter-turned-sleuth must find a devious killer who's transforming her new assignment into a real-life thriller...

Ghostwriters, just like ghosts, shouldn't exist. Knowing that the latest juicy memoir was penned by a stranger for a paycheck tends to ruin the illusion of intimacy. But not every ghostwriter is in it for the money alone.

For Belle Currer - as the ghostwriter extraordinaire prefers to be known - Genevieve Caraway's memoir is an irresistible project, a tale of tragedy overcome. At 14, Genevieve was abducted from her bedroom by a couple and held hostage for three months. She's now a happily married mother with a flourishing career, a poster child for thriving after trauma. Still, the scars haven't entirely faded.

Genevieve's lavish Utah home, "Sweet Spot," is a guarded compound impregnable to outsiders - theoretically, at least. But Belle's arrival coincides with the parole of Deirdre Gregory, one of Genevieve's kidnappers. When Deirdre shows up at Sweet Spot begging to see Genevieve, she is refused. The next day, Deirdre's dead body is found on the grounds.

How did Deirdre get in? More importantly, who killed her? Belle soon joins Detective Kay Adams, the pregnant Mormon detective assigned to the case, in sifting through the suspects. The compound is filled with family and friends - and also with secrets, including one the ghostwriter has been carrying for far too long. She knows how guilt, remorse, and love can drive people to do unthinkable things. And that no matter how much you try to keep the world at bay, the best and worst of it may find a way to get in..."

Belle Currer, LOL! For anyone NOT in the know, Charlotte Brontë wrote under the pseudonym Currer Bell. 

Winners and Liars by Aleema Omotoni
Published by: HarperCollins
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Knives Out meets Death at Morning House in this thrilling standalone mystery layered with family secrets, the whitewashing of history, and a high-stakes literary competition for the keys to a Victorian-era English estate - from Aleema Omotoni, the NAACP Image Award-winning author of Everyone's Thinking It.

Derin's acceptance into Cambridge University is the end of an era - just not the one she expected.

When she and her ultra-competitive Uni prep group, the Kenfield Set, were first invited to Professor Darnley's summer ball, they planned on celebrating the group's success, surrounded by the riches of his historical Kenfield estate - not kicking off the festivities with the professor's will reading.

But when the Darnleys' aristocratic children are disinherited, the students are offered the opportunity of a lifetime: compete in a Victorian, literary-inspired inheritance competition to be named the new heir - winner takes all!

For Derin, it's a chance to help her working-class family. But the remaining Darnleys won't take losing their stately home and its multimillion-pound inheritance lying down. And added to the mix, a mysterious note is slipped under Derin's door alluding to a dark family secret lying in wait.

Now Derin must balance the cutthroat games; scheming relatives; and a cute Kenfield intern amid her dawning realization that the history of this inheritance might be soaked in lies...and blood."

I so want to compete in a Victorian, literary-inspired competition. I would totally lose, but I'd love playing.

Not What It Seems by Lisa Jackson
Published by: Kensington
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"#1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson brings her own brand of Southern Gothic back to the Spanish moss-draped shade of Savannah and the swampy marshes of Lowcountry Georgia, as crime writer Nikki Gillette and her husband, Detective Pierce Reed, race to expose an obsessive killer with an enigmatic M.O....

The stone is small and round, easy to miss among the junk surrounding Billy Huber's body. The man was a hoarder for sure. At first, police assume he fell from a ladder, injuring his throat and smashing his head in the process. Only on closer inspection do they see the polished stone nearby, with a number on one side etched in blood, and a strange symbol on the other.

Reporter Nikki Gillette seizes on the story and visits Huber's sprawling property in Georgia's low country. She gains little except the uneasy feeling of being watched. Within days, another body is found - a wealthy, thrice-married Savannah socialite dead in her lavish home. More victims follow, each one pierced through the throat. Beside each body, a stone engraved with a different number and symbol.

Detective Pierce Reed, Nikki's husband, cautions her against getting in too deep. She's a mother now and can't keep putting herself in danger. Nikki knows he's right, but her instincts are in overdrive. This is what she's good at - finding answers and driving toward justice at any cost. Yet she knows, too, that the most terrifying killers don't look like monsters at all. And by the time you realize how close they really are, it may already be too late to save yourself."

Is it wrong that I really want to know if the killer polishes and tumbles their own rocks or buys them in bulk from Michaels? 

Until Midnight by Luanne Rice
Published by: Thomas and Mercer
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 379 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When lies and betrayals are exposed, the perfect wedding becomes a nightmare in a gripping novel of psychological suspense by the New York Times bestselling author of Last Night and The Shadow Box.

Rhode Island's picturesque Ocean House is the perfect setting for Kate Woodward and Conor Reid's fairy-tale wedding weekend. But there may not be a happily ever after.

When an old friend of Conor's disrupts the rehearsal dinner and reveals a blindsiding secret - a claim that she and Conor share a child - Kate calls off the wedding, thinking things can't get any worse. Until the next morning, when that same woman is found with her throat slashed.

As investigators close in and suspicions mount, the evidence points to a mystery deeper than anyone imagined. The soundproof boat with telltale signs of something sinister. The mansion on the hill that lures in young girls and doesn't let them go. A secret society whose members might be more familiar than not. And the truth of the dead woman's past that draws Kate and Conor into a nightmare."

Wait, isn't this world of secret and lies par for the course if you can afford to have your wedding at a luxury hotel?

Beware the Abbot Boys by Chelsea Ichaso
Published by: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Three brothers. Two deaths. One girl, caught in the middle.

The Abbott boys, fraternal triplets Henry, Bram, and Adam, live in a mansion on the outskirts of Silver Creek. For decades, their family's been at odds with the town, long before Mariana Flores died in a fiery accident on the Abbott property last year. The police ruled out foul play, but ask anyone in Silver Creek about it and they'll say one of the Abbott boys killed her. They just don't know which one.

But Hayden, the girl who lives next door to the Abbotts, swears they're innocent. After all, Henry's her best friend - maybe he could be more. She's been worried about Adam ever since he was injured in the accident that killed Mariana. As for Bram, he's a little complicated, but he and Mariana had been in love.

When the new school year brings a new victim - a popular girl, found dead in the woods - the hunt for a monster begins anew. The security camera footage doesn't show the face of the boy she was last seen with, but from his hoodie he could be any one of the Abbott brothers.

To clear their names, Hayden starts investigating the new death, but the deeper she digs, the more uncertain she becomes. Is one of the Abbott brothers a killer? Or could they all be monsters? And what will the boys do to protect themselves and the truth?"

I vote that they're all probably monsters, some are just better at hiding it.

What Happened to Those Girls by Carlyn Greenwald
Published by: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Pretty Little Liars meets The Blair Witch Project in this harrowing thriller from the author of Murder Land, brimming with betrayal, unsettling town secrets, and a killer lurking in the woods.

Emma knows her friends all lie to her. And everyone knows Emma is the outcast of their group. She's usually fine with that, until her friends go on a camping trip that she planned...without her. The next morning, she wakes up to the news that all three of them died at the campsite.

When Emma starts receiving unnerving videos of the girls the night they died from an anonymous source, it becomes clear their deaths weren't an accident. And if this becomes a murder case, Emma will be suspect number one. Because while everyone knows she had been excluded from the plans, what they don't know is that she went to the campsite that night after all, and someone has proof.

Emma teams up with Beck, one of the victims' sisters, to return to the woods and figure out what really happened the night her friends died, uncover who is behind the mysterious videos she is receiving, and make sure that nobody can pin their murders on her. But stranded in an eerie town that doesn't welcome outsiders with a murderer on their heels, Emma and Beck just might be next..."

If you were going to murder a whole bunch of "friends" in the woods, you wouldn't go to the trouble of planning the trip and then not providing yourself an alibi... 

Songbird in the Gallows by Alta Hensley
Published by: Avon a
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the bestselling author of He Sees You When You're Sleeping comes a dark romance about a murder-sober retired serial killer and his murder-curious protégé. Perfect for fans of Brynne Weaver, this twisted romance inspired by the Bluebeard folktale is filled with dark humor, sizzling chemistry, and spice.

Murder is their love language...

Five years ago, Saylor Mitchell's father was brutally murdered in front of her, shattering her world. Now his killers have tracked her down to finish the job. She is unexpectedly saved by her father's closest friend, the enigmatic Blue. Saylor's savior - and captor - is a reformed, murder-sober assassin struggling to escape the clutches of his own violent history.

Blue's gothic mansion, perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking a stormy sea in the town of Grimlock, is a labyrinth of secrets. And so is Grimlock, a small town whose residents all seem to have a penchant for murder that they've managed - mostly - to overcome.

Saylor soon realizes that Blue holds the key to avenging her father's murder at the hands of the Crow, a gang of amoral contract killers. Only problem? Saylor has never killed before. Good thing those who can't kill...teach.

Blue finds Saylor an apt pupil and the attraction between them morphs into a dangerous obsession. Can their love conquer Blue's final, darkest secret?"

I'm loving this resurgence in Bluebeard.

Teach the Torches to Burn by Christina Dodd
Published by: A John Scognamiglio Book
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Romeo and Juliet (yes, that Romeo and Juliet) invite you to join them in celebrating the union of their spinster daughter, Rosie (she's 20!) to Escalus the younger, prince of Verona, where murder is the unexpected guest at the wedding.

My Lady Jane meets Knives Out in Fair Verona, as New York Times bestselling author Christina Dodd brings you the wedding of the season star-crossed with poison most discreet.

Joining us will be the royal and decorous kin of the groom, the Leonardis, as well as the famously rival families, the upstart Montagues and the snooty Capulets. All will be armed with swords and knives; at least one is skilled with poison. At this joyous event, who could foresee what direful occurrences might befall?

If I, the aforesaid Rosie, blushing bride, noted cynic and sleuth, were asked to identify when the pre-wedding events spiraled out of control, I'd point to that moment when elderly Princess Ursula observed the display of gleaming swords and bared teeth and announced that she would hold a public séance to determine the future of the marriage...

With the aid of Yorick's skull and her own considerable dramatic nature, Princess Ursula prophesied three things: the marriage would be joyous and fertile (the guests yawn,) a long-lost treasure would be found...and foul and most unnatural murder would disrupt the fragile peace of Verona.

Before the day was done, two prophesies had been fulfilled. Hint: not the fun fertility one. As one death follows another and it's clear a skilled poisoner lurks among us, coming ever closer to striking down those I love, I use all my wit and skill to discern the reason for the vendetta and uncover the killer's identity...for I would have the holy church bells that now ring a sad lament peel instead for the wedding ceremony and the joyous and fertile future foretold..."

I never say no to a séance!

Midsummer Nights by Lara Stokes
Published by: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 287 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Life imitates art when a down-on-her-luck TV star returns to her hometown stage and redefines her dreams in a funny and heartwarming spin on Shakespeare's most magical romantic comedy.

Miranda Belmont is a regular on a popular TV series, but her acting career is not exactly moving forward. After she's publicly humbled, her next steps are definitely backward: playing Helena in a community theater production of A Midsummer Night's Dream in her stifling hometown, directed by her parents, and sharing the stage with her high school boyfriend.

Backstage, it's borderline Shakespearean drama. Between her ex, an intriguing costar making sweet overtures, and an unwelcome blast from the past, Miranda is caught in a real-life, nearly magical tangle of romantic confusion that threatens the production at every turn.

Opening night will bring them all down to earth - especially Miranda, who's navigating her way, onstage and off, through all the chaos these mere mortals create. As she reconnects to her roots, the creative spark she's been missing awakens Miranda to who she truly is."

But a return to home and where you started, while humbling, can also be a launchpad. 

The Princess Diaries: The Graphic Novel by Meg Cabot and Bethany Crandall
Published by: HarperAlley
Publication Date: June 30th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"#1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot's hilarious classic The Princess Diaries is back and better than ever in an all-new, full-color graphic novel adaptation!

Mia Thermopolis is pretty sure there's nothing worse than being a five-foot-nine frizzy-haired freshman, who also happens to be flunking algebra.

Is she ever in for a surprise.

First, her mom announces that she's dating Mia's algebra teacher. But her dad's announcement is even worse: he is the crown prince of Genovia, and guess what that makes Mia?

A frizzy-haired freshman who is flunking algebra, and also happens to be a PRINCESS.

Mia might not be ready for the throne, but one thing totally rules: #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot has adapted her classic The Princess Diaries into a royally hilarious graphic novel with art by Bethany Crandall!"

I love the movie, and while I tried, I could not get into the books, so this will be an interesting liminal test....

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alta Hensley, C.L. Polk, Carlyn Greenwald, Carol J. Perry, Chelsea Ichaso, Christina Dodd, Dana Swift, Darcie Wilde, Eve Chase, Kemper Donovan, Lara Stokes, Leigh Bardugo, Lisa Jackson, Luanne Rice, Meg Cabot, Shannon Hale