About Still Into You: Two exes reunite for a make-or-break interview that will either bring them back together … or drive them apart forever. Released February 10th 2026.

One of my favorite parts of writing a book is the brainstorming phase, where I consume anything and everything I can get my hands on that might inspire me. I want to know what’s out there already, and what I could bring to the conversation that hasn’t already been said.

My latest novel—released February 10, 2026—is a love letter to elder emos. Still Into You follows Sloane Donavan, an aspiring music journalist struggling to break into the industry. When elusive metal frontman Dax Nakamura agrees to give her his first interview in eight years, she should be jumping at the opportunity. The catch? He’s her ex. Unable to pass up a shot at making her name—and helping Dax clear the reputation that’s plagued his—Sloane agrees. It’s only a conflict of interest if anyone finds out. But the article Dax wants and the salacious tell-all Sloane’s editor is expecting are two completely different stories. And as old feelings resurface, Sloane’s journalistic integrity hangs in the balance. This is the career-making piece she’s been waiting for, but it comes with a price: the chance to rewrite the ending with her first and only love.

As an emo kid in the early 2000s, I pulled heavily from my own experiences going to shows at skate parks and random parking lots. That said, I don’t possess a single crumb of musical ability. I would prefer not to be on a stage thankyouverymuch, and being a touring musician sounds really exhausting, actually. But I had so much fun researching Still Into You, diving into movies, tv shows, podcasts, and—of course—books that centered around musicians. Here is a selection of music-focused books that I loved, as well as a peek into my TBR:

No Ordinary Love by Myah Ariel

Pop superstar Ella Simone and MLB player Miles Westbrook team up to turn their tabloid scandal into an opportunity—a PR relationship that will shore up both their reputations. But as the lines between reality and PR begin to blur, will Ella stick to the choreographed life she knows so well, or surrender to a love that could set her free?

I fell in love with Ariel’s debut, and her transportive writing quickly made her an autobuy author for me. The way her MMCs go all in for the FMC will never fail to make me swoon.

Feels like: The opening notes of Mariah Carey’s Always Be My Baby.

Some Kind Of Famous by Ava Wilder

In this steamy and emotional small-town romance, a disgraced ex-musician and a local handyman try to resist their growing attraction for each other—until a house renovation forces them together.

I’m obsessed with Wilder’s writing. Her ability to craft such raw, real characters with believable flaws and hurts that have you wanting to hug and shake them as you’re rooting for them, their happily ever after so well-earned and fought for.

Feels like: Alanis Morissette girlies in their lovergirl era.

August Lane by Regina Black

Luke Randall didn’t write the love song that made him famous—August Lane did. A secret that August threatens to expose unless he writes a new song with her for her mother’s concert celebrating her induction to the Country Music Hall of Fame. As the concert nears and their passion bond rekindles, August will have to choose between an overdue public reckoning with the boy who betrayed her, or trusting the man he’s become to write a different love song.

Regina Black is every author’s favorite author. If you’re not already reading her books, 1) what are you doing? And 2) know that I’m jealous you get to experience them for the first time.

Feels like: Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter.

Never Been Shipped by Alicia Thompson

When two ex-bandmates and former best friends reunite to perform on a cruise ship, sparks fly. John has been in love with Micah since they were kids, but never said anything for the sake of the band. But when the two reunite, Micah can’t help but see John with brand new eyes. As the discordant band’s tension grows to a breaking point, they must decide if their relationship is more than a one-hit wonder.

I think about this book constantly. You can always tell when an author is writing about something they love, and Thompson’s love of music shines through in this novel. Childhood friends to lovers, second chance, angst, nostalgia, this book is everything I wanted it to be and more.

Feels like: The Twilight soundtrack.

The Girl With Stars In Her Eyes by Xio Axelrod

Antonia Bennette is not a rock star. Neither are the Lillys—not yet. But the difference between being famous and being almost famous can be a single wrong note…or the start of something that’ll change your life forever.

Axelrod is a musician herself and it really enriches so many aspects of this novel. It’s equal parts a slow burn, childhood friends-to-lovers romance and a love letter to female musicians. Bonus: The sequel, Girls With Bad Reputations, is already out, with two more books in the Lilly’s series teased on Axelrod’s website.

Feels like: An Ecca Vandal album.

For One Night Only by Jessica James

When two former bandmates—and bedmates—are thrust back into each other’s lives in a fake dating scheme for publicity, they’ll be forced to face the music.

Sometimes the blurb is so good that I don’t even know what to add. Exes forced to fake date for PR? Say less. Come for the angst and the longing and stay for the sweeping feelings, the found family, and the nuanced exploration of mental health. The second book in this series, For Our Next Song, just released January 13, and I cannot wait to dive in!

Feels like: Hayley Williams hitting the high note in All I Wanted.

Sing Anyway by Anita Kelly

Karaoke is the only time Lily Fischer can step outside of her quiet shell. When there’s a mic in her hand, she’s no longer merely a receptionist harboring big dreams. At Moonie’s, Lily can pretend to be someone else: someone bold, who takes what she wants. And tonight, what Lily wants is the way Sam looks at her across the room as she sings her signature opening song, like they see her exactly as she wants to be seen. Like Moonie’s Lily is real.

Confession: I have never done karaoke, nor do I intend to. However, I yearn to be the type of person who enjoys it. Thankfully, there are three novellas in the Moonlighters series where I can live vicariously through people who do. Check out the accompanying playlists on Kelly’s website for the optimal reading experience!

Feels like: Bringing the house down with the perfect karaoke song choice.

The Love Lyric by Kristina Forest

Iris, a career-focused single mom and young widow, travels for work with popular R&B singer Angel and finds herself falling for him along the way.

A man with a long-held crush? He wrote a song about her?!? We’re into each other but we’re working together and have to keep it professional?!?!? This premise is music to my ears!

Feels like: May I Have This Dance by Francis & the Lights ft. Chance The Rapper

Midnight Duet by Jen Comfort

A wildly electric romance about two musicians, Broadway star Erika Greene and German hair metal band frontman Christof Daae—who collide on the stage of a Nevada opera house.

If there were a Venn diagram of Phantom of the Opera and Jareth from Labyrinth, this book would be the overlap. You can always expect to laugh in a book by Comfort, but I especially appreciate her FMCs. They’re a little sharp, don’t always have it together, and top from the bottom (iykyk).

Feels like: The hilarity and hijinks you’d expect in a Twisted Sister music video.

Where Are Your Boys Tonight? by Chris Payne

An oral history of the rise and fall of emo from 1999 to 2008, featuring My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Paramore, Panic! At the Disco, Taking Back Sunday, Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional.

I was a chapter into this audiobook when I ran out to grab a physical copy because I needed to highlight and underline every other line. Immediately after finishing the book, I began rereading. If you were an emo kid in the early 2000s, this is required reading.

Feels like: The G note at the start of My Chemical Romance’s Welcome To The Black Parade.

The Future Saints by Ashley Winstead

A powerful and transportive new novel about a music executive desperately trying to bring a rock band back from the brink. Their big break is here—if only they can survive it.

This just came out January 20, 2026, so this is a peek into my TBR. I cannot wait to dive into this one!

Encore by Annabel Paulsen & Lydia Wang

In this music-filled queer romcom, ex-bandmates and successful solo artists Amelia and Ramona are forced to reconcile when their indie trio embarks on a reunion tour, five years after their breakout album, tour, and the one night that ruined everything.

Another peek into my TBR. This book isn’t slated to release until 2027, but this is just how seated I am for it.

The post Music-Focused Book Recommendations From Author Erin Connor appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

2026, here we go! With the new year just around the corner, it’s time to start focusing on something that really matters… NEW! BOOK! RELEASES!  We’ve rounded up some highly anticipated  books from a range of genres releasing between the months of January and June 2026.

So far the year promises new releases from Jennifer Niven, Jennette McCurdy, Jim Butcher, Heather Fawcett, Kerri Maniscalco, Edward Ashton, T. Kingfisher, Richard K. Morgan, Rainbow Rowell, TJ Klune, Katherine Center, Julie Murphy, Katherine Arden, Melissa Albert, and many more, plus some dazzling debuts!

You’ll find quite a few exciting new reads within this list and be sure to check out our other January to June 2026 lists, which we’ll be releasing over the next month! This article will also get updated with those links so you can easily find them, including our Anticipated Romance Reads, Anticipated Fantasy and Sci-Fi Books and Anticipated YA Reads… We apologise in advance to your TBR pile and wallet!

JANUARY 2026 BOOK RELEASES

Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
Funny, big-hearted, and deeply moving, Meet the Newmans is a rich family story about the dual lives we lead. Because even when our lives aren’t televised weekly, we all have a behind-the-scenes.

The Future Saints by Ashley Winstead

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
Perfect for fans of Daisy Jones and the Six and In Five Years—a beautiful, powerful, and transportive new novel about a music executive desperately trying to bring a rock band back from the brink, from bestselling author Ashley Winstead.

The Poet Empress by Shen Tao

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
Debut author Shen Tao introduces readers to the lush, deadly world of The Poet Empress, a sweeping, epic and intimate fantasy perfect for fans of The Serpent & the Wings of Night, The Song of Achilles and She Who Became the Sun.

Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of I’m Glad My Mom Died comes a sad, funny, thrilling novel about sex, consumerism, class, desire, loneliness, the internet, rage, intimacy, power, and the (oftentimes misguided) lengths we’ll go to in order to get what we want.

My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney

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My Husband’s Wife is a tangled web of deception, obsession, and mystery that will keep you guessing until the last page. Prepare yourself for the ultimate mind-bending marriage thriller and step inside Spyglass – if you dare – to experience a story where nothing is as it seems.

If All the Stars Go Dark by S. G. Prince

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
An out-of-this-world queer space opera (aka: sci-fi with magic) complete with a murder mystery, a prison break, and heist during which time the fate of the universe may or may not hang in the balance – and made even more exciting by the swoon worthy will-they-won’t-they romance.

Twelve Months by Jim Butcher

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard, has always managed to save the day—but, in this powerful entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling Dresden Files, can he save himself?

Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston

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From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of First Lie Wins, a tense, feverish thriller about two women’s lives that are forever intertwined when a murder threatens to expose them both.

Last First Kiss by Julian Winters

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Sparks fly in this second chance m/m rom com when an unlucky-in-love event planner realizes the man-of-honor at the high profile wedding he’s planning is the same man who broke his heart.

A War of Wyverns by S. F. Williamson

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Rebellion happens in the shadows. In the sequel to the New York Times bestseller A Language of Dragons, language is the greatest weapon in a war between humans and dragons—and one translator has the power to change the world. 

Vigil by George Saunders

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An electric novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling, Booker Prize–winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo, taking place at the bedside of an oil company CEO in the twilight hours of his life as he is ferried from this world into the next.

Is This a Cry for Help? by Emily R. Austin

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A luminous new novel following a librarian who comes back to work after a mental breakdown only to confront book-banning crusaders in an empowering story of grief, love, and the power of libraries.

FEBRUARY 2026 BOOK RELEASES

Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
A woman who runs a cat rescue in 1920s Montreal turns to a grouchy but charming wizard to help save the shelter in this heartwarming cozy fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of the Emily Wilde series.

The Girls Before by Kate Alice Marshall

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From the bestselling author of What Lies in the Woods, No One Can Know, and A Killing Cold, a new novel about a search & rescue expert, a kidnapped woman, and the lost girls who haunt them both.

Cleopatra by Saara El-Arifi

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Cleopatra tells her own story in this evocative and sensuous historical epic from the bestselling and award-winning author of Faebound and The Final Strife.

The Astral Library by Kate Quinn

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From New York Times bestselling author Kate Quinn comes a gorgeously written fantastical adventure which poses the question: Have you ever wished you could live inside a book? Welcome to the Astral Library, where books are not just objects, but doors to new worlds, new lives, and new futures.

Game, Set, Match by Jennifer Iacopelli

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She’s a tennis superstar on the rise. He’s the bad boy champ who broke her heart. When they meet on the court, their competition is hot—but their chemistry is even hotter.

Throne of Nightmares by Kerri Maniscalco

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In this action-packed standalone fantasy romance from New York Times bestselling sensation Kerri Maniscalco, a book of dangerous magic draws two readers into a perilous quest to find it—and their own happy ending.

It’s Not Her by Mary Kubica

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Two families at a secluded lake resort are at the center of a chilling crime in this twisty thriller from the bestselling author of Local Woman Missing.

Stolen Midnights by Katherine Quinn

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This magical new YA romantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of To Kill a Shadow will steal your heart. Set in Andalay, a world where the ruling Fates bestow gifts among the favored, a thief must join forces with the palace darling after he unwittingly steals a necklace with the power to change everything.

After The Fall by Edward Ashton

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
Part alien invasion story, part buddy comedy, and part workplace satire, After The Fall by Edward Ashton, author of Mickey7 (inspiration for the film Mickey 17), asks an important question: would humans really make great pets?

Red Star Rebels by Amie Kaufman

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
From the New York Times bestselling co-author of Illuminae and Aurora Rising comes a high-stakes, high-chemistry, sci-fi romp about a stowaway girl and the richest boy in the galaxy, racing the clock to outwit a gang of mercenaries.

How To Kill A Guy In Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
A humorous, swoony, and downright terrifying slasher rom-com in which a cinephile gets caught in the middle of a murder spree at a speed-dating event and must use her encyclopedic knowledge of the romance and horror genres to make it as a real-life Final Girl.

Half City by Kate Golden

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
Crescent City meets Buffy, the Vampire Slayer in the first installment of a pulse-pounding dark academia fantasy series from USA Today bestselling author Kate Golden.

MARCH 2026 BOOK RELEASES

The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Say You’ll Remember Me comes a beautiful, compelling novel that revels in laughter, friendship, and the messy choices life can throw our way.

Bloom by Robbie Couch

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
From the New York Times bestselling author of If I See You Again Tomorrow comes a delightful and heartwarming novel about family, love, grief, and one precocious houseplant, that reminds us of the beauty of living a life in full Bloom.

Strangers In The Villa by Robyn Harding

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
From the international bestselling author of The Drowning Woman, a psychological thriller about a couple rocked by infidelity who moves to a villa in Spain’s Costa Brava to rebuild their relationship, only to welcome a pair of visitors who have no intention of leaving.  

Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
Something darker than the devil stalks the North Carolina woods in Wolf Worm, a new gothic masterpiece from New York Times bestselling author T. Kingfisher

The Ascension of Souls by Bronte-Marie Wesson

Publisher | Amazon | Goodreads
The first in the Broken Cycle trilogy, The Ascension of Souls is an epic fantasy with intricate worldbuilding, complex characters, political schemes and a unique magic system.

A Spell For Saints and Sinners by Emily Carpenter

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
Like a gender-flipped You but dripping with Southern Gothic atmosphere, a young psychic on the verge of losing everything becomes obsessed with a wealthy, beautiful heiress in this clever, darkly atmospheric novel of psychological suspense set amid the lush, moss-draped beauty of Savannah.

Thirty Love by Tom Vellner

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
Things heat up on and off the court for two tennis rivals in this steamy debut gay sports rom-com, perfect for fans of TJ Alexander and Casey McQuiston.

Wretch by Eric LaRocca

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From rising horror star and award-winning author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke comes a nightmarish, haunting, tech-Gothic thrill ride about sorrow, memory, and the unabashed complexity of love as a transgressive act.

No Man’s Land by Richard K. Morgan

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A compelling standalone dark fantasy set in a gritty post-WWI Britain that has been overrun by the fae, from the award-winning author of Altered Carbon.

One Word, Six Letters by Adib Khorram

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Two teen boys grapple with identity and accountability and set off a ripple effect within their community after a school assembly is disrupted by a shouted slur.

Vow of Eternal Night by Lily Crozier

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A gothic romantasy Beauty and the Beast retelling about a vampire prince and the captive bride who will do anything to break his curse – for fans of Naomi Novik, Heather Fawcett and Howl’s Moving Castle.

The Fourth Wife by Linda Hamilton

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas meets “Sister Wives” in a deliciously chilling, darkly romantic, historical gothic horror with a feminist slant, as a young Mormon woman is haunted by a malevolent presence in the decrepit Salt Lake City mansion she shares with her new husband and his other wives…

APRIL 2026 BOOK RELEASES

The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke

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Fans of Agatha Christie’s locked-room mysteries and modern tales like Knives Out will fall for The Ending Writes Itself, which masterfully blends classic mystery elements with genre-bending tropes. Crafted with razor-sharp wit and a meta twist, this satirical take on the publishing world ensures readers will hang on every word, right up to its breathtaking finale.

Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell

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#1 New York Times bestselling author Rainbow Rowell returns with a breathtakingly honest novel about a woman who lost everything — and isn’t sure she wants it back.

Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker

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In this lyrical, wildly inventive horror novel interwoven with Japanese mythology, two people living centuries apart discover a door between their worlds.

The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer and Tamara Moss

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From #1 New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer and rising star Tamara Moss comes a twisty thrill-ride, filled with sabotage, betrayal, and puzzles to die for.

American Fantasy by Emma Straub

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From New York Times bestselling author of This Time Tomorrow, an irresistible story about what happens when your teenage fantasy comes true after you’re already an adult.

We Burned So Bright by T.J. Klune

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A heart-wrenching standalone novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune, We Burned So Bright follows an elder gay couple on an end-of-the-world road-trip.

Last Night in Brooklyn by Xochitl Gonzalez

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New York Times bestselling author Xochitl Gonzalez delivers a captivating story about a young woman whose life becomes ensnared in her glamorous neighbor’s secret past, laying bare the mounting tensions at play in a rapidly gentrifying, early 2000’s Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chu

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The Subtle Art of Folding Space, is the exhilarating debut science fiction novel from Nebula and Hugo Award-winning author John Chu channels unhinged physics, generational trauma, and the comfort of really good dim sum. This isn’t your usual jaunt through quantum physics.

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

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Told with Sally Hepworth’s twists, humor, charm, and heart, MAD MABEL is novel that weaves past and present together–through the power of justice and redemption, and all the way to its stunning conclusion.

Odessa by Gabrielle Sher

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In a powerfully imagined Russia at the height of the pogroms, a grief-stricken family turns to ancient magic to bring their daughter back from the grave.

Deathly Fates by Tesia Tsai

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A sweeping debut inspired by the Chinese folk practice of necromancy, Deathly Fates is perfect for fans of Descendant of the Crane, The Bone Shard Daughter, and A Magic Steeped in Poison.

How to Fake It in Society by KJ Charles

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
Bridgerton meets The Goldfinch in How to Fake It in Society, a stunning queer romance by rising genre star KJ Charles.

MAY 2026 BOOK RELEASES

The Shippers by Katherine Center

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
No one does summer romance quite like Katherine Center. THE SHIPPERS will take readers on the cruise of a lifetime in a story awash with romantic longing, top-notch banter, long-held secrets . . . and true love rediscovered.

The Anniversary by Alex Finlay

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
Twisty, high-concept, and emotionally charged, this novel is an utterly compelling story of the hunt for a serial killer. But it’s also a heartfelt―and heartrending―novel about fate, innocence lost, and two souls who find that sometimes being broken is the only way for the light to get in. The Anniversary reaffirms Finlay as one of the leading thriller writers today.

Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
Best friends have one week in paradise to fix their friendship or fall apart in this heart-stopping, utterly romantic new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Every Summer After and One Golden Summer.

The Midnight Train by Matt Haig

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When your life flashes before your eyes, where would you stop? A magical, time-travelling love story, from the world of The Midnight Library.

Student Union by Julie Murphy

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From #1 New York Times–bestselling author Julie Murphy comes a sexy rom com about a college marriage of convenience that goes way beyond chemistry 101…The first in a trilogy of romance novels that follows a group of girls as they navigate love, friendship, and new adulthood, this is perfect for fans of Elle Kennedy and Hannah Grace.

Young World by Soman Chainani

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
From the New York Times bestselling author of the School for Good and Evil series comes a renegade thriller, about a teenager elected President of the United States, sparking a global revolution of young leaders—until one of them is murdered and he’s the prime suspect.

The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee

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A battle-worn corporate samurai undertakes one last mission on a merciless planet where death is always a mere breath away, in this standalone dystopian epic from the author of the modern fantasy classic Jade City. 

The Library After Dark by Ande Pliego

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A bookseller must escape the infamously haunted library that holds her darkest secrets, but with a murderer in her tour group, escaping alive is not as simple as it seems, in this twisty locked-room thriller from bestselling author of You Are Fatally Invited.

Bone of My Bone by Johanna van Veen

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Bram Stoker Award–nominee and USA Today bestseller Johanna van Veen unveils a sapphic folk-horror tour de force―perfect for fans of The VVitch and The Salt Grows Heavy. A skull’s grin is eternal…

The Dorians by Nick Cutter

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On a remote island in the Canadian wilderness, five elderly volunteers from different walks of life are given a tantalizing offer: to stall their biological clocks or even reverse them, restoring their lost youth. 

We Dance Upon Demons by Vaishnavi Patel

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From the New York Times bestselling author of Kaikeyi, a galvanizing stand-alone contemporary fantasy following a burnt-out reproductive health care worker as she fights back against escalating attacks on her clinic and the malevolent forces in hot pursuit of her newly acquired power.

The House of Now and Then by Edward Underhill

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From the author of The In-Between Bookstore, the sweet, unforgettable story of a trans man in his thirties who books a Cape Cod cottage for one lonely summer—only to have its magic bring him visitors from the past and romance where he least expects it, perfect for fans of TJ Klune and Ashley Poston.

JUNE 2026 BOOK RELEASES

The Someday Garden by Ashley Poston

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
The new head gardener at the enchanting Lilymoor House stumbles upon a secret garden . . . with a mysterious man trapped inside, in the next magical novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Sounds Like Love and The Seven Year Slip.

The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden

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With her country’s future and her own life at stake, an orphaned duchess must journey into a world of myth and there discover a power that may be her salvation—or her demise—in this enchanting historical fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale.

The Heirs by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Goodreads
From the award-winning New York Times and Indie bestselling author of Ace of Spades comes a mystery about five teen geniuses, their billionaire father, and the aftermath of his murder―perfect for fans of One of Us is Lying, Holly Jackson, and How to Get Away with Murder!

Whistler by Ann Patchett

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The acclaimed, prize-winning #1 New York Times bestselling writer returns with a moving, luminous novel that reminds us of the sweetness and impermanence of life and the power of connection to defy time.

This Immortal Heart by Jennifer Saint

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The epic, captivating tale of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, who must reconcile her mind and heart when she is drawn against all odds to Ares, the god of war, from the internationally bestselling author of Ariadne and Hera.

Shadow Reaper by Lynette Noni

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A young reaper hunter must conspire with her enemy to uproot the ancient evil that threatens her world in this heart-pounding romantic fantasy from the bestselling author of The Prison Healer.

The Children by Melissa Albert

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The haunting new novel from New York Times bestselling author Melissa Albert, in which the estranged adult children of a legendary author, written into their dead mother’s beloved fantasy series, must contend with the vine-like creep of legacy, memory, and magic

You Won’t Forget Me by Mazey Eddings

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Cubby Clark is spiralling—her band is broken, her ex is famous, and inspiration is gone. As tabloids spin a love triangle and a summer tour amplifies tensions, Cubby and her best friend Darcy must confront buried feelings or risk losing each other and the music they love.

Dearly Departed by Chip Pons

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A Hades-inspired gay rom-com, in which the former god of the Underworld turned grumpy funeral director must find a loophole in the Immortal Retirement Act that banished him to Earth, until the florist next door who sees life in full bloom begins to unravel all his carefully laid plans.

The Burning Side by Sarah Damoff

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From the author of The Bright Years, the story of April and Leo, a couple on the brink of collapse. When their house goes up in flames, family secrets and thorny histories emerge as they are forced to decide what is worth salvaging.

There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood by Rasheed Newson

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A cinematic, razor-sharp novel following a backlot fixer’s daring investigation into the suspicious death of a closeted Black actor within the glamorous world of Hollywood, from the bestselling author of My Government Means to Kill Me.

Songs of the Dead by Brandon Sanderson and Peter Orullian

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A London rocker is faced with a life-or-death choice when he realizes that a powerful society of magic wielders are the only ones keeping London safe in this deft contemporary fantasy cowritten by #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson with author and musician Peter Orullian.

What new book releases are you looking forward to picking up this year? Tell us in the comments below! And be sure to check back later in the year for our August to December picks!

The post Anticipated Book Releases Hitting Shelves In 2026 appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hi, Ashley! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hi, and thanks for having me! I’m an author who writes across multiple genres, but most notably thrillers. All of my books center on complicated women who are in pursuit of great, big, epic goals, and I’m always interested in exploring moments of emotional and intellectual transcendence. I have a PhD in Literature, so I’ve been in nerd training for years, and live in Houston with my smokeshow husband and three adorable cats.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

One of my earliest academic memories is getting a homework assignment in elementary school to write a creative paragraph describing a ship sailing across the ocean. I took the assignment so seriously, pacing around my bedroom with my hands behind my back, trying out different sentences, wanting to get the musicality of the words to mimic the sound of waves hitting a hull. I think I’ve been in love with language from the beginning, though earlier in my career I wanted to be a poet.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: It’s a tie between the Sweet Valley High series and the Babysitter’s Club series, as long as by “book” you mean “stack of books.” I used to fly home from the library with at least seven of those books stacked under my chin and race through them.
• The one that made you want to become an author: The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood – what she can do with language is a marvel. I read this at twenty-one and knew I wanted to reach for those heights.
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Right now, Layne Fargo’s The Favorites, a recently-published gem.

Your latest novel, This Book Will Bury Me, is out March 25^th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

“the secret house of death” – William Shakespeare

What can readers expect?

This Book Will Bury Me is a roman a clef (a fictional work partly based on real life), and centers on a young woman named Jane Sharp, who becomes obsessed with true crime and amateur sleuthing after her father passes away and she’s left with a lot of grief and unanswered questions.

Jane falls in with an elite group of armchair detectives, and together they get really good at solving crimes before the police—but then they’re confronted with a high-profile case that has the whole world watching, a case where the families of the victims are asking for sleuths to get involved (this is loosely based on the real-life University of Idaho case). They’re determined to be the ones to solve it, and they get in way over their heads. It’s a book about grief, the human need for answers no matter the consequences, the detective living inside all of us, and the allure and ethics of true crime.

Where did the inspiration for This Book Will Bury Me come from?

As I mentioned, Bury Me is a roman a clef. I was at a book festival in early 2023, out to dinner with other writers and librarians, when the topic of true crime came up. Specifically, the popularity of true crime. Someone posed the question, “Why do you think people are so attracted to something so grisly?”

I just so happened to have fallen down the rabbit hole of true crime myself right around that time. My father passed away unexpectedly in August 2022, and when the University of Idaho case made the news in November 2022, I tracked it obsessively and read what sleuths had to say. I didn’t know why, exactly, I developed such an emotional connection to the case, only that it had to do with my own grief for my father and my unanswered questions related to him. The act of tracking the case and doing research, trying to put the pieces together, gave me the illusion that I could control and contribute to something.

So all of that crystallized for me in that moment at dinner, and I knew I wanted to write a book that was a love letter to sleuths and grieving families and really anyone who’s lost someone, while at the same time exploring the ethics of true crime from an insider’s perspective.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

I really enjoyed coming up with the four other sleuths Jane becomes close to. I modelled them after a nuclear family—there’s a father figure, a maternal figure, a brother figure, and a love interest, and as the new kid, so to speak, Jane often plays the role of little sister.

After months spent researching in true crime forums, I really wanted to capture the archetypes of people you find there, so GeorgeLightly, SleuthMistress, LordGoku, and CitizenNight each represent an amalgamation of common figures in the amateur sleuthing world. And of course, I had a lot of fun with their handles and writing their interactions. There’s obviously something very freeing about being an anonymous username on an internet forum, so they all feel a license to be very direct with each other. There’s a lot of giving each other a hard time, and I love writing banter.

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

I wanted this book to be a little closer to literary journalism than any I’ve written before, which is why I chose to write the first half as a roman a clef drawn from elements of my life. That required not only vulnerability but the clearheadedness to write about my life as if I was an outsider looking in, to sift through the minutiae of every day and see the story in it, and to relay the truth of that story without flinching. It was ultimately cathartic, but there were a lot of moments while I was drafting that I had to remind myself to take a moment and just breathe.

What’s next for you?

Continuing my track record of moving between genres with every project, my next book is called Future Saints and comes out in January 2026 from Atria. It’s about a grief-stricken, self-destructive indie rock singer whose last performance unexpectedly catapults her band to fame. (And the ghost who haunts her.)

Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?

We’re in a banner year for books, so I’m hotly anticipating Stacy Willingham’s Forget Me Not, Katabasis by RF Kuang, and A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna, among many others. Upcoming books I’ve already read so I know they’re good: The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark, Parents’ Weekend by Alex Finlay, and The Last Session by Julia Bartz.

Will you be picking up This Book Will Bury Me? Tell us in the comments and be sure to take a peek at the excerpt below!

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The post Q&A: Ashley Winstead, Author of ‘This Book Will Bury Me’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Get ready to look forward to some great fiction book releases in 2025! We’ve rounded up just a few fiction books releasing between January and June from thrillers and historical fiction, to stories of friendship and family, and more. With releases from Megan Collins, Scott Turow, Kate Alice Marshall, Jojo Moyes, Elle Cosimano, Stephen Graham Jones, Alex North, Fredrik Backman, Maggie Stiefvater, and many more, plus those making their debut.

Read on to discover new books hitting shelves in the first half of the year and be sure to check out our other 2025 round-ups too, including our Most Anticipated, Romance, Fantasy & Sci-Fi and Young Adult lists.

JANUARY 2025 FICTION BOOK RELEASES

Old Soul by Susan Barker

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The Historian meets Under the Skin in this searingly provocative literary horror novel about one woman’s determination to stay alive at any terrifying cost.

The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis

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From New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis, an utterly addictive new novel that will transport you from New York City’s most glamorous party to the labyrinth streets of Cairo and back.

A Serial Killer’s Guide to Marriage by Asia Mackay

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Two former serial killers trying to keep their past buried realize that old habits die hard in this “wildly original, razor-sharp thriller” (Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of All the Colors of the Dark).

Tell Me What You Did by Carter Wilson

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From the USA Today bestselling author of The Dead Girl in 2A and The New Neighbor comes a chilling new thriller that forces the question: are murderers always the bad guys?

The Inheritance by Trisha Sakhlecha

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A billionaire is primed to announce the succession plan for his company to his family at a lavish reunion, but at least one person won’t make it through the week alive. . . Most family reunions end in tears. This one will end in murder. 

Head Cases by John McMahon

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Head Cases follows an enigmatic group of FBI agents as they hunt down a murderer seeking his own justice in this electrifying―and commercial―series debut.

We Rip the World Apart by Charlene Carr

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Weaving the women’s stories across multiple timelines, We Rip the World Apart reveals the ways that simple choices, made in the heat of the moment and with the best of intentions, can have deep and lasting repercussions―especially when people stay silent.

The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan

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The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo meets First Lie Wins in this electric, voice-driven debut novel about an elusive bestselling author who decides to finally confess her true identity after years of hiding from her past.

Cross My Heart by Megan Collins

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She has his wife’s heart; the one she wants is his. The author of The Family Plot brings her signature “taut, emotionally charged, and propulsive” (Jeneva Rose, New York Times bestselling author) prose to a twisty novel about a heart transplant patient who becomes romantically obsessed with her donor’s husband.

We Could Be Rats by Emily Austin

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A moving story about two very different sisters, and a love letter to childhood, growing up, and the power of imagination—from the bestselling author of Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead and Interesting Facts About Space.

Presumed Guilty by Scott Turow

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New from the author of Presumed Innocent, the #1 bestseller that redefined the legal thriller and is the basis for Apple TV+’s most-watched drama series ever.

The Crash by Freida McFadden

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A gut-wrenching story of motherhood, survival, and twisted expectations, #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden delivers a snowbound thriller that will chill you to the bone.

FEBRUARY 2025 FICTION BOOK RELEASES

A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall

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A woman invited to her wealthy fiance’s family retreat realizes they are hiding a terrible secret―and that she’s been there before, by the bestselling author of What Lies in the Woods.

Junie by Erin Crosby Eckstine

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A young girl must face a life-altering decision after awakening her sister’s ghost, navigating truths about love, friendship, and power as the Civil War looms.

Maya & Natasha by Elyse Durham

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This stunning debut novel set in the fascinating world of Cold War Soviet ballet follows the fates of twin sisters whose bond is competitive, complicated, but never broken.

The Garden by Nick Newman

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An eerie, hypnotic, darkly beautiful novel about two elderly sisters living alone at the edge of the world and how their lives unravel when their sanctum is breached, for fans of Piranesi and The Testaments.

The Lamb by Lucy Rose

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From an incendiary new talent, a contemporary queer folktale about a mother and daughter living in the woods, for fans of Angela Carter, Margaret Atwood, and Julia Armfield.

Last Twilight in Paris by Pam Jenoff

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A Parisian department store, a mysterious necklace and a woman’s quest to unlock a decade-old mystery are at the center of this riveting novel of love and survival, from New York Times bestselling author Pam Jenoff.

We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes

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The #1 New York Times bestselling author, whose books so many love, brings us a fresh, contemporary story of a woman and her unruly blended family.

Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray

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She found the literary voices that would inspire the world…. The extraordinary story of the woman who ignited the Harlem Renaissance, written by Victoria Christopher Murray, New York Times bestselling coauthor of The Personal Librarian.

You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego

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An exclusive thriller writer’s retreat hosted on a private island turns lethal when one of the authors is found murdered.

The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn

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An immersive historical drama about a young mother who starts a new life with her son in New York after faking their deaths on the Titanic—the U.S. debut of acclaimed British novelist Frances Quinn.

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

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A new Anne Tyler novel destined to be an instant classic: a socially awkward mother of the bride navigates the days before and after her daughter’s wedding.

Isola by Allegra Goodman

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A young woman and her lover are marooned on an island in this breathtaking saga, an epic story of love, faith, and defiance from the bestselling author of Sam

MARCH 2025 FICTION BOOK RELEASES

The King’s Messenger by Susanna Kearsley

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New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling author Susanna Kearsley explores romance, court alliances, and the limits of one’s duty in this rich story of an honorable man in service to a treacherous king, and the mission that brings him to love and his true calling.

Broken Country by Clare Hall

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A sweeping love story with the pace and twists of a thriller, Broken Country is a novel of simmering passion, impossible choices, and explosive consequences that toggles between the past and present to explore the far-reaching legacy of first love.

Jane and Dan at the End of the World by Colleen Oakley

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Date night goes off the rails in this hilariously insightful take on midlife and marriage when one unhappy couple find themselves at the heart of a crime in progress, from the USA Today bestselling author of The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise.

This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead

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From the national bestselling author of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife and Midnight is the Darkest Hour comes a chilling, compulsive story of five amateur sleuths, whose hunt for an elusive killer catapults them into danger as the world watches.

The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry

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Inspired by a true literary mystery, New York Times bestselling author of the mesmerizing The Secret Book of Flora Lea returns with the sweeping story of a legendary book, a lost mother, and a daughter’s search for them both.

Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Cosimano

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From New York Times bestseller and Edgar-Award nominee Elle Cosimano, comes Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave―the hugely anticipated next installment in the fan-favorite Finlay Donovan series.

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

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A novel of breathtaking twists, dizzying beauty, and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us disappears.

Count My Lies by Sophie Stava

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A read-in-one-night suspense thriller narrated by a compulsive liar whose little white lies allow her to enter into the life and comfort of a wealthy married couple who are harboring much darker secrets themselves. For the millions of us still chasing those gone girls, this is perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Lucy Foley, and Laura Dave.

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones

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A chilling historical horror novel set in the American west in 1912 following a Lutheran priest who transcribes the life of a vampire who haunts the fields of the Blackfeet reservation looking for justice.

Retreat by Krysten Ritter

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A beautiful con artist insinuates herself into a wealthy socialite’s life . . . with deadly consequences, in this serpentine thriller about identity and obsession, from actress, director and bestselling author Krysten Ritter.

Dissolution by Nicholas Binge

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A woman dives into her husband’s memories to uncover a decades-old feud threatening reality itself in this staggering technothriller from the bestselling author of Ascension.

Early Thirties by Josh Duboff

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A hilarious and painfully relatable debut novel about two thirtysomething best friends’ messy search for connection and love in New York, perfect for fans of Rebecca Serle, Gabrielle Zevin, and Dolly Alderton.

APRIL 2025 FICTION BOOK RELEASES

The French Honeymoon by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau

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The Paris Apartment meets A Simple Favor in an unputdownable thriller about a honeymoon gone horribly wrong.

Coram House by Bailey Seybolt

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Sharp Objects meets I Have Some Questions for You in this haunting novel—inspired by a true story—about a crime writer who risks everything as she investigates the mystery of two deaths, decades apart, at a crumbling Vermont orphanage.

Passion Project by London Sperry

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A compassionate and hopeful romantic comedy, Passion Project is a reminder that love is waiting for us to let it in.

Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

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A woman learns the astonishing truth of her family’s ties to a vanished American Kingdom in this riveting new novel from the New York Times bestselling, NAACP Image Award-winning author of Take My Hand.

Bad Nature by Ariel Courage

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Armed with a terminal diagnosis, a grudge, and a rental car, Hester sets out to fulfill her lifelong dream of killing her father in this brilliantly subversive and bleakly funny debut novel.

What If I Never Get Over You by Paige Toon

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One Day meets a contemporary Bridgerton in this high-drama, escapist wonder of a love story, Paige Toon’s best yet.

A Town with Half the Lights On by Page Getz

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For readers of J. Ryan Stradal and The Music of Bees (with a dash of FX’s The Bear) comes a quirky and refreshing epistolary novel about family of culture-shocked Brooklynites transplanted to Goodnight, Kansas and their fight for their unexpected lifeline: the legendary May Day Diner.

The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff

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One family. Four generations. A secret son. A devastating addiction. A Texas family is met with losses and surprises of inheritance, but they’re unable to shake the pull back toward each other in this big-hearted family saga perfect for readers of Mary Beth Keane and Claire Lombardo.

Bearer of Bad News by Elisabeth Dini

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A sharply funny and moving debut in which a young woman accepts a job that takes her though the Italian Dolomites and into an international mystery far greater—and more personal—than she could have ever expected.

The Strange Case of Jane O. by Karen Thompson Walker

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In this spellbinding and provocative novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Age of Miracles, a young mother is struck by sudden and puzzling psychological symptoms that illuminate the mysterious dimensions of the human mind—and of love.

The Murder Show by Matt Goldman

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The Murder Show is a pulse-racing novel about secrets, old friends, and how the past never leaves us by New York Times bestselling and Emmy Award winning author Matt Goldman.

The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner

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Powerful witchcraft. A hunt for sunken treasure. Forbidden love on the high seas. Beware the Amalfi Curse…

MAY 2025 FICTION BOOK RELEASES

Austen At Sea by Natalie Jenner

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Two pairs of siblings, devotees of Jane Austen, find their lives transformed by a visit to England and Sir Francis Austen, her last surviving brother and keeper of a long-suppressed, secret legacy.

All the Mothers by Domenica Ruta

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From New York Times bestselling author Domenica Ruta comes a heartfelt, hilarious novel about a single mom reimagining what the perfect family can look like.

Girls of Good Fortune by Kristina McMorris

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A captivating tale of resilience and hope, The Girls of Good Fortune explores the complexity of family and identity, the importance of stories that echo through generations, and the power of strength found beneath the surface.

The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs

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Three middle-aged best friends turn to murder in order to collect on their husbands’ life insurance policies…but are unaware that their husbands have a devious plan of their own, in this darkly funny debut—perfect for fans of The Thursday Murder Club and Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone.

The Manor of Dreams by Christina Li

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Mexican Gothic meets The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo in Christina Li’s haunting novel about the secrets that lie in wait in the crumbling mansion of a former Hollywood starlet, and the intertwined fates of the two Chinese American families fighting to inherit it.

Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle

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What if you could have one last meal with someone you’ve loved, someone you’ve lost? Combining the magic of Under the Whispering Door with the high-stakes culinary world of Sweetbitter, Aftertaste is an epic love story, a dark comedy, and a synesthetic adventure through food and grief.

The Missing Half by Ashley Flowers

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Two women haunted by their sisters’ unsolved disappearances band together in this captivating mystery from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of All Good People Here and host of the #1 true crime podcast Crime Junkie.

Immaculate Conception by Ling Ling Huang

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From the author of Natural Beauty, set in the fiercely competitive art world, a novel about an obsessive friendship upended by a cutting-edge technology purported to enhance empathy and connection

My Name Is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende

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In this spellbinding historical novel from the New York Times bestselling author of A Long Petal of the Sea and The Wind Knows My Name, a young writer journeys to South America to uncover the truth about her father—and herself.

The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North

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With his signature shock and suspense, Alex North brings us The Man Made of Smoke. In turn emotional, introspective, and utterly terrifying, this is a story of fathers and sons, shadows and secrets, and the fight we all face to escape the trauma of the past.

Slaying You by Michelle Gagnon

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A wildly funny thriller about reluctant partners who hit the danger jackpot when they discover that a serial killer is on their heels . . . again.

The Night Birds by Christopher Golden

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The next gripping, atmospheric horror novel from New York Times bestselling author Christopher Golden, set in a deteriorated, half-sunken freighter ship off the coast of Galveston, TX.

JUNE 2025 FICTION BOOK RELEASES

My Friends by Fredrik Backman

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#1 New York Times bestselling author Fredrik Backman returns with an unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger’s life twenty-five years later.

Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell

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From #1 New York Times bestseller Lisa Jewell, an author “at the very top of her game” (Lucy Foley)—three women are connected by one man in this kaleidoscopic thriller.

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater

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#1 New York Times bestselling novelist Maggie Stiefvater dazzles in this mesmerizing portrait of an irresistible heroine, an unlikely romance, and a hotel—and a world—in peril.

A Language of Limbs by Dylin Hardcastle

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A beautifully inventive, tender novel—the author’s first to be published in the U.S.—following two lives as they almost intersect over three heartbreaking yet euphoric decades

The Accidental Favorite by Fran Littlewood

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From the New York Times bestselling author of Amazing Grace Adams comes a wryly resonant and deeply moving family dramedy investigating the question so many of us have asked ourselves: do my parents have a favorite?

The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau by Kristin Harmel

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Kristin Harmel, the New York Times bestselling author who “is the best there is at sweeping historical drama” (Kelly Harms, author of The Seven Day Switch), returns with an electrifying new novel about two jewel thieves, a priceless bracelet that disappears in 1940s Paris, and a quest for answers in a decades-old murder.

The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten

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Scream meets The Guest List in this wickedly compelling and compulsively page-turning thriller of friendship and murder from the author of The Lost Village, Camilla Sten.

Confessions of a Grammar Queen by Eliza Knight

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There are no female publishing CEOs in 1960’s New York. And that is exactly what savvy, ambitious Bernadette Swift plans to change.

Tell Me Something Good by Court Stevens

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This is a story of the rich and the very poor. This is a story of an illegal auction with dire consequences. This is a story of murders past and present. This is a story of intertwined relationships and the silent ripples they leave behind, where love becomes a guiding force, revealing the lengths one will go to protect those they cherish.

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark

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A blistering literary suspense novel about a ghostwriter who is hired to write the last book for her estranged father and finds herself investigating the brutal murder of both his siblings in the summer of 1975.

The Other Side of Now by Paige Harbison

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A hilarious and heartfelt novel about how loves and lives are never truly lost, for fans of Rebecca Serle and Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Park Avenue by Renée Ahdieh

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#1 NYT-bestselling YA author Renee Ahdieh’s adult debut novel, about a young lawyer who gets pulled in to manage a crisis with her firm’s biggest client, a family whose Korean beauty brand is worth a billion dollars, pitched as Crazy Rich Asians meets Succession.

What releases are you looking forward to? Any other recommendations for us? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Fiction Book Releases To Check Out In 2025 appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

2025?! How!? Nevertheless, the upside of a new year is all of the new books that will be hitting shelves! We’ve rounded up some highly anticipated  books from a range of genres releasing between the months of January and June 2025.

You can expect new releases from the likes of Taylor Jenkins Reid, Emily Henry, Samantha Shannon, Richard Swan, Kate Alice Marshall, Tessa Bailey, Suzanne Collins, Chuck Wendig, Rachel Lynn Solomon, Christopher Golden, Becky Albertalli, Rebecca Yarros, VE Schwab, Maggie Stiefvater, Fredrik Backman, and so many more, plus many making their dazzling debuts!

You’ll find quite a few exciting new reads within this list and be sure to check out our other January to June 2025 lists, which we’ll be releasing over the next month! This article will also get updated with those links so you can easily find them… We apologise in advance to your TBR pile and wallet!

• 2025 Romance Book Releases
• 2025 YA Book Releases
• 2025 Fiction Book Releases
• 2025 Fantasy & Sci-Fi Book Releases

Read on to discover our picks and tell us in the comments below if you’ll be picking up any!

JANUARY 2025 BOOK RELEASES

I Think They Love You by Julian Winters

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With his funny, big-hearted adult rom com debut, bestselling, award-winning YA author Julian Winters shows sometimes fake dating your ex can turn into a second chance.

Breath of the Dragon by Fonda Lee and Shannon Lee

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A young warrior dreams of proving his worth in the elite Guardian Tournament, fighting not only for himself but the fate of everything he loves.

Cross My Heart by Megan Collins

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She has his dead wife’s heart; the one she wants is his. The author of The Family Plot brings her signature prose to a twisty novel about a heart transplant patient who becomes romantically obsessed with her donor’s husband.

Liar’s Kingdom by Christine Calella

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An Into the Woods-inspired fairy tale retelling where Cinderella never went to the ball and must lie to get her prince.

A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson

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In an alternate London in 1923, one girl accidentally breaks the tenuous truce between dragons and humans in this sweeping debut and epic retelling of Bletchley Park steeped in language, class, and forbidden romance. Perfect for teen fans of Fourth Wing and Babel.

Unromance by Erin Connor

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A recently dumped TV heartthrob enlists a jaded romance novelist to ruin romance for him—one rom-com trope at a time—so he never gets swept off his feet again . . .

The Rival by Emma Lord

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Rivals-to-lovers gets an academic send-up in this charming and irresistible romantic comedy from Emma Lord, New York Times bestselling author of Tweet Cute and Begin Again.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

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A group of young women in a home for unwed mothers in 1970s Florida who find a book to witchcraft—a guide which may just be the key to regaining their power or the source of their worst nightmares.

Beg, Borrow, or Steal by Sarah Adams

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Two feuding second-grade teachers (and neighbors) find themselves teaming up in this new rivals-to-lovers romance set in Rome, Kentucky—from the New York Times bestselling author of The Rule Book and Practice Makes Perfect.

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

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A twisty domestic thriller about an author who travels to a remote Scottish island to write his next book…only to run into a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife. 

A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young

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In this captivating atmospheric novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Unmaking of June Farrow, a woman investigates her twin brother’s mysterious death while confronting the ghosts of her own haunted past.

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

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Get ready to fly or die in the breathtaking follow-up to Fourth Wing and Iron Flame from #1 New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Yarros.

FEBRUARY 2025 BOOK RELEASES

Hungerstone by Kat Dunn

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Set against the violent wilderness of the moors and the uncontrolled appetite of the industrial revolution, Hungerstone is a compulsive feminist reworking of Carmilla, the book that inspired Dracula: a captivating story of appetite and desire.

First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison

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A hopeless romantic meets a jaded radio host in this cozy, Sleepless in Seattle–inspired love story from beloved author B.K. Borison.

The Dark Mirror by Samantha Shannon

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The highly anticipated fifth novel in the New York Times bestselling Bone Season series-an epic and spellbinding fantasy from the author of The Priory of the Orange Tree.

A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall

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A woman invited to her wealthy fiance’s family retreat realizes they are hiding a terrible secret―and that she’s been there before, by the bestselling author of What Lies in the Woods.

Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett

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The third installment in the heartwarming and enchanting Emily Wilde series, about a curmudgeonly scholar of folklore and the fae prince she loves.

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister

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An addictive thriller about a new mother’s world upended when her husband commits a terrifying crime. How well does she truly know the man she loves? And what danger does she face if her entire life has been built on a lie?

Grave Empire by Richard Swan

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From critically acclaimed author Richard Swan, Grave Empire begins the epic tale of an empire on the verge of industrial revolution, where sorcery and arcane practices are outlawed – and where an ancient prophecy threatens the coming end of days.

Dream Girl Drama by Tessa Bailey

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A steamy chance encounter between a professional hockey player and the manic pixie dream girl he just can’t seem to forget about takes a turn when the pair realize that their parents are engaged—in an all-new rom-com by #1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey.

The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor

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The New York Times bestselling author of Hotel Magnifique returns with another glittering dark fantasy about a deadly mystery that spans worlds and a teenage girl who must risk everything to uncover the truth.

Wooing The Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis

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In a Gaslamp-lit world where hags and ogres lurk in thick pine forests, three magical queens form an uneasy alliance to protect their lands from invasion…and love turns their world upside down.

The Dollhouse Academy by Margarita Montimore

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With dark academia twists and enormous heart, The Dollhouse Academy is a novel about the complexities of friendship, our desire to be seen and understood, and the true cost of making our dreams a reality.

Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray

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From New York Times-bestselling author Libba Bray comes an evocative and groundbreaking young adult historical mystery that examines truth, rebellion, reconciliation, and what must be sacrificed for a better world.

MARCH 2025 BOOK RELEASES

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

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The phenomenal fifth book in the Hunger Games series. Sunrise on the Reaping revisits the world of Panem twenty-four years before the events of The Hunger Games, starting on the morning of the reaping of the Fiftieth Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell.

Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven

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The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue meets This is How You Lose The Time War in this fantastical love story that defies death as two souls reincarnate through the centuries.

A Gentleman’s Gentleman by TJ Alexander

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From the acclaimed author of Chef’s Kiss, a groundbreaking trans Regency romance that’s both delightfully witty and refreshingly iconoclastic.

Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Cosimano

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From New York Times bestseller and Edgar-Award nominee Elle Cosimano, comes Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave―the hugely anticipated next installment in the fan-favorite Finlay Donovan series.

Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid

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The Last of Us meets The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in this stand-alone dystopian romance about survival, sacrifice, and love that risks everything.

This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead

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From the national bestselling author of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife and Midnight is the Darkest Hour comes a chilling, compulsive story of five amateur sleuths, whose hunt for an elusive killer catapults them into danger as the world watches.

The Haunting of Room 904 by Erika T. Wurth

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From the author of White Horse comes a terrifying and resonant novel about a woman who uses her unique gift to learn the truth about her sister’s death.

The Hymn to Dionysus Natasha Pulley

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A timely reimagining of the story of Dionysus-Greek god of ecstasy, revelry, and ruin-and a captivating queer love story for readers of The Song of Achilles and Elektra.

Jane and Dan at the End of the World by Colleen Oakley

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Date night goes off the rails in this hilariously insightful take on midlife and marriage when one unhappy couple find themselves at the heart of a crime in progress, from the USA Today bestselling author of The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise.

They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran

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The author of the New York Times bestselling horror phenomenon She Is a Haunting is back with a novel about the monsters that swim beneath us . . . and live within us.

All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman

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Hilarious and twisted, propulsive and furious, All the Other Mothers Hate Me is a mix of Catastrophe and Fleabag with a dash of Nancy Drew.

Code Word Romance by Carlie Walker

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One fake prime minister, one ridiculously hot handler, and one Italian summer collide in this thrilling adventure rom-com.

APRIL 2025 BOOK RELEASES

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

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Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping new novel from Emily Henry.

Where Shadows Meet by Patrice Caldwell

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Set in the aftermath of a war between vampires, humans, and the gods that created them, Patrice Caldwell’s devastatingly romantic fantasy debut, Where Shadows Meet, centers the heart-wrenching pain of loss and the struggle of self-discovery to ask: do we choose our fates, or do our fates choose us?

The Notorious Virtues by Alwyn Hamilton

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Bestselling Rebel of the Sands author Alwyn Hamilton is back with a glittering fantasy thriller about a glamorous media darling, a surprise heiress, and the magical competition of a lifetime.

Their Monstrous Hearts by Yiğit Turhan

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A haunting novel about the boundaries people will cross to keep their dreams alive, perfect for fans of Mexican Gothic and Hereditary.

City of All Seasons by Oliver K. Langmead and Aliya Whiteley

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A vibrant and emotional science fantasy about cousins trapped in mirrored worlds – the resplendent and verdant summer city and the ice-carved wastes of the winter city. For fans of Every Heart a Doorway and This is How You Lose the Time War.

Somadina by Akwaeke Emezi

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From the National Book Award finalist and author of Pet comes a novel set in a magical West African world, about a teen girl who must save her missing twin while learning to navigate her own terrifying new powers.

The Staircase In The Woods by Chuck Wendig

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A group of friends investigates the mystery of a strange staircase in the woods in this mesmerizing horror novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Accidents.

The Folklore of Forever by Sarah Hogle

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From the acclaimed author of Old Flames and New Fortunes comes a steamy enemies-to-lovers romantasy about a paranormal skeptic who is roped into a ghost hunting romp by the charming boy next door . . . who might just show her what real fantasies are made of.

Don’t Sleep With The Dead by Nghi Vo

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From award-winning author Nghi Vo comes Don’t Sleep with the Dead, a standalone companion novella to The Chosen and the Beautiful, her acclaimed reimagining of The Great Gatsby.

Senseless by Ronald Malfi

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A page-turning, supernaturally-tinged LA puzzle-box thriller – Zodiac with teeth, from the Bram Stoker Award-nominated and bestselling author of Come with Me. Perfect for fans of Riley Sager and Lauren Beukes.

Rabbit Moon by Jennifer Haigh

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From the New York Times bestselling author of Mercy Street, a tense, propulsive family drama set in Shanghai, where a fractured American family faces its complicated past

Enchantra by Kaylie Smith

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Knives Out meets Throne of the Fallen in this spicy stand-alone romantasy set in the same world as USA Today bestselling author Kaylie Smith’s BookTok sensation Phantasma! The print edition includes custom silver foiling on the cover.

MAY 2025 BOOK RELEASES

The Love Haters by Katherine Center

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Swim lessons, helicopter flights, conga lines, drinking contests, hurricanes, and stolen kisses ―along with chances to tell the truth, to face old fears, and to be truly brave at last.

Silver Elite by Dani Francis

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In the first book of a searing new dystopian trilogy, a young woman must conceal her psychic powers—and her attraction to her handsome, infuriating commanding officer—as she works undercover to take down a brutal government from within.

My Name Is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende

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In this spellbinding historical novel from the New York Times bestselling author of A Long Petal of the Sea and The Wind Knows My Name, a young writer journeys to South America to uncover the truth about her father—and herself.

Overgrowth by Mira Grant

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Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets Day of the Triffids in this full-on body horror/alien invasion apocalypse.

The Incandescent by Emily Tesh

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Naomi Novik’s Scholomance series meets Plain Bad Heroines in this sapphic dark academia fantasy by instant national and international bestselling author Emily Tesh, winner of the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards.

What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon

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Falling in love with your husband is anything but convenient in this steamy romance from the New York Times bestselling author of Business or Pleasure.

Come As You Are by Dahlia Adler

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In this opposites attract romance for fans of Begin Again and Better Than the Movies, a fresh start doesn’t have to mean changing yourself.

The Night Birds by Christopher Golden

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The next gripping, atmospheric horror novel from NYT bestselling author Christopher Golden, set in a deteriorated, half-sunken freighter ship off the coast of Galveston, TX.

The Thrashers by Julie Soto

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A twisty thrill-ride of unforgettable drama and suspense that “encapsulates the vulnerability of adolescents playing adult games” (Ali Hazelwood) from USA Today bestselling author Julie Soto, The Thrashers will keep you up at night desperate to read just one more page.

The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig

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From NYT bestselling author Rachel Gillig comes the next big romantasy sensation, a gothic, mist-cloaked tale of a young prophetess who is forced on an impossible quest with the one infuriating knight whose future is beyond her sight. Perfect for fans of Jennifer L. Armentrout and Leigh Bardugo.

The Devils by Joe Abercrombie

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A brand-new epic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Joe Abercrombie, featuring a notorious band of anti-heroes on a delightfully bloody and raucous journey

The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin by Alison Goodman

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In Regency England, the eccentric Colebrook sisters are amateur detectives who use their wits and invisibility as “old maids” to fight injustice in this delightful and fiercely feminist novel of mystery and adventure from New York Times bestselling author Alison Goodman.

JUNE 2025 BOOK RELEASES

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six comes an epic new novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle program and the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by Victoria E. Schwab

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From V. E. Schwab, the No. 1 Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue: a new genre-defying, unforgettable novel to sink your teeth into.

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater

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#1 New York Times bestselling novelist Maggie Stiefvater dazzles in this mesmerizing portrait of an irresistible heroine, an unlikely romance, and a hotel—and a world—in peril.

Amelia, If Only by Becky Albertalli

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The beautiful and heartwarming new romance from Becky Albertalli, best-selling author of Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda.

My Friends by Fredrik Backman

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#1 New York Times bestselling author Fredrik Backman returns with an unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger’s life twenty-five years later.

Park Avenue by Renée Ahdieh

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#1 NYT-bestselling YA author Renee Ahdieh’s adult debut novel, about a young lawyer who gets pulled in to manage a crisis with her firm’s biggest client, a family whose Korean beauty brand is worth a billion dollars, pitched as Crazy Rich Asians meets Succession.

Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston

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A hitmaking songwriter and a bitter musician share a startling and inexplicable connection that they’ll do anything to shake, in the next sparkling, magical book from Ashley Poston.

Realm of Thieves by Karina Halle

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Two thieves vie for dominance in the illegal dragon egg trade, putting both their lives and their hearts on the line in this scorching romantasy from New York Times bestselling author Karina Halle.

He’s to Die For by Erin Dunn

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Brooklyn 99 meets The Charm Offensive in this sparkling romantic murder mystery: it’s murder cute in the first degree when a detective finds himself falling for the lead suspect in a career-making case.

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark

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A blistering literary suspense novel about a ghostwriter who is hired to write the last book for her estranged father and finds herself investigating the brutal murder of both his siblings in the summer of 1975.

The Beautiful Maddening by Shea Ernshaw

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From #1 New York Times bestselling author Shea Ernshaw comes a haunting romantic contemporary fantasy about a teen navigating her family’s love curse that blooms with their enchanted tulips every year.

The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten

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Scream meets The Guest List in this wickedly compelling and compulsively page-turning thriller of friendship and murder from the author of The Lost Village, Camilla Sten.

What books are you looking forward to picking up in the first half of the year? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Anticipated Book Releases Hitting Shelves In 2025 appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Intrigued? Well read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Ashley Winstead’s Midnight Is The Darkest Hour, which is out October 3rd.

For fans of Verity and A Flicker in the Dark, this is a twisted tale of murder, obsessive love, and the beastly urges that lie dormant within us all…even the God-fearing folk of Bottom Springs, Louisiana. In her small hometown, librarian Ruth Cornier has always felt like an outsider, even as her beloved father rains fire-and-brimstone warnings from the pulpit at Holy Fire Baptist.

Unfortunately for Ruth, the only things the townspeople fear more than the God and the Devil are the myths that haunt the area, like the story of the Low Man, a vampiric figure said to steal into sinners’ bedrooms and kill them on moonless nights. When a skull is found deep in the swamp next to mysterious carved symbols, Bottom Springs is thrown into uproar—and Ruth realizes only she and Everett, an old friend with a dark past, have the power to comb the town’s secret underbelly in search of true evil.

A dark and powerful novel like fans have come to expect from Ashley Winstead, Midnight is the Darkest Hour is an examination of the ways we’ve come to expect love, religion, and stories to save us, the lengths we have to go to in order to take back power, and the monstrous work of being a girl in this world.

Chapter Two
June, Seventeen Years Old

I was seventeen when I went on my first date, much later than the other girls. Since courting for marriage is one of the only forms of entertainment we’ve got down here in Bottom Springs, and bored girls in small towns are inclined toward entertainment, we tend to start quick. But late or not, it was a miracle I had a date at all. For one thing, my father is Pastor James Cornier, preacher at Holy Fire Born Again and spiritual leader to every soul in Trufayette Parish, minus the handful of Godless heathens. Not many boys want to date a preacher’s daughter, and rightfully so. After all, in a town like ours, it’s best to keep your vices—your underage drinking and late-night fumbling in the back seat—as far from prying eyes as possible.

But mostly it was a miracle because of who I am all on my own. If you were to ask around about Miss Ruth Cornier, you’d hear the same story: Miss Ruth Cornier, they’d tell you, is a good God-fearing girl, not a lick of trouble, raised by two upstanding, cane-wielding pillars of the community. But intensely shy to the point of muteness, to the point of not being able to function when spoken to, a girl who grows red-faced and stuttering upon too forward a glance. A wisp of a girl, someone who haunts the background of photographs, unlikely to look a boy in the eyes, let alone date one.

And they were right. I was shy. But mostly I was lonely. While everyone respected my parents, they also feared them—especially my father, who held the power to damn sinners to Hell and used it frequently. My mother held a different kind of power: she was nearly as quiet as I was, at least in public. But in private her judgment was harsh, her tongue legendary, her whisper campaigns the kind that saw entire families shunned from potlucks and Sunday services over a single member’s wrongdoing. If anyone in Bottom Springs assumed life inside the Cornier house was different—that within the private walls of our two-story clapboard, the three of us shared a special familial intimacy, that my parents granted me a leniency and tenderness they gave no one else, the kind of loving indulgence a mother might give a naughty child who’s snagged a sucker from the grocery store—they would be wrong. There were moments of tenderness when I was young, evenings when my father would allow me to rest my head on his knee while he read, mornings when my mother’s fingers would soften and slow as they combed through my hair, but these were fleeting moments, dandelion seeds in my palm, lost the second I stopped clutching. For the most part there was no one my parents watched closer than me, looking for any hint of immorality or wantonness. And when they found one, there was no person on earth they would send to Hell quicker, Hell being twelve lashes with my father’s rattan cane, followed by a week locked inside my bedroom.

It was therefore wise to be a wisp. Even if my severe quietness meant that at school, I was as unpopular and friendless as poor Samuel Landry, whose Tourette’s syndrome made him a target for the crueler students, and Everett Duncan, whose ratty clothes, intense stare, and stubborn refusal to answer questions when called upon made it clear he was following in the footsteps of his ne’er-do-well father, one of the town’s chief church-shirkers. But it hardly mattered that no one invited me to drink Coors Light out in Starry Swamp on Saturdays. My whole life, I’d tried in timid overtures to find other people I could relate to, someone to call a friend, but I’d always failed. In such a small town, the pickings were slim. I wasn’t my parents’ kind of girl, not on the inside, but I wasn’t anyone else’s, either.

So instead of friendships, I cultivated quiet rebellions. Most came in the form of books. At Sacred Surrender High School, the library was tightly controlled by the church elders. It contained no suggestive books, no books that glorified sins like rebelling against one’s parents or sex before marriage. But most of all, it contained no occult. No boy or girl wizards or tales of monsters or werewolf love stories. The occult was a particular sticking point with my father. Because around here, the only belief system that had ever competed with religion was superstition; the only things parishioners had ever feared as much as God were the evils said to roam around us.

In fairness, Bottom Springs does look like the Creator had built it with the otherworldly in mind. Though I have only our neighboring towns to compare to, Forsythe and Trouville to the east and Houma to the north, I’ve always felt Bottom Springs must be the most beautiful place on earth. Here at the tip of Louisiana, it’s as if the sky and swamp and wild green trees know Holy Fire demands we lead staid, ascetic lives and try to make up for it, giving us all the splendor and decadence we aren’t supposed to want. Sunrises and sunsets are riots of color, the gulf sapphire blue, the black swamp laced with velvet-green lily pads, tall trees almost floating out of the depths. Trees everywhere, in fact: bending over dirt roads and bracing the shore and thick as a wall of sentries in the woods, dripping with Spanish moss. All this beauty stirs the soul, making one feel the pinprick presence of another order: God, perhaps, but maybe also something darker, secret beings with lives that unfold in the slivers between trees, whose slitted eyes blink open at night in the depths of the swamp, yellow and ancient as alligators’.

One story in particular has haunted Bottom Springs for as long as anyone can remember. It tells of a creature whose true name is so hoary and evil that men’s minds can’t contain it, and so we call him the Low Man. Cursed to remain trapped in Bottom Springs by men who practiced spiritual magics now long forgotten, the Low Man slumbers for all eternity in the deep, dark heart of the swamp, in a place no trapper or hunter has ever set foot. Every few years, the story goes, he wakes and rises from his underwater tomb to roam Bottom Springs, searching for a way out, seeking to be let loose upon the world in order to devour it.

Furious at his imprisonment, the Low Man settles for devouring us instead. He takes the shape of a beautiful man, a trap for sinners as seductive as a coral snake’s bright rings. The Low Man can see into your heart, see your true wickedness, and once he’s marked you, whether it’s hours, days, or years later, one night he will slip in through your window. He’ll sink his fangs into your neck like a rough kiss and feast—not only on your body, dismembering the cage that contains you, but on your soul. There is no Heaven or Hell waiting for those slaughtered by the Low Man. Only the worst fate of all, which is nothingness, which is to be reduced to a sparkless, nerveless thing, a bag of flesh that rots and stinks and then ceases to exist.

While the myth of the Low Man had fallen out of regular mention by the time I grew up, men still told stories after they’d had a few too many Wild Turkeys at the Blue Moon bar, describing how they’d seen him slip into the shadows between houses when they were young, felt his cold presence when they ventured too deep into the swamp. Children still checked the locks on their windows before they went to bed and stared hard at any man with a face too close to beautiful. And the threat of something old and hungry in the swamp lent an extra sense of thrill to the parties teenagers threw there. Once, I’d wondered which scared the people of Bottom Springs more: the Low Man or the Devil.

This, of course, was a problem for my father, who felt God should have the monopoly on fear. So the school library was tightly restricted, youths’ minds protected, and that meant it was no place for me. But in the town library—a small brick building off Main Street with a roof steepled like a church—sometimes an illicit book would find its way in. One of my greatest blessings was that the library was perpetually underfunded. Without a healthy budget, it relied on donations, often cardboard boxes stuffed with bent paperbacks and the occasional stray T-shirt meant for Goodwill. Even more occasionally, parishioners would forget to scour through their stacks to take out anything damning. By the time I turned fourteen, I’d gotten my hands on a Danielle Steel and the second and fifth Percy Jacksons that way, all haphazardly pulled out of donation boxes and stuck onto the shelves.

While the librarians were sometimes careless, I was always alert, books being my only lifeline. I was as hungry for stories as the Low Man was for souls, devouring every book that wasn’t a spiritual, each one proof another world existed outside the one I knew. I believe at one point, I’d read every book available in town. I used to smile at how misguided my father was, thinking the classics he allowed—Wuthering Heights and Great Expectations and The Age of Innocence—had nothing to teach about rebellion. I learned to question and rage and self-immolate over love alongside Heathcliff and Pip and Newland Archer.

And then I found Twilight.

The copy was wedged into a shelf of spy novels. It was a miracle I happened to spot it. A miracle I had the courage to take it to the farthest corner of the library and read it in the shadows, chapter by chapter, returning day after day since I could never check it out. It was the ultimate contraband: a story both occult and romantic, and meant for girls like me. In Bella, I found a mirror. We were both shy and overlooked, with the smallest of lives, hemmed in by circumstances outside our control. And in the vampire Edward, I found everything I’d ever wanted in a man. He loved Bella with single-minded devotion, a self-effacing passion beyond anything a human man was capable of. That’s in turn how I loved him. I read the novel five times in the span of a month, then spent months after fruitlessly searching the stacks for the sequel teased at the end. Eventually, I committed the crime of shoving the book in my backpack and bringing it home. At the time, it was the worst thing I’d ever done. The night I stole it, I woke at midnight in a cold sweat, sure the Low Man or at least my father would come hunting for me.

Twilight was the bridge to my second rebellion: an obsession with the kind of love my father rarely talked about in church. The kind where you felt all the overwhelming awe you were supposed to feel for Jesus, but for another person. It fascinated me. Though I prayed to God every night and believed he was listening, I’d never felt particularly close. I’d never felt close to another person, either. And of the two connections, I wished for the person more. Ruth Cornier, the preacher’s daughter, coveted a boy’s love more than God’s. That was another secret I hid in my muteness.

I found Twilight at fourteen. By the time I was seventeen, there was no girl in the world more willing to be consumed by love. I even had a favorite daydream. My hair—long, wavy, and copper—was the one thing about me worth attention. It was unprecedented in our family, mine alone. I used to imagine a boy combing his hands through it, letting the curls loop around his fingers like rings, binding us together. He would whisper that it was beautiful—not me, necessarily, not my round, freckled face, but my hair. And then he would kiss me. I told myself if life could just give me that—one moment to feel lovely, a single, perfect kiss—I would never ask for more.

So the Sunday a new face cropped up in the pews, I took notice.

The post Read An Excerpt From ‘Midnight Is the Darkest Hour’ by Ashley Winstead appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

I’m not a romance trope monogamist. Give me all your second chance, friends to lovers, marriage of convenience, fake dating romances and I will devour each and every one. But there’s something about enemies to lovers that draws me in every time. The tension? The banter? The heat? Yes, yes, and yes.

I love enemies to lovers romcoms in all their forms, but I’m especially keen on ones where the characters have a past. And so I wrote one. In Someone Just Like You, Molly and Jude lived across the street from each other growing up. The same age, both the youngest of three, and with parents who are best friends, they spent a lot of time together…and hated every second. Complete opposites, Molly thinks Jude is a too—charming slacker and Jude thinks Molly is allergic to fun. Now in their late twenties, they should be free to have nothing to do with each other. Instead, they live six blocks apart in Manhattan, are being forced by their older siblings to plan a surprise co-anniversary party for their parents, and oh yeah, they’ve both been unknowingly dating a version of each other’s doppelganger for a decade.

Here are some of my other favourite enemies to lovers romcoms from the last few years featuring characters who have a past:

ANNE OF MANHATTAN by Brina Starler

A modern reimagining of Anne of Green Gables with former schoolmates and rivals, Anne and Gilbert, set against a New York City backdrop.

After an idyllic girlhood in Avonlea, Long Island, Anne has packed up her trunk, said goodbye to her foster parents, Marilla and Matthew, and moved to the isle of Manhattan for grad school. Together with her best friend, Diana Barry, she’s ready to take on the world and find her voice as a writer.

When her long-time archrival Gilbert Blythe shows up at Redmond College for their final year, Anne gets the shock of her life. Gil has been in California for the last five years—since he kissed her during a beach bonfire, and she ghosted him. Now the handsome brunette is flashing his dimples at her like he hasn’t a care in the world and she isn’t buying it.

Paired with the same professor for their thesis, the two former competitors come to a grudging peace that turns into something so much deeper…and sexier than either intended. But when Gil seemingly betrays her to get ahead, Anne realizes she was right all along—she should never have trusted Gilbert Blythe.

While Gil must prove to Anne that they’re meant to be together, she must come to terms with her old fears if she wants a happily-ever-after with the boy she’s always (secretly) loved.

THE HOOKUP PLAN by Farrah Rochon

London competed with Drew all through high school and now he’s the perfect definition of self-care in the form of casual sex. Until she falls for him.

Successful pediatric surgeon London Kelley just needs to find some balance and de-stress. According to her friends Samiah and Taylor, what London really needs is a casual hookup. A night of fun with no strings. But no one—least of all London—expected it to go down at her high school reunion with Drew Sullivan, millionaire, owner of delicious abs, and oh yes, her archnemesis.

Now London is certain the road to hell is paved with good sex. Because she’s found out the real reason Drew’s back in Austin: to decide whether her beloved hospital remains open. Worse, Drew is doing everything he can to show her that he’s a decent guy who actually cares. But London’s not falling for it. Because while sleeping with the enemy is one thing, falling for him is definitely not part of the plan.

FOOL ME ONCE by Ashley Winstead

He’s the ex-boyfriend who screwed her over, or so she thought when she responded in kind. Now they are forced to work together on the most important project of her career to date.

Lee Stone is a twenty-first-century woman: she kicks butt at her job as a communications director at a women-run electric car company (that’s better than Tesla, thank you), and after work she is “Stoner,” drinking guys under the table and never letting any of them get too comfortable in her bed…

That’s because Lee’s learned one big lesson: never trust love. Four major heartbreaks set her straight, from her father cheating on her mom all the way to Ben Laderman in grad school—who wasn’t actually cheating, but she could have sworn he was, so she reciprocated in kind.

Then Ben shows up five years later, working as a policy expert for the most liberal governor in Texas history, just as Lee is trying to get a clean energy bill rolling. Things get complicated—and competitive—as Lee and Ben are forced to work together. Tension builds just as old sparks reignite, fanning the flames for a romantic dustup the size of Texas.

JUST MY TYPE by Falon Ballard

First loves now competing for the same job!

Lana Parker is an expert girlfriend. After a disastrous breakup with her high school boyfriend, she’s bounced from long-term relationship to long-term relationhip and even works as the dating and relationships columnist for one of Los Angeles’s trendiest websites. But when Lana suddenly finds herself single, she’s ready to take a break, both personally and professionally.

That is, until her high school ex, Seth Carson, takes an assignment at Lana’s site. Having spent years traveling the world as a freelance journalist, Seth’s finally ready to put down roots. Seth and Lana’s chemistry is just as combative—and undeniable—as ever and quickly leads to a competition that could shape both of their careers. Pitted against each other by Lana’s boss, they are each tasked with writing an article series that goes against their usual dating type: Lana needs to write about being single and staying single, while Seth must learn to settle down and become boyfriend material. Whoever’s series is most popular wins a highly coveted dream job. But when the two square off, it’s not only their careers on the line—it’s also their hearts.

YOU DESERVE EACH OTHER by Sarah Hogle

An engaged couple who started out strong, but now she’ll try anything to get him to call the whole thing off.

Naomi Westfield has the perfect fiancé: Nicholas Rose holds doors open for her, remembers her restaurant orders, and comes from the kind of upstanding society family any bride would love to be a part of. They never fight. They’re preparing for their lavish wedding that’s three months away. And she is miserably and utterly sick of him.

Naomi wants out, but there’s a catch: whoever ends the engagement will have to foot the nonrefundable wedding bill. When Naomi discovers that Nicholas, too, has been feigning contentment, the two of them go head-to-head in a battle of pranks, sabotage, and all-out emotional warfare.

But with the countdown looming to the wedding that may or may not come to pass, Naomi finds her resolve slipping. Because now that they have nothing to lose, they’re finally being themselves—and having fun with the last person they expect: each other.

THE PLUS ONE by Mazey Eddings

Childhood enemies who are struggling as adults throw shade at each other while sharing living space until they realize they’re a perfect match.

Some facts are indisputable. The sun rises in the east, sets in the west. Gravity exists. Indira doesn’t like Jude. Jude doesn’t like Indira. But what happens when these childhood enemies find the only thing they can rely on is each other?

On paper, Indira has everything together. An amazing job, a boyfriend, and a car. What more could a late twenty-something ask for? But when she walks in on her boyfriend in an amorous embrace with a stranger, that perfect on paper image goes up in flames.

Jude has nothing together. A doctor that’s spent the last three years traveling the world to treat emergencies and humanitarian crises, a quick trip home for his best friend’s wedding has him struggling to readjust.

Thrust into an elaborate (and ridiculously drawn out) wedding event that’s stressing Jude beyond belief and has Indira seeing her ex and his new girlfriend far more frequently than any human should endure, the duo strike a bargain to be each other’s fake dates to this wedding from hell. The only problem is, their forced proximity and fake displays of affection are starting to feel a bit…real, and both are left grappling with the idea that a situation that couldn’t be worse, is made a little better with the other around.

KISS HER ONCE FOR ME by Alison Cochrun

Ellie and Jack had a fling that ended badly. Now Ellie’s fake dating Jack’s brother.

One year ago, recent Portland transplant Ellie Oliver had her dream job in animation and a Christmas Eve meet-cute with a woman at a bookstore that led her to fall in love over the course of a single night. But after a betrayal the next morning and the loss of her job soon after, she finds herself adrift, alone, and desperate for money.

Finding work at a local coffee shop, she’s just getting through the days—until Andrew, the shop’s landlord, proposes a shocking, drunken plan: a marriage of convenience that will give him his recent inheritance and alleviate Ellie’s financial woes and isolation. They make a plan to spend the holidays together at his family cabin to keep up the ruse. But when Andrew introduces his new fiancée to his sister, Ellie is shocked to discover it’s Jack—the mysterious woman she fell for over the course of one magical Christmas Eve the year before. Now, Ellie must choose between the safety of a fake relationship and the risk of something real.

The post 7 Enemies To Lovers Books You Should Read appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hello second half of 2023 and hello to all the incredible upcoming book releases we can look forward to!

In this round up, we take a look at some of the most exciting titles to be released between the months of July and December with releases from the likes of Rachel Lynn Solomon, Temi Oh, Chuck Wendig, VE Schwab, Cassandra Clare, Rebecca Yarros, Christina Henry, and many more, along with delightful debuts from new authors you should keep on your radar!

Read on to discover just a few of our favourite July to December 2023 releases and tell us in the comments if you’re looking forward to any of them! Looking for our January to June releases? Check them out here.

JULY

Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon
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A ghostwriter and a struggling actor help each other on the page and in the bedroom in this steamy romantic comedy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Ex Talk.

Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong
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Inspired by Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, Immortal Longings is a fiery collision of power plays, spilled blood, and romance amidst a set of deadly games.

Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates
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From bestselling author Darcy Coates comes Dead of Winter, a remote cabin in the snowy wilderness thriller that will teach you to trust no one. There are eight strangers. One killer. Nowhere left to run.

Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino
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Jenny Han meets CODA in this big-hearted YA debut about first love and Deaf pride at a summer camp.

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle
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A searing and earnest horror debut about the demons the queer community faces in America, the price of keeping secrets, and finding the courage to burn it all down.

Bonesmith by Nicki Pau Preto
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Gideon the Ninth meets the Game of Thrones White Walkers in this dark young adult fantasy about a disgraced ghost-fighting warrior who must journey into a haunted wasteland to rescue a kidnapped prince.

Light Bringer by Pierce Brown
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Darrow returns as Pierce Brown’s New York Times bestselling Red Rising series continues in the thrilling sequel to Dark Age.

The Summer of Songbirds by Kristy Woodson Harvey
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Four women come together to save the summer camp that changed their lives and rediscover themselves in the process in this moving new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Veil and the Peachtree Bluff series.

Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson
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An exhilarating and expansive new novel about fathers and sons, faith and friendship from Caleb Azumah Nelson, the no.1 bestselling, award-winning author of Open Water.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center
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From New York Times bestselling author Katherine Center comes Hello, Stranger, a novel about finding love, confronting a haunting past, and figuring out what, and who, really matters…

The Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons
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From the USA Today bestselling author of The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett comes a heartwarming story of found family, love, and making connections through books set against the bombing of London during WWII.

The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem
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A fugitive queen strikes a bargain with her greatest enemy that could resurrect her scorched kingdom or leave it in ashes forever in this unmissable Egyptian-inspired epic fantasy debut. 

AUGUST

Together We Rot by Skyla Arndt
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A teen girl looking for the truth about her missing mother forms a reluctant alliance with her former best friend…in exchange for hiding him from his cult-leading family.

I’m Not Done With You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto
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Some friends–and friendships–are worth killing for in this dark, twisty suspense novel by national bestselling author Jesse Q. Sutanto.

The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang
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Inspired by a classic of martial arts literature, S. L. Huang’s The Water Outlaws are bandits of devastating ruthlessness, unseemly femininity, dangerous philosophies, and ungovernable gender who are ready to make history—or tear it apart.

Accidentally in Love by Danielle Jackson
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A delightful rom-com where grumpy-meets-sunshine collides with enemies-to-lovers in this perfect summer novel, written for fans of Kate Stayman-London, Olivia Dade, and Denise Williams.

Guardians of the Dawn: Zhara by S. Jae-Jones
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Sailor Moon meets Cinder in Guardians of Dawn: Zhara, the start of a new, richly imagined fantasy series from S. Jae-Jones, the New York Times bestselling author of Wintersong.

The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter
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The New York Times bestselling YA author of the beloved Gallagher Girls series bursts onto the adult scene with a fast-paced, hilarious road trip rom-com about a woman with amnesia who discovers she’s the identical twin sister of a rogue spy… and must team up with a rugged, grumpy operative to stay alive.

More Perfect by Temi Oh
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A reimagining of the Greek myth of Eurydice and Orpheus, for fans of Becky Chambers and William Gibson by Alex Award–winning author Temi Oh.

Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine
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The Push meets The Silent Patient in a gripping thriller that follows a woman convinced a sinister figure is going to great lengths to make sure her pregnancy never happens—while the men in her life refuse to believe a word she says.

Actually Super by Adi Alsaid
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A globetrotting novel that takes a determined teen from Japan to Australia and to Argentina and Mexico on a quest to prove that humanity is more good than bad from the author of Let’s Get Lost and Before Takeoff.

The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman
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From the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Marriage of Opposites and the Practical Magic series comes an enchanting novel about love, heartbreak, self-discovery, and the enduring magic of books.

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher
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From USA Today bestselling author T. Kingfisher, Thornhedge is the tale of a kind-hearted, toad-shaped heroine, a gentle knight, and a mission gone completely sideways.

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell
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Lisa Jewell returns with a scintillating new psychological thriller about a woman who finds herself the subject of her own popular true crime podcast.

SEPTEMBER

This Spells Disaster by Tori Anne Martin
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Fake dating gets a magical twist in this enchanting queer romantic comedy where a witch worries that the real feelings brewing between her and her crush were sparked by an accidental love potion, and the only way out of the disastrous spell is a healthy dose of the truth–drink up, witches.

The Fragile Threads of Power by V. E. Schwab
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V. E. Schwab, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, opens another door to a new fantasy series set in the dazzling world of Shades of Magic.

Dreambound by Dan Frey
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In this thrilling contemporary fantasy novel, a father must uncover the secret magical underbelly of Los Angeles to find his daughter, who has seemingly disappeared into the fictional universe of her favorite fantasy series.

The September House by Carissa Orlando
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A woman is determined to stay in her dream home even after it becomes a haunted nightmare in this compulsively readable, twisty, and layered debut novel.

The Salvation Gambit by Emily Skrutskie
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A hotheaded hacker must outwit the AI at the heart of a rogue warship–turned–penal colony if she and her crew of con women want to escape with their lives in this electrifying sci-fi thriller from the acclaimed author of Bonds of Brass.

Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig
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A small town is transformed by dark magic when a strange tree begins bearing magical apples in this new masterpiece of horror from the bestselling author of Wanderers and The Book of Accidents.

The Forest Grimm by Kathryn Purdie
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A spellbinding YA fantasy from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kathryn Purdie, where fairy tales come to life with dark, deadly twists.

The Long Game by Elena Armas
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A disgraced soccer exec reluctantly enlists the help of a retired soccer star in coaching a children’s team in this smalltown love story in the vein of Ted Lasso and It Happened One Summer —from the New York Times bestselling author of The Spanish Love Deception.

The Pomegranate Gate by Ariel Kaplan
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The first adventure in the Mirror Realm Cycle, a Spanish Inquisition-era fantasy trilogy inspired by Jewish folklore, with echoes of Naomi Novik and Katherine Arden.

Mermaids Never Drown: Tales to Dive For
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14 Young Adult short stories from bestselling and award-winning authors make a splash in Mermaids Never Drown – the second collection in the Untold Legends series edited by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker – exploring mermaids like we’ve never seen them before!

Fly With Me by Andie Burke
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A sparkling and steamy opposites-attract romance, Fly with Me by Andie Burke is filled with sharp banter and that sweet, swooping feeling of finding “the one” when and where you least expect it.

Champion of Fate by Kendare Blake
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#1 New York Times bestselling author Kendare Blake is back with an epic duology starter that follows a young woman training to join a fabled order as she attempts to lead a hero to his critical first victory. A must-read for fans of Alexandra Bracken and Victoria Aveyard.

OCTOBER

Stars in Your Eyes by Kacen Callender
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The National Book Award-winning author of  Felix Ever After  delivers a beautifully tender story of two grumpy/sunshine, fake-dating actors navigating their love story both on and offscreen—perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston and Alexis Hall.

Making It So: A Memoir by Patrick Stewart
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A revealing portrait of an artist whose astonishing life—from his humble beginnings in Yorkshire, England, to the heights of Hollywood and worldwide acclaim—proves a story as exuberant, definitive, and enduring as the author himself

Unholy Terrors by Lyndall Clipstone
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Midnight Is The Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead
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From the critically acclaimed author of In My Dreams I Hold A Knife and The Last Housewife comes a gothic Southern thriller about a killer haunting a small Louisiana town, where two outcasts—the preacher’s daughter and the boy from the wrong side of the tracks—hold the key to uncovering the truth.

Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Maniscalco
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The adult debut of #1 New York Times bestselling author Kerri Maniscalco, Throne of the Fallen is a seductive new standalone novel set within her fan-favorite Kingdom of the Wicked world, perfect for readers of fantasy, romance, and mystery alike.

Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare
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Two outcasts find themselves caught in a web of forbidden love, dangerous magic, and dark secrets that could change the world forever in the start of a riveting epic fantasy series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Shadowhunter Chronicles.

Wildfire by Hannah Grace
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The latest in the TikTok sensation and deliciously “swoonworthy” (Elena Armas, New York Times bestselling author) Maple Hills series follows two summer camp counselors who reconnect after a sizzling one-night stand.

The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker
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New from the author of The Keeper of Night comes a YA fantasy duology set in an alternate Tang Dynasty China, where a poor biracial girl with the ability to raise the dead gets caught up in the dangerous political games of the royal family.

The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey
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Bestselling authors Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey have teamed up to deliver a dark new story with magic, monsters, and mayhem, perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman and Joe Hill.

Wrath Becomes Her by Aden Polydoros
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Frankenstein meets Inglourious Basterds in this stunning Jewish historical horror novel from the award-winning author of The City Beautiful.

The Intern by Michele Campbell
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A young Harvard law student falls under the spell of a charismatic judge in this timely and thrilling novel about class, ambition, family and murder.

Juniper’s Christmas by Eoin Colfer
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From acclaimed, mega-bestselling author Eoin Colfer comes a Christmas classic-in-the-making–a beautifully illustrated novel about an eleven-year-old girl’s wild adventure to find her mother, protect a public park, and save Christmas.

NOVEMBER

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
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In this clever and swoonworthy YA debut from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis, life’s moving pieces bring rival chess players together in a match for the heart.

Temple of Fortuna by Elodie Harper
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Amara’s journey has taken her far; from a slave in Pompeii’s wolf den to a high-powered courtesan in Rome… though her story is not over yet. While Amara plays for power in Rome’s imperial palace, those dearest to her remain in Pompeii. But it is AD 79, and mighty Mount Vesuvius is about to make itself known…

Good Girls Don’t Die by Christina Henry
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A sharp-edged, supremely twisty thriller about three women who find themselves trapped inside stories they know aren’t their own, from the author of Alice and Near the Bone.

The Future by Naomi Alderman
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From the award-winning, bestselling author of The Power comes a white-knuckle tour de force and dazzling exploration of the world we have made and where we are going.

Sun of Blood and Ruin by Mariely Lares – Publication has now changed to February 20, 2024
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Rumor has it on the streets of sixteenth-century New Spain, there’s a new vigilante in town serving justice. This reimagining of Zorro–featuring a heroic warrior sorceress–weaves Mesoamerican mythology and Mexican history two decades after the Spanish conquest into a swashbuckling, historical debut fantasy with magic, intrigue, treachery, and romance.

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
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Murtagh by Christopher Paolini
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Master storyteller and internationally bestselling author Christopher Paolini returns to the World of Eragon in this stunning epic fantasy set a year after the events of the Inheritance Cycle. Join Dragon Rider—and fan favorite—Murtagh and his dragon as they confront a perilous new enemy!

Didn’t See That Coming by Jesse Q. Sutanto
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A hilariously fresh and romantic send-up to You’ve Got Mail about a gamer girl with a secret identity and the online bestie she’s never met IRL until she unwittingly transfers to his school, from the bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties, The Obsession, and Well, That Was Unexpected.

What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez
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The Mummy meets Death on the Nile in What the River Knows, Isabel Ibañez’s lush, immersive historical fantasy set in Egypt and filled with adventure, a rivals-to-lovers romance, and a dangerous race.

Gorgeous Gruesome Faces by Linda Cheng
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Yellowjackets meets She Is a Haunting in this debut speculative thriller that follows a disgraced teen idol who comes face-to-face with the demons of her past in a glittering, cutthroat K-pop competition.

The Fascination by Essie Fox
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The estranged grandson of a wealthy collector of human curiosities becomes fascinated with teenaged twin sisters, leading them into a web of dark obsessions. A dazzlingly dark gothic novel from the bestselling author of  The Somnambulist.

Emmett by L. C. Rosen
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A modern-day gay YA Emma, with the spikey social critique of Austen plus the lush over-the-top romance of Bridgerton.

DECEMBER

Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura
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Rival archaeologists must team up on a secret Aztec expedition, or it could leave their careers—and hearts—in ruins.

The Ruined by Renée Ahdieh
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The stunning conclusion to the instant New York Times bestselling quartet that began with The Beautiful.

A River of Golden Bones by A.K. Mulford
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From bestselling author and TikTok sensation A.K. Mulford comes the first riveting, enchanting book in the all-new Golden Court romantasy trilogy–A River of Golden Bones begins a journey of self-discovery, romance, and adventure for a young heir as she/they comes out of hiding to save her sister from a malicious, powerful sorceress and her dangerous sleeping curse.

Perfect Little Lives: A Novel by Amber and Danielle Brown
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Every Time You Go Away by Abigail Johnson
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Perfect for fans of Jennifer Niven, Abigail Johnson draws a searing and lyrical portrait of grief, forgiveness, and the kind of love that blooms in the aftermath.

Second Chances in New Port Stephen by T.J. Alexander
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A trans man returns to his Florida hometown for Christmas after his career goes up in flames, only to cross paths with his high school ex in this charming rom-com about family and second chances from the author of the “delectable” (Time) Chef’s Kiss.

The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson
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Two wolf shifters agree to be fake mates but unexpectedly find something real in this steamy paranormal romantic comedy by Lana Ferguson.

The Fairytale Life of Dorothy Gale by Virginia Kantra
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A woman learns to follow her own road in this heartwarming novel inspired by The Wizard of Oz by New York Times bestselling author Virginia Kantra.

What July to December book releases are you looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Get Your Hands On These Anticipated July To December 2023 Book Releases appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Read on to discover our picks and let us know if you’re excited for any of these releases too!

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli
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With humor and insight, #1 New York Times bestseller Becky Albertalli explores the nuances of sexuality, identity, and friendship.

The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Sparks fly when a romance novelist and a documentary filmmaker join forces to craft the perfect Hollywood love story and take both of their careers to the next level—but only if they can keep the chemistry between them from taking the whole thing off script.

The Daydreams by Laura Hankin
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A deliciously entertaining novel about the stars of a popular teen show from the early 2000s—and the reunion special, thirteen years after their scandalous flameout, that will either be their last chance at redemption, or destroy them all for good.

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin
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From the New York Times bestselling author of The Passage comes a riveting standalone novel about a group of survivors on a hidden island utopia—where the truth isn’t what it seems.

Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou
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In a world where the children of the gods inherit their powers, a descendant of the Greek Fates must solve a series of impossible murders to save her sisters, her soulmate, and her city.

Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati
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For fans of Madeline Miller, a stunning debut following Clytemnestra, the most notorious villainess of the ancient world and the events that forged her into the legendary queen.

Court of the Undying Seasons by A.M. Strickland
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Sarah J. Maas meets A Deadly Education in A.M. Strickland’s lush, queer YA dark fantasy novel. Court of the Undying Seasons is a deliciously dark romantic novel and a pitch perfect modern take on classic vampire tropes.

Malevolent Seven by Sebastien de Castell
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From the bestselling author of THE GREATCOATS and SPELLSLINGER : seven war mages with dark pasts and special powers must come together to fight an unknown enemy – but the stakes are higher than anyone can imagine . . . and someone’s setting them up for a fall.

The Boyfriend Candidate by Ashley Winstead
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The Boyfriend Candidate is perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood, and is all about learning to embrace life outside your comfort zone, and reclaiming control of the voice inside that tries to tells you, you can’t.

Ellie Engle Saves Herself by Leah Johnson
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From award-winning author Leah Johnson comes a laugh-until-you-cry, cry-until-you-laugh story about friendship, change, and the power we have to love ourselves.

Killing Me by Michelle Gagnon
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Utterly original and wildly entertaining, with a protagonist whose life is a total mess, Killing Me is the laugh-out-loud funny thriller that we never knew we needed.

Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi
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From Ibi Zoboi, bestselling, award-winning author of American Street and co-author of Punching the Air, comes a bold new YA coming-of-age story, which explores race, feminism, and complicated family dynamics, about a girl whose father is the leader of a Black liberation group. The ideal next read for fans of Roxane Gay, Jacqueline Woodson, and Elizabeth Acevedo.

Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams
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A small-town sweetheart and an emotionally unavailable bad boy try to find some common ground in this chemistry-filled romance from the author of The Cheat Sheet and When in Rome.

No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister
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One book. Nine readers. Ten changed lives. New York Times bestselling author Erica Bauermeister’s No Two Persons is “a gloriously original celebration of fiction, and the ways it deepens our lives.”

Of Light and Shadow by Tanaz Bhathena
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Of Light and Shadow is a novel about magic, mayhem, love, and betrayal―the story of a bandit and a prince who change each other in unexpected ways.

The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
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A Big Chill for our times, celebrating decades-long friendships and promises—especially to ourselves—by the bestselling and celebrated author of The Guncle.

What May releases are you looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below!

The post May 2023 Book Releases appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Intrigued? Well read on to discover the synopsis and the first chapter from Ashley Winstead’s The Last Housewife, which is out August 16th 2022.

While in college in upstate New York, Shay Evans and her best friends met a captivating man who seduced them with a web of lies about the way the world works, bringing them under his thrall. By senior year, Shay and her friend Laurel were the only ones who managed to escape. Now, eight years later, Shay’s built a new life in a tony Texas suburb. But when she hears the horrifying news of Laurel’s death—delivered, of all ways, by her favorite true-crime podcast crusader—she begins to suspect that the past she thought she buried is still very much alive, and the predators more dangerous than ever.

Recruiting the help of the podcast host, Shay goes back to the place she vowed never to return to in search of answers. As she follows the threads of her friend’s life, she’s pulled into a dark, seductive world, where wealth and privilege shield brutal philosophies that feel all too familiar. When Shay’s obsession with uncovering the truth becomes so consuming, she can no longer separate her desire for justice from darker desires newly reawakened, she must confront the depths of her own complicity and conditioning. But in a world built for men to rule it—both inside the cult and outside of it—is justice even possible, and if so, how far will Shay go to get it?

Chapter One

From a young age I could feel them watching. Could feel the weight of their eyes and their hunger pressing over my skin like the skimming fingers of a lover; or an appraiser, dragging a hand down the bones of a rare find. Like most women, I grew up with the looking; grew into it. So that even today, alone in the backyard, I can still feel those phantom eyes, and shape my body to the audience. Carrying myself in ways that will please them, stretching out gracefully by the pool, back arched, eyes closed against the sun like a woman in a movie, an icon of mystery and elegance, as delicate and unknowable as Keats’s Grecian urn.

Always, before, it seemed obvious they were looking: on the street, in the grocery store, staring up from tables at restaurants. But lately, finding myself thirty and unexpectedly alone most of the time, I had begun to face certain facts. To wonder if the eyes of those men hadn’t simply burned me deep enough when I was young, so the scars were still sparking years later, like a bad burn from the oven that feels alive for days. Or maybe I’d snatched their eyes, a self-protective measure, buried them deep beneath my skin, and now I was watching myself. As a feminist culture writer—at least, a former one—these were possibilities I knew to consider.

Truthfully: I wasn’t doing much considering these days. I’d quit my job writing for The Slice six months ago, trading in thousand-word essays titled Why booty shorts and baby talk are fall’s surprising feminist trends for the chance to write my first novel. I’d been waiting my entire life to write the book—my alleged passion project—yet ever since I’d had the time and means to actually do it, I’d found myself without the aforementioned passion. Without any words at all, you might say. The trouble was the ending: I couldn’t fathom it, and without that, the words wouldn’t flow.

So instead of writing, I’d sunk slowly into the daily rhythms familiar to the other wives in our new Highland Park neighborhood: a gluten-free breakfast, followed by yoga or pilates, then lunch with the girls, shopping (in person or online), dinner with the husband upon his return from work, wine and sex, maybe. But always, always, a grand finale of quiet contemplation when the lights went out, wondering how the days of one’s newly useless life could dissipate so quickly, like pieces of sand through an hourglass. How in a twist of irony one could become a piece of art, rather than an artist.

Today I was a Hockney painting, awash in still blue boredom, the pool in the backyard calm as a glass of water. The house behind me—ours, I suppose—massive and angular in the California style so popular here in Dallas, dramatic staircases bending away from the back balcony at harsh angles, like the house was a person on two bent knees, begging to be loved. My husband Cal said something about it reminded him of me. He thought it would make me happy.

You look happy, I reminded myself. Especially from far away. I accentuated the point by smoothing sunshine-yellow polish over my toenails, chin resting on my knee like a child. I decided now was as good a time as any to indulge in my favorite entertainment these last six months.

Regrettably—but perhaps also predictably—I, like every other woman my age, had become addicted to true crime podcasts. The attraction was obvious: a morbid fascination with our own mortality. But for me, there was also this: the host of Transgressions, my favorite podcast, was none other than Jamie Knight, my childhood friend. It had been years since I’d spoken to Jamie, and although I knew he’d become a journalist—there was never anything else for him—it had been such a surprise to see his name in the podcast description. Such an unexpected eruption of feeling when I pressed play, and heard his voice in my ears, warm and crackling. It had touched something in me deeper than nostalgia; and while I couldn’t quite name the feeling, I knew enough about it to keep my interest in Transgressions a secret, from the other wives and from Cal.

I dabbed polish on my pinkie toe and pressed play on the latest episode, newly arrived this morning. Jamie’s voice curled into my ears, the hills and valleys of his inflections as familiar as a map of home. “Welcome back to Transgressions, friends. I’m your host, Jamie Knight.” A memory of him flashed in my mind: seventeen and newly a man, scruff shadowing his jaw, grinning at me cheekily from the driver’s seat as he drove me home from school.

“This week’s murder—” Jamie’s voice caught, and immediately, I sat straighter. He cleared his throat. “Hits a little close to home. Actually, that’s why I’m telling you about it at all. Because technically, the cops haven’t decided whether to rule this death a homicide or suicide. I have my suspicions, and we’ll get to those, but let’s start with the facts. Two weeks ago, thirty-year-old Laurel Hargrove was found hanging from a tree on the edge of the De Young Performing Arts Center, on the Whitney College campus. It was her alma mater.”

One minute, I was pressing the nail brush like a fan against my toe, spreading sunshine over the cuticle; the next, the bottle slipped from my hand into the pool, golden yellow snaking like spilled blood through the water.

Laurel Hargrove. Whitney College. It couldn’t be—Laurel Hargrove was my best friend from college. It had been eight years since I’d talked to her, but back then, we’d sworn to run as far as possible from Whitney, from Westchester, from the entire state of New York.

And I’d done it. I’d worked hard to shut the door on the past; keep it locked, fast and tight. Don’t let it in, I warned myself, the instinct knee-jerk. All of my calm blue boredom, my luxurious ennui, was replaced in an instant by visceral fear, my teeth sinking into my kneecap as if it was a leather bit, to quell a scream.

“Laurel’s death has all the markings of a suicide,” Jamie said, his words coming faster now. “According to the police report—which I’m admittedly not supposed to have—she was hung by a rope, the kind anyone can buy at a hardware store. The furrow the rope created in her neck slanted vertical, breaking her hyoid bone and tearing her cartilage. Although some doctors have claimed injuries like Laurel’s can occur with strangulation—you’ll remember the media circus around Jeffrey Epstein’s death—most agree these types of injuries occur more often in suicidal hangings.”

I’d sworn to protect Laurel, years ago. How many things could you fail at in one lifetime? I felt as though I’d plunged into the pool after the nail polish, and now I was suspended underwater, pressure crushing me from every angle.

Jamie Knight, of all people, kept reciting the cold facts of Laurel’s death, each detail so clinical, so…familiar.

I shot to my feet, pressing my hands to my mouth. Laurel’s death was the twin of Clementine’s, our best friend from college whose blood we would never wash from our hands. First Clem, now Laurel. Two hangings, both on campus, eight years apart.

It became hard to breathe. But even in the thick of shock, I had a sudden burst, a picture of what I must look like to anyone observing. Scene: Beautiful Woman in the Throes of Grief. Or: A Portrait of Panic, All in Blue.

“The Performing Arts Center meant something to Laurel,” Jamie continued, telling me what I already knew. “According to the Westchester County police interview with her mother, Laurel was a theater nut and concentrated on costuming in college. Her mom said the Performing Arts Center was Laurel’s favorite place on campus. As an undergrad, she tried to live as close as possible so she could save time going back and forth from rehearsals.”

Yes, we’d worked hard to live in Rothschild. Laurel was a shy girl who worshipped theater, who lived to create costumes for Whitney’s drama department. And we did everything for her, because Clem and I loved her, and because to know Laurel was to want to protect her. In order to live in Rothschild’s four-person suites, we’d needed to add someone to our three-person crew. We went searching, found a girl, and that was the beginning of the end. The consequences of those simple decisions—make Laurel happy, find a fourth, give the girl a chance—would reverberate forever.

“Putting these pieces together paints a picture of a woman who took her own life in a place that was meaningful to her,” Jamie said. “In fact, Laurel’s mother told the police that college was the last time she could remember Laurel being happy. So why discuss Laurel Hargrove’s suicide on a podcast about unsolved murders?”

I bent down and snatched my phone, wishing I could talk back to him, yell across the distance. Why are you, Jamie? Clem committed suicide, and it was so clearly, so irrevocably our fault. And now Laurel. What does it mean—what are you saying?

“One detail in the police report caught my attention,” Jamie said, answering me. “And yes, I’m going to get in trouble for telling you this. But Laurel was discovered with lacerations all over her hands and arms, made roughly around the time of her death. None of them life-threatening, but cuts everywhere, fourteen in all. There aren’t any pictures of her included in the police record—which is strange, by the way. But what the responding officer did note is that the cuts were thin, like from a razorblade. And they appeared in places you would expect if someone was defending herself. There’s actually a question in the police report, written in the officer’s notes, which he or somebody else later tried to scratch out. He wrote: ‘Defensive wounds? But why, if suicide?’ Why, indeed.”

Thin cuts, like from a razorblade. This was too much. I rushed across the grass, blades bright and stiff under my feet, despite the August swelter. Clutching the phone to my chest, I caught my reflection in the glass of the back door—wild-eyed, shoulders hunched—before I flung it open and slipped inside.

The frigid air-conditioning sucked the summer heat from my skin. I’d come inside to feel safe; contained. But one glance at the sweeping white ceilings, the gleaming kitchen, the sharp, modern furniture—all of it, my choices—and I felt suddenly wrong, like I’d entered not a home but a museum, or a mausoleum. A cold, beautiful place where things were laid to rest.

“One more thing,” said Jamie, from the center of my chest. “I told you Laurel Hargrove’s death hits close to home. Here’s why. Years ago, I met her.”

I jerked the phone away, studying the screen as if it was Jamie himself standing in front of me.

“When I was younger, I was friends with a girl who went to Whitney at the same time that I went to Columbia. The schools are an hour apart, so we’d see each other from time to time, usually after I’d begged her enough times to come visit. She and I had a…complicated relationship, to say the least. And she was friends with Laurel.”

Me. Jamie Knight was talking about me.

The post Read An Excerpt From ‘The Last Housewife’ by Ashley Winstead appeared first on The Nerd Daily.