If you’re looking to escape the ordinary without leaving home, here are some staycation-ready books that offer all the summer vibes, wanderlust, and escapism you need.

If you’re looking for a cozy escape:

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

This wholesome, found family story is perfect for cozy vibes.

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

This fun, cute fantasy about an orc opening a coffee shop is perfect for escaping the real world while still staying comfy in your own home.

If you want books that feel like vacation:

Beach Read by Emily Henry

This is a smart contemporary romance perfect for readers looking for summer, beachy feels.

Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes

This memoir set in the Italian countryside is perfect for readers who want to travel vicariously through the adventures of others.

If you like coming-of-age in the summer books:

This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub

This time travel story features father-daughter relationships, New York City summers, and encourages the reader to consider their own place in the world.

Beautiful World, Where are You by Sally Rooney

This emotional read explores the relationships and friendships of four young Irish people as they search for meaning in a bleak world.

If you like something with a little heat:

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This sibling-focused family saga takes place in 1980s Malibu and dives into the drama that unfolds at their annual end-of-summer party.

Every Summer by Carley Fortune

This second-chance romance is full of nostalgia, with alternating timelines that remind the reader of teenage summers and the heartbreak that often follows them.

Whether you’re looking to laugh, cry, swoon, or simply escape for a few hours, there’s a story on this list that can take you there.

So pour yourself a cold drink, find the shadiest tree in the yard, and get lost in a book that brings summer right to you.

Do you have ant other recommendations? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Staycation Reads: The Best Books to Take You Away Without Ever Leaving the House appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

About Finders Keepers: Two estranged best friends find that their long-abandoned treasure hunt might be the key to a fresh start—for both their futures and their feelings, from USA Today bestselling author Sarah Adler.

I think the only thing more painful and life-altering than a friendship breakup is a friendship breakup where more than platonic feelings were floating around (whether acknowledged or not). But that angst is also what makes it a super fun dynamic to read about. So, in honor of my own estranged-friends-to-lovers romcom, Finders Keepers, I’m excited to share with you some of my favorite examples of this delicious romance trope for your own reading pleasure.

One on One by Jamie Harrow

Videographer Annie has returned to her alma mater to work for the university’s basketball team alongside Ben, another former intern who is now an assistant coach. The way Annie left before—suddenly and under circumstances Ben doesn’t understand—shoved a wedge between the two friends that is still very much present as she rejoins the Tigers staff. Jamie Harrow’s talent for making the atmosphere of a packed arena come alive on the page is second only to her talent for writing a swoony love story, and with Annie and Ben being both estranged friends and workplace rivals Harrow’s debut is absolutely one of my S-tier romances.

The Earl Who Isn’t by Courtney Milan

Lily returns from Hong Kong to the small English town of Wedgeford with proof that her estranged best friend, Andrew, is the rightful heir to an earldom. Andrew has actually known about his patrilineal inheritance for a long time now, and wants absolutely nothing to do with it. What he does want something to do with is Lily, whom he’s been desperately missing since the one night of passion they shared before she left. But the woman he adores is intent on revealing his biggest secret—and it could put them both in danger. What’s a hot amateur botanist who doesn’t want to be an earl to do??

A Rogue to Remember by Emily Sullivan

Road trip romances are my catnip—especially historical ones. When her uncle insists Lottie accept a proposal or he’ll do it for her, she decides to spread a scandalous rumor about herself to keep from having to marry. This brings her estranged childhood friend, Alec, to her doorstep in Italy to inform her that her reputation is still intact despite her efforts to ruin herself, and she needs to go back to England ASAP because her uncle is dying. As they journey home, they’re joined by the specters of their former friendship and a whole boatload of sexual tension. Oh, and by the way, Alec is a spy, so there’s a bunch of intrigue and related shenanigans woven into this second chance love story.

A Thousand Miles by Bridget Morrissey

Dee is a podcast host and Ben is her estranged best friend who shows up on her doorstep requesting she accompany him on a long-ago planned road trip to his grandmother’s house to open the time capsule they buried there in high school. This forced proximity road trip romcom perfectly captures that aching feeling of loss when things go wrong with the person you care about most, and the uncertainty and hope that fills you when you might have a chance to fix it. I think about the cat at the baseball stadium scene at least once a week.

A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean

Successful gaming hell co-owner Michael, Marquess of Bourne, lost everything in a game of cards many years ago, but now has an opportunity to get it back—by abducting his estranged childhood friend, Penelope, and compromising her virtue so that he can marry her and gain access to her dowry, which happens to include his ancestral estate. Not exactly an ideal way to reunite, but it is pretty hot in like, a problematic way! So Penelope, who wasn’t interested in a boring society marriage anyway, finds that she isn’t totally opposed to this situation. Which leads to Bourne being like wait no you aren’t suppose to like me, what the heck. Also, the letter excerpts in this one are some of the most effective (and affective) writing I’ve ever read.

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

Perhaps the most well-known example of this trope, I would be remiss if I didn’t include it. The past timeline slow reveal of what happened to drive Poppy and Alex apart plays so nicely with the current timeline of them repairing their relationship, and so much of it lives rent free in my head. Emily Henry certainly knows how to stick a story to your bones and make it part of you—the same way it feels to have a friendship so deep that it can’t help but transform into love.

The post Here You Come Again: Estranged Friends-to-Lovers Romance Book Recs appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

The catch? Both writers are working independently under strict NDAs. They cannot share what they learn from Margaret with each other, despite being confined to the same island. As Alice and Hayden navigate this strange arrangement, a tentative connection begins to form between them as they unravel Margaret’s sprawling, layered past.

Alexa, play The Great American Dynasty by Taylor Swift.

I rarely start my reviews with a disclaimer, but it just feels relevant. Whether you are going to enjoy this book entirely depends on what expectations you are going into it with. If, like me, you expected another deeply emotional romance like Happy Place or Funny Story, you might be in for a surprise.

At its core, Great Big Beautiful Life feels like Inception—it’s a story within a story. Yes, we have a current timeline that includes a hint of romance, deals with emotionally impactful topics, and the fear of not measuring up to your peers, but overall it’s about uncovering the truth about Margaret’s life and what happened to make her choose to abandon the spotlight, bit by bit.

You as the reader often feel like a bit of a detective alongside Alice and Hayden. Every new insight or memory relived sparks questions that make you want to see the whole picture immediately. Part mystery and party character study, this may not be the romance you expect but it holds just as much emotion as you’d expect from an Emily Henry novel. So while this veers away from Henry’s recent novels, to me what stood out is this: Henry’s unparalleled ability to turn words into magic. Margaret’s story is filled with so much—from the media’s wrong image of her, from scandals that shouldn’t be ones to grief and love lost and the strength of a woman to persevere through it all.

I loved how this book not just made you as the reader experience catharsis as you learn what shaped Margaret, but also how heavily it focuses on the cost of reinventing yourself time and again. The quiet strength a person needs to simply survive what others could have not, all while being bogged down by expectations and a legacy they might not want was wonderfully done.

While I admit that I struggled at times with the pacing of the story, as is so often the case when there are two timelines and you as the reader clearly have a favourite and just want to get back to that one, I still found myself entranced throughout the book. It’s a hard feat to make the present storyline still fit in a novel that is so heavily focused on uncovering the past and for the most part, Henry excels at it. There are only a few moments where you can tell that the present timeline could have used more oomph—and that is most clear in the romance subplot.

As mentioned, if you expect a romance-driven novel á la Funny Story or Happy Place, this might not be the one for you. Alice and Hayden’s romance takes a backseat as Margaret’s past gets to shine and while I definitely was fine with that, I also think that a slightly more balanced portrayal of Alice and Hayden’s rivalry and eventually blossoming friendship (and more) could have made the book even stronger. As it is, we sometimes get nothing in terms of relationship building for a whole chapter and then are hit with a slew of—albeit well-crafted—banter and tender moments that unfortunately made their connection feel a tad underdeveloped and abrupt. Still, I appreciated how what Alice and Hayden learned about Margaret’s life somehow shaped their own present and how they interacted with each other.

Overall, I think this book will be a win for anyone who enjoyed The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo or is looking for a story that is character-driven and layered beyond measure. While venturing away from the usual romance-heavy narrative, this book truly proves that Henry has the magic touch when it comes to entrancing writing.

Perfect for readers who cherish intricate prose and emotional complexity and are fine with romance taking a step back in favour of that will devour Henry’s heartfelt story Great Big Beautiful Life.

Great Big Beautiful Life is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.

Will you be picking up Great Big Beautiful Life? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

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 novel from Emily Henry.

Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: to write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years—or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the twentieth century.

When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice’s head in the game.

One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice—and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over.

Two: She’s ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication.

Three: Hayden Anderson, who should have no reason to be concerned about losing this book, is glowering at her in a shaken-to-the core way that suggests he sees her as competition.

But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can’t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.

And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story—just like the tale Margaret’s spinning—could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad . . . depending on who’s telling it.

The post Review: Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Prepare your romance-loving heart as there are some stellar romance books releasing in the first half of 2025! Between the months of January and June, you’ll see new releases from Emily Henry, Charlotte Stein, TJ Alexander, Jasmine Guillory, Ali Hazelwood, Meryl Wilsner, Abby Jimenez, Sarah Hogle, Katherine Center, Rachel Lynn Solomon, Ashley Poston, and many more, along with so many debuts too!

You’ll be sure to find quite a few exciting new reads within this list and be sure to check out our other 2025 round-ups too, including our Most Anticipated, YA books, Fantasy & Sci-Fi, and Fiction books list.

JANUARY 2025

Zoe Brennan, First Crush by Laura Piper Lee

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A struggling vineyard owner gets a second taste of her first crush in this romantic comedy that sparkles with humor and heat.

Work In Progress by Kat Mackenzie

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A warm, sexy, laugh-out-loud rom-com about a woman who, desperate for a fresh start, books a literary bus tour across the UK that consists of a lively group of elderly ladies plus one infuriatingly handsome Scottish driver.

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 . . .

Temple of Swoon by Jo Segura

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Archaeologist Miriam and journalist Rafael are destined to be rivals and must journey together to find the Lost City of the Moon. As they navigate treacherous paths and rival crews, their hearts become entangled in a thrilling adventure where love and duty collide in the heart of the Amazon rainforest.

Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti

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USA Today bestselling author Alexandra Vasti returns with another hot, hilarious Regency romp about a reclusive earl and the wallflower-turned-radical-pamphleteer who turns his life upside down.

Yin Yang Love Song By Lauren Kung Jessen

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In this charming rom-com filled with Chinese traditions and a family curse, an herbalist fake dates a star musician–perfect for fans of Helen Hoang and Jasmine Guillory.

The Lodge by Kayla Olson

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From the author of The Reunion, a cozy rom-com about a writer who decamps to a Vermont lodge for work but finds herself distracted by the charming ski instructor next door.

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.

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.

For One Night Only by Jessica James

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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.

Let’s Call A Truce by Amy Buchanan

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Let’s Call A Truce is a sexy contemporary romance about second chances at life and love, bursting with humor and a touch of angst from debut author, Amy Buchanan.

Once Smitten, Twice Shy by Chloe Liese

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Star-crossed lovers learn that practicing romance leads to the perfect happy ending in this steamy reimagining of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

FEBRUARY 2025

A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke by Adriana Herrera

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Aurora Montalban, an ambitious doctor breaking societal norms to help women in 19^th century Paris, and Apollo Sinclair Robles, the reluctant Duke willing to risk everything for her.

Get Lost With You by Sophie Sullivan

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A second chance at love, small-town romance that’s all sweet with just a hint of heat from the “queen of sweet romance” (Falon Ballard) Sophie Sullivan.

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.

I Got Abducted By Aliens and Now I’m Trapped In A Rom-Com by Kimberly Lemming

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A hilarious and sexy romance about a woman who gets dropped on a strange planet only to fall for not one, but two, aliens, from the author of I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf.

Never Planned On You by Lindsay Hameroff

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A glittering, laugh-out-loud second chance romance that reminds us true love is sometimes the one thing you never planned on.

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 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.

You Between the Lines by Katie Naymon

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In this “brilliant, poignant love story perfect for fans of Emily Henry,” a former sorority girl starts a prestigious poetry MFA program only to discover that one of her classmates is her high school crush-turned-nemesis—​and he can’t stop writing about her. 

Change of Heart by Falon Ballard

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From the beloved author of Right on Cue and Lease on Love comes a whimsical new rom-com about a workaholic forced to aim for a goal she never thought she’d love.

Love and Other Hollywood Endings by Susannah Erwin

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An upbeat production exec is tasked with reining in the cynical director who was her forbidden college heartbreak in this sparkling, sexy contemporary romance.

The Launch Date by Annabelle Slator

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In this witty and fun rom-com debut from Annabelle Slator, rival coworkers become reluctant daters after they’re forced to work together on a brand-new dating app in hopes of winning a promotion—perfect for fans of Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game.

Deep End by Ali Hazelwood

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A competitive diver and an ace swimmer jump into forbidden waters in this steamy college romance from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis.

The Love Lyric by Kristina Forest

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An R&B singer and a corporate executive find love that hits the right notes in this romance by Kristina Forest, USA Today bestselling author of The Partner Plot.

MARCH 2025

Go Luck Yourself by Sara Raasch

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It’s enemies to lovers in this sexy and delightful holiday mash up that pairs the spare prince of Christmas with the crown prince of St. Patrick’s Day!

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.

The Love We Found by Jill Santopolo

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The long-awaited follow-up to the Reese’s Book Club pick and New York Times bestselling global phenomenon The Light We Lost: a thrilling love story about the roles fate and choice play in shaping a life.

Something Cheeky by Thien-Kim Lam

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A steamy new rom-com from the popular author of Happy Endings and Full Exposure, where two friends get the opportunity to work together on their dream project—a Cinderella rock musical with an all-Asian cast—and discover that falling in love was the easy part…

My Big Fat Fake Marriage by Charlotte Stein

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Perfect for fans of Ted Lasso, this delicious slow burn romance turns a pretend marriage into real love.

Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone

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Grieving the loss of her best friend, a young woman’s life is turned upside down when she meets a grumpy stranger who swears he can help her live again, in this heartwarming, slow-burn romance by the author of Ready or Not.

Fan Service by Rosie Danan

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The truth is stranger than fan fiction in the next sexy paranormal rom-com from the beloved author of The Roommate.

Cover Story by Celia Laskey

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A hilarious, emotional love story about an extremely anxious publicist who’s tasked with keeping an extremely gay starlet in the closet—but who ends up falling for her instead.​

The Lady Sparks a Flame by Elizabeth Everett

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A Lady with a past. A man with ambition. A romance far from London society that might bridge their divides.

Just Our Luck by Denise Williams

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A lottery ticket + donuts = love in this steamy new fake dating romance from beloved author Denise Williams.

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.

Love and Other Paradoxes by Catriona Silvey

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One of the greatest love stories in history gets derailed when a struggling poet at Cambridge runs into a time-traveler who agrees to help him find his muse—a thoughtful and uplifting romantic comedy for fans of About Time and The Midnight Library.

APRIL 2025

Any Trope But You by Victoria Lavine

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A bestselling romance author flees to Alaska to reinvent herself and write her first murder mystery, but the rugged resort proprietor soon has her fearing she’s living in a rom-com plot instead in this earnestly spectacular debut by a stunning new voice.

The Geographer’s Map to Romance by India Holton

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Geography professors in a failed marriage of convenience inconveniently reconnect for an emergency mission in this swoony historical-fantasy rom-com.

Anywhere You Go by Bridget Morrissey

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A small-town waitress and a big-city Broadway press agent swap homes to escape the messiness of their personal lives, only to find new purpose—and new love.

My Best Friend’s Honeymoon by Meryl Wilsner

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Meryl Wilsner’s spicy romance, their first with a nonbinary lead, where two lifelong best friends go on a nonrefundable honeymoon together and discover sometimes to find a happily ever after, you just have to ask.

Swept Away by Beth O’Leary

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Two strangers find themselves stranded at sea together in this epic new love story by bestselling author Beth O’Leary.

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.

Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez

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From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Just for the Summer comes a new playful yet deeply emotional contemporary romance.

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.

Wild and Wrangled by Lyla Sage

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From the bestselling author of Done and Dusted and Swift and Saddled, the next book in the Rebel Blue Ranch series, a small town romance in which past lovers get a second chance to rediscover what they lost.

Serial Killer Games by Kate Posey

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A morbidly funny and emotionally resonant novel about the ways life—and love—can sneak up on us (no matter how much pepper spray we carry).

Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory

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The exciting new contemporary romance—and her first to feature a queer romance—by New York Times bestselling author Jasmine Guillory.

The Matchmaker by Aisha Saeed

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A society matchmaker realizes she’s in danger when her clients’ weddings are sabotaged in increasingly disturbing ways—an utterly original mystery from the New York Times bestselling author Aisha Saeed.

MAY 2025

A Simple Twist of Fate by April Asher

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A witch and a shifter get a second chance at love in this new paranormal romantic comedy from USA Today Bestselling author April Asher.

Flirty Dancing by Jennifer Moffatt

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Sparks fly in this summer romp for fans of Casey McQuiston when dancers at a Catskills resort try to pull off the perfect show, and find happiness and a place where they belong on the way.

Along Came Amor by Alexis Daria

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From the international bestselling author of You Had Me at Hola and A Lot Like Adiós comes a steamy love story of a divorced schoolteacher who discovers that her perfect no-strings fling is anything but…

Not So Fast by Karen Booth

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It’s Formula One—getting revved up is all part of the fun in this sizzling, high-octane rom-com for fans of Rush and The Hating Game.

One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune

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A radiant, new escape to the lake from #1 New York Times bestselling author Carley Fortune.

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.

It’s a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan

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A former adolescent TV punch line has left her awkwardness in the rearview mirror thanks to a fake-it-till-you-make-it mantra that has her on the cusp of success, until she tells a lie that sets her on a crash course with her past, spending a week on Long Island with the last man she thinks might make her believe in love.

Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt

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An emotional, irresistible second-chance romance filled with sparkling humor, big feelings, and “melt your face off intimacy” (Jessica Joyce).

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.

Dream On, Ramona Riley by Ashley Herring Blake

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A small-town waitress and a Hollywood star’s worlds collide in this new romance by Ashley Herring Blake, USA Today bestselling author of Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date.

Rules for Ruin by Mimi Matthews

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No one betrays the Academy. But now Euphemia must decide: break the rules for her enemy, or let the rules break her heart.

And They Were Roommates by Page Powars

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A hilarious, unputdownable second-chance-romance about the most unlikely, gay roommate mishap. Perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston and Gwen & Art Are Not in Love.

JUNE 2025

Winging It With You by Chip Pons

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Popular bookstagrammer Chip Pons’s gay rom-com about two men who impulsively pose as a couple to compete in a reality show contest just minutes after meeting at an airport, and their run-in with the very real feelings that start to simmer between them.

The Ripple Effect by Maggie North

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A grumpy burnt out physician and a sunshine psychologist must fake an engagement to save his whitewater canoeing/ relationship therapy startup in Maggie North’s sparkling second novel about starting over.

If I Told You, I’d Have to Kiss You by Mae Marvel

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Ms. and Ms. Smith meets The Pairing in this heart-racing romance of secrets, spies, and steam.

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.

Ready to Score by Jodie Slaughter

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Cleat Cute meets Friday Night Lights in this funny, spicy, emotional new sapphic romance from Jodie Slaughter.

Finders Keepers by Sarah Adler

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Two estranged best friends find that their long-abandoned treasure hunt might be the key to a fresh start—for both their futures and their feelings, from USA Today bestselling author Sarah Adler.

Never Been Shipped by Alicia Thompson

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A band reunion may be enough to change two musicians’ tune on love in this electric romance from USA Today bestselling author Alicia Thompson.

I’ll Pretend You’re Mine by Tashie Bhuiyan

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In this contemporary novel from the author of Counting Down with You, singer-songwriter Summer Ali shakes things up with a PR stunt “dating” actor Jules Moradi, but the lines between real and fake begin to blur.

When Javi Dumped Mari by Mia Sosa

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The USA Today bestselling author of The Worst Best Man is back with a fun and flirty rom-com about a pact between friends that goes awry when one of them unexpectedly announces they’re getting married.

Writing Mr. Right by Alina Khawaja

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In this charming, delightfully original rom-com, a struggling writer’s muse suddenly comes to life, but can they create their own happily-ever-after?

Worth Fighting For by Jesse Q. Sutanto

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Mulan is reimagined as a contemporary romance about family expectations, mistaken identity, and high stakes mergers—of both business and the heart.

Total Dreamboat by Katelyn Doyle

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From the author of Just Some Stupid Love Story, an irresistible rom-com about what happens when a cruise ship romance goes…overboard

What 2025 romance books are you looking forward to reading? Any other recommendations? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Swoonworthy 2025 Romance Book Releases You Need 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.

Is there anything more magical than checking into a rental house with a group of friends? Some of my favorite memories involve squeezing as many bodies as physically possible into a vacation home, staying up late listening to your friends’ laughter and waking up early to the sound of someone making scrambled eggs, the smell of coffee brewing in the kitchen. The buzz feels like part sleepover, part summer camp, with a generous sprinkle of getting to stay up past your bedtime.

Yet sharing small spaces makes it hard to eschew the less glamorous sides of group travel. The practicalities, like the bathroom schedule jigsaw or competing for the sole blow dryer, are only augmented by the emotional minefields, like wanting to avoid a friend’s new-and-less-than-universally-loved significant other who tagged along for the trip, or a late-night (and potentially tequila-fueled) argument turning into an awkward morning at the kitchen table for all parties, with a hangover to boot.

My most memorable rental was at age twenty-five, when my high school friends rented a share house in Ocean Beach, Fire Island. Fire Island is accessible only via ferry, which means that the streets are filled solely with pedestrians and bikini-clad bicyclists calling out, “on your left.” It also means that there are no cars, so any dramatic exit plan must adhere to a not-so-frequent ferry schedule. Luckily, that summer, the ferry schedule wasn’t a problem. Instead, we built sandcastles and played silly games and sang off-key karaoke; we drank rocket fuels and ate cold cheese pizza (both Ocean Beach specialties) and danced until our flip-flops fell apart. It wasn’t without growing pains – at the time, I remember grappling with immense career anxiety – but though my sunburns begged to differ, I left that summer feeling healed. 

This is the magic that I wanted to capture in my novel Serendipity, which follows a group of friends who similarly rent a share house in Fire Island for three summer weekends. Because I firmly believe that a trip is the perfect backdrop to explore themes of a complicated friend-group, and to pay homage to the beautiful humanity that is our long-term relationships. Besides, who doesn’t love strapping messy, big-hearted characters into a rental house for a weekend at the beach?

In that same spirit, I’m thrilled to share some of my favorite stories that feature the highs and lows of a friend group getaway, perfect reading material for any upcoming trips or staycations (with friends, family, or, for perhaps the wisest among us, solo travel.)

Happy Place by Emily Henry

I’m always a sucker for Emily Henry’s witty banter and heart-soaring romance, but I think my favorite scene from her 2023 bestselling novel Happy Place is when we get to watch Harriett and her best friends stroll the streets of Knott’s Harbor, Maine perusing bookstores and the local bar scene, falling into a familiar lockstep despite the years that have passed in between. Come for the second chance romance between Harriett and Wyn – a recently-broken up couple who must fake that they are still dating for the sake of the trip — but stay for the themes of found family and friend group growth. This surely won’t be the first time you’re seeing Happy Place on a recommendation list, and because of Henry’s warm and wonderful writing, it won’t be the last.

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

In my personal Mt. Rushmore, Rebecca Serle hails queen of the Atmospheric Novel. Her characters’ meals will make you hungry, their apartments will materialize as Zillow listings in your head, and her settings make you feel like you’ve registered for a new mailing address by the turn of her last page. And while In Five Years is set predominantly in the streets of New York City, it features a weekend trip to the Hamptons that will make you feel like you’ve grown up saying the phrase “Out East.” As Dannie and her posse settle into the beautiful beach house – assigning rooms, cooking dinner, taking in the ocean breeze – I could smell the salt air through the pages. It had the magic splendor of sharing space with new and old friends, but I also loved getting to see how that getaway directly impacted Dannie’s relationships and journeys once she’d returned back to her real and regular programming in NYC. Filled with heart, magic, and humanity, In Five Years is the perfect escape.

The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand

A list about vacations wouldn’t be complete without a highlight from Beach Read Queen, Elin Hilderbrand, and her twenty-ninth novel The Five-Star Weekend reinvents the friend group trip concept in a completely charming and captivating way. After suffering a major heartbreak, protagonist Hollis Shaw decides to host a “Five-Star Weekend” on Nantucket by inviting one best friend from each phase of her life: her teenage years, her twenties, her thirties, and her midlife. What follows is a surprising, summery story of friendship, love, relationships, and growth. Reading Hilderbrand’s novels always feel like you’ve been transported to Nantucket’s shores, and The Five-Star Weekend is no exception.   

Best Men by Sidney Karger

In my (biased) opinion, there is no better place for a friend group share house than the beloved Fire Island, and I was so excited when I read Sidney Karger’s debut Best Men last year and was treated to a weekend getaway in Fire Island Pines. The Pines are famous for being an LGBTQIA+ harbor and hotspot, and in Sidney’s debut, it’s the perfect locale for the (titular) gay Best Men, Max and Chasten, to visit as part of the bride Paige’s bachelorette party weekend. The beach scenes and vivid nightlife jump right off the page, but I most loved the moments between the group at the house. The group cooks dinner, goes swimming, spends time with old friends and new as Max also grapples with the growing pains of his best friend moving onto a new life chapter without him. Laugh out loud funny, and a moving portrait of long-term friendship, Best Men has a forever spot as one of my favorite reads.

Girls’ Night Out by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

Traveling with friends isn’t always sunshine and rainbows, and Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke know this best. Despite its picture-perfect location of Tulum, Mexico, their thriller Girls’ Night Out ends up being the setting of friend-trip-nightmares when one girl goes missing. What starts as three women embarking on a group trip to Mexico to repair their bonds turns into a chilling, page-turning, dual-timeline mystery that demands to be inhaled. The settings are breath-taking, but it’s in the nuanced subtleties of Ashley, Natalie and Lauren’s complicated relationships where Fenton and Steinke’s voice really shines. Given that Fenton and Steinke have been real-life besties for over thirty years (since high school!) and written eight books together, it’s no surprise that they are the experts when it comes to crafting a story about the importance of friendship.

Friends in Napa by Sheila Yasmin Marikar

The title says it all! From Mindy’s Book Studio, Sheila Yasmin Marikar’s sophomore novel Friends in Napa is a darkly comedic mystery, as deliciously tantalizing as gossiping with a great friend over the perfect glass of wine. When Raj and Rachel Ranjani invite their closest friends from college for a reunion weekend in Napa Valley, California, they’re excited to celebrate the grand opening of their new luxury high-end winery. But tensions are immediately high upon the group’s arrival, and it doesn’t take much vino for secrets to spill and the illusion of friendship to crack when a dead body is discovered. It’s a look at the power, privilege, and identity strains that can arise amongst friends, making for a page-turning summer read.

Who We Are Now by Lauryn Chamberlain

Friend group trips aren’t exclusive to beachy destinations, though! One of my favorite getaways featured in a book swapped sunscreen and beach chairs for ski goggles and chair lifts, and I couldn’t have loved it more. While the majority of Lauryn Chamberlain’s dazzling sophomore novel Who We Are Now is set in New York City, following four college best friends as they navigate post-grad careers, relationships, and families, and health, a major plot climax happens outside the city during a friend group ski trip. Chamberlain’s entire novel is filled to the brim with beautiful odes to the loyalty, kinship, jealousy, and adoration that can come as college friends enter the real world together. This ski getaway will leave you gasping, gut-punched, and Googling how to take a shot ski.

In A Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

On the other end of the destination bachelorette party spectrum from the aforementioned Best Men, meet Ruth Ware’s unputdownable, instant classic, In A Dark, Dark Wood. When Nora is invited to her estranged best friend Clare’s “hen party” for a weekend in a remote English countryside cabin – a glass house in the middle of the woods – she’s anxious but tentatively hopeful that it might be the first step towards mending the friendship. But what should be a cozy, celebratory weekend turns into something much worse, In A Dark, Dark Wood teaches us an age-old lesson: when invited to a group getaway that you have any hesitation about attending, decline! I couldn’t put this thriller down.  

Dele Weds Destiny by Tomi Obaro

A wedding is the perfect occasion for a friend group reunion trip, at least in the case of Tomi Obaro’s sensational debut. Funmi, Enitan and Zainab, former best college friends who are now in their forties, reunite in Lagos for one of their daughters’ weddings. It’s rare to read a novel where all three female characters feel so fully realized, the ebb-and-flow of their relationships so realistic, that the storylines truly come to life, yet Obaro pulls this off with effortless mastery. Getting to spend time with the women during their pivotal university years was a perfect way to study the lasting bonds of friendship. Part friendship reunion, part wedding drama, part love story, this is an illuminating novel not to be missed!

The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin

Okay, maybe this is cheating because I haven’t technically read Emily Giffin’s newest novel yet, but this one is already at the top of the list for my July most anticipated reads. The Summer Pact publishes on July 9^th and is sure to be a moving portrait about the people who help patch up our broken pieces. The premise: in college, four friends made a promise to always be there in any of their times of need. Now, when Hannah experiences an unexpected tragedy, she calls on her college best friends who, despite their recent distance, agree to escape to Capri, Italy together. Sure to be a powerful love story about friendship, grief, and healing, I can’t wait to sob into my beach chair with this in my hands come July.

Half Credit: The Vacationers by Emma Straub

Technically, the characters vacationing to Mallorca in The Vacationers are both family and friends, so this might qualify as more of a half credit, but I’d be remiss not to include Emma Straub’s keenly observed ode to group travel in my round-up. The Vacationers has been one of my favorite books since it published in 2014, because of how vivid a portrait Straub paints of long-term relationships, well-kept secrets, and the highs-and-lows of a family getaway. With Straub’s signature braided storytelling and clever character quirks, this is a family vacation story that might even make you grateful for your own brand of family dysfunction, while of course, enticing you to book a trip to Mallorca.

The post 11 Books Featuring Friend Group Trips appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Fake dating and opposites attract? Gimme! I love opposites attract romances where the characters realise that they aren’t really that opposite to begin with—and that first impressions, much less what other people tell you about someone can be oh so wrong. Miles is charming and sweet and adorable and basically has everyone he meets wrapped around his little finger but doesn’t even realise it or tries to exploit it because he’s just that kind of an upstanding man. He’s the kind of man who would help his ex move even after she dumped him. You just don’t meet guys like that in real life.

Daphne, meanwhile, just deserves all the love. She’s a kind, smart, stubbornly amazing librarian who would go to the ends of the earth for her dream job and the kids who frequent the library. She’s turning kids into readers and gives them the safe space in libraries the way they were for her when she grew up. That storyline especially hit home for me because libraries often have this wrong connotation of being stuffy or boring but for so many kids – and adults – they can be a soft place to land.

Miles and Daphne’s love story is just so wholesome. They have incredible chemistry, their banter and especially their “join me in my wallowing because we’re literally in the same boat” moments had me in stitches sometimes. Both Daphne and Miles are struggling to move on from believing they were already with the loves of their lives only to accept that that was never what it was for either of them. But what really worked for me was just how invested they were in each other’s dreams and goals for life. Miles is so attentive when it comes to Daphne’s needs and Daphne meanwhile is so attuned to what Miles wants—for example when it comes to his relationship with his sister and his parents—that he himself doesn’t want to acknowledge. To me, these are the best kinds of romances: not just when characters are devoted to each other, but when they make each other better.

Lest you think this is just about wholesomeness though, don’t fret: Henry delivers some exceptionally steamy scenes that will have you look at your own kitchen counters with a whole new set of eyes.

Beyond the romance, Funny Story also deals with what it means to see your whole life come crashing down and having to rebuild it from the ground up. Peter and Petra are despicable and I wanted to strangle them for how they treated the people they thought they were going to spend the rest of their lives with—I would have not dealt with it as well as Miles and Daphne do (even though they also have a long journey when it comes to healing from that).

Henry has an extraordinary talent for making catastrophes feel like just another challenge we can face as long as we are strong enough to stand up again when life knocks us down. Daphne and Miles face their fair share of grief and loss over the life they thought they’d live but also see the worth and value in what they already have— great jobs, a supportive network of friends if only they’re brave enough to reach out to it and family members (well, some of them at least) that just want you to be happy.

Speaking of family members, there’s also a storyline concerning parents and neglect that had me bawling, so thanks for that, I’ll need some good therapy sessions after Daphne’s struggle with her dad and Miles’s family situation. In the end, though, it’s cathartic to speak your mind and not let the past define your future.

I’ll stop singing the praises of this book but I just want to mention that Waning Bay also proved to be the perfect setting for this story. The small-town vibes were impeccable and added a lot to the way Daphne and Miles go about their days—especially with the constant fear of running into their exes.

All in all, this is another banger by Henry. I don’t know how she keeps interweaving all these different plot strings and making them work so exceptionally well but I hope she never stops.

Lovers of small-town romances, opposites attract and the superior found family trope are sure to devour Henry’s Funny Story, a book that proves that true love often hides in the unlikeliest places.

Funny Story is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of April 23rd 2024.

Synopsis | Goodreads

A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.

Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it…right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.

Which is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.

Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads —Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?

But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex…right?

The post Review: Funny Story by Emily Henry appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun

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The author of Kiss Her Once for Me returns with a new queer rom-com following once childhood best friends forced together to drive their former teacher across the country.

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X. Chang

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In this magical epic fantasy, a young woman cursed with the power of death must decide if saving her family is worth betraying her country—the first installation of a gripping new series.

Funny Story by Emily Henry

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.

Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee

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From the New York Times bestselling author of The Downstairs Girl comes a YA murder mystery noir set in 1930s Los Angeles’s Chinatown.

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

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From the New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House, Hell Bent, and creator of the Grishaverse series comes a highly anticipated historical fantasy set during the Spanish Golden Age.

The Gathering by CJ Tudor

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A detective investigating a grisly crime in rural Alaska finds herself caught up in the dark secrets and superstitions of a small town in this riveting novel from the acclaimed author of The Chalk Man.

Happy Medium by Sarah Adler

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A clever con woman must convince a skeptical, sexy farmer of his property’s resident real-life ghost if she’s to save them all from a fate worse than death, in this delightful new novel from the author of Mrs. Nash’s Ashes.

Table for Two: Fictions by Amor Towles

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From the bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway, A Gentleman in Moscow, and Rules of Civility, a richly detailed and sharply drawn collection of stories set in New York and Los Angeles.

The Rule Book by Sarah Adams

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College exes break all the rules when they reunite years later in this enemies to lovers, second-chance romance, the highly anticipated companion novel to the TikTok sensation The Cheat Sheet—from the New York Times bestselling author of Practice Makes Perfect.

The Redemption of Morgan Bright by Chris Panatier

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
From the subversive voice behind The Phlebotomist comes a story that combines the uncanny atmosphere of Don’t Worry Darling with the narrative twists of The Last House on Needless Street.

Knife by Salman Rushdie

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From internationally renowned writer and Booker Prize winner Salman Rushdie, a searing, deeply personal account of enduring—and surviving—an attempt on his life thirty years after the fatwa that was ordered against him

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

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A thrilling page-turner of sisterhood, secrets, love, and murder by New York Times bestselling author Sally Hepworth.

The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

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From the author of the multimillion bestselling A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series and Five Survive comes a new true-crime fueled mystery thriller about a girl determined to uncover the shocking truth about her missing mother while filming a documentary on the unsolved case.

Dragon Rider by Taran Matharu

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Discover a rich world of magic, warriors, and dragons, in which a fearless orphan and an ambitious handmaiden flee from the empire that would imprison them, with a dream to return to their homelands and a determination that’s unbreakable…

Off With Their Heads by Zoe Hana Mikuta

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Fans of Chloe Gong and Judy I. Lin will devour this Korean-inspired Alice in Wonderland retelling about two very wicked girls, forever bonded by blood and betrayal . . .

The Vacancy in Room 10 by Seraphina Nova Glass

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The Paris Apartment meets The Wrong Family, this thrilling tale of crime, passion and murder is set in a run-down apartment complex packed with shady characters willing to go to deadly lengths to keep their darkest secrets from the stranger in their midst.

What April books are you looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Book Releases To Check Out In April 2024 appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Well, 2024 is almost here so it’s time to start thinking about all of the books which will be heading your way! In this round up, we take a look at an array of highly anticipated books releasing between the months of January and June! You can expect new releases from the likes of Sarah J. Maas, Jay Kristoff, Ali Hazelwood, Kristin Hannah, Stephen King, Tana French, Sally Hepworth, Leigh Bardugo, 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 2024 lists, which we’ll be releasing over the next couple of weeks! This article will also get updated with those links so you can easily find them… Your poor TBR!

You can find our Swoonworthy Romance Releases here, Anticipated YA Releases here, and our SFF releases here.

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

JANUARY 2024 BOOK RELEASES

The Fury by Alex Michaelides

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A masterfully paced thriller about a reclusive ex–movie star and her famous friends whose spontaneous trip to a private Greek island is upended by a murder ― from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient.

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

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In this sexy, breathtaking sequel to the #1 bestsellers House of Earth and Blood and House of Sky and Breath, Sarah J. Maas’s Crescent City series reaches new heights as Bryce and Hunt’s world is brought to the brink of collapse-with its future resting on their shoulders.

Come and Get It by Kiley Reid

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From the celebrated New York Times bestselling author of Such a Fun Age comes a fresh and provocative story about a residential assistant and her messy entanglement with a professor and three unruly students.

The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland

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From the author of New York Times bestseller House of Hollow comes a darkly seductive witchy thriller where, though both men and demons lurk in shadows, girls refuse to go quietly into the night.

Red String Theory by Lauren Kung Jessen

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In this charming rom-com about two star-crossed lovers, a woman whose life is guided by her belief in the red-string of fate finds her perfect match—but his skepticism about true love puts a knot in their chances.

The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James

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A dazzling magical realism western in the vein of Cormac McCarthy meets Gabriel García Márquez, The Bullet Swallower follows a Mexican bandido as he sets off for Texas to save his family, only to encounter a mysterious figure who has come, finally, to collect a cosmic debt generations in the making.

A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft

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In this romantic fantasy of manners from New York Times bestselling author Allison Saft, a magical dressmaker commissioned for a royal wedding finds herself embroiled in scandal when a gossip columnist draws attention to her undeniable chemistry with the groom.

The Longest Autumn by Amy Avery

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For fans of Ariadne, a spellbinding debut fantasy about a human who gets trapped with the god of Autumn, who brings with him life-threatening danger and a forbidden romance.

Don’t Want You Like A Best Friend by Emma R. Alban

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Review
A swoon-worthy debut queer Victorian romance in which two debutantes distract themselves from having to seek husbands by setting up their widowed parents, and instead find their perfect match in each other—the lesbian Bridgerton/Parent Trap you never knew you needed!

The Getaway List by Emma Lord

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Inescapably romantic and brimming with New York Times bestselling author Emma Lord’s signature cheer, The Getaway List is an uplifting and romantic read that will settle into your heart and never leave.

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

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New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins returns with a twisted new gothic suspense about an infamous heiress and the complicated inheritance she left behind.

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

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When mysterious faeries from other realms appear at her university, curmudgeonly professor Emily Wilde must uncover their secrets before it’s too late, in this heartwarming, enchanting second installment of the Emily Wilde series.

FEBRUARY 2024 BOOK RELEASES

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

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During the Great War, a combat nurse searches for her brother, believed dead in the trenches despite eerie signs that suggest otherwise, in this hauntingly beautiful historical novel with a speculative twist from the New York Times bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale.

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

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A Holmes and Watson–style detective duo take the stage in this fantasy with a mystery twist, from the Edgar-winning, multiple Hugo-nominated Robert Jackson Bennett

The Women by Kristin Hannah

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From master storyteller Kristin Hannah comes the story of a turbulent, transformative era in America: the 1960s. The Women is that rarest of novels—at once an intimate portrait of a woman coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided by war and broken by politics, of a generation both fueled by dreams and lost on the battlefield.

Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana

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A stunning Romantasy debut about an enchanted library, two handsome Fae, and one human who brings them all together. 

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams

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From the New York Times bestselling author of Seven Days in June, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is an epic love story one hundred years in the making…

Bride by Ali Hazelwood

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A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love, Theoretically and The Love Hypothesis.

Tender Beasts by Liselle Sambury

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After her private school is rocked by a gruesome murder, a teen tries to find the real killer and clear her brother’s name in this psychological thriller perfect for fans of The Taking of Jake Livingston and Ace of Spades.

Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey

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#1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey launches a super sexy sports romance duology with a rom-com about a bad boy professional athlete who falls for his biggest fan…

A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen

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A shield maiden blessed by the gods battles to unite a nation under a power-hungry king—while also fighting her growing desire for his fiery son—in this Norse-inspired fantasy romance from the bestselling author of The Bridge Kingdom series.

Island Witch by Amanda Jayatissa

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Set in 19th century Sri Lanka and inspired by local folklore, the daughter of a traditional demon-priest—relentlessly bullied by peers and accused of witchcraft herself—tries to solve the mysterious attacks that have been terrorizing her coastal village.

My Throat An Open Grave by Tori Bovalino

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Labyrinth meets folk horror in this darkly romantic tale of a girl who wishes her baby brother away to the Lord of the Wood.

How You Get the Girl by Anita Kelly

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Chemistry sizzles in this workplace rom-com set in the world of high school basketball as the author of Love & Other Disasters delivers a sapphic romance full of humour and heart.

MARCH 2024 BOOK RELEASES

Murder Road by Simone St. James

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A young couple find themselves haunted by a string of gruesome murders committed along an old deserted road in this terrifying new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Cold Cases.

The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste

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In a country divided between humans and witchers, Venus Stoneheart hustles as a brewer making illegal love potions to support her family.

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin

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For fans of Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club, an enormously fun mystery about a woman who spends her entire life trying to prevent her foretold murder only to be proven right sixty years later, when she is found dead in her sprawling country estate…. Now it’s up to her great-niece to catch the killer. 

The Prisoner’s Throne by Holly Black

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An imprisoned prince. A vengeful queen. And a battle that will determine the future of Elfhame. From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black comes the stunning blood-soaked conclusion to the Stolen Heir duology.

Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez

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New York Times bestselling author Xochitl Gonzalez delivers a mesmerizing novel about a first-generation Ivy League student who uncovers the genius work of a female artist decades after her suspicious death

The Hunter by Tana French

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From the writer who is “in a class by herself,” (The New York Times), a nuanced, atmospheric tale that explores what we’ll do for our loved ones, what we’ll do for revenge, and what we sacrifice when the two collide.

Three Kinds of Lucky by Kim Harrison

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Luck is its own kind of magic, in this first book in an electrifying new contemporary fantasy series from the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Hollows novels.

Happily Never After by Lynn Painter

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A humorous and unique rom-com that sees two wedding crashers fall for each other. This intriguing premise delivers on its promise with so much feeling and so much fun.

In a Not So Perfect World by Neely Tubati-Alexander

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The author of Love Buzz follows her acclaimed first novel with a delightful Caribbean-set romp about an ambitious designer of apocalyptic video games with a strategy for (almost) everything who discovers what happens when her best-laid plans go off course . . .

The Princess of Las Vegas by Chris Bohjalian

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From the New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant and The Lioness, a Princess Diana impersonator and her estranged sister find themselves drawn into a dangerous game of money and murder in this twisting tale of organized crime, cryptocurrency, and family secrets on the Las Vegas strip.

The Perfect Guy Doesn’t Exist by Sophie Gonzales

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A fanfic writer brings her favourite TV character to life in this friends-to-enemies-to-lovers novel full of humour and heart.

Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff

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From the New York Times bestselling author of the Nevernight Chronicle, Jay Kristoff, comes the much-anticipated sequel to the #1 international bestselling sensation Empire of the Vampire.

APRIL 2024 BOOK RELEASES

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

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From the New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House, Hell Bent, and creator of the Grishaverse series comes a highly anticipated historical fantasy set during the Spanish Golden Age.

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X. Chang

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
In this magical epic fantasy, a young woman cursed with the power of death must decide if saving her family is worth betraying her country—the first installation of a gripping new series.

Funny Story by Emily Henry

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
A thrilling page-turner of sisterhood, secrets, love, and murder by New York Times bestselling author Sally Hepworth.

The Vacancy in Room 10 by Seraphina Nova Glass

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
The Paris Apartment meets The Wrong Family, this thrilling tale of crime, passion and murder is set in a run-down apartment complex packed with shady characters willing to go to deadly lengths to keep their darkest secrets from the stranger in their midst.

The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

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From the author of the multimillion bestselling A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series and Five Survive comes a new true-crime fueled mystery thriller about a girl determined to uncover the shocking truth about her missing mother while filming a documentary on the unsolved case.

She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica

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An ICU nurse accidentally uncovers a patient’s frightening past in this chilling thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Local Woman Missing and Just the Nicest Couple.

Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun

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The author of Kiss Her Once for Me returns with a new queer rom-com following once childhood best friends forced together to drive their former teacher across the country.

Canto Contigo by Jonny Garza Villa

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When a Mariachi star transfers schools, he expects to be handed his new group’s lead vocalist spot—what he gets instead is a tenacious current lead with a very familiar, very kissable face.

Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao

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Zetian must balance dangerous politics with a new quest for vengeance in the sequel to the #1 New York Times bestseller Iron Widow, a blend of Chinese history and mecha science fiction.

Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings

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A sexy, sapphic, opposites-attract romance with Mazey Eddings’ signature sparkling voice!

Knife by Salman Rushdie

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From internationally renowned writer and Booker Prize winner Salman Rushdie, a searing, deeply personal account of enduring—and surviving—an attempt on his life thirty years after the fatwa that was ordered against him

MAY 2024 BOOK RELEASES

When Among Crows by Veronica Roth

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Step into a city where monsters feast on human emotions, knights split their souls to make their weapons, and witches always take more than they give.

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

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Christina Lauren, the instant New York Times bestselling and “reigning romance queens” (PopSugar), returns with a delicious new romance between the buttoned-up heir of a grocery chain and his free-spirited artist ex as they fake their relationship in order to receive a massive inheritance.

The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley

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From the New York Times bestselling author of The Celebrants comes the much-anticipated sequel to the Thurber Prize-Winning novel The Guncle, in which Patrick O’Hara is called back to his guncle duties… this time for a big family wedding in Italy.

A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur

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June Hur, bestselling author of The Red Palace, crafts a devastating and pulse-pounding tale that will feel all-too-relevant in today’s world, based on a true story from Korean history.

One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware

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Harkening to Agatha Christie’s classic And Then There Were None, this high-tension and ingenious thriller follows five couples trapped on a storm-swept island as a killer stalks among them.

The Dangerous Ones by Lauren Blackwood

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A romantic historical fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Lauren Blackwood, set in the American Civil War with vampires and people with demigod-like abilities.

It Waits in the Forest by Sarah Dass

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The very first thriller from Rick Riordan Presents! Drawing from the darkest corners of Caribbean mythology, acclaimed author Sarah Dass crafts a chilling tale of magic, murder, and how far we’ll go to protect what’s ours—perfect for fans of Angeline Boulley and Tiffany D. Jackson.

Evocation by S.T. Gibson

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When a family curse threatens David’s life, he will turn to the only person he’s ever trusted, his ex-boyfriend, Rhys—which means he will have to open his heart to Moira, Rhys’s wife. Dark academia and urban fantasy combine in this richly imagined novel set in a fictitious, magic-riddled Boston.

The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields

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The Honey Witch of Innisfree can never find true love. That is her curse to bear. But when a young woman who doesn’t believe in magic arrives on her island, sparks fly in this deliciously sweet debut novel of magic, hope, and love overcoming all.

You Like It Darker by Stephen King

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From legendary storyteller and master of short fiction Stephen King comes an extraordinary new collection of twelve short stories, many never-before-published, and some of his best EVER.

This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune

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An achingly nostalgic love story about two friends-with-benefits who can’t be together but can’t seem to stay apart. This Summer Will Be Different offers an idyllic coastal setting, enticing vacation descriptions, and a story that is equal parts sexy romance and female friendship. It has all the ingredients for another book of the summer!

If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay

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In classic Alex Finlay form, If Something Happens to Me is told by several distinct, compelling characters whose paths intersect, detonating into a story of twist after pulse-pounding twist. The novel cements Finlay as one of the leading thriller writers today.

JUNE 2024 BOOK RELEASES

Enlightenment by Sarah Perry

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A dazzling new work of literary fiction from the author of The Essex Serpent, a story of love and astronomy told over the course of twenty years through the lives of two improbable best friends.

Daydream by Hannah Grace

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The third in the New York Times bestselling Maple Hills series follows fan-favourite Henry and a bookish fellow student who come up with a plan to help them both overcome their respective challenges in a difficult year.

Middle of the Night by Riley Sager

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In the latest jaw-dropping thriller from New York Times bestselling author Riley Sager, a man must contend with the long-ago disappearance of his childhood best friend—and the dark secrets lurking just beyond the safe confines of his picture-perfect neighbourhood.

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

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New York Times bestselling author Katherine Center’s latest laugh out loud, feel good rom-com about writing your own story, perfect for fans of Emily Henry and Christina Lauren.

Mirrored Heavens by Rebecca Roanhorse

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The interwoven destinies of the people of Meridian will finally be determined in this stunning conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Roanhorse’s Between Earth and Sky trilogy.

Icon and Inferno by Marie Lu

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Perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon and Ally Carter, the dazzling sequel to #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu’s Stars and Smoke, is “a brilliant, breathtaking ride” – Tahereh Mafi, #1 internationally bestselling author.

The Stars Too Fondly by Emily Hamilton

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In her breathtaking debut – part space odyssey, part Sapphic rom-com – Emily Hamilton weaves a suspenseful, charmingly irreverent, and ultimately joyous tale of galaxy-spanning friendship, improbable love, and found family.

Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan

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The heart-tugging and hilarious story of a professional organizer whose life is a mess, and the summer she gets unstuck with the help of someone unexpected from her past, by the bestselling author of Same Time Next Summer and Nora Goes Off Script.

The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks

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For fans of Piranesi and The Midnight Library, a stunning historical fantasy novel set on a grand express train, about a group of passengers on a dangerous journey across a magical landscape

Sleep Like Death by Kalynn Bayron

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New York Times bestselling author and TikTok sensation Kalynn Bayron returns to fairytales with a lush, thrilling and original YA Snow White retelling that brings a new and exciting voice to this familiar tale. Perfect for fans of Cinderella Is Dead.

One-Star Romance by Laura Hankin

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A struggling writer is forced to walk down the aisle at her best friend’s wedding with the man who gave her book a very public one-star rating in this fresh romantic comedy from Laura Hankin.

Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay

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Horror Movie is an obsessive, psychologically chilling, and suspenseful feat of storytelling genius that builds inexorably to an unforgettable, mind-bending conclusion.

What 2024 book releases are you looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below!

The post The Most Anticipated 2024 Book Releases appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

It doesn’t matter whether you’ve devoured the books or seen Keira Knightley running through a field, sporting a bonnet and petticoats or not—everyone knows something about or at least has heard of Jane Austen. Her literature can be seen in modern adaptations, such as Clueless (1995) or parodied in Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), there are tours of the homes she lived in, theories over her love life, and her face is even on the ten-pound note. Since her death, Austen has become a character in herself. So, in our modern times of technology, socially acceptable showing of the ankles, and Harry Styles, who is our new “Jane Austen”?

Well, the name of this article is misleading because simply there cannot be another Jane Austen as her cultural impact remains her own and there can never be someone whose career and life align perfectly with her. We will never have another Austen, just as we will never have another Shakespeare or Chaucer, however, that does not mean we will not have ground-breaking romance and contemporary novelists following in the steps of our beloved writer. Brilliant in their own right, we’ve rounded up just a few stellar authors!

EMILY HENRY

Do you want friends to lovers? Or is enemies to lovers more of your cup of tea? Do you love fiction about people that also love fiction? Emily Henry is your gal. The queen of the summer romance novel, Henry keeps delivering bangers of a novel time and time again. The stories she continuously creates and has you devouring will undoubtedly leave you smiling and giddy. Henry has currently written three novels, Book Lovers (2022), Beach Read (2020), and People We Meet on Vacation (2021). Her newest book Happy Place released in April.

SALLY ROONEY

Now if you’re looking for something that has the intimacy of an Austen novel and the societal observations of an Austen novel, but without the required happily ever after, Sally Rooney is the author for you. Rooney rocketed to authorial fame through her novel Normal People, which looked at the lives of two teenagers and how society and class identities get in the way of their love for one another. Think, Marianne in Sense and Sensibility without the charming Colonel Brandon to come and eclipse her love John Willoughby. Rooney has three published novels under her belt, two of which have been turned into TV shows of the same name—Normal People (2018), Conversations with Friends (2017) and Beautiful World, Where are You (2021).

TAYLOR JENKINS REID

This is a must-read author for cinema and TV fans with multiple of her works currently being adapted for screen and TV. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a powerhouse, who is constantly working on mastering different types of genres—all under the umbrella of contemporary fiction. If you’re looking for some heartwrenching romance, Reid has books such as One True Loves (2016), which has just been released starring the magnificent Phillipa Soo, and Forever Interrupted (2013). Or if you’re a fan of Fleetwood Mac and all the drama that went into the fabric of their music, you should try Daisy Jones and the Six (2019), which released earlier this year on Prime Video.

It would take an entire article to go through all of Reid’s wonderful novels, but the one that prompted the Taylor Jenkins Reid fan frenzy was the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (2017), also in production to be become a film. Evelyn Hugo will leave you believing in love again and crushed to the core, Mr Darcy is nothing compared to Cecilia St. James, but he’s a whole lot better than Mick Riva.

TIA WILLIAMS

As many an literature teachers will tell you, Austen’s characters were complex. You just needed to look at the details of what they did and spoke. Tia William’s takes these romantic, flawed, three dimensional characters and gives them space to express themselves beyond implications and connotations. Williams has written and published six books, her two most famous books being Seven Days in June (2021) and The Perfect Find (2016), which is being turned into a movie. Her beautiful work gives romance to the everyday person. She does not gloss over the character’s issues and she does not make that a reason for them not to deserve a happy ending because, after all, everyone deserves a happy ending.

HOLLY BOURNE

One aspect of Austen’s novels that are often ignored is the female sisterhood that is promoted. Think of Anne Elliot in Persuasion, who is always there for her sister Mary and shows no hostility towards Louisa and Henrietta whilst they flirt with the man she loves. Holly Bourne takes this sisterhood and focus on female friendships and turns it up to the max. In her novels we have the romantic love story, but what really shines in Bourne’s writing is the platonic friendships and their importance in our lives. She brings to centre stage the beauty that is friendship and celebrates all its iniquities. Plus, her books are wonderfully and promotingly feminist, an extra bonus. The Spinster Club Trilogy is a brilliant place to start when reading Bourne’s work as you follow a trio making their way through college and discovering themselves in the least cliché ways imaginable. 

SARA DESAI

Another aspect of Austen’s novels which literature teachers will sing about is that her novels are funny. Yes, some of her jokes do not translate as well in modern day and often they fall flat in comparison to the works of Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Romesh Ranganathan, but she is funny. A brilliant romance author, who prioritises the comedic aspects of her novel with the intimate moments of her novel is Sara Desai. Sara Desai’s most popular works are The Dating Plan (2021), The Marriage Game (2020) and The Singles Table (2021). Desai gives us funny, sexy female protagonists that make us laugh and leaves us applauding when they get their man. She also constantly provides a fun, enjoyable family dynamic that helps push the story forward and creates a more enjoyable reading experience.

So, here are six wonderful female identifying authors who are taking the romance genre by storm. They may not be Austen, they are their own magnificent selves and have done and will do amazing things within the genre or whatever genres they decide to explore next. And just remember, if anyone tries to shame you for reading romance novels, remember people once did the same to the original readers of Austen’s work. Look who’s laughing now!

The post Who Is The Modern Jane Austen? appeared first on The Nerd Daily.