Here are Ten Hot Reads for June:
Blush by Jamie Brenner
Summer has come to mean a new Jamie Brenner novel. This one is FABULOUS! A winery, three generations, “scandalous” old books and fabulous cheese! Buy a copy for you and one for your mom!
Blush is a bighearted story of love, family, and second chances, and an ode to the blockbuster novels that have shaped generations of women. For decades, the Hollander Estates winery has been the premier destination for lavish parties and romantic day trips on the North Fork of Long Island. But behind the lush vineyards and majestic estate house, the Hollander family fortunes have suffered and the threat of a sale brings old wounds to the surface. For matriarch Vivian, she fears that this summer season could be their last—and that selling their winery to strangers could expose a dark secret she’s harbored for decades. Meanwhile, her daughter, Leah, who was turned away from the business years ago, finds her marriage at a crossroads and returns home for a sorely needed escape. And granddaughter Sadie, grappling with a crisis of her own, runs to the vineyard looking for inspiration. But when Sadie uncovers journals from Vivian’s old book club dedicated to scandalous novels of decades past, she realizes that this might be the distraction they all need. Reviving the “trashy” book club, the Hollander women find that the stories hold the key to their fight not only for the vineyeard, but for the life and love they’ve wanted all along.
Lizzie & Dante by Mary Bly
This is the sweeping magnificent romance of the Summer! This book channels Love Story and Me Before You. Set in glorious Italy, Lizzie & Dante is an unforgettable gem! And guess what, Mary Bly IS Eloisa James!
What if falling in love means breaking someone’s heart? On the heels of a difficult break-up and a devastating diagnosis, Shakespeare scholar Lizzie Delford decides to take one last lavish vacation on Elba, the sun-kissed island off the Italian coast, with her best friend and his movie-star boyfriend. Once settled into a luxurious seaside resort, Lizzie must make big decisions about her future, and she needs the one thing she may be running out of: time. She leaves the yacht owners and celebrities behind and sneaks off to the public beach, where she meets a sardonic chef named Dante, his battered dog, Lily, and his wry daughter, Etta, a twelve-year-old desperate for a mother. While Dante shows Lizzie the island’s secrets, and Etta dazzles with her irreverent humor, Lizzie is confronted with a dilemma. Is it right to fall in love if time is short? Is it better to find a mother briefly, or to have no mother at all? And most pressingly, are the delicacies of life worth tasting, even if you will get to savor them only for a short while? A luscious story of love, courage, and Italian wine, Lizzie & Dante demands to know how far we should travel to find a future worth fighting for.
The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
Urgent, propulsive, and sharp as a knife, The Other Black Girl is an electric debut about the tension that unfurls when two young Black women meet against the starkly white backdrop of New York City book publishing.
Twenty-six-year-old editorial assistant Nella Rogers is tired of being the only Black employee at Wagner Books. Fed up with the isolation and microaggressions, she’s thrilled when Harlem-born and bred Hazel starts working in the cubicle beside hers. They’ve only just started comparing natural hair care regimens, though, when a string of uncomfortable events elevates Hazel to Office Darling, and Nella is left in the dust. Then the notes begin to appear on Nella’s desk: LEAVE WAGNER. NOW. It’s hard to believe Hazel is behind these hostile messages. But as Nella starts to spiral and obsess over the sinister forces at play, she soon realizes that there’s a lot more at stake than just her career. A whip-smart and dynamic thriller and sly social commentary that is perfect for anyone who has ever felt manipulated, threatened, or overlooked in the workplace, The Other Black Girl will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last twist.
Swagger: Unleash Everything You Are and Become Everything You Want by Leslie Ehm
Ever wonder why some people are magnetic, confident in their abilities, in charge of their own destinies, and utterly at ease in their own skin? What’s their secret? In a word: Swagger.
And no, this is not the old swagger—that show-off, in-your-face, arrogant kind. This brand-new swagger is unshakable, undeniable and utterly unstoppable. And you can have it too. Award-winning training guru and coach Leslie Ehm shows that true swagger results from your ability to manifest who you really are and hold on to it in the face of all the psychological crap that will come for it every day. Part guidebook, part manifesto, a little sweary and completely inspiring, Swagger gives you the steps to unlock and unleash your personal brand of swagger—one that can never be duplicated or diminished. And you’ll read stories of the countless people Leslie’s worked with who’ve discovered their own swagger and changed their lives for the better. Discover what swagger blockers are holding you back and what drivers will bring your unique and powerful personality to the forefront for all to revel at and see why Swagger is the new mindset that will bring you all of the success you’ve ever dreamed of without ever having to compromise or sacrifice who you really are. Your swagger is waiting for you. What are you waiting for?
The Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin
A charming, fiercely alive and disarmingly funny debut novel in the vein of John Green, Rachel Joyce, and Jojo Moyes—a brave testament to the power of living each day to the fullest, a tribute to the stories that we live, and a reminder of our unlimited capacity for friendship and love. An extraordinary friendship. A lifetime of stories.
Seventeen-year-old Lenni Pettersson has been told she’s terminal, or as she explains, they’ve started calling it a “life-limiting” condition. In a bid to fill the remainder of her days at the Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital she joins an art therapy class where she meets eighty-three-year-old Margot. Magnificent Margot is an 83-year-old, purple-pajama-wearing, fruitcake-eating rebel, who transforms Lenni in ways she never imagined. As their unlikely friendship develops, Lenni and Margot realize that between them they have lived for 100 years. Though their days are dwindling, they are determined to leave something everlasting behind so they decide to make one hundred paintings showcasing their one hundred years. Though the end is near, life isn’t quite done with these unforgettable women just yet.
A Duke in Time by Janna MacGregor
Missing Bridgerton? A Duke in Time is the first book in a three book series that will have you rooting for leading heroines, searching for lost dowries, and falling for swoon-worthy heroes.
Katherine Vareck is in for the shock of her life when she learns upon her husband Meri’s accidental death that he had married two other women. Her entire business, along with a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be a royal supplier, is everything she’ s been working for and now could be destroyed if word leaks about the three wives. Meri’s far more upstanding brother, Christian, Duke of Randford has no earthly clue how to be of assistance. He spent the better part of his adult years avoiding Meri and the rest of his good-for-nothing family, so to be dragged back into the fold is…problematic. Even more so is the intrepid and beautiful Katherine, whom he cannot be falling for because she’s Meri’s widow. Or can he? With a textile business to run and a strong friendship forming with Meri’s two other wives, Katherine doesn’t have time for much else. But there’s something about the warm, but compellingly taciturn Christian that draws her to him. When an opportunity to partner in a business venture brings them even closer, they’ll have to face their pasts if they want to share each other’s hearts and futures.
Love For Beginners by Jill Shalvis
What would you change if you had to start your life—and love life—over again? Shalvis reminds us that life isn’t what you’re given, it’s what you make of it.
When Emma Harris wakes up from a coma she learns that her fiancé and her BFF have fallen in love, she’s lost her job, and the life she knew is gone. Overwhelmed but grateful to be alive she starts over from scratch. Not as easy as it sounds, of course. But she’s never been a quitter, even if she wishes she could quit rehab, where her hot but evil physical therapist, Simon, puts her through the wringer. Eager for a new beginning, Emma opens a doggy day care. Unfortunately, the only space she can afford is owned by her childhood nemesis Ali Pratt. But hey, she’s been through worse, right? She tries to roll with the punches, but a friend drops his grandpa off at the doggy day care in desperation then on top of that, she and Ali bring the term ‘frenemies’ to a whole new level. And then another grandparent shows up. And another. In the midst of all that, Emma realizes she’s accidentally fallen for Evil PT. But the most horrifying thing of all is that Ali just might have turned into the best friend she’s ever had.
A Betting Woman: A Novel of Madame Moustache by Jenni Walsh
A Betting Woman is a historical novel inspired by the tumultuous life, times, and loves of America’s first professional croupier of modern-day blackjack, bringing to life an intrepid and entrepreneurial real-life woman who lived on her own terms.
Simone Jules, reinvented as Eleanor Dumont, and largely remembered as Madame Moustache paves her way in a man’s world and into the pages of history. When her whole family dies in a fire, young Simone Jules flees her grief and travels west to reinvent herself in burgeoning San Francisco. Down to her last dollar and facing some unsavory options, Simone quick-wits her way to a gambling table where she begins to deal vingt-et-un – modern-day blackjack. Word travels fast among of this French-speaking, card-playing novelty, and she begins to build a new life for herself. Molly’s Game for lovers of the American West.
In Royal Service to the Queen by Tessa Arlen
The revealing story of Queen Elizabeth II’s beloved governess, Marion Crawford, who spent more than sixteen years of her life in loyal service to the royal family and was later shunned by those she has loved and served. Lovers of The Crown will devour this book!
Marion Crawford can remember each of the wonderful years when she was governess to the little Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose. In Marion’s mind, she will always be their Crawfie. But things become increasingly complicated as the young royals navigate adulthood. It is May 1945 and Princess Elizabeth–the heiress presumptive to the British throne–has fallen in love, and the only member of her family who is happy for her is her governess. No one in the young princess’s life thinks that Prince Philip of Greece would be a suitable husband for the future Queen of England. No one that is, except for Marion Crawford. Crawfie wholeheartedly supports Elizabeth in her determination to marry Philip. She too has fallen in love–and has convinced her fiancé, George, that they must wait for Elizabeth and Philip to receive the King’s blessing before she can leave her service to the Crown. Over the next two years Crawfie is caught between loyalty to Princess Elizabeth; running the risk of alienating her royal employer, Queen Elizabeth; and losing the man she loves. But as Crawfie prevails to marry George and stands with him in Westminster Abbey on Elizabeth and Philip’s wedding day, she is unaware that her troubled relationship with Queen Elizabeth is far from over.
