Am I the only one who looks at the New Releases list on Goodreads and gets excited about what the rest of the year has to offer? I feel this year is offering us some amazing books and I cannot wait to see what some of my favorite authors have to offer as well as one or two new to me authors.
Author: Shana Abé
Publication Date: Aug. 31, 2021
The Second Mrs. Astor tells the story of John Astor & Madeline Force. The story is told through their headline-making courtship through their disastrous honeymoon aboard the Titanic. After a whirlwind romance, Madeline finds herself pregnant with their first child, when they take an ill-fated trip home to American on the luxury liner that is forever engrained in history.
Author: Jennifer Chiaverini
Publication Date: Jul. 27, 2021
Famous Women's Suffragette Alice Paul has returned home to New Jersey to recover from her work in Great Britain. Although she has come home to rest, her work isn't done. In an effort to further women's rights in America, Paul organizes a march down Pennsylvania Avenue during the inauguration of Woodrow Wilson, a staunch anti-suffragist. Alice Paul joins forces with other famous suffragists Maud Malone and Ida B. Wells to help get the 19th Amendment passed and women the right to vote.
Author: Amanda Skenandore
Publication Date: Jul. 27, 2021
Based on the true story of a leprosy hospital in Louisiana in the 1920s. When a Los Angeles socialite, Mirielle West, is diagnosed with leprosy she is sent to Louisiana where she believes she is being sent for a cure. What she finds is a hospital where those with leprosy are sent to languish, sometimes for years. As she spends more time there, she begins to feel a sense of community and does her best to help those around her. She wonders if when the time comes, will she be able to return to her carefree life?
Author: Grady Hendrix
Publication Date: Jul. 13, 2021
Lynnette Tarkington is what Hollywood refers to as a "final girl" - the girl who is left standing after a horrific event in horror movies, only her horror really happened. Over the past ten years, Lynnette has gathered with other survivors and a therapist to attempt to piece their lives back together. When one of their members goes missing, Lynnette thinks someone has discovered the group and is coming to finish off the survivors. Will the Final Girls defeat their stalker or will this be the last support group meeting?
Author: Kristin Harmel
Publication Date: Jul. 6, 2021
Set during World War II, Yona, a young German woman who was kidnapped as a child whose captor has recently passed away, uses her knowledge of the forest she grew up in to help save Jewish refugees from the Nazis. She teaches them to survive in the forest to avoid capture and in return, they teach her about caring for others. Yona's secret is betrayed and her worlds collide when she is forced to escape to a nearby German-occupied village and her life is forever changed. As with all Kristin Harmel historical fiction, this book is based on actual events with fictional characters.
Author: Kate Moore
Publication Date: Jun. 21, 2021
In the 1860s, women are meant to be seen and not heard but Elizabeth Packard is a strong-willed, free-thinking woman married to a man who doesn't want to hear her thoughts. In order to put her in her place, he does what most irrational husbands did back then - he had her committed to an insane asylum. Elizabeth comes to understand that she is not the only sane woman who has been committed at the request of a husband who no longer wanted to deal with them. Elizabeth sets out to make changes to the law so no one else has to ever be accused of being crazy simply for being an outspoken woman.
Author: Alka Joshi
Publication Date: Jun. 22, 2021
Following the journey of Malik, the homeless urchin who worked with Lakshmi in The Henna Artist, he returns to the Pink City where employment has been secured for him with the Singhs. When a construction project Malik is working on with Ravi Singh falls apart, Malik takes the bulk of the blame and risks what he does for a living and those he cares about most.
Author: Beatriz Williams
Publication Date: Jun. 1, 2021
When Iris Digby and her family disappear from their London home, people wonder if they have were taken out by the Soviet Union or if they defected to Russia with all the state secrets they knew. Years later, Iris sends her sister, Ruth, a postcard that sends her on a rescue mission behind the Iron Curtain. Ruth comes to learn that her sister's marriage isn't as straightforward as they were led to believe and choices will have to be made.
Authors: Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
Publication: Jun. 29, 2021
This is the story of Bella de Costa Green, personal librarian to J.P. Morgan. During her work for Morgan, Bella is responsible for curating rare artwork, photographs and other important documents. During her time as Morgan's librarian, Bella is hiding a secret - she is the daughter of Richard Greener, the first black graduate of Harvard. She is an African-American woman who passes for white which opens an entire world to her. Bella does what she must to protect her secret and her family all while working for one of the most powerful men in the world.
Author: Jessica Anya Blau
Publication Date: May 11, 2021
Mary Jane is a 14 year old girl living in Baltimore who works as a nanny for a psychiatrist who is helping a rockstar get clean. Over the summer, Mary Jane comes to realize that life has more to offer than she ever imagined. When her summer is over, Mary Jane now knows that she can move beyond her neighborhood and do anything she wants.
Author: Pam Jenoff
Publication Date: May 4, 2021
The story of two girls, Sadie Gault, a young Jewish woman who must escape the Nazis, and Ella Stapanek, a rich Polish girl whose mother has Nazi ties. The unlikely friendship is formed when they see each other through a sewer grate and Ella begins to help Sadie and her mother. As with many friendships during World War II, theirs is tested when their lives collide and decisions have to be made.
All book pictures courtesy of Goodreads.