Out of ways to beat the heat? Look no further than a new book!
It's still beach read season and August is set to deliver several of the year's most anticipated reads, including The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo author Taylor Jenkins Reid's latest, and a compelling thriller from Lisa Jewell. Plus, despite spooky season being a few months away, this month has a bounty of true crime offerings, like the debut novel from the host of the Crime Junkie podcast.
So, whatever you're in the mood for, we've got something to satisfy your literary itch and the perfect new accessory to add to your beach bag this summer.
Here are 15 books worth checking out in August:
The first thing you need to know about Emma Makepeace is that nothing about her is real. Including her name. Yet, you will find yourself captivated by the newly minted British spy as she races against the clock to deliver her handsome asset after Russia hacks into London's security cameras. Forget James Bond, we're waiting to see who's cast in the Alias Emma movie that is destined to be made. (August 2)
In the highly anticipated sequel to Boyfriend Material, Hall continues the unexpected love story of fake-boyfriends-turned-real-couple Luc and Oliver, who are feeling the pressure to get engaged after everyone around them seems to be getting married. With their wild friends and outlandish family along for the ride, as Luc and Oliver try to figure out how to evolve as a unit and as individual. This is another trip to London that is sure to delight fans. (August 2)
Who needs sight when you can have love at first listen? In the modern update to You've Got Mail we never knew we needed but now can't live without, two audiobook narrators unexpectdly fall for one another in this witty, wry and heartwarming rom-com from the author of My Oxford Year. (August 2)
It just doesn't feel like summer without a gem from Jewell. The queen of the thriller genre delivers a suspenseful and chilling standalone sequel to 2019's The Family Upstairs, weaving a story filled with complicated marriages, fractured families, and lethal obsessions. (August 9)
Imagine if Knives Out and The Haunting of Hill House had a literary baby. These Fleeting Shadows is that offspring, set in a deadly and haunted house called the Hallownthat Helen Vaughan must stay on the grounds of for one full year or she will be left with nothing from her grandfather's inheritance. Yes, we totally kept the lights on after reading this one. (August 9)
Imagine being invited to your former best friend's lavish Sri Lankan wedding, only to discover that the groom is your ex-boyfriend. And then when said childhood BFF goes missing and is presumed dead during the celebration, you're accused of murder. Yes, you should be very glad you are not Amaya, the lead character in the author of My Sweet Girl's new thriller that should help make your jampacked wedding season feel slightly less awful. (August 9)
Considering Flowers is the host of the hit true crime podcast Crime Junkie, it's safe to say she knows the genre pretty well. And her expertise is evident in her debut novel about a journalist who returns to her hometown, where she begins to uncover dark secrets about the unsolved murder of her childhood neighbor—and the disappearance of another girl 20 years later. (August 16)
Um, do you really need to know anything else after reading this amazing title? Fine: Dating is hard enough, but when you are obsessed with true crime and always suspect the worst, it's near impossible. In this clever and witty crossover rom-cod that's exactly PhD candidate Phoebe Walsh's predicament when she finds herself falling for her cute new neighbor, even though she is convinced he's a murderer. (August 16)
In her most ambitious novel yet, the Room author journeys to seventh-century Ireland to tell the story of a priest who, inspired by a dream telling him to leave the world behind, searches for a remote island to start his own monastery. Joined by two monks, the trio eventually finds Skellig Michael, a barren isle where their faith is tested as they struggle to survive. (August 23)
The Love Hypothesis scribe is back with yet another charming STEMinist rom-com centering on love-hate relationship between two scientists who are forced to work together at NASA in Houston. Explosive chemistry and sexy nerds, what more could you ask for? (August 23)
In 1982, pretty and popular athlete Emily Vaughn was murdered on prom night. Forty years later, newly minted US Marshal Andrea Oliver arrives in the Longbill Beach to seek justice for Emily, but is unprepared when the cold case links to Andrea's father. This small town murder investigation will keep your pulse racing and mind guessing. (August 23)
One of the most hyped books of the year is finally here, with the bestselling author telling the powerful and inspiring story of the titular character, who briefly appeared in her 2021 novel Malibu Rising. Six years after her retirement, tennis legend Carrie Soto decides to return to the sport at age 37 to defend her records from being shattered by an up-and-coming star. Did we mention the man she's training with to stage her comeback is a former love? Yep, we have nothing but love-love for this book. (August 30)
Named after the tiny, turquoise birds that inhabit it, The Dellawisp is an apartment complex filled with residents just as mysterious as this atmospheric tale. And it is where Zoey finds herself following her mom's death, eventually being drawn into the enigma of the magical building when another resident dies on the night she arrives. The key might just be the missing pages from a legendary writer whose work is hidden within it. (August 30)
Four years after the unsolved murder of her favorite teacher, Brynn is determined to finally learn what happened now that she's landed her dream internship at a true-crime show. But when the case involves her former friends, Brynn learns some people like to keep their secrets closer in the One Of Us Lying's author's latest YA unputdownable release. (August 30)
An estranged family's awkward reunion on a tiny island for their grandmother's 80th birthday turns deadly when a killer starts picking them off one by one. Did you hear that? It was the sound of your Kindle downloading the Rock, Paper, Scissors writer's irrestisble new murder mystery on its own based on that description. (August 30)
Feeling the need for even more reads? Look back on our picks for July's best new releases.