Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Latest, Plus 22 More Books to Beat the Heat This August

If you love classic British rom-coms, you’ll love this new romance from Alexis Hall. Luc, a celebrity son with a penchant for making headlines, and Oliver, a barrister from an uptight family, have finally figured things out and are happy together. When all their friends start getting married, though, the two find themselves borne along the tide of expectations—whether they want to or not. Release date: Aug. 2

Two revolutions are intertwined in this historical novel by Zoe Sivak, following Sylvie de Rosiers, the biracial daughter of a Haitian coffee planter. When she and her brother flee the Haitian uprisings to France, they find themselves caught up in another country on the brink, and right in the inner circle of the soon-to-be-infamous Robespierre. Release date: Aug. 2

Jamie Ford’s novel centers on Dorothy Foy, a former poet laureate, who has spent her life channeling her dissociative episodes into her art. When she undergoes an experimental treatment focused on inherited trauma, she finds herself experiencing the memories and lives of generations of women in her family, learning their secrets and understanding more about a stranger who appears in every memory. Release date: Aug. 2

As America inches closer to World War II, an Italian immigrant woman fights her way up through a colorful and challenging world in Hollywood in this novel by Anthony Marra. As Maria and everyone around her struggle to keep things together, the dangers of her family’s past come back to haunt her, forcing her to make choices she never thought were possible. Release date: Aug. 2

Inspired by Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, Mohsin Hamid’s  novel tells the story of a man who wakes up to find his skin darkening. He soon realizes he’s not the only one, as people around the world find themselves transformed. As the world deals with this inexplicable phenomenon, big changes are happening everywhere, from the intimate personal level to society-rocking shifts. Release date: Aug. 2

Kerry Winfrey is back with a romance about second chances. In high school, Sandy and Hank had big plans to escape their small town together. Now, fifteen years later, Sandy runs a greenhouse and helps her parents, while Hank went on to a successful music career. When he returns to town and they are stuck working together on the town music festival, old feelings resurface, along with old dreams. Release date: Aug. 2.

Noué Kirwan’s debut novel follows the ways in which the past never quite goes away, no matter how far we run. Mikaela has long since left her small-town upbringing behind and is a successful Manhattan attorney. When an old photo of her and her former friend—taken by her ex—becomes the center of a lawsuit, she must face people (and feelings) she thought she was long since over. Release date: Aug. 2

Think neuroscience is too hard to understand? Think again! This nonfiction book by Chantal Prat offers a different take on brain science by focusing not on what we have in common, but what makes us each unique. With interactive and real-world examples, the book demonstrates how we each can make the most of the unique gifts buried inside our brains. Release date: Aug. 2

C. J. Carey describes an alternate timeline where Britain surrendered to Nazi Germany, and women are forced into categories based on their usefulness to the regime and literature is rewritten to suppress any subversions. One privileged woman is assigned to infiltrate a rumored rebel stronghold, but what she finds there will change her perspective forever. Release date: Aug. 9

Two women, 60 years apart, uncover stories and break barriers in this novel by Addison Armstrong. Emmaline works as a librarian on the front lines in France during World War I, while Kathleen is part of the first coed class at the US Naval Academy in the 1970s. Both must face down those who don’t believe in them and prove to others and themselves that they are stronger than anyone knows. Release date: Aug. 9

An awkward wedding turns into a murder mystery in this new thriller by Amanda Jayatissa. When she’s invited to the wedding of her former BFF and her ex-boyfriend, Amaya becomes obsessed with stopping the nuptials, especially when people start gossiping about her. Then the bride disappears and Amaya is the suspect—but every wedding guest has their own potential motive for murder. Release date: Aug. 9

Roselle Lim’s new novel follows professional matchmaker Sophie Go as she returns home to Toronto, where the lie underpinning her career unravels. In desperate need of new clients, she stumbles across a group of elderly men in her building who never married and sets out to help them find love, learning lessons about life and what it really means to love along the way. Release date: Aug. 16

What’s really out there in the cosmos?Moiya McTier’s book takes a clever approach to its in-depth scientific analysis, telling the story of our galaxy as if narrated by the Milky Way itself. Learn about its origins, its evolution, and its unique place in the known universe, all told with an accessible voice and the incredible emotions of learning about the stars. Release date: Aug. 16

Alicia Thompson’s debut romance takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to the true-crime wave. Phoebe, a PhD candidate with a true crime obsession, becomes convinced that her neighbor Sam is secretly a serial killer. When she sets out to uncover the “truth,” she discovers something even scarier: he might be someone she could open her heart to. Release date: Aug. 16

In Ashley Winstead’s thriller, eight years after escaping a cult alongside her best friend, Shay hears about her friend’s death on a true crime podcast. She quickly realizes that the dangers she thought were behind them are still very powerful indeed, and she sets out on a quest for revenge, even as she gets pulled back into the alluring underworld she fought so hard to leave. Release date: Aug. 16

Ali Hazelwood returns with a new STEM romance. When Bee is invited to co-lead a project for NASA, it’s a dream come true for her career. When things start going wrong, though, it becomes more of a nightmare. And to make matters worse, her co-lead is her scientific archrival, Levi. Then, it seems like Levi might actually be turning into an ally, so what gives? Release date: Aug. 23

In R.F. Kuang’s magical version of 19^th-century Britain, an orphan from China is brought to London and trained to study at Oxford’s famous institute for translation and magic. Their work serves Britain’s colonial power, but not everyone supports those goals, and young Robin soon founds himself torn between his idealized quest for knowledge and the quest for freedom. Release date: Aug. 23

Based on true events, Erin Bledsoe’s historical novel traces the origins of the first all-female street gang in London. In the 1920s, a gang of female shoplifters, the Forty Elephants, roam the streets. Alice Diamond, left to fend for herself after her family’s arrests, joins up with them, but there’s always a price to pay in this world. Release date: Aug. 23

Bestselling author Sarah MacLean continues her Hell’s Belles series with this latest entry. To most of society, Adelaide is a wallflower to be pitied. In reality, she’s a skillful thief who helps unwilling brides avoid unwanted marriages. When she winds up trying to stop a wedding alongside Henry, Duke of Clayborn, these two guarded people might finally have met their match. Release date: Aug. 23

In Karin Slaughter’s latest thriller, a US Marshal returns to her hometown to protect a judge receiving death threats. In reality, she’s also there to track down a cold case that rocked their town decades ago: a teenage girl with a secret, murdered on prom night, and a town that closed ranks and swept it all under the rug. Release date: Aug. 23

A group of PTA moms inadvertently summon a demon in this horror comedy by Maureen Kilmer. After building a little “she-shed” to get away from it all, the four friends realize they’ve accidentally loosed a demonic entity on the neighborhood. They have to figure out how to stop the madness before someone gets hurt—or, worse, before the HOA hears about it. Release date: Aug. 30

Taylore Jenkins Reid’s latest novel explores the cost and pressures of “greatness.”Years after retiring as the undisputed tennis GOAT, Carrie Soto returns to the sport, unable to stand seeing her record shattered by a brilliant younger star. Fighting against media rumors, a training mate she doesn’t want, and her own physical limitations, she’s determined to risk it all for one more shot, no matter what it takes. Release date: Aug. 30

When Zoey arrives at a quirky apartment building after her mother’s death, she’s greeted by an eclectic set of neighbors and, soon, a series of mysteries in this novel by Sarah Addison Allen. As she tries to unravel the building’s history and the strange circumstances around it, she and her neighbors also must come to terms with their own unfinished stories. Release date: Aug. 30