Hello Readers! I hope you’re enjoying your weekend, finding time to relax and enjoy some reading, as well. I’m happy to say my haul was under control this month. I added a few used books from paperbackswap, picked up some vintage books while out of town, and added a few eARCs (advanced readers copies), as well. You may have seen me recently say that I needed to tap the brakes on ARCs for the year… I requested and accepted these BEFORE I made that observation. 😬😂 But most of these are for the end of the year, and I even picked up my first ARC for 2023, so it’s not all bad.

Let’s take a look at my haul for June!

(Link to synopsis on Goodreads through the book title.)

My eARCs

Perfectly timed with my new-found resolve to venture back out of the Romance genre, I was invited to read Alias Emma by Ava Glass, a debut British spy thriller with great early reviews!

Synopsis:

In this breakneck, race-against-the-clock thriller, a British spy has twelve hours to deliver her asset across London after Russia hacks the city’s security cameras. Can she make it without being spotted . . . or killed?

Nothing about Emma Makepeace is real. Not even her name.

A newly minted secret agent, Emma’s barely graduated from basic training when she gets the call for her first major assignment. Eager to serve her country and prove her worth, she dives in headfirst.

Emma must covertly travel across one of the world’s most watched cities to bring the reluctant–and handsome–son of Russian dissidents into protective custody, so long as the assassins from the Motherland don’t find him first. With London’s famous Ring of Steel hacked by the Russian government, the two must cross the city without being seen by the hundreds of thousands of CCTV cameras that document every inch of the city’s streets, alleys, and gutters.

Buses, subways, cars, and trains are out of the question. Traveling on foot, and operating without phones or bank cards that could reveal their location or identity, they have twelve hours to make it to safety. This will take all of Emma’s skills of disguise and subterfuge. But when Emma’s handler goes dark, there’s no one left to trust. And just one wrong move will get them both killed.

Expected August 2, 2022

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My first book by Elle Kennedy was Good Girl Complex, the first book in the Avalon Bay series, so I was happy to be approved for the follow-up, Bad Girl Reputation.

Synopsis:

When former bad girl Genevieve West returns home for her mother’s funeral, she’s prepared to keep her distance from her ex-boyfriend, Evan Hartley. Their history is rife with turbulence. And passion. A heck of a lot of passion… which she’s trying desperately to forget. 

But it’s impossible not to run into Evan in the small coastal town where they once ran wild. And the moment she sees her gorgeous ex again, it’s clear to Gen that Evan is still as unruly, sexy, and irresistible as ever. This time around, however, she’s resolved to walk a new path. No more partying. No more foolish mistakes. Her plan is to temporarily remain in town to help her father run his business, but the second he finds somebody else, she’s out of there.

Evan has other ideas. He knows they can be good together, but he just has to convince Genevieve of that, even if it means turning over a new leaf himself. But can a bad reputation ever truly be shed? Do second chances really work? Genevieve and Evan are about to find out.

Bestselling author Elle Kennedy returns to Avalon Bay in this sexy second chance story about two exes who can’t stay away from each other, Bad Girl Reputation.

Expected on October 4, 2022

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I was a fan of Emily Stone’s debut, Always, In December, so I was happy to be approved for her next novel, One Last Gift.

Synopsis:

When a young woman finds herself lost and at a crossroads, one last gift from her brother just might give her another chance at life and at love in this epic holiday romance from the author of Always, in December

Sometimes the best gifts in life are the ones you don’t expect.

Cassie and Tom lost their parents at a young age and relied on each other–as well as a community of friends–to get through it. Especially Tom’s best friend, Sam, who always made sure Tom and Cassie were surrounded with love. But now, twenty years later, Cassie has lost Tom as well. And in a way, she’s also lost Sam; over the years they’ve drifted apart, and now the man she always had a crush on is someone she doesn’t even recognize anymore.

She’s never felt more alone.

Then she finds an envelope with her name on it, written in Tom’s terrible handwriting, and she knows immediately what it is. It’s the first clue in the Christmas scavenger hunt Tom made for her every year; he’d promised her for months that this year’s would be the grandest one yet. At first, she’s too scared to open it–what if she can’t figure out the clues without his help? Or what if she does figure them all out, and her last connection to Tom is gone?

Tom’s clues set Cassie on a heart-wrenching and beautiful journey that will change her life–if she lets them. And as she travels from London to the Welsh mountains to the French countryside, she reconnects with old friends, rekindles a lost love, and most importantly, rediscovers herself. But once she’s solved the final clue, will she be brave enough to accept the gift her brother has given her–and the love it’s led her to? 

Expected October 11, 2022

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I couldn’t resist the invitation to read Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win by Susan Azim Boyer, a YA Historical Fiction that’s getting glowing early reviews!

Synopsis:

Most Anticipated YA by Buzzfeed

A fresh spin on the cult-classic Election meets Darius the Great Is Not Okay in Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win when an international incident crashes into a high school election, and Jasmine is caught between doing the right thing and chasing her dream.

It’s 1979, and Jasmine Zumideh is ready to get the heck out of her stale, Southern California suburb and into her dream school, NYU, where she’ll major in journalism and cover New York City’s exploding music scene.

There’s just one teeny problem: Due to a deadline snafu, she maaaaaaybe said she was Senior Class President-Elect on her application—before the election takes place. But honestly, she’s running against Gerald Thomas, a rigid rule-follower whose platform includes reinstating a dress code—there’s no way she can lose. And she better not, or she’ll never get into NYU.

But then, a real-life international incident turns the election upside down. Iran suddenly dominates the nightly news, and her opponent seizes the opportunity to stir up anti-Iranian hysteria at school and turn the electorate against her. Her brother, Ali, is no help. He’s become an outspoken advocate for Iran just as she’s trying to downplay her heritage. 

Now, as the white lie she told snowballs into an avalanche, Jasmine is stuck between claiming her heritage or hiding it, standing by her outspoken brother or turning her back on him, winning the election or abandoning her dreams for good.

Told with biting insight and fierce humor, Susan Azim Boyer’s Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win is a fresh, unforgettable story of one Iranian-American young woman’s experience navigating her identity, friendship, family, her future, and a budding romance, all set against life-changing historical events with present-day relevance.

Expected November 1, 2022

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My first ARC of 2023, I’m excited about The Stranded by Sarah Daniels, a YA dystopia thriller set on a cruise ship turned refugee camp!

Synopsis:

A gripping, near-future thriller – The Hunger Games meets Station Eleven, for fans of pacey, disruptive TV, such as the Noughts and Crosses adaptation

Welcome to the Arcadia.

Once a luxurious cruise ship, it became a refugee camp after being driven from Europe by an apocalyptic war. Now it floats near the coastline of the Federated States – a leftover piece of a fractured USA.

For forty years, residents of the Arcadia have been prohibited from making landfall. It is a world of extreme haves and have nots, gangs and make-shift shelters.

Esther is a loyal citizen, working flat-out to have the rare chance to live a normal life as a medic on dry land. Ben is a rebel, planning something big to liberate the Arcadia once and for all.

When events throw them both together, their lives, and the lives of everyone on the ship, will change forever . . . 

Expected January 3, 2023

My Paperbackswap Books

• Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
• The Lost Man by Jane Harper

My Vacation Finds

While we were out of town for a few days, I visited the two used bookstore locations of Once Upon A Time Books in Arkansas. I was so impressed! Especially with the second location that has a giant book tree and rainbow shelf wall! How fun is that?! This store is huge, with all the genres represented. I found some rare vintage movie novelizations to add to my collection, two vintage novels for my daughter who collects cool covers, and the Larry McMurtry follow-up to Lonesome Dove for $2!

• The Karate Kid by Bonnie Bryant Hiller
• Staying Alive by Leonore Fleischer
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in His Adventure on Earth by William Kotzwinkle
• Annie by Leonore Fleisher
• 1984 by George Orwell – published in 1956!
• Five Stories by Willa Cather – also published in 1956!
• Streets of Laredo (Lonesome Dove, #2) by Larry McMurtry

Amazon First Reads Selection

I chose This Way Out by Tufayel Ahmed as my Amazon First Reads selection for June, a debut romance about a man who announces he’s gay AND getting married to his strict Muslim family on his family WhatsApp group. The early reviews are looking great!

Published on July 1, 2022

Have you read any of these books? Did you add any of them to your TBR? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Wandering!