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Readers' Most Anticipated Books of June
At the beginning of each calendar month, ŷ� crack editorial squad assembles a list of the best, hottest, and most popular new books hitting shelves, actual and virtual. The list is generated by readers� early reviews and by tracking which titles are being added to Want to Read shelves by ŷ regulars.
New in June: S.A. Cosby returns with another Southern noir mystery in All the Sinners Bleed. Sci-fi veteran Ann Leckie continues her Imperial Radch space opera series with Translation State. And author Lisa See takes readers to 15th-century China in Lady Tan’s Circle of Women. Also on tap this month: alien invasions, Vietnamese family epics, and the long-awaited memoir from transgender actor Elliot Page.
The Best Books of June:
Author Thao Thai’s buzzy historical fiction debut tracks three generations of women in a Vietnamese family, from the battlefields of Southeast Asia to a crumbling southern Gothic manor in Florida’s swamplands. Advance readers are praising the book’s heartfelt exploration of family, motherhood, and simple survival.
Chilean authorIsabel Allende(The House of Spirits) is one of the world’s foremost practitioners of the Serious Novel. She’s written more than 20 of them, many incorporating elements of magical realism. Allende’s latest story folds time and space in the parallel stories of two children caught up in historical crises—one in Nazi-occupied Vienna of 1938, the other on Arizona’s border in2019. Their ultimate fate will depend on humanity’s capacity for compassion.
Adventurous fans of historical fiction will want to consider this one, which transports readers 600 years back in time to the elite circles of China’s Ming dynasty. Based on a true story, the new novel fromLisa See(Snow Flower and the Secret Fan) follows the fortunes of Tan Yunxian, one of a handful of female doctors in 15th-century China. Incredibly, despite historical China’s restrictive patriarchal structures, some of Yunxian’s remedies survive to the present day.
Moving back in with mom doesn’t have to be weird and uncomfortable and borderline traumatic. It just usually is. The debut novel from Shanghai-born Brooklyn author Jenny Xie, Holding Pattern follows 28-year-old Kathleen Chang as she moves back home to live with her single mom in Oakland, California. Things aren’t what Kathleen expected: For one thing, mom is in love and has a giant wedding planned in Big Sur. For another, both women discover joyful new dimensions to their relationship and life itself.
Southern noir specialist S.A. Cosby (Blacktop Wasteland, Razorblade Tears) returns with another mystery-thriller blending action, suspense, and complicated moral quandaries. When a school shooting shatters his small-town Virginia community, sheriff Titus Crowne must navigate the treacherous realities of being a Black police officer in the American South. Like genre godfather Walter Mosley, Cosby brings uncommon insight and careful observations to the world of crime fiction. Bonus trivia: Both of Cosby’s previous books have already been optioned for film adaptation.
This new mystery-thriller from author (The Push) tells the harrowing story of four families whose lives intersect over the course of three fateful days. A summer night barbecue turns tragic when an argument escalates, a mother snaps, and a young boy winds up in the hospital on the edge of death. What happened that night? Lives are upended as secrets are revealed, resentments are uncorked, and a long silence is finally broken.
The always reliable Riley Sager returns with another twisty tale of neo-Gothic suspense, this one set inside a crumbling mansion with an unfortunate appellation: Hope’s End. The infamous 1983 Hope Family Murders are only remembered these days as a schoolyard chant (“At seventeen, Lenora Hope / Hung her sister with a rope…�). Now, home-health aide Kit McDeere has been assigned to care for the tragedy’s sole survivor, who communicates by tapping out sentences on a typewriter. Her first message: “I want to tell you everything.� Oh, dear.
Historical fiction devotees will want to track this one. Paris, 1939: Young mothers Elise and Juliette dread the shadows of war advancing on the city—and their young daughters. When the Germans begin their brutal occupation, Elise entrusts Juliette with the most valuable thing a mother can give. Author Kristin Harmel (The Book of Lost Names) leads readers from a quiet bookstore in Paris, through the hell of war, and finally to a possible reunion in New York City.
This one looks awesome, frankly: In the nervous days before World War II, an enigmatic circus leader called Ringmaster—and her wife, the trapeze artist Odette—lead a time-traveling troupe of magical outcasts through the American Midwest. The circus is a haven for this close-knit family-of-choice, but there’s a problem: They’re being chased by a second circus, with “tents black as midnight.� Evocative image, isn’t it? The debut fantasy novel from short fiction writer J.R. Dawson sounds like seriously spooky fun.
The new novel from author Julia Fine (What Should Be Wild) transports readers back to the bustling city of Venice, Italy, circa 1717. Young musicians Luisa and Maddalena are students at the prestigious school Ospedale della Pieta. But when forbidden desires lead to adventures outside the Pietà walls, they discover a whole new world of danger and decadence. Just like sophomore year at Ohio State! We kid, we kid. Bonus trivia: Author Fine’s debut was shortlisted for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior First Novel.
Over on the sci-fi tip, veteran author Ann Leckie returns with another chapter of her sophisticated socio-political space opera, the Imperial Radch series. On the eve of a vitally important interspecies conclave, three representatives find their lives on a collision course involving politics, genetics, and a centuries-old missing-persons case. Leckie is hugely respected in the SF field, and her books invariably offer a compelling mix of cerebral conjecture and grand adventure.
More good news from the science fiction aisle: Author Emily Jane’s On Earth as It Is on Television—great title!—starts out in the comfortable tradition of the “First Contact� story. Think aliens, humans, introductions, etc. But then the book asks the interesting questions: What would we humans really do if alien vessels suddenly appeared in the sky? What kind of changes might this event trigger in our personal lives? Jane’s buzzy debut follows the weird destiny of three strangers in tricky times.
Maybe June’s most flat-out fascinating release is this mystery/horror hybrid from debut author Jimmy Juliano. The gist: Grieving mother Willow Stone has just arrived on Clifford Island, where the citizens adhere to a bizarre routine: Everyone seems to be stuck in the year 1994. The clothes are old, the tech is outdated, and every night the town gathers to watch the OJ Simpson chase on TV. When people start to disappear entirely, it’s clear that something deeply weird is unfolding.
One of the summer’s most hotly anticipated books, this intimate memoir from Academy Award–nominated actor and transgender activist Elliot Page is a coming-of-age story with several compelling twists. According to advance word from the publisher, Page shares behind-the-scenes stories and never-heard-before details on gender, love, and mental health from his experiences inside and outside Hollywood. Bonus trivia: Page was the first openly transgender man to appear on the cover of Time magazine.
From the nonfiction bin, the unique Rocky Mountain High provides an interesting glimpse into America’s rapidly changing attitudes. Finn Murphy, author of the wild-life trucker memoir The Long Haul, returns to document another chapter in his strange life story: that time he tried to break into the hemp business in Colorado. Plans are made. Disasters are endured. Shirts are lost. Think of it as a 21st-century entrepreneurial misadventure for the discerning reader! Pride! Profit! America!
Which new releases are you looking forward to reading? Let's talk books in the comments!
Check out more Junebook coverage here:
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Lori
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May 31, 2023 05:45AM
Super excited for Riley Sager's new book and The Whispers! Adding Dead Eleven to my TBR list, as well! So many great books coming out for summer 2023!
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Super excited for The Only One Left, Dead Eleven and Pageboy!
The first bright thing is INCREDIBLE: delicious prose, sapphic, a circus, threat of the world ending, seers, time travelers, healers and wicked men
I can’t wait to get my hands on Lisa See’s book. She can do no wrong.
Can't wait to read S. A. Cosby's new book. I love the way that man tells a story.
All these are great pics even one of them Kristen Hamill. I have a couple of her books have not read them yet but I want to read some of Kristin Hamill I got to be hearing on the first at some point.
Just finished Lost Son by Brett Forrest. Highly recommend, amazing story, deeply researched and very well written.
Does someone knows a book on the countryside?Xxx
Surprised Richard Ford’s new book “Be Mine� isn’t included. Release date is 6/13/23.
I didn't even know than Ann Leckie was writing anything new in the Radch universe! I am so excited to read more about the mysterious translators.
Just finished Pageboy. It was phenomenal!
I am really interested in reading Pageboy so might be getting that one.
