We might not have months of summer holidays anymore, but we can still enjoy summer with a stack full of books.
Thankfully there are plenty of brilliant novels hitting shelves in the coming weeks.
Here are nine books that we can’t wait to read in June!
Our Song – Anna Carey
Laura used to have big dreams, but she gave them up – because that’s what grown-ups do. Trying to turn her love of music into a career would have been absolutely ridiculous. But when she hears one of Tadhg’s songs on the radio, she isn’t so sure. Tadhg and Laura used to be in a band together.
They used to be a lot of things. Now he’s a superstar, touring the world with his songs, reminding Laura of what might have been. Then she gets an email that could change everything: Tadhg wants to finish a song they started writing together sixteen years ago. Making music again would literally be a dream come true, even if it’s with a person she swore she’d never speak to again. And they can keep things professional, right?
As Tadhg and Laura start working together though, sparks begin to fly. Maybe music isn’t the only thing that deserves a second chance…
Out June 5th
Thirst Trap – Gráinne O’Hare
Maggie, Harley and Róise are friends on the of triumph, catastrophe, or maybe just finally growing up.
Their crumbling Belfast houseshare has been witness to their roaring twenties, filled with questionable one-night stands and ruthless hangovers. But now fault-lines are beginning to show.
The three girls are still grieving the tragic death of their friend, Lydia, whose room remains untouched. Their last big fight hangs heavy over their heads, unspoken since the accident. And now they are all beginning to unravel.
Out June 12th
Before Dorothy – Hazel Gaynor
When news reaches Kansas that her beloved sister has tragically died, Emily Gale must become a mother overnight. Her sister’s orphaned child, Dorothy, desperately needs a home.
But Emily doubts her ability to fill her sister’s shoes; her life on the barren Kansas prairies is no place for a child.
On the unforgiving plains, Emily’s courage is endlessly tested. The prolonged drought and relentless dust storms threaten to destroy everything – including her home and her marriage. Can Emily overcome her grief and let Dorothy heal her heart?
Out June 19th
The Benefactors – Wendy Erskine
Meet Frankie, Miriam and Bronagh: three very different women from Belfast, but all mothers to eighteen-year-old boys. Gorgeous Frankie, now married to a wealthy, older man, grew up in care.
Miriam has recently lost her beloved husband Kahlil in ambiguous circumstances. Bronagh, the CEO of a children’s services charity, loves celebrity and prestige. When their sons are accused of sexually assaulting a friend, Misty Johnston, they’ll come together to protect their children, leveraging all the powers they possess.
But on her side, Misty has the formidable matriarch, Nan D, and her father, taxi-driver Boogie: an alliance not so easily dismissed.
Out June 19th
Heir of Storms – Lauryn Hamilton Murray
The very day Blaze came into the world, she almost drowned it. A Rain Singer born into one of the most powerful fire-wielding families in the empire, Blaze’s birth summoned a devastating storm that left thousands dead. She’s been hidden away ever since with a dark secret: the same torrential power that branded her an outcast disappeared that fateful day. And she’s not sure she wants it back.
When an unexpected invitation arrives for Blaze and her twin brother, Flint, to compete as future rulers of the empire, she’s suddenly thrust into the limelight again – and into battle. Threats abound at the Golden Palace, where intrigue and romance await with not one but two handsome suitors: the enchanting Crown Prince and a dangerously alluring newcomer at court.
As Blaze explores her untapped power, she discovers the throne may be within her grasp. But in order to take it, she’ll have to leave behind the stories that others have told about her, and find the courage to write her own.
Out June 5th
Atmosphere – Taylor Jenkins Reid
Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s Space Shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.
Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easy-going even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warm-hearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.
As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe. Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant.
Out Now
The Single Neighbour – Senta Rich
Tristan and Izzy are on the brink of marital breakdown. The arrival of their new neighbour may just be their salvation: or, will she be their undoing?
Viv piques both Tristan and Izzy’s interest, her appearance in their lives offering them diversion from their faltering marriage and a window into the people they might have been.
But as Viv becomes an ever-increasing presence in their lives, the couple are forced to confront the long-ignored truths about themselves, each other and their pasts. At this fork in their marriage, they will face the most difficult decision: to cleave together for the sake of their union, or to walk away.
Out June 5th
Eat The Ones You Love – Sarah Maria Griffin
During a grocery run to her local shopping center, Shell Pine sees a ‘HELP NEEDED’ sign in a flower shop window. She’s just left her fiancé, lost her job, and moved home to her parents’ house. She has to make a change and bring some good into her life, so she goes inside and takes a chance.
Shell realizes right away that flowers are just the good thing she’s been looking for, as is Neve, the beautiful florist who wrote the sign asking for help. The thing is, Neve needs help more than Shell could possibly imagine.
An orchid growing out of sight in the heart of the mall is watching them closely. His name is Baby, and the beautiful florist belongs to him. He’s young, he’s hungry, and he’ll do just about anything to make sure he can keep growing big and strong. Nothing he eats – nobody he eats – can satisfy him, except the thing he most desires. Neve. He adores her and wants to consume her, and will stop at nothing to eat the one he loves.
Out Now
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil – V.E. Schwab
This is a story of three very different women and how their stories intertwine.
In 1532, a young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.
In 1827, young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow—but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.
In 2019, college was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers…and revenge.
Out June 10th