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Enter for a chance to win $1,000 to help you find your poolside paradise, plus a stack of summer must-reads and a giant pool float for ultimate lounging!
Enter here for a chance to win, or click the image below!
Whether you’re traveling solo, with a group of friends, or with your family, there’s a book for you. We’re giving away bundles of both children’s and adult’s books, so be sure to specify which books you’re interested in winning when entering below. Read on for a full list of prizes!
The Prizes:
ONE Grand Prize Winner:
$1,000 for a poolside retreat
a dual chaise pool float
a stack of 10 books!
FIFTY Winners:
A 3-book bundle of summer must-reads!
We’re teaming up with Early Bird Books to give away a Kobo Libra 2 to one lucky winner!
Enter here for a chance to win, or click the image below!
Here’s a bit more from our sponsor: Sign up for Early Bird Books Daily Newsletter, with Free and Discounted Deals on Bestselling eBooks.
This post is written by Nikki DeMarco.
During the full swing of summer, there’s nothing quite like listening to an audiobook to fully embrace the essence of the season. It’s the time of year for escape, whether you’re escaping out of town on vacation, escaping the heat with a staycation, or escaping reality by starting a new book. Put on your earbuds and sunscreen, because these steamy romances are guaranteed to transport you to a world of beachside flirtations, unforgettable adventures, and love stories that sizzle hotter than the summer sun. Think heartwarming reunions under a starlit sky and unforgettable characters embarking on journeys of love and self-discovery: everything romance readers love. From rivals-to-lovers tropes to heartwarming second-chance romances, this list offers something for every romance audiobook lover.
This curated selection highlights some of the swooniest books of 2024. Even more than that, they are narrated by talented voices that bring the characters and their love stories to life. So, if you’re searching for an audiobook that promises an emotional journey and a happily ever after, look no further. It’s time to grab your headphones, pack a beach bag (or staycation essentials!), and get ready to crush on the hottest romance audiobooks of 2024. Let’s get into it!
Aaliyah is on the cusp of her 30th birthday and wants a date to her birthday party so her family can shut up about her being single already. Her first attempt went awry, so her friends and the local bartender, Ahmad, help her set up an online dating profile. The apps aren’t easy for a big, confident, Black woman to navigate, especially with fetishizing, catfishing, and all the lying going on. Aaliyah is determined not to settle on her dreams for herself or her standards. All she really needs to do is open her eyes to what’s right in front of her.
Eileen Merriweather loves a good romance novel where there are HEAs and not women jilted at the alter, like she was. Having hidden out at home long enough, she decides to go on her book club’s annual retreat. On the way, her car breaks down in Eloraton, the picturesque small town setting from her favorite romance novel series. The town is stuck in the late author’s last unfinished story. Elsy decides to write the town’s happy ending herself, because it just might be intertwined with her own HEA.
Event planner Amerie is jobless, boyfriendless, and about to be apartmentless. When she runs into a sexy astronaut at her favorite coffee shop at the same time she sees her ex there with his new partner, she pretends that astronaut Vincent is her new boyfriend. Vincent is totally down with this, and they strike up a deal. Amerie will live rent-free in his spare room while she gets her start-up off the ground, and Vincent will have a “girlfriend” to take to all the events leading up to his launch in three months.
In this minor league sports romance, Gene Ionescu has his dream job playing for the Beaverton Beavers as the first openly trans athlete in pro baseball. He’s happy with the life he’s worked hard for, until Luis Estrada, his former teammate and current rival, gets traded to the Beavers. As the two learn to play on the same team, the tension between them turns magnetic. Gene must decide if he’s happy with his minor league life or if he needs some major league changes.
Helen Zhang never thought she’d see her high school classmate Grant Shepard again, and that suited her just fine. When her YA novel series is optioned for the screen, Grant is one of the lead writers on the screenplay, forcing them to work together. They decide not to tell the other writers about the tragic accident from their past. The more time they spend together, the more they realize that their high school ideas of each other aren’t representative of who they have become…and what might become between them.
Kit Griffith is starting new in Cornwall with an identity that finally fits him. He knew that leaving his all-women artist community would be difficult, but didn’t think he’d lose painting altogether. Instead, he pursues another interest: selling and riding bicycles. Botanist Muriel Pendrake seeks Kit out to commission him to illustrate British seaweed for her before leaving for New York. He knows he shouldn’t, but this could be his opportunity to show an all-male cycling league that women can ride just as well, if not better, than men. The two agree to help each other. Practice beachside rides turn into Muriel and Kit growing closer. This is a slow burn that you won’t be able to put down.
Isabel Luna Valdés feels like the forgotten Luna sister and is determined not to let that stop her from helping Mexico gather information that could aid it during the French Occupation. She’s able to easily slip away from the ton during the season and into libraries and offices to find secrets. Meanwhile, Captain Sirius Dawson is a spy for the British Home Office. He gains politicians’ trust and trysts with knowledgeable ladies. His keen instincts help him identify what Isabel is doing, but she escapes his every attempt to catch her. The attraction between them is strong, and when secrets are revealed, Isabel has to decide if she is loyal to her country or to her heart.
Tiwa and Said used to be best friends, and when Said goes to a boarding school out of town, it all but seals their ex-bestie fate. Unexpectedly, Said returns home for the summer so he can attend the funeral of his favorite librarian. Since Tiwa and Said go to the same Islamic Center, avoiding each other isn’t so easy. When the center accidentally catches fire, the mayor decides to bulldoze the whole thing. Tiwa is devastated, then determined to save it with Said’s help. Their attempt to save the building is the last chance they have to save their relationship as well.
If you want to get more audiobook recommendations, but sure to check out Audible’s best audiobooks of 2024 so far.
Welcome, or welcome back, to the Kissing Books newsletter. I’m PN Hinton, your guide to all things romance-related. Thanks for taking time from your day to give this a read! I hope this newsletter helps to brighten up your day just a little bit more.
Learn something new, sharpen your skills, and expand your horizons with our Better Living Through Books newsletter. Better Living Through Books is your resource for reading material that helps you live the life you want. From self-help to cookbooks to parenting to personal finance, relationships, and more, Better Living Through Books has got you covered. If it’s part of life, it can be part of your reading life. Sign up for your free subscription to Better Living Through Books today, or become an All Access member starting at $6 per month or $60 per year and get unlimited access to members-only content in 20+ newsletters, community features, and the warm fuzzies knowing you are supporting independent media.
Happy Summmerween! This is the annual combination celebration of summer and Halloween. This word first entered my vernacular a couple of years ago when I was marathoning Gravity Falls with my son. It is something that is also fairly popular in BookTube since there are a handful of related reading challenges going on this month. Either way, it’s a fun holiday and we all definitely could use a lot more of that in our lives, especially at this particular moment.
Before we dive further, this is too important to not give a shout-out. This year marks 30 years since Beverly Jenkins made her debut and published Night Song. Congratulations Ms. Bev!
This sticker is the perfect way to kick off Summerween. Plus, it’s sparkly, and who doesn’t like to sparkle every now and again? $4.00
After Marcela’s best friend and long-time crush gets engaged to another woman, she resolves to do everything to keep his happily ever after safe. Her first act is preventing his older brother Theo from confessing his love for his soon-to-be sister-in-law at the engagement party, and getting him to sleep off his drunken state at her place. When they show up together the next day, everyone incorrectly assumes they hooked up. Needing a cover for both of their feelings of unrequited love, they roll with it. But, when a shared hidden attraction rises to the surface, they soon find themselves exploring it together and wondering if this rebound is the real thing.
After Eleanor’s eccentric father sells the family home, she focuses on securing a new house for her three younger sisters and herself. While an invitation to the Countess of Millthrope’s house party will see them housed for two weeks, it is still a temporary solution. When the youngest sister, Pippa, catches the eye of Felix, younger brother of Jasper, the Duke of Norwood, this appears to be the change in luck their family needs. However, Jasper believes Pippa is a fortune hunter and vows to stop the match. What he didn’t expect was that Eleanor would be equally determined to see it through, or that he would soon begin to look at the eldest sister as an option for his wife.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
I mentioned last send that the recommendations this month would be primarily divided between Summerween and Christmas In July themes. As such, today’s theme is vampires. No matter what other types of monsters, cryptids, or other supernatural sweeties we may read about, I’m betting most of us have a special place in our reading hearts for those particular creatures of the night.
From childhood, Néstor has always loved Nena, the daughter of the ranch owner where his family stays. When an innocent night out leads to violence, Nestor erroneously believes Nena has died and runs away in fear and shame. Years later, their paths cross again with Nena working as a curandera to prove her worth to her father and avoid being married off. But with Nena believing that Néstor had abandoned her all those years ago, their reunion is anything but sweet. Soon, they discover that they will have to put aside their differences to fight not only the colonizers encroaching on their territory but also the unknown creatures that drain the blood out of their victims before leaving them for dead. Only then will they be able to resolve the issues from their past and look toward a possible future together.
Known as an enigmatic master of illusion with a successful magic show in Vegas, the vampire Valerian seems to have it all. However, beneath his external facade, he’s brokenhearted, having lost his one true love back when he was turned. And even though they’ve always united whenever she gets reincarnated, her violent death at the hands of an unknown enemy always parts them. When Valerian is found to be a person of interest in a series of murders and is approached by homicide detective Daisy, he is shocked to discover Brenna’s current form. He vows to help the detective solve the case and ensure that they will not be tragically parted this time.
While not every witchy book listed here is a romance, enough are for it to merit a call out.
Pick your favorite rom-com and get your go-to coffee order.
And that’s all she wrote for today. If you’re ever interested in what I do between the sends, you can always give me a follow over on Instagram under @pns_bookish_world. Until then, happy reading and stay hydrated!
Dear Book Friends,
I just realized I totally told everyone that I was going to talk to you again on Thursday, not remembering that Thursday was going to be the 4th of July and I would, in fact, not be talking to you. So sorry to ghost you like that. We’re back though, and that just means I’ve had extra time to gather all of the best book-related news to share with you. What a way to start out your week.
If, like me, you were excited about a potential Moana 2 and Wicked double feature this November a la Barbenheimer, then this is sad news for you (and me). The release date of Wicked has been bumped up to November 22, meaning it will no longer be released on the same date as Moana 2 (November 27). Guess we’ll just have to spend two days at the movies.
It’s Christmas in July, everyone, because People is giving a first look at the upcoming film adaptation of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. The movie, based on Barbara Robinson’s book of the same name, is scheduled for a November 8 theatrical release.
More movie news! Here’s the first trailer for Hellboy: The Crooked Man. The superhero horror film will be out later this year.
Eric Geron, author of the A Tale of Two Princes, has a new book coming out next year! Leo Martino Steals Back His Heart is out from HarperCollins on January 14, 2025.
Electric Literature has shared a cover reveal for Paul Lisicky’s upcoming memoir Song So Wild and Blue: A Life with Joni Mitchell. It’s out from HarperOne on February 4, 2025.
And here’s the cover and an excerpt from Jessica Goodman’s murder mystery novel The Meadowbrook Murders. This one is also out on February 4, 2025.
Here’s another cover reveal and an excerpt. This one’s for the upcoming sapphic rom-com On Her Terms by Amy Spalding. It’s out February 25, 2025.
Sarah Michelle Gellar has joined the cast of the prequel series Dexter: Original Sin. Gellar will play Tanya Martin, the CSI chief at the Miami Metro Police Department and Dexter Morgan’s new boss.
Check out The Million’s great summer book preview, featuring 80 excellent books you’ll want on your TBR ASAP.
Hi, welcome to everyone’s favorite segment of Book Radar called Book Riot Recommends. This is where I’ll talk to you about all the books I’m reading, the books I’m loving, and the books I can’t wait to read and love in the near future. I think you’re going to love them too!
Learn something new, sharpen your skills, and expand your horizons with our Better Living Through Books newsletter. Better Living Through Books is your resource for reading material that helps you live the life you want. From self-help to cookbooks to parenting to personal finance, relationships, and more, Better Living Through Books has got you covered. If it’s part of life, it can be part of your reading life. Sign up for your free subscription to Better Living Through Books today, or become an All Access member starting at $6 per month or $60 per year and get unlimited access to members-only content in 20+ newsletters, community features, and the warm fuzzies knowing you are supporting independent media.
This witchy YA novel gives me nightmares just based on the cover illustration alone. It’s being marketed as a queer, feminist spin on Stephen King’s The Mist and the perfect new novel for fans of She is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran. And, well, I am seated.
The story is set over a high school spring break. Senior Nell is heading to a private Florida island with some of her friends. It seems like the perfect vacation, but Nell’s secrets will follow her to the island. Secrets that have a deep connection to the island’s history. Secrets that will unlock dark magic hidden on the island, trapping them all in a mist that surrounds it, making it impossible for anyone to escape alive. Now, in order to save herself and her friends, Nell will be forced to confront her past and make sense of the horrors that have followed her since childhood. It turns out that confronting trauma is no easy task.
Making matters even more difficult, Nell discovers each of her friends who have accompanied her on the island are harboring secrets of their own. And unlocking these secrets might unleash a power that’s even more dangerous than the mist.
Grim Root by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam
Portrait of a Shadow by Meriam Metoui
Sacrificial Animals by Kailee Pedersen
Here for the Wrong Reasons by Annabel Paulson and Lydia Wang
I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones
Sociopath by Patric Gagne
This summer, are you opting for sunny beach reads? Or are you bringing dark horror fiction filled with existential dread with you as you sit by the pool? You know which one I am.
The warm sunny weather is perfect if you’re a cat and all you have to do all day is lounge in a window in a sunbeam. Must be nice to lie around and watch tennis all day, right? I took this picture on July 4th before all the fireworks went off. Back when Murray didn’t have a care in the world.
And that’s it for today’s Book Radar! Thanks for hanging out with me on this Monday when you could be outside basking in sunbeams. I hope you have a wonderful week, and I’ll see you on Thursday!
Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’ve got some new releases for you, and as definitely goes with the American Independence Day Holiday, uh…recent gothic novels. It made sense in my head, I promise, and now I’ve committed so it’s too late to go back. Plus, the books are really good! Beat the heat with the unnatural chill of a haunted house. Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Tuesday!
Learn something new, sharpen your skills, and expand your horizons with our Better Living Through Books newsletter. Better Living Through Books is your resource for reading material that helps you live the life you want. From self-help to cookbooks to parenting to personal finance, relationships, and more, Better Living Through Books has got you covered. If it’s part of life, it can be part of your reading life. Sign up for your free subscription to Better Living Through Books today, or become an All Access member starting at $6 per month or $60 per year and get unlimited access to members-only content in 20+ newsletters, community features, and the warm fuzzies knowing you are supporting independent media.
Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here are two places to start: Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, which provides medical and humanitarian relief to children in the Middle East regardless of nationality, religion, or political affiliation; and Ernesto’s Sanctuary, a cat sanctuary and animal rescue in Syria that is near and dear to my heart.
I went looking for gothic, and I found this wonderful plaque of a quote from The Lady of the House of Love (found in The Bloody Chamber) by Angela Carter. Perfect with black curtains or diaphanous white shrouds. $18
Tampere is a planet of mysteries, seeded with buried artifacts of strange technology once used by the Ancients. Pell, an engineer, has an affinity for that old technology and spends her time digging for more. Her affinity causes her to be called to a forbidding tower near the village of Embarden, which houses the remnants of Ancient machines more complex than Pell has ever seen — and the keepers of the tower wish her to put the machines back together and get them running. But what she finds is more than technology in need of repair; she begins to have visions, ones that may reveal the origins of the technology’s keepers.
Òdòdó is already something of a pariah in Timbuktu, as a woman who is a blacksmith. But when her hometown is conquered by Yorùbáland, things grow even worse…and then she’s abducted by a vagrant. Though after the vagrant takes her across the Sahara to Șàngótè, to her shock she discovers he is a king, and he wants her as his wife. Soon, Òdòdó is at the height of society, able to wield power she never could have imagined, gained through the cruel man she was forced to wed. And what she can do with that power is reforge a kingdom and save her own life — if she is strong and clever enough.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
I am delighted by the diversity in takes on the gothic novel we’ve been seeing lately. (See also: Song of the Six Realms and Mexican Gothic.) Here are two more recent releases in that subgenre!
As a bi-racial woman in 1840s England, Orabella Mumthrope never expected to marry — and then a scruffy man who claims to be the scion of an extremely wealthy family shows up on her uncle-guardian’s doorstep. Thanks to her uncle’s large debts, that impossibility quickly becomes reality, but her new husband’s manor is rundown, and soon she begins to awaken to mysterious screaming in the night.
The mysterious town of HOME is a place where the dead come to live as spirits, called by a population who refuses to let go of their grief. Into that milieu comes Wenqi, Liam, and Mrs., and they will somehow have to find their way out again…
See you, space pirates. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me over at my personal site.
Welcome to Check Your Shelf. By the time you read this on Friday, I’ll be on my way to Wrigley Field! The Cubs may not be able to hit their way out of a wet paper bag right now, so I don’t have high hopes for this game, but there’s always something magical about being at Wrigley Field with a drink and a bratwurst for a Friday afternoon game. Can’t think of a better way to spend my birthday!
Learn something new, sharpen your skills, and expand your horizons with our Better Living Through Books newsletter. Better Living Through Books is your resource for reading material that helps you live the life you want. From self-help to cookbooks to parenting to personal finance, relationships, and more, Better Living Through Books has got you covered. If it’s part of life, it can be part of your reading life. Sign up for your free subscription to Better Living Through Books today, or become an All Access member starting at $6 per month or $60 per year and get unlimited access to members-only content in 20+ newsletters, community features, and the warm fuzzies knowing you are supporting independent media.
Great news — NYC libraries are getting their original funding back, and will be able to reopen on Sundays! Of course, the mayor posted this on Twitter/X, conveniently forgetting to mention that he was the one who approved the initial budget cuts in the first place.
As Minneapolis schools prioritize librarians, St. Paul is cutting them at the elementary level.
OverDrive/Libby launches their Check Out Your Library initiative.
Rhode Island’s newest restaurant is inside the Providence Public Library.
What happens when longtime library leaders retire?
10 things every library board member needs to know.
Interview With the Vampire has been renewed for a third season.
The first American union understood the necessity of public libraries and education.
The American Library Association Council strongly reaffirms the freedom for all to read freely.
Teen activists share how they’re fighting book bans.
Book bans are on the rise, but fear of fiction is nothing new.
The Christian-based far-right nonprofit For Liberty & Justice has threatened to remove Fort Worth ISD trustees over “pornographic” books.
Here is a list of the 26 LGBTQ+ books that have been “pulled for review” in Citrus County (FL) libraries.
“Facing two lawsuits alleging they violated First Amendment rights, Escambia County School Board [FL] members and the district’s superintendent are arguing they should be shielded from testifying about decisions to remove or restrict access to school library books.”
South Carolina is about to launch its biggest censorship campaign yet.
The Autauga-Prattville Library Board (AL) approved a book removal policy that gives them the power to remove any materials they deem inappropriate.
Amy Minton, an Alabama Public Library Services executive board member, misrepresented the state code changes to the director of the Hokes Bluff Public Library. The director said, “‘The conversation centered around not having books including activities that would be illegal in the state of Alabama…She specifically referred to transgender care for minors that was illegal in the state of Alabama.’”
The latest Missouri book ban isn’t about protecting kids — it’s about parents scared of reality. Also, “It’s ridiculous to remove library materials about LGBTQ+ people from children who have smartphones and tablets.” SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK.
Frances Howell Schools (MO) have proposed a number of policies that would remove a number of books from the school libraries and would unnecessarily slow down the process by which specific titles could be approved. An English teacher attended a board meeting with a sign saying “P6310 will make me afraid to teach diverse authors. Ask me why.”
The Iron River Library (WI) is dealing with a push to defund the library and remove the position of library director. This is all fallout from a controversy last year over a Pride Month display.
The Reno Public Library (NV) hosted a well-attended Drag Queen Story Hour, despite protests from bigots.
A book banner tried to make a point at a recent Washoe County School Board (NV) meeting by reading excerpts from American Psycho out loud. As someone who has managed to read American Psycho in its entirety as a teenager, I fully recognize that this book is not appropriate for a lot of readers, and probably wasn’t appropriate for me to be reading at 16 either! But no one is forcing anyone to read these books, unless you happen to attend a meeting where a crisis actor reads a passage from a controversial book. THEN your choice is taken away from you! Could it be that these book banners don’t actually give a shit about other people’s choices?
Elsewhere in Washoe County, a group of far-right activists are trying to defund public libraries and one of them is the head of the library board. So far, she is actively campaigning to the community to not renew the property tax arrangement that helps fund the library because the director is going to use that money to fund more Drag Queen story hours. Stories like this make me feel physically ill — to see someone at the head of an organization actively campaigning for its demise. But this is what conservatives want — the destruction of publicly funded services — and they’re not being quiet about it.
Someone burned a Pride display at an Oregon bookstore.
Seaside City Councilor (OR) Steve Dillard has been pushing to remove books from the public library, and now there are enough signatures on the petition to recall him from his position.
A committee’s attempt to review books at Lodi Unified School District (CA) stirs confusion and controversy.
“The months-long effort to oust Sunol Glen Unified School District [CA] Trustee Linda Hurley and Board President Ryan Jergensen from office is reaching its end as the small-town community gets set for the special recall election next week.” Both of these trustees have been pushing for book bans.
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Secondary School (Ontario) has removed The Hate U Give from its curriculum.
BookNet Canada dives into the book banning data across the country.
Censored back home, Hong Kong authors are publishing in Taiwan.
Brazil’s unparalleled spate of book bans is a page out of the US culture wars.
The most-read books on Goodreads last week.
How the Kindle became a must-have accessory (again).
A new report finds foot traffic rising at Barnes & Noble.
Arundhati Roy has been awarded the PEN Pinter Prize weeks just two weeks after being threatened with prosecution by Indian authorities.
The 2024 Indigenous Voices Award winners have been announced.
The strange case of posthumously published books.
Can you have the hero without the journey?
The authors mentioned most frequently in crossword puzzles.
When the cat shushes the librarian.
All right, friends, I’ll be back next week! Have a great weekend!
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.
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