June Releases

Hello! 🙂 Sorry my monthly anticipated releases post is a little late, I was off at BookCon!! I had an amazing time and I’ll be posting about it soon. For now though, here are June releases that I’m looking forward to:

 

Save the Date by Morgan Matson (June 5)

Synopsis:  Charlie Grant’s older sister is getting married this weekend at their family home, and Charlie can’t wait—for the first time in years, all four of her older siblings will be under one roof. Charlie is desperate for one last perfect weekend, before the house is sold and everything changes. The house will be filled with jokes and games and laughs again. Making decisions about things like what college to attend and reuniting with longstanding crush Jesse Foster—all that can wait. She wants to focus on making the weekend perfect. The only problem? The weekend is shaping up to be an absolute disaster. There’s the unexpected dog with a penchant for howling, house alarm that won’t stop going off, and a papergirl with a grudge. There are the relatives who aren’t speaking, the (awful) girl her favorite brother brought home unannounced, and a missing tuxedo. Not to mention the neighbor who seems to be bent on sabotage and a storm that is bent on drenching everything. The justice of the peace is missing. The band will only play covers. The guests are all crazy. And the wedding planner’s nephew is unexpectedly, distractingly…cute. Over the course of three ridiculously chaotic days, Charlie will learn more than she ever expected about the family she thought she knew by heart. And she’ll realize that sometimes, trying to keep everything like it was in the past means missing out on the future.

I was very lucky to hear Morgan Matson speak at a panel this past weekend and she described Save the Date as a really cute story about family with a taste of romance and the occurrence of “cake-related mishaps.” I haven’t read Matson’s other novels yet but I really enjoyed listening to her talk and I’m eager to start with this one. I’m sure once I finish it I’ll be rushing to buy the others.

 

Fat Girl on a Plane by Kelly deVos

Synopsis:  Don’t miss this unforgettable debut novel, told in two timelines, about smart fashion, pursuing your dreams, and loving yourself! FAT. High school senior Cookie Vonn’s post-graduation dreams include getting out of Phoenix, attending Parsons and becoming the next great fashion designer. But in the world of fashion, being fat is a cardinal sin. It doesn’t help that she’s constantly compared to her supermodel mother—and named after a dessert. Thanks to her job at a fashion blog, Cookie scores a trip to New York to pitch her portfolio and appeal for a scholarship, but her plans are put on standby when she’s declared too fat to fly. Forced to turn to her BFF for cash, Cookie buys a second seat on the plane. She arrives in the city to find that she’s been replaced by the boss’s daughter, a girl who’s everything she’s not—ultrathin and superrich. Bowing to society’s pressure, she vows to lose weight, get out of the friend zone with her crush, and put her life on track. SKINNY. Cookie expected sunshine and rainbows, but nothing about her new life is turning out like she planned. When the fashion designer of the moment offers her what she’s always wanted—an opportunity to live and study in New York—she finds herself in a world full of people more interested in putting women down than dressing them up. Her designs make waves, but her real dream of creating great clothes for people of all sizes seems to grow more distant by the day. Will she realize that she’s always had the power to make her own dreams come true?

I’ve been hearing great things about this novel for months so I’m excited to see if I like it as much as everyone else. I really think we need more fat rep in books and this novel sounds like it’s going to promote the idea that being skinny isn’t everything. It’s also always inspiring to read about people pursuing their dreams.

 

Final Draft by Riley Redgate

Synopsis:  The only sort of risk 18-year-old Laila Piedra enjoys is the peril she writes for the characters in her stories: epic sci-fi worlds full of quests, forbidden love, and robots. Her creative writing teacher has always told her she has a special talent. But three months before her graduation, he’s suddenly replaced—by Nadiya Nazarenko, a Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist who is sadistically critical and perpetually unimpressed. At first, Nazarenko’s eccentric assignments seem absurd. But before long, Laila grows obsessed with gaining the woman’s approval. Soon Laila is pushing herself far from her comfort zone, discovering the psychedelic highs and perilous lows of nightlife, temporary flings, and instability. Dr. Nazarenko has led Laila to believe that she must choose between perfection and sanity—but rejecting her all-powerful mentor may be the only way for Laila to thrive.

I love reading novels about writers. I’m currently listening to Emergency Contact and really enjoy the parts about her creative writing assignments. I’m also eager to witness the transformation Laila undergoes.

 

Always Forever Maybe by Anica Mrose Rissi

Synopsis:  When Betts meets Aiden at the candy store where she works, their connection is like a sugar rush to the heart. Betts already knows the two of them are infinite. Inevitable. Destined to become an us. Betts has only ever kept one secret from her best friend, Jo, but suddenly there’s a long list of things she won’t tell her, things Jo wouldn’t understand. Because Jo doesn’t see how good Aiden is for Betts. She finds him needy. Possessive. Controlling. She’s wrong. With a love like this, nothing else matters.

I tend to really enjoy novels about abusive relationships. I think it’s an important topic that needs to be discussed. Broken Beautiful Hearts by Kami Garcia was one of my favorite books so far this year and I would love to read another similar story.

 

The Opposite of Here by Tara Altebrando

Synopsis:  Natalie’s parents are taking her and her three best friends on a cruise for her seventeenth birthday. A sail-a-bration, they call it. But it’s only been a few short months since Natalie’s boyfriend died in a tragic accident, and she wants to be anywhere but here. Then she meets a guy on the first night and sparks fly. After a moonlit conversation on a secluded deck of the ship, Natalie pops down to her cabin to get her swimsuit so they can go for a dip. But when she returns, he’s gone. Something he said makes her think he might have . . . jumped? No, he couldn’t have. But why do her friends think she’s crazy for wanting to make sure he’s okay? Also, why do they seem to be hiding something from her? And how can she find him when she doesn’t even know his name? Most importantly, why is the captain on the intercom announcing the urgent need for a headcount?

I honestly wasn’t crazy about the idea of this one when I first read the synopsis, but I’ve read several reviews by people who felt the same way and ended up being pleasantly surprised. Multiple reviewers have said that this was a twisted, captivating thriller. I’ve been somewhat obsessed with mysteries and thrillers lately so I want to see if I like this one as well.

 

So those are my most anticipated releases for June 2018! Are you looking forward to any of these and are there any you’re anticipating that I didn’t mention? 🙂

– Kelly xx