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Readers' Most Anticipated August Books
At the beginning of each calendar month, Goodreads’ crack editorial squad assembles a list of the hottest and most popular new books hitting shelves, actual and virtual. The list is generated by evaluating readers’ early reviews and tracking which titles are being added to Want to Read shelves by Goodreads regulars.
Each month’s curated preview features new books from across the genre spectrum: contemporary fiction, historical fiction, mysteries and thrillers, sci-fi and fantasy, romance, horror, young adult, nonfiction, and more. Think of it as a literary smorgasbord. Check out whatever looks delicious.
New in August: Silvia Moreno-Garcia explores the shadows of golden age Hollywood in The Seventh Veil of Salome. The acclaimed writing team known as James S.A. Corey launches a new sci-fi series with The Mercy of Gods. And debut author Hayley Dennings presents a murder mystery in Jazz Age Harlem—with vampires!
Also on tap this month: Shakespearean historical fiction, an adventurous bisexual romance, and a frighteningly plausible vision of near-future American dystopia.
Add the books that catch your eye to your Want to Read shelf, and let us know what you're reading and recommending in the comments section.
Each month’s curated preview features new books from across the genre spectrum: contemporary fiction, historical fiction, mysteries and thrillers, sci-fi and fantasy, romance, horror, young adult, nonfiction, and more. Think of it as a literary smorgasbord. Check out whatever looks delicious.
New in August: Silvia Moreno-Garcia explores the shadows of golden age Hollywood in The Seventh Veil of Salome. The acclaimed writing team known as James S.A. Corey launches a new sci-fi series with The Mercy of Gods. And debut author Hayley Dennings presents a murder mystery in Jazz Age Harlem—with vampires!
Also on tap this month: Shakespearean historical fiction, an adventurous bisexual romance, and a frighteningly plausible vision of near-future American dystopia.
Add the books that catch your eye to your Want to Read shelf, and let us know what you're reading and recommending in the comments section.
Superstar author Jodi Picoult specializes in contemporary and historical fiction that explores complex moral issues in society. Her latest novel qualifies on both counts, deploying dual timelines to follow the struggles of two ambitious female authors—one in the present day, one in 1581. You may notice that the second timeframe suggests Shakespeare. You may suspect that’s relevant. You may be right. Bonus trivia: Picoult has written several issues of the comic book series Wonder Woman.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia, author of the hugely popular 2020 horror novel Mexican Gothic, returns to shelves this month with a historical novel set in the shadows of golden age Hollywood. The gist: In 1950s Los Angeles, two actresses vie for the role of legendary princess Salome. Scandal and intrigue ensue. But the really interesting part goes back a few thousand years, as we learn some intriguing details about the ancient princess herself.
Best friends since childhood, Jess and Storey take two weeks out of each year to go off-grid, hiking and hunting in the woods of rural Maine. Their latest trip takes a turn when they return to find America has abruptly descended into civil war. Dodging military patrols and secessionist militias, they pick up a third companion: an abandoned child. Clearly resonant with contemporary fears, Peter Heller delivers a disturbingly plausible dystopian vision.
The debut novel from writer Gina María Balibrera introduces two sisters from El Salvador with a story unlike any other. Fleeing the cruelties of genocide and an occult-obsessed dictator, the sisters make their way around the world—Hollywood, Paris, New York City—haunted by the ghosts of their murdered friends and family. Balibrera’s ambitious novel combines elements of historical fiction, magical realism, alternate history, and a bold kind of imaginative conjecture—call it speculative mythology.
When a young nanny is found dead amid the nastiness of a bitter divorce, attorney Stella Hudson is assigned to represent the best interests of the couple’s only child. Nine-year-old Rose Barclay hasn’t spoken a word since the mysterious death, and she may be the only witness. But why is the child collecting sharp objects? And why has the sprawling Barclay estate replaced all glass with plastic? Sarah Pekkanen (Gone Tonight) delivers a psychological mystery-thriller where everyone is a suspect.
Fans of Red, White and Royal Blue will want to check out the new rom-com from author Casey McQuiston, which proposes a fascinating thought experiment: What happens when two bisexual exes accidentally book the same European food-and-wine tour? Answer: They challenge each other to an international hookup competition! Naturally. Starting with the hot Italian tour guide, Theo and Kit embark on a series of wagers to prove that they’re truly over each other. Sure, Jan.
This third installment in Hannah Grace’s Maple Hills series follows college junior and hockey team captain Henry Turner, whose demanding class load has him stressed out. Enter young achiever Halle Jacobs, who’s juggling her own overstuffed schedule. Both are searching for some way to, you know, release all that tension. When Halle agrees to tutor Henry…well, I think we’re all familiar with this particular daydream. Can these two young people help each other out?
The new book from Ava Reid (A Study in Drowning) reimagines Shakespeare’s famous tragedy with Lady Macbeth at the center of the action. Flipping the villainess role entirely, Reid presents a resourceful young woman forced to marry a Scottish brute and find her way in a treacherous new world. To survive, she’ll need to call on all her shrewdness and savvy. Oh, and her witchcraft. Can’t forget the witchcraft. Clearly, Reid has some interesting new ideas for this retelling.
Billed as the kind of book that might have happened had Agatha Christie written fantasy novels, this BookTok hit from the U.K. is now hitting U.S. shores. The setup: In the magical land of Concordia, 12 powerful heirs embark on a peacekeeping voyage aboard the emperor’s flagship. When one of the VIPs is murdered, the sleuthing falls to our hero Ganymedes Piscero—quirky, queer, and a real bastard (in the aristocratic bloodline sense of the term.)
Devotees of galaxy-spanning science fiction will want to check out this one, the latest from the writing team behind the acclaimed space opera series The Expanse. In a far-future universe, the last remnants of humanity are abducted and forced into a Darwinian cage match with another captive species. Only one man has the vision to recognize the divide-and-conquer politics—and fight the real enemy. We suspect allegory. The Mercy of Gods is the first in a planned trilogy.
Estamos rodeados de fantasmas. That’s what Gabe’s grandmother always used to say: We are surrounded by ghosts. In the new horror novel from Gabino Iglesias (The Devil Takes You Home), five childhood friends set out to avenge a murder by tracking down the leader of Puerto Rico’s most dangerous drug gang. But things are about to get a lot more complicated. A storm-of-the-century hurricane is coming, bringing with it evil spirits that owe allegiance to no mortal.
With the dystopian fever dream Hum, celebrated Brooklyn author Helen Phillips (The Need) imagines a future in which the very fundamentals of society have been transformed by climate change, artificial intelligence, surveillance technology, economic inequality, and electronic addiction. When a desperate mom agrees to a dangerous experiment, she’s forced to put her trust in a new breed of hyper-advanced robots. Phillips’ style of cerebral sci-fi has been compared with that of Haruki Murakami and Margaret Atwood.
August is shaping up to be a strong month for speculative fiction. Set in Jazz Age Harlem, this fascinating debut YA novel from author Hayley Dennings blends period fiction with sapphic romance, a citywide murder mystery, and some interesting alternate-history world-building. Two former friends—one human, one not so much—team up to fight a supernatural conspiracy in a dark and dangerous city. They’ll have to deal with their feelings first. Also: vampires. Lots and lots of vampires.
Behind-the-curtains-style memoirs are always compelling, and here’s one whose subtitle says it all: How Nannying for the 1% Taught Me About the Myths of Equality, Motherhood, and Upward Mobility in America. Desperate to pay off her college loans, Stephanie Kiser spent seven long years nannying for crazy-rich families on New York City’s Upper East Side. She’s seen some things. She has some thoughts. But she really did love those kids.
Multimedia artist and reluctant celebrity Anna Marie Tendler has written one of the year’s most intimate and courageous books, a kind of literary self-portrait about womanhood in the 21st century. After her stay in a psychiatric hospital in 2021—and a very public split with a very famous comic—Tendler began a grueling journey of painful healing. Using the residential treatment as a pivot point, Tendler recounts her experiences and examines the unrelenting pressures women face today.
Which new releases are you looking forward to reading? Let's talk books in the comments!
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I don’t mind a serving of dystopian fiction and Hum by Helen Phillips looks quite interesting.
Thank you for this tip. I didn’t know this option was available. I usually just use the app on my phone. 👍🏻