Now that I am requesting books I am super excited about, Netgalley has become one of my favorite websites. I’m in this mood where ebooks trump physical books right now. I find myself wanting to pick up my kindle a lot more. I have actually hit 81% on Netgalley recently, but obviously it went back down after I requested more books. I am very proud of myself for that! It’s been a journey with this website, but I think I have found a new love for it. I also want to thank any publisher that lets me read a book before it’s published. It’s awesome that this website exists. I’m just rambling, so let me talk about my Netgalley checklist!
Some of these were mentioned in my post: Current Anticipated Releases for 2019
My goal for this post is to let you guys know more of what each book is about, and maybe why I wanted to read it. This may end up being a very long post but, I hope you all enjoy it!
BOOK 1
Publication Date: 5/21/19 by Simon & Schuster
The Naked Truth: A Memoir by Leslie Morgan: This is the story about Leslie, the author, and after twenty years of marriage and divorce, she wanted to conduct her own type of experiment. She wanted to avoid being called all of the cliches surrounding middle-aged divorced women. She devoted a year to search for five lovers who she could connect with sexually and mentally. I also need to add that she did it all without creating a dating website! Kudos is all I have to say to that. She truly finds out what it is like to be a middle-aged woman in today’s world.
This sounded like such an intimate story that I absolutely had to read it. I would like to thank Simon & Schuster for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review. I will definitely let you all know what I think about it after I read it.
BOOK 2
Publication Date: 5/28/19 by Scribner
Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane: This one is about two families that live next to each other in a suburban town. The fathers, Francis Gleeson, and Brian Stanhope were both members of the NYPD back in 1973, but they weren’t friends, unfortunately. There are, of course, personal hurdles that their wives are going through behind closed doors. The son and daughter of the two families bond with each other. An event happens while they are in eighth grade and it forces the Stanhopes to move. They do find their way back to each other and reexamine everything that they have known about their families.
Okay, I have a type when it comes to general adult fiction. I love when two families duke it out and then figure it all out in the end. This novel gives me Little Fires Everywhere vibes. The last book I read hoping it was like Little Fires Everywhere was a huge disappointment. I need to stop putting that pressure on books. I think family drama is the best trope when it comes to general or literary fiction. I’m very excited to start this one!
BOOK 3
Publication Date: 7/2/19 by Dutton
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager: Jules Larson starts a new job as an apartment sitter at one of Manhattan’s most high-profile and mysterious buildings. The rules are no visitors, no leaving the apartment, and no disturbing other residents. She meets Ingrid, a fellow apartment sitter, who reminds Jules of her sister she lost eight years ago. Ingrid warns Jules that the Bartholomew has a dark hidden history, but Jules brushes it off. The next day, Ingrid is gone.
This book sounds so good, but I want to read Final Girls by Riley Sager before I jump into this one. I read The Last Time I Lied last year, and it was okay. I hope this one is better. It sounds 100x more interesting. I hope this is the ghost story that I didn’t know I needed.
BOOK 4
Publication Date: 7/16/19 by St. Martin’s Press
Buried (Agent Sayer Altair #2) by Ellison Cooper: An FBI agent and his dog fall into a sinkhole at the Shenandoah National Park and discover human bones. Senior Special Agent Sayer Altair is finally back on the field after six months of desk duty. She and her team find two whole bodies among all of the bones. There is a clue that leads the team to believe the bodies are of a woman and her daughter that are missing. This whole case leads her to get help from an anonymous psychopath she has been studying.
I received an ARC of the first book last year, and I enjoyed it. These are my guilty pleasures. I don’t usually like FBI stories, but for some reason, I am hooked. This one sounds just as good as the first one. I have started it, and the writing is the same as the first one, and I have never been more excited!
BOOK 5
Publication Date: 7/27/19 by Tangled Tree Publishing
A Divided Mind by M. Billiter: The only synopsis given is:
Sometimes that little voice in your head isn’t always yours.
What if the only friend you have isn’t real? When the voices in his head begin to make sense, high school senior Branson Kovac turns to the one friend he’s still got…only to discover he’s not really there.
This sounds like it’s going to deal with heavy topics. I am excited to dive into this one. The description is all I need to know to pick it up.
BOOK 6
Publication Date: 7/9/19 by Henry Holt & Co.
The Last Book Party by Karen Dukess: Eve Rosen wants to become a writer, but she is stuck at her low-level assistant job. She is struggling to shake the shadow of her brilliant brother. In 1987 Eve has a chance to attend a summer gathering at the Cape Cod home of a well-known writer Henry Grey and his wife Tillie, a poet. She ends up having a crush on their son when she lands a job as Henry’s research assistant. She is also invited to the exclusive “Book Party” where members show up as their favorite literary character. After one evening she discovers that she may not want to be part of the literary world.
I love reading novels about aspiring writers. I haven’t found one that has completely grabbed my attention. I am hoping that this is it. It sounds like something I would enjoy reading the entire time. I want to know what happens at the Book Party, don’t you?
BOOK 7
Publication Date: 8/6/19 by Harper Voyager
The Dragon Republic (The Poppy War #2) by R.F. Kuang: Rin’s story continues in the sequel to The Poppy War. Rin is on the run from her guilt after the atrocity she committed saving her people. She doesn’t want to live but she will until she avenges the Empress who betrayed Rin’s homeland. She wants to join forces with the Dragon Warlord to create a new republic. Neither the Empress or Warlord are what they seem. She may have to use Phoenix’s destructive power once more.
I read The Poppy War last year, and I enjoyed it. I had some issues with it, but it was not enough to deter me from the sequel. I am hoping that this one will step up its game. I am very excited to jump back into this world.
BOOK 8
Publication Date: 5/7/19 by Ecco
The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames: Stella Fortuna lives a life full of near-death experiences. She is considered an oddity in her village, but she remains tough. This allows her to protect her sister Tina from the harsh reality. When the Fortunas emigrate to America Stella and Tina must come of age together in a hostile new world. She realizes that survival is worthless without her independence. In present-day Connecticut, a family member tells the story determined to understand the rift between Stella and Tina.
I have started this one already, and I am about 17% of the way through. It’s very different and not what I expected after reading the synopsis. I will keep my thoughts to myself at the moment, but there will be a review when I finish. I wanted to see how the story panned out.
BOOK 9
Publication Date: 6/18/19 by Ecco
The Tenth Muse by Catherine Chung: Katherine knows she is different and her parents aren’t who they seem to be. She is on a mission to conquer the Riemann hypothesis, the most significant unsolved mathematical problem of her time. She turns to a theorem with a mysterious history that holds the lock and key to her identity. It also holds long-buried secrets of WWII in Germany. She strives to take her place in the world of higher mathematics and finds closeness with the women before her.
I don’t know anything about math, but this story sounds interesting. Again, I haven’t read anything like it before. I want all of these unique stories to become favorites. I have such high hopes.
BOOK 10
Publication Date: 8/13/19
The Dragon Lady by Louisa Treger: This opens with the shooting of Lady Virginia “Ginnie” Courtauld in her garden in 1950s Rhodesia. This novel spans enormous cultural and social change. Virginia Courtauld broke boundaries. She was an unconventional woman who rejected to play the submissive roles that women were expected to play. She was ostracized by society for being a divorcee at the time of Edward VIII and Mrs. Simpson. She and her second husband, Stephen Courtauld, leave post-war Britain to form a new life in Rhodesia. They progressive liberals but it was dangerous during the segregation. The novel blends fact and fiction to paint a picture of an extraordinary woman.
This doesn’t sound like anything I have read before. I want to broaden my horizons, and I think reading about a badass woman is an excellent place to start. I hope it doesn’t disappoint because this sounds like it has loads of potential.
BOOK 11
Publication Date: 6/6/19 by Oneworld Publications
In the Shadow of Wolves by Alvydas Slepikas: WWII is ending, but the world is still not safe. Women and children are forced out of their homes in East Prussia to make way for the victors. The women send their children into the forest where they cross the border into Lithuania. There they have to beg farmers for work or food to take back to their families. The children find cruelty, hardship, and violence but they also find kindness, hope and promise of a new and better future.
I don’t want this to be brutal, but at the same time, I want it to give me everything it can. This sounds like it could tug at all of my heartstrings, mainly since it deals with children. I am very excited to read this one.
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