Escape rising summer temperatures by getting lost in a good book. Here are several new releases to choose from, including historical fiction by Beatriz Williams and Kate Quinn, memoirs by Jasmin Graham and Zara Chowdhary, mysteries by Lisa Jewel and Daniel Silva, and nonfiction by Yuan Yang. Stay cool in the pool or any place that is air-conditioned! ENJOY!
Husbands and Lovers by Beatriz Williams | Historical Fiction
Husbands and Lovers is about two women, separated by decades and continents, connected by DNA and a mysterious bracelet: a cuff of the Egyptian cobra with glittering eyes and tongue. The novel presents three timelines: 1951, Cairo; 2008; and 2022, Mystic Island, Connecticut. This timeless and bittersweet novel draws readers into an unforgettable journey of heartbreak and redemption.
Private Revolutions by Yuan Yang | Nonfiction
Private Revolutions is a portrait of China through four women born in the 1980s and 1990s who refused to accept the life laid out for them. These young women attempt to assert control over the direction of their lives, escape the narrow confines of their patriarchal rural roots, and make it in the big city. At a time of rising state censorship and suppression, it unearths the identity of modern Chinese society about to change beyond recognition.
Sharks Don’t Sink by Jasmin Graham | Memoir
Despite being denser than water, sharks manage to float because they keep swimming. The author, Jasmin Graham, had to do the same to move up in the white male-dominated profession of marine biology. She shares her struggles as a Black woman and how that led her to start Minorities in Shark Sciences (MSS), an organization that provides support and opportunities for those in the marine science field.
Breaking the Dark by Lisa Jewell | Mystery
Breaking the Dark, the first book in the brand-new Marvel Crime series for adults, introduces fans to the dark side of the Marvel Universe. Superhero Jessica Jones has retired from her traumatic past as a spandex-clad Marvel crimefighter to become a private investigator. As Jessica Jones takes on her first investigation case, the story blends crime and supernatural elements.
The Lucky Ones By Zara Chowdhary | Memoir
The Lucky Ones is a young woman’s observations of how 80 years of India’s anti-Muslim violence have impacted her fractured family. The stories of sisters, daughters, and mothers raising each other show how women hold this world together with their ability to forgive, find laughter, and offer grace even when the world they know and their place in it is falling apart.
The Briar Club by Kate Quinn | Historical Fiction
The Briar Club is a murder mystery wrapped up in the stories of the women living at this boarding house in Washington, D.C., during the 1950s. These six strong women each have a complicated past and are struggling in a society of fear, distrust, misogyny, and sexism. This is a story of friendship set against a backdrop of political and social change, the atomic bomb, McCarthyism, the Korean War, and the Cold War.
A Death in Cornwall by Daniel Silva | Thriller/Mystery
A Death in Cornwall begins with the murder of a prominent artistic provenance researcher and a Jewish French physician, linked by a Picasso masterpiece stolen from the physician’s family during World War II. Digging into these murders leads to the discovery of a vast criminal enterprise and a monumental political crisis in England. This thriller is an action-packed tale of high-stakes international intrigue.
In Case You Missed It: Here’s Sandy’s summer reading list from August 2023!
Jackie: Public, Private, Secret by J. Randy Taraborrelli | Biography
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis is one of the most remarkable women of the 20th century, the most written-about and least-known woman of a generation. Drawing on interviews and previously unpublished material from the JFK Library, Jackie presents a portrait of a woman whose flaws and contradictions only serve to make her even more iconic. Jackie is a refreshingly complex portrait of a woman too often defined by her relationships with men.
The Sunset Crowd by Karin Tanabe | Historical Fiction
The Sunset Crowd is a tale of survival and reinvention from Rodeo Drive to the French Riviera. This novel is a portrait of 1970s Hollywood and a time when women with ambition were in a war to survive, using their talents, beauty, and connections to make it. An intriguing cast of characters explores the ways feminine truth and deception can inspire, mislead, liberate, and even kill.
Banyan Moon by Thao Thai | Family Saga
Banyan Moon follows the lives of the three Thai women and explores the fraught and thorny corners of mother-daughter relationships. Banyan Moon urges readers to consider whether it is best for some truths to remain hidden — whether deceit can ultimately be an act of love. Each woman withholds truths from the rest of her family in an effort to protect them, but that impulse is also what prevents them from being there for one another.
The Parrot and the Igloo by David Lipsky | Nonfiction
The Parrot and the Igloo examines the development of climate change denial and the deliberate erosion of public trust in science. It provides a disturbing breakdown of how anti-science rhetoric gained first a foothold and then a major following in American politics. Well-researched and captivatingly written, it’s a must-read for people seeking to understand how climate change became the subject of such vicious denial.
Have You Seen Her? by Catherine McKenzie | Mystery/Thriller
Have You Seen Her? follows three women with dark secrets whose lives intersect in the picturesque and perilous Yosemite National Park. When these women cross paths, their pasts catch up with them, and the shocking consequences ripple out far beyond what anyone could have imagined. The book is an incredible mix of the physical dangers of the Yosemite wilderness and the mysterious lives of the humans who visit.
The Collector by Daniel Silva | Espionage
This story of art theft, murder, and international intrigue uncovers a conspiracy that, if successful, could plunge the world into a conflict of apocalyptic proportions. The painting that changed hands was part of an illicit billion-dollar business deal involving a beautiful master thief and a man code-named the Collector with ties to the highest levels of Russian power. The plot touches on everything from the war in Ukraine to the friction between Moscow and the West.
Broadway Butterfly by Sara Divello | True Crime
A scandalous flapper is found dead in her Manhattan apartment, a bottle of chloroform beside her, and a fortune in jewels missing. The 1923 unsolved murder of a Jazz Age party girl captivated New York, but all the hype around the case proved insufficient motivation to catch the killer. This beautiful girl was a perpetrator of blackmail and a victim of blackmail, having simultaneous affairs with at least two rich married men.
In Case You Missed It: Here’s Sandy’s summer reading list from August 2022!
Not My First Rodeo by Kristi Noem | Memoir
Not My First Rodeo is not a book about politics; it is the story of growing up on a ranch and how a blessed life of true grit taught Kristi Noem how to lead. It includes honest glimpses into marriage, motherhood, and leadership in an unpredictable time. Not My First Rodeo shows that Kristi’s can-do attitude came from her family’s influence, faith, and a strong work ethic that developed since childhood.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin | Fiction
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow is a story about two friends who are often in love but never lovers—who work as creative partners in the world of video game design. Their success brings them fame, joy, and tragedy. Spanning thirty years, the novel examines the nature of identity, disability, success and failure, and our need to connect: to be loved and to love.
Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone | International Thriller
Two Nights in Lisbon is a dynamic and original story of a wife who wakes up in her hotel room alone. Her husband seems to be gone – no warning, no note, and not answering his phone. This is a masterly, sleek, sophisticated novel about love and marriage. Two Nights in Lisbon is a riveting thriller about a woman under pressure, thinking about how far she can go when everything is on the line.
The It Girl by Ruth Ware | Literary Crime
The It Girl is a psychological thriller about a murder in Oxford and the person who may have been responsible for the conviction of the wrong man for the crime. The narrative alternates between “before” and “after” the crime, with a familiar plot and familiar characters. On the plus side, it is well-written, and all the characters are suspicious of the murder at one point or another.
Rising Tiger by Brad Thor | Espionage Thriller
The Second Husband by Kate White | Mystery
The Second Husband is a clever and well-executed psychological thriller. A woman’s seemingly perfect second marriage is rocked by a discovery about the mysterious murder of her first husband. When she discovers that her first meeting with The Second Husband was not actually her first meeting, things start to spiral out of control, and she wonders who she should trust.
CLASSIC: The Woman in White By Wilke Collins | Historical Fiction
In Case You Missed It: Here’s Sandy’s summer reading list from August 2020!
Can you believe this month is already halfway gone? This summer reading list for August will entertain you with stories about a woman running for President, Shakespeare’s son Hamnet, Beethoven’s lovers, a psychological thriller, and historical fiction about the New York Public Library. All by women authors, all new releases, and selected exclusively for PrimeWomen! Enjoy reading these great new books!
Your Second Act: Inspiring Stories of Reinvention by Patricia Heaton | Nonfiction
Your Second Act: Inspiring Stories of Reinvention is an inspirational book about reinventing yourself in life from actress Patricia Heaton, star of Everybody Loves Raymond. She shares wisdom from her personal journey and insight from 14 courageous people navigating life transitions.
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell | Shakespearean Fan Fiction
This beautiful book reimagines Shakespeare’s little-explored home life in Stratford-upon-Avon, mostly in 1596, when his 11-year-old son Hamnet dies of the plague. This family is complicated and troubled yet brimming with love and passion.
The Beauty in Breaking: A Memoir by Dr. Michele Harper (#1 NYT Best Seller!) | Memoir
A Harvard graduate and the first female African American emergency room physician explores how each of us is physically, emotionally, or psychologically broken. The Beauty in Breaking: A Memoir takes us from injustice and heartbreak to healing and hope.
The Woman in the Moonlight by Patricia Morrisroe | Historical Fiction
A must-read for music lovers, The Woman in the Moonlight: A Novel is about Beethoven’s life, music, and lovers. You’ll enjoy this epic tale of love, loss, rivalry, and political intrigue in Vienna during the 18th Century. Well written and well documented.
Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing by Allison Winn Scotch | Fiction
Cleo McDougal is a Presidential candidate, an ambitious politician with a complicated story about having power, losing power, abusing power, flaunting it, sharing it, and craving it. This is a sharp and funny novel about truth and consequences in the world of politics.
White Out (Badlands Thriller Book 1) by Danielle Girard | Psychological Thriller
This is a chilling mystery of a woman with a forgotten past and a town with dark secrets. White Out’s storylines twist and turn and combine, revealing loss, fear, and love in a riveting, compelling, and constantly surprising tale of lives forgotten and lives found.
The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis | Historical Fiction/Mystery
This novel tells the secrets of the famous New York Public Library and the family whose lives are intertwined with it in 1913 and again in 1993. It’s the story of their lost dreams and the redemption that comes from discovering the truth about missing rare books that were assumed to be stolen. It’s a perfect read for fans of female-driven historical fiction.
If you are an Amazon Prime member, you get a free Prime Read each month. Right now, our favorite is The Brighter the Light by Mary Ellen Taylor.
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Sandy’s Selections: Juicy Summer Books
