Ep 357 - Angry Robots and Queerd Fiction - the Hottest Books for Summer!

Reading Glasses

Brea and Mallory pick their most anticipated books for June and July. Plus, they discuss books they love that aren’t in their wheelhouses. Email us at readingglassespodcast at gmail dot com!

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Books Mentioned -

Stagtown by Punko

Puzzleheart by Jenn Reese

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Long Division by Kiese Laymon

June

The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei
Coming back for one last job, art heist in space

Fire Exit by Morgan Talty
Literary, Maine, family, small town secrets

One Star Romance by Laura Hankin
Romance, enemies to lovers, publishing, academia

Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood -
Romance, women in STEM, business, secret affair

Daughter of the Merciful Deep by Leslye Penelope
Historical fantasy, gods and myths, woman on a journey, ancient magic

Enlightenment by Sarah Perry
Literary, romance, astronomy, friendship, mystery, science

Lady Eve’s Last Con by Rebecca Fraimow
Queer sci fi romance, be gay do space crimes
Dancers of the Dawn by Zulekha A. Afzal
YA fantasy, dance magic, desert setting, dancer assassins, adventure

Tidal Creatures by Seanan McGuire
Sequel to Middlegame

The Pecan Children by Quinn Connor
Small town horror, Southern US setting, sisters, folklore

We Speak Through the Mountain by Premee Mohamed
Sequel to The Annual Migration of Clouds

The Unrelenting Earth by Kritika H. Rao
Book 2 of The Rages Trilogy

The Phoenix Ballroom by Ruth Hogan
Literary, elderly widow reviving a community and her heart

Moonbound by Robin Sloan
Sci fi and fantasy, AI narrator, magic, journey

The Girl Who Kept the Castle by Ryan Graudin
Middle grade fantasy, dragons, magic castles, cat character, magic competition

Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera
Sci fi, reincarnation, friendship, time stuff

The Cautious Traveler’s Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks
Historical fantasy, train trip, magic, monsters, friends

Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil by Ananda Lima
Short stories, speculative fiction, strange

Darkness and Demon Song by M.R. Founet
Middle grade horror, monsters, forbidden spells, moms, Southern US setting

Please Stop Trying to Leave by Alana Saab
Literary, surreal, lesbian, mental illness, healing

Hombrecito by Santiago Jose Sanchez
Literary, queer, coming of age, immigrant story, mother relationship

Hot Summer by Elle Everheart
Lesbian romance, reality show, comedy

The Lion’s Den by Iris Mwanza
Historical queer legal thriller

Six of Sorrow by Amanda Lismeir
Queer YA horror, small town, friendships, Yellowjackets comp

Unexploded Remnants by Elaine Gallagher
Queer sci fi, space, AI, woman on a journey

A Shore Thing by Joanna Lowell
Trans historical romance on the British seaside

Annie LeBlanc is Not Dead Yet by Molly Morris
Queer literary fiction, ghosts, resurrection, friendship, California

All Friends are Necessary by Tomas Moniz
Queer literary fiction, queer community, found family, Washington

Director’s Cut by Carlyn Greenwald
Lesbian romance, Hollywood, academia, rivals to lovers

The Sons of El Rey by Alex Espinoza
Gay luchadores!!!!!, family, Mexico City, Los Angeles, 1980s, literary

Make It Count by Cece Telfer
Trans sports memoir, running, Olympics

Cicada Summer by Erica McKeen
Literary, queerd (queer + weird) fiction, book about a book, grief

The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye by Briony Cameron
Historical fiction, queer lady pirate

But How Are You Really by Ella Dawson
Romance, disaster bisexuals, found family

Triple Sec by TJ Alexander
Queer poly romance, cocktail bars, NYC

We Could Be Heroes by Philip Ellis
Gay romance, Hollywood, drag, acting

The Future Was Color by Patrick Nathan
Gay historical fiction, 1950s Hollywood, LA, NYC, Las Vegas

Blessings by Chukwebuka Ibeh
Literary fiction, gay, new adult, coming of age, Nigeria

youthjuice by E.K. Sathue
Horror, satire, NYC, beauty industry

The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monica Kim
Horror, female serial killer

I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself by Glynnis MacNichol
Memoir, female pursuit of pleasure

Traveling by Ann Powers
Joni Mitchell biography

Swimming Pretty by Vicki Valosik
History of women and swimming

Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Abike Iyimide and Adiba Jaigirdar
Romance, ex-best friends to lover, holiday celebration

Birding with Benefits by Sarah T. Dubb
Romance, bird book

Curvy Girl Summer by Danielle Allen
Romance, fat protagonist, funny

How to Age Disgracefully by Claire Pooley
Senior romance, funny, community

The Lonely Hearts Trivia Night by Lauren Farnsworth
Romance, London, friendship, trivia

A Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd
Historical romance, Romeo and Juliet reimagining

Swift River by Essie Chambers
Literary, new adult, 1980s, New England, family saga, mother and daughter, family secrets

Bright and Tender Dark by Joanna Peason
Literary, murder, college campus, urban legends, debut

Bear by Julia Philips
Literary, sisters, family, mysterious creature in the woods

Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo
Literary, family drama

Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay
Horror, multiple timelines, surreal, filmmaking

Once Upon a Fever by Angharad Walker
YA sci fi thriller, world where emotions are thought to cause disease

Looking for Smoke by K.A. Cobell
YA thriller, murder, debut

Such a Bad Influence by Olivia Muenter
Thriller, debut, sister’s disappearance, social media, dark corners of the internet

The Unwedding by Ally Condie
Thriller, White Lotus meets Agatha Christie

One of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon
Thriller, Get Out meets The Stepford Wives

What Fire Brings by Rachel Howzell Hall
Thriller, writer searching for missing friend, Los Angeles

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
Thriller, locked room murder mystery, luxury resort

Death in the Air by Ram Murali
Mystery, debut, locked room, Knives Out meets Crazy Rich Asians

That Night in the Library by Eva Jurczyk
Locked room mystery in a library, college, dark academia

Icon and Inferno by Marie Lu
YA mystery romance, secret agents

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman
Horror, family, motherhood

Moral Injuries by Christie Watson
Psychological thriller, friendships, medicine, revenge

Love Letters to a Serial Killer by Tasha Coryell
Debut thriller, serial killer

July

I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones
Horror, slasher, 1980s, Texas

The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani
Queer thriller, Kill Bill meets Thelma and Louise

The Ghost Keeper by Johanna Taylor
Queer YA graphic novel, gothic horror romance, ghosts

Exes and Foes by Amanda Woody
YA queer romance, competition

So Witches We Became by Jill Baguchinsky
Queer YA horror, witches, female rage

No Road Home by John Fram
Queer thriller, Texas, family secrets

Queen B by Juno Dawson
Next in Her Majesty’s Royal Coven

You Had Me At Happy Hour by Timothy Janovsky
Gay romance, mixology, Pennsylvania

Nicked by M.T. Anderson
Debut, queer historical fantasy, medieval heist

Cursed Boys and Broken Hearts by Adam Sass
YA gay romance, vineyard summer job, rose festival

Evenings and Weekends by Oisin McKenna
Queer literary fiction, London, new adult, sexy, funny

A Rose by Any Other Name by Mary McMyne
Queer fantasy, Shakespeare retelling, occult romance

Toward Eternity by Anton Hur
Queer sci fi, bio tech, nano-tech, meaning of life

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle
Queer horror, Hollywood

Misrecognition by Madison Newbound
Queer new adult literary fiction, funny, debut, sexuality

Portrait of a Shadow by Meriam Metoui
YA horror romance, mystery, family secrets

Our Wicked Histories by Amy Goldsmith
YA horror, Ireland, estranged friends, creepy house

The Road to the Salt Sea by Samuel Kolawole
Literary, hotel, man on a journey, class, immigration

House of Shades by Lianne Dillsworth
Historical fiction, Victorian London, female doctor, secrets

The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love by India Holton
Historical fantasy, romance, magic, birds, rom com, competition, England

The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia by Juliet Grames
Historical thriller, Italy, 1960s, village full of secrets, romance

The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish by Paula Brackston
Historical fantasy, Victorian England, ghosts, library

A Lethal Lady by Nekesa Afria
Historical mystery, Paria, perfume, murder

The Scandalous Life of Ruby Devereaux by M.J. Robotham
Historical fiction, Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo readalike

My Lady’s Secrets by Katy Moran
Historical fiction, regency England, spies, romance

Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi
Historical fantasy, Persephone retelling, court intrigue

Teddy by Emily Dunlay
Debut historical fiction, Mad Men meets Lessons in Chemistry

They Dream in Gold by Mai Sennaar
Literary fiction, epic family saga, family and identity

Liars by Sarah Manguso
Literary fiction, motherhood, marriage, art

Welcome to Glorious Tuga by Francesca Segal
Literary fiction, heart warming, island in the South Atlantic, funny, quirky, community

The Coin by Yasmin Zaher
Literary fiction, NYC, teacher, a woman unraveling

Let Me Liberate You by Andie Davis
Literary fiction, satire about activism and privilege

Tell It to Me Singing by Tita Ramirez
Literary fiction, Cuban American family drama, debut, secrets, twisty

Smothermoss by Alisa Alering
Literary, 1980s, Appalachia, sisters, monsters, weird fiction

Mysterious Setting by Kazushige Abe, translated by Michael Emmerich
Japanese novella, funny and dark, sibling competition

The Losts Souls of Benzaiten by Kelly Murashige
YA sci fi, Japanese mythology, mental health, robot vacuum cleaner

In the Shadow of the Fall by Tobi Ogundiran
Epic fantasy novella, visions, priestesses, cosmic war

A Certain Kind of Starlight by Heather Webber
Fantasy, magic, small town, friendship

The Dissonance by Shaun Hamill
Epic contemporary fantasy, Texas, magic, monsters, friendship

The Mirror of Beasts by Alexandra Bracken
Sequel to Silver in the Bone

My Mother Cursed My Name by Anamely Salgado Reyes
Magical realism, generational trauma, grief, family saga

One Year Ago in Spain by Evelyn Skye
Magical realism romance, second chance romance, ghosts and souls

Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard
Found family space opera romance

Daughters of Chaos by Jen Fawkes
Queer historical fantasy, Civil War era Nashville, female rage, powers, cult

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
Romantasy, magical world, disappearances

The Melancholy of Untold History by Minsoo Kang
East-Asian inspired fantasy saga, gods and myths

The Second Son by Adrienne Tooley
Sequel

Grief in the Fourth Dimension by Jennifer Yu
Spec fic YA, death and afterlife

The Book of Elsewhere by China Mieville and Keanu Reeves
Genre bendy spec fic

Primal Mirror by Nalini Singh
Romantasy, family secrets, telepaths

All This and More by Peng Shepard
Choose your own adventure fantasy

The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons
High fantasy, heist with dragons

Quickly, While They Still Have Horses by Jan Carson
Spec fic short stories

The Dallergut Dream Department Store by Miya Lee, translated by Sandy Joosun Lee
Cozy Korean fantasy

The Great Hemisphere by Mateo Askaripour
Sci fi, invisible protagonist

Illustrated Girl by Josephine Angelin
YA cozy fantasy

Women in the Valley of the Kings by Kathleen Shepard
Feminist Egyptology history

Meet the Neighbors by Brandon Keim
Science of animal intelligence

Jewel Me Twice by Charish Reid
Steamy heist romance, second chances, Europe trip

The Widow on Dwyer Court by Lisa Kusel
Sexy psychological thriller, writer protagonist

Body Check by Elle Kennedy
Spicy hockey rom-com

Just Playing House by Farah Heron
Romance, forced proximity, second chances, celebrity romance

Look in the Mirror by Catherine Steadman
Thriller, inheritance with a cost, mansion in the British Virgin Islands

The Woman in the Garden by Jill Johnson
Botanical poison murder mystery, plants, London

Bright Objects by Ruby Todd
Thriller, debut, astronomy, romance, murder, a comet

The Astrology House by Carinn Jade
Thriller, astrology, debut, wealthy retreat, secrets

The Bang Bang Sisters by Rio Youers
Thriller, all girl vigilante rock band

The Wilds by Sarah Pearse
Chilling thriller, vanish twin, Portuguese national park, mysterious map

It’s Elementary by Elise Bryant
Mystery romance, missing principal, elementary school politics

The Hollywood Assistant by May Cobb
Thriller, Hollywood, murder, famous family and their secrets

Summer’s End by Juneau Black
Next Shady Hollow book

Docile by Hyesseung Song
Memoir about being a daughter of Korean immigrants, mental illness, subverting model minority myth

Dateable by Jessica Slice and Caroline Cupp
Guide to dating for disabled people