Shuffling of the Shelves: September Part One
By Sana Khalid, Melissa Tran and Anais Aguilera
With summer slowly coming to an end, here are the latest books you should fit in for your last-minute summer reads.
Amazon
At the top of the Amazon charts this week is Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, after stunning readers and being consistently number one for four weeks running. This novel by Gabrielle Zevin follows the story of Sadie and Sam, childhood friends with a shared love for video games who reconnect in adulthood. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a mix between commercial and literary fiction and is the perfect story about love and friendship to read this summer. Taking spots two, four and ten in the charts is Colleen Hoover with It Ends with Us, It Starts with Us and Verity. A lot of the charts heavily feature Hoover and have done for a long time, but three spots in the top ten Amazon charts shows that her popularity is not going anywhere anytime soon. It Ends with Us and It Starts with Us are a linked romantic series, with It Starts with Us being the prequel. Verity is a psychological novel that follows a writer, Lowen, with a new incredible job opportunity, but everything is not as it seems…
WHSmith
Bestselling author Karen M. McManus hits the WHSmith chart again with her latest release, One of Us Is Back. As the final novel in the Bayview series, tensions come to a head as the characters become targets yet again. With friends disappearing and secrets coming to light, it’s hard to say if the crew will ever be able to put the past behind them.
If you’re not ready to let go of summer romances, Icebreaker by Hannah Grace might be the book for you. Figure skater, Anastasia Allen, and hockey captain, Nate Hawkins, are forced to share a rink after a facility setback. Anastasia is set on her dislike for Nate, but her own feelings may surprise her. Though the story largely takes place on ice, the sparks flying between these two are sure to warm your heart.
Waterstones
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston is currently climbing the Waterstones chart. After the recent release of the Amazon Prime adaptation by the same name, people are eager to read the source material behind the buzz. The book follows Alex, son of the U.S. President, and Henry, Prince of Wales. As their relationship designed for damage control quickly turns into something more, the two are forced into an increasingly difficult position.
With August being Women in Translation month, it’s only fitting that translated works make their way up the charts. One such work is What You Are Looking for is in the Library, written by Michiko Aoyama and translated by Alison Watts. This female writer-translator duo brings you a story about a soul-searching Librarian in Tokyo. Words of advice masquerading as book recommendations are Sayuri Komachi’s way of connecting with her library visitors and steering them toward the help that they need.
Social Media
The glitz and glamour of sordid Hollywood have always been an interest for people, and Halley Sutton’s novel The Hurricane Blonde delves further into the darker aspects of fame. Salma Lowe understands better than anyone how Hollywood chews up and spits out starlets. She is the offspring of Hollywood royalty, a former child-star turned guide on a true crime bus tour and sister to Tawney, dubbed the “Hurricane Blonde” who was murdered in the mid-nineties, with the case remaining unsolved. Then she discovers another dead woman with an uncanny resemblance to Tawney on the very property where her sister was killed. Salma must face the fact that a killer has struck again and with the police investigation going nowhere, she needs to plunge herself back into the seductive lure of Los Angeles to find the culprit. But the search for the truth will take her deep into the rotten heart of Hollywood’s past and present and into her family’s dark secret.
Rebecca Yarros is once again dominating the literature world with her latest release In the Likely Event. This is a sweeping romance about the sustained power of chance encounters. When Izzy Astor gets on a plane to go home, she isn’t expecting much. It’s the usual holiday travel experience: busy, crowded, stressful. Then she spots her seatmate who is anything but ordinary. Nate Phelan sports dark hair, blue eyes and a deliciously rugged charm that Izzy can’t resist. Their connection is undeniable. Izzy never believed in destiny before, but she does now. Just ninety seconds after take-off, their plane lands in the Missouri River and their lives change. They change. Nate goes on to a career in the military while Izzy finds her way into politics. Despite a few chance encounters over the years, the timing never feels right. Then comes a high-stakes reunion in Afghanistan, where Nate is tasked with protecting Izzy’s life. He’ll do anything to keep her safe and everything to win her heart.
Noteworthy Author
This week’s noteworthy author is Samantha Downing, who has once again enthralled readers with her latest physiological thriller, A Twisted Love Story. Wes and Ivy are madly in love. It’s the kind of romance people write stories about. But what kind of story? Because when it’s good, it’s good, but when it’s bad, it’s bad. Their breakneck cycle of catastrophic vengeful break-ups and head-over-heels reconnections needs to end fast because suddenly, Wes and Ivy have a common enemy: a detective. One wrong move will be fatal, so if Wes and Ivy can’t stick together, this break-up might just be their last.