This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Presenting the most exciting books of August for your reading pleasure! This month’s picks include the latest read from Love, Nina author Nina Stibbe, which highlights the horrors of being an attractive divorcée in an English village in the 1970s. There’s a sparkling and tender comedic novel from Jennifer Weiner, too, as well as a delicious new mystery from debut author Stephanie Lam and the eagerly-awaited Sarah Waters book, The Paying Guests. You’re probably not going to get much else done in August. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!
What Might Have Been by Matt Dunn – August 12
From the bestselling author of A Day at the Office, What Might Have Been is Matt Dunn’s new romantic comedy about two people in love. Well, they were in love. They sort of still are. One of them needs some convincing. Look, it’s complicated, okay?
First We Take Manhattan by Colette Caddle – August 14
Twins, Sinéad and Sheila Fields have worked hard to build a loyal clientele for their small millinery shop. One day, a glamorous young actress buys one of their hats, wears it to the Baftas and suddenly success seems guaranteed, but things don’t go to plan …
Dear Daughter by Elizabeth Little – August 14
Ten years ago, in a trial that rocked America, Janie was convicted of murdering her mother. Now she's been released on a technicality, she's determined to unravel the mystery of her mother's last words and what really happened that night. With the world’s media on her tail, however, Janie must journey to a small town in rural America in a race to discover the truth.
With a Friend Like You by Fanny Blake – August 14
With her usual warmth and wit, Fanny Blake’s latest novel charts a feud between best friends Beth, with her stellar career and oasis-like home, and Megan, who spends her days happily swimming through chaotic clutter on the stairs and cat footprints on the kitchen work space. As the two women square up to do battle in the London suburbs, there's everything to play for.
The Story of Us by Dani Atkins – August 14Emma Marshall can't wait to marry her childhood sweetheart. But then a tragic accident changes everything, and introduces a stranger into her life. Two different men. Two different destinies. Which will she choose?
Lovestruck by Julia Llewellyn – August 14
How well do you know your husband? Married and living in a cramped flat with their kids after a whirlwind courtship, Rosie begins to wonder just how much she likes Jake when he finally gets his big break as an actor. A lovely new comedy from bestseller Julia Llewellyn.
Courting Trouble by Kathy Lette – August 14
Tilly has the day from hell when she's sacked from her barristers' chambers in the morning, then finds her husband in bed with her former best friend in the afternoon. With a little help from her mother, a plan is hatched. They’ll set up an all-female law firm, which will only champion women who have been cheated, put upon, attacked, ripped off or ruined by the men in their lives.
Taking Hollywood by Shari King and Ross King – August 14
“Taking Hollywood is a fun romp behind the Hollywood curtain. The guessing game is in full swing. Scandal, sex and secrets galore,” said Jackie Collins of this gritty and sexy thriller set in sun-drenched Los Angeles. We ordered a copy on that recommendation alone.
It Had to be You by Ellie Adams – August 28
Lizzy Spellman has been dumped. At a party. While wearing a Henry VIII costume. By the man she thought was The One. Someone even filmed it, so now she's a massive YouTube hit sensation. Definitely looking forward to whiling away some of our last sunlounger hours of the summer with this one.
The Marriage Mender by Linda Green – August 28
Alison is a marriage mender. Her job is to help couples who fear they have reached the end of the line. But the trouble with spending your time sorting out other people's problems is that you tend to take your eye off your own. And a big problem in the form of her husband's ex, Lydia, is about to land on her doorstep.
Man at the Helm by Nina Stibbe – August 28
Author of the hugely acclaimed memoir Love, Nina, this is Stibbe’s first fictional novel and we can’t wait to get our hands on it. It looks to be a brilliant and sharp-eyed page-turner, with all the observational wit of her first book, about the horrors of being an attractive divorcée in an English village in the 1970s, and a family's fall from grace.
All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner – August 28
All Fall Down is the story of a woman's slide into addiction and struggle to find her way back up again, but with the sparkling comedic touch we’ve come to know and love from Jennifer Weiner.
The Mysterious Affair at Castaway House by Stephanie Lam – August 28
We started reading this over lunch yesterday and became so engrossed, it was a struggle to get back to work. It's 1965 and eighteen year-old Rosie Churchill has run away to the beautiful but run-down Castaway House in the seaside town of Helmstone. But when she uncovers a scandal locked away in the walls of the old house, she soon comes to realise that neither her own troubled past nor that of the house will stay buried for long …
The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters – August 28
We’ve waited five years for a new Sarah Waters novel, but the moment we got our hands on The Paying Guests, we knew it had been worth the wait. A page-turning melodrama set in post-war London where, in a large silent house now bereft of brothers, husband and even servants, life is about to be transformed, as impoverished widow Mrs Wray and her spinster daughter, Frances, are obliged to take in lodgers.
Daughter by Jane Shemilt – August 28
When a teenage girl goes missing her mother discovers she doesn't know her daughter as well as she thought in Jane Shemilt's haunting debut novel, Daughter. Another page-turner that’ll keep you up way past your bedtime.
What books are on your TBR pile this month? Any of these catch your eye?