6 August releases I can’t wait to get my hands on

We’re deep into summer and August is nearly here. There’s a stack of books releasing this month that I can’t wait to get my hands on.

I have an outrageously long TBR for August as I’m trying to keep up with a bunch of series, reading projects for 2024 and then it’s time to start ‘The Liveship Traders’ with the #fitzalong hosted by Lianne of Literary Diversions on YouTube.

And yet I can’t help myself when it comes to new releases either…

These six titles are at the top of my new release wishlist for August 2024:

I’m lucky enough to have proofs of three of these titles via NetGalley so you can expect reviews of those three books very soon!

‘Long Live Evil’ by Sarah Rees Brennan (1 August, )

A TALE FOR EVERYONE WHO'S EVER FALLEN FOR THE VILLAIN...

When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favourite fantasy series.

She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He's impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she's not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor's tale.

So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they're doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor's fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page.

I’ve really loved some of Sarah Rees Brennan’s YA series over the series so I’m all in for her adult debut, especially knowing it’s all about the villains! I’ll report back soon with a full review.

‘The Pairing’ by Casey McQuiston (1 August, Macmillan)

Theo and Kit have been childhood best friends, crushes, lovers and, after a brutal breakup four years ago, estranged exes.

It’s not until Theo and Kit are trapped on board a tour bus that they discover that they’ve each had the same idea: to take their dream European food and wine tour – alone. And now they’re stuck with each other for three weeks of the most romantic sights and sensuous flavours of France, Spain, and Italy. But it’ll be fine. They’re absolutely over each other.

So, when Theo suggests a friendly wager to see who can sleep with their hot Italian tour guide first, Kit is game. In fact, why stop there? Why not a full-on European hookup competition?

But sometimes a taste of everything only makes you crave what you can’t have.

I’m actually reading this at the moment and I’m obsessed with it; it’s the most perfect summer book I’ve read in a really long time and it’s already a 5 star book at 66% of the way through. Full review to come!

‘Slow Dance’ by Rainbow Rowell (8 August, Macmillan)

Back in high school, everybody thought Shiloh and Cary would end up together . . . everybody but Shiloh and Cary.

They were just friends. Best friends. They spent entire summers sitting on Shiloh’s porch steps, dreaming about the future. Shiloh was going to become an actress, and Cary was going to join the Navy. And nothing was ever going to change between them – Shiloh made him promise.

Well, Shiloh did go to college, and Cary did join the Navy. But, somehow, everything changed.

Now it’s been fourteen years since Shiloh last spoke to Cary. She’s been married and divorced. She has two kids. And she’s back in north Omaha living in the same house she grew up in. Her life is nothing like she planned.

When Shiloh gets invited to an old friend’s wedding, all she can think about is whether Cary will be there – and whether she hopes he will be.

I love Rainbow Rowell, I love second chance romance, I love friends to lovers. This is going to be a hit for me. It has to be! Full review of this one to follow soon.

‘Apprentice to the Villain’ by Hannah Nicole Maehrer (8 August, Penguin)

NOTICE TO STAFF: There has been a disturbing increase in cheeriness, sprightly behaviour and overall optimism of late. Please resume your former dark, ominous terrors at your earliest convenience. ―Mgmt

Evie Sage has never been happier to be the assistant to The Villain. Who would have thought that working for an outrageously handsome (shhh, bad for his brand) evil overlord would be so rewarding? Still, the business of being bad is demanding, the forces of good are annoyingly persistent, and said forbidding boss is somewhat…er, out-of-evil-office.

But Rennedawn is in grave trouble, and all signs – Kingsley’s included – point to catastrophe. Something peculiar is happening with the kingdom’s magic, and it’s made The Villain’s manor vulnerable to their enemies ... including their nemesis, the king.

Now it’s time for Evie to face her greatest challenge: protecting The Villain’s lair, all of his nefarious works, and maybe (provided no one finds out) the entire kingdom. No pressure, Evie.
It’s time to step out of her comfort zone and learn new skills. Like treason. Dagger work. Conspiring with the enemy. It’s all so…so…delightfully fun.

But what happens when the assistant to The Villain is ready to become his apprentice?

I read and unexpectedly loved ‘Assistant to the Villain’ at the beginning of the year and it left on a huge cliffhanger. I’ve been eagerly awaiting the sequel ever since.

‘Lady Macbeth’ by Ava Reid (13 August, Del Rey)

Fair is foul and foul is fair.

The Lady knows the stories: that her eyes induce madness in men.

The Lady knows she will be wed to the Scottish brute, who does not leave his warrior ways behind when he comes to the marriage bed.

The Lady knows his hostile, suspicious court will be a game of survival, requiring all of her wiles and hidden witchcraft to survive.

But the Lady does not know her husband has occult secrets of his own. She does not know that prophecy girds him like armour. She does not know that her magic is greater, and more dangerous, and that it will threaten the order of the world.

She does not know this yet. But she will.

‘A Study in Drowning’ was a book that we read for our podcast ‘The Dark Academicals’ and both really enjoyed so I’m eager to get to this one and see if ‘Lady Macbeth’ lives up to the rich atmosphere.

‘The Mercy of Gods’ by James SA Corey (6 August, Orbit)

The Carryx - part empire, part hive - has waged wars of conquest for centuries, destroying or enslaving species across the galaxy in its conflict with an ancient and deathless enemy.

When they descend on the isolated world of Anjiin, the human population is abased, slaughtered and put in chains. The best and brightest are abducted, taken to the Carryx world-palace to join prisoners from a thousand other species.

Dafyd Alkhor, assistant to a prestigious scientist, is captured along with his team. Even he doesn't suspect that his peculiar insight and skills will be the key to seeing past their captors ' terrifying agenda.

Swept up in a conflict beyond his control and vaster than his imagination, Dafyd is poised to become humanity's champion - and its betrayer.

This is where his story begins.

I’m currently reading my way through ‘The Expanse’ - book 6 is on my August TBR! - and loving it so I’m not quite ready for ‘The Mercy of Gods’ just yet, but I’m so pleased that I have something to fill the gap that Holden and his crew are going to leave when I finished the series later this year.

What do you have on your August TBR? Any new releases that you can’t wait to read this month?

Written by Sophie