August, as we all know, is the month of holidays par excellence. Publishing closes its doors and puts a stop to production, this leads to a notable decrease in bookshop releases. You will notice by reading our article that the books arriving in August are many, but really many, fewer than those we usually propose. The reason is simple: in 2024, as perhaps never before, literary releases are almost all concentrated in the month of September. In August we will have to dedicate ourselves to the rediscovery of old texts in bookshops abandoned to themselves, consoling ourselves with some interesting new arrivals placed especially at the end of the month. Here are all the fantasy, mystery, and romance releases scheduled for August 2024.
If You Were My Forever by Kennedy Ryan (Newton Compton, August 6)
If You Were My Forever by Kennedy Ryan
The month of August 2024 will be marked in the name of Newton Compton, practically the only publishing house that continues to publish so much even in the month of holidays. If I Were My Forever tells the story of a second chance romance. The love between Yasmen and Josiah was supposed to last forever. But fate, with its dirty tricks, decided otherwise and Yasmen realized she could no longer be with her husband. So the marriage fell apart. Yasmen and Josiah had to find a new routine, share the responsibilities of separated parents and learn to manage their business together. However, day after day, they do nothing but wonder if the decision to break up was the right one. The fire still burns under the ashes and, suddenly, with one kiss that leads to another, they are once again dragged into a whirlwind of passion. As much as they try to resist, they still feel like they are at the beginning of their relationship, but it doesn’t take long for the old wounds to reopen and the past, with the reasons for their separation, to come knocking on the door again. Is it too late? Or will they have a second chance? Two lost hearts. A faded feeling. Can love stand the test of time? A powerful story that tells all the nuances of a relationship.
Who do we recommend it to? For those who love the second chance romance trope
Prezzo: 9,90 €
The King’s Challenge by Nisha J. Tuli (Newton Compton, August 20)
The King’s Challenge by Nisha J. Tuli
After the success of The War of the Ten Queens, the Hurricane saga continues with The King’s Challenge. Nostraza prison is a terrible place, where hope is a mirage and prisoners are willing to do anything to survive. Lor knows this well, having been locked up there for twelve years by order of the ruthless King of Aurora and knowing that she could end her days within those walls. But fate has something different in store for her: she never imagined she would ever taste freedom again, and yet, during a bloody revolt, Lor is taken from Nostraza to be transferred to the court of the Sun, where she will have to compete for the role of Queen with nine other Tributes, girls who, like her, will participate in four potentially lethal tests to win the heart of King Atlas. At first, Lor is scared and overwhelmed at the idea of taking part in a deadly competition, but then she realizes that this could be her great opportunity to take revenge on the King of Aurora and all the harm he has done to her and her family. Between intrigue, danger, and shifting alliances, will Lor succeed in gaining the title of Queen and carrying out her plans for revenge? Ten girls. A deadly challenge. The heart of a king to conquer.
We would like to point out that this novel has a hardcover like the first volume of the saga.
Who do we recommend it to? For those who enjoyed the first volume and wish to continue the saga
Prezzo: 9,90 €
The Night of the Witches by Sara Raasch & Beth Revis (Newton Compton, August 20)
The Night of the Witches by Sara Raasch & Beth Revis
Here is the perfect novel for those who can’t wait for autumn to arrive and love the cool evening breezes. The Night of the Witches is a novel full of magic and a pinch of love in classic romance style, it could be perfect for fans of the romantasy genre. Fritzi is a witch and has lost everything: her coven, her family. Now she has only one mission: to take revenge on the Hexenjäger, the fanatical hunters who massacred her loved ones, facing their leader, the fearsome and mysterious Kommandant Dieter Kirch. Otto, on the other hand, has a secret. He is a Hexenjäger, but only on the surface. Ever since the Hexenjäger killed his mother, an innocent victim of a fire, he has sworn to destroy them from within. And now the time has come to strike. When Fritzi and Otto meet by chance, they don’t know whether to trust each other. But a common enemy forces them to work together on a journey that will take them from the city, where the Hexenjäger rule, to the Black Forest, which hides ancient and dangerous secrets.
Who do we recommend it to? For those looking for a novel with gothic vibes and a touch of magic and romance
Prezzo: 9,90 €
The Soul Traffickers by Carmella Lowkis (Nord, August 27)
The Soul Traffickers by Carmella Lowkis
An ambiguous story in which nothing is as it seems, here is The Soul Traffickers by Carmella Lowkis. It is a novel with gothic vibes set in Paris in 1866. It has been acclaimed by critics overseas and is now about to land in our country. One warm April morning, a woman shows up in the living room of Baroness Sylvie Devereux. It took a lot of courage to go knocking on her door, and the woman did it only because she has no choice: her father is ill and needs medicine that she cannot afford on her own. For Sylvie, it is a dive into a past that she would prefer to forget. She does not want to go back to the times when she lived by subterfuge, exploiting the fashion of spiritualism to extort money in exchange for advice from the famous Mothe sisters, mediums and occultists. Instead, her sister Charlotte begs her to help her with one last deception: the noble de Jacquinot family has promised a generous reward to drive away the spirit of a great-aunt killed during the Revolution. Although reluctant, Sylvie accepts. Soon, however, strange phenomena begin to occur in the de Jacquinot house, disturbing events that go far beyond the usual tricks that the Mothe sisters have prepared to scare their customers. Is it possible that there really is a ghost? Or is someone plotting in the shadows to catch them out? One thing is certain: within those walls are hidden secrets that must remain buried. At all costs … A novel with a refined Gothic atmosphere, in which nothing is as it seems. A story orchestrated on the edge of ambiguity. Two protagonists who play with the truth, intertwining secrets and lies, in a web of subterfuge that deceives even the reader.
Who do we recommend it to? For those looking for a historical and costume novel with gothic vibes
Prezzo: 19 €
The Long Moonless Night by Simon Jimenez (Mondadori, August 27)
The Long Moonless Night by Simon Jimenez
A new young adult fantasy that seeks to make chorality and legends its springboard. In ancient times, Luna and Acqua loved each other. In search of a way to be together, they created the Teatro Riflesso, a place suspended between worlds and time, to which even mortals are allowed access through dreams. When you arrive, you already know where to go: eighth row, central seat. Drawn by an unknown force, you sit down and watch the telling of this story: once upon a time, one of the First Men unstitched Luna from the sky with the tip of his spear. She then granted him a wish: a lineage invested with supernatural gifts that has since reigned over the Ancient Homeland, suffocating it, however, with its own thirst for power and throwing it into an ever deeper darkness. For centuries, the emperors have drawn their strength from Luna, imprisoned in the dungeons of the royal palace, but a deity cannot be locked away forever… As the Eighth Emperor prepares to embark on a pilgrimage in search of the secret of eternal life, and his heirs, the Three Terrors, plot to take his place, Luna convinces Jun, the First Terror’s favorite son, to help her escape and make amends for his past as a ferocious assassin. During their escape, the two encounter Keema, a young one-armed warrior of mysterious origins, who joins them on a perilous journey to the farthest reaches of the kingdom, in search of a way to bring freedom and light back to the Old Homeland.
Who do we recommend it to? For those looking for a legend-based love story and young adult fantasy.
Prezzo: 23 €
Happy Endings Are Not for Me by Yulin Kuang (Newton Compton, August 27)
Happy Endings Are Not for Me by Yulin Kuang
A new romantic comedy praised by writers like Tessa Bailey and Emily Henry who have written many rom-coms. Just think that this is only the author’s debut! It’s a romantic story with a touch of spice that is missing from classic Disney fairy tales.
Helen, a bestselling author, has her life turned upside down: she is frozen in classic writer’s block and suffers from gigantic performance anxiety. When she is asked to take care of the television adaptation of her novels, she accepts without thinking twice: moving to Los Angeles, to a place where she knows no one, could be the new beginning she needs. Too bad fate has other plans for her: the screenwriter of her stories is none other than Grant Shepard, the boy she hasn’t seen for thirteen years, since a tragic accident tied them together forever. Grant is exactly as Helen remembers him: charming, funny and popular. Working with him is complicated and at the same time thrilling for Helen, because the attraction is irresistible. Old grudges and a turbulent past, however, are difficult to overcome and lead to a bitter certainty: a happy ending is not for them. But what if it wasn’t really like that? She is an author in search of herself. He is the last man she should fall in love with. Will they have their happy ending?
Who do we recommend it to? For those looking for a rom-com set in Hollywood circles
Prezzo: 9,90 €
A Take-Away Boyfriend by Sher Lee (Mondadori, August 27)
A Take-Away Boyfriend by Sher Lee
Here’s a new LGBTQ+ rom-com perfect for young adults. Are you ready to fall in love with the two protagonists between a spoonful and a handful of flour?
Dylan Tang is seventeen and his life is anything but easy. Between going to school and helping his aunt run her Chinese-Singaporean takeout restaurant, he doesn’t have much time to think about love. Especially now that he’s decided to enter a competition for young pastry chefs organized by a celebrity chef from New York. Participating, and winning, by presenting his mother’s favorite cake, the blue snowy mooncake, a dessert that his family has been making for generations, would be a perfect way to celebrate her memory but also to give some visibility to Wok Warriors, Aunt Jade’s Chinese takeout, which hasn’t been doing so well lately. Running into Theo Somers, a very young scion of a wealthy New York family who is used to always getting everything he wants and, above all, gifted with a smile that can make anyone go gaga, was absolutely not in the plans. Just as it was not agreeing to accompany him to a deluxe wedding in the Hamptons pretending to be her fiancé. But how could she refuse him this favor? After all, Theo had made a generous donation to his aunt’s restaurant and then… boys with statuesque bodies have always been Dylan’s kryptonite. Saying no to him was just impossible. Everything would be fine if only Dylan could keep in mind that their relationship is a farce, that there are no worlds more distant than theirs and that getting too involved is anything but wise, especially with the competition around the corner…
Who do we recommend it to? For those looking for an LGBTQ+ rom-com set in the world of cooking.
Prezzo: 19 €
Other novels coming out in August:
- Never Betray My Heart, August 6
- Secrets of the Lake Girls, August 20
- Absolute Midnight, August 23
- The iron flower, 23 agosto
- Homecoming, August 27th
- Saving 6. A new match. Boys of Tommen (Vol. 3), August 27
- The Conquest of Ganymede, August 27
- I’m Your Favorite, August 27
- The Housekeepers, August 27
- Seduction Contest, August 27
- After Him. Boulevard (Book 2), August 27
- Ricochet. Resisting Away from You (Vol. 2), August 27
