On the Shelf: August 2026

With 25 books under my reading belt, August is tied with June for the second highest count of 2026 thus far. The "Are you okay, Suleikha?" award goes to May with a whopping 29. Since I was dealing with numbers anyway, I went ahead and totaled up the year to date: 173. Would I remember the plots of all 173 if pressed by internet people who worry about shit like that? Probably not. That does not negate how each title made me feel—whether it was joy, stress, fear, or disappointment. This is not a competition. This is not a test. I read voraciously because I have always read voraciously. And, holy crap, I voraciously read a lot of frontlist books this past month.

Naina Kumar's Just a Highland Fling had me sniffling by chapter five. The cover kinda gives rom-com, but Neelu and Jacob's story packs an emotional punch too. I told the author that it turned from a gut-punch into a tattoo needle pain because she's so good at slipping in those little moments that hurt. I also love that her protags are from South Indian Christian backgrounds. Desi romance leans North Indian and Hindu, but there's so much more cultural diversity to explore! Elsewhere, Heir by Sabaa Tahir got me primed for Empire. It actually took me a few tries to get into it. It was this latest attempt that clicked and I couldn't put it down, just like the Ember in the Ashes quartet. Proof that sometimes it's the mood that's off, not the book. Speaking of mood, Karina Halle's new gothic romance definitely set one. Atmospheric and sexy, rooted in Irish folklore that I haven't come across in romance before. Have I been privately thinking of it as Bonertide? Yes, of course.

The Reading Rundown
Her Brother's Billionaire Best Friend by Abigail Barnette (erotic romance)
The Daddy's Girl by Sara Cate (erotic romance)
A Curse of Beasts & Magic by Jeaniene Frost (paranormal romance, urban fantasy)
Bonetide by Karina Halle (gothic romance, paranormal romance)
Learn to Love You by Jade Hernandez (contemporary romance)
Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher (horror, suspense)
Just a Highland Fling by Naina Kumar (contemporary romance)
When the Duke Loved Me by Lydia Lloyd (historical romance)
Captured By the Werewolf Highwaymen by Eva Leigh (out 9/9, paranormal polyam romance)
[Redacted] by TK (out 12/1, suspense, for professional review purposes)
Big Trouble in a Little Mafia by Tanvier Peart (dark rom-com, mafia romance)
[Redacted] by TK (out 10/13, suspense, horror, for professional review purposes)
Heir by Sabaa Tahir (young adult fantasy)
Silent Flames by Cate C. Wells (contemporary romance, dark romance)

Backlist titles & rereads: I went to my physical bookshelf for rereads of Joanna Bourne's six Spymaster books, historical romances set during the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. Then it was back to the Kindle for my first time through Remember When by Judith McNaught and Captured by Beverly Jenkins. The latter sent me to rereads of Through the Storm, and Forbidden. No regrets. Reading Ms. Bev is always fulfilling and also a huge comfort. I snapped up The Secret by Julie Garwood on sale, just like I did the McNaught, and that was the end of my backlist adventures for August. I'm not mad, because my frontlist title consumption more than made up for things.

Currently reading: I'm almost done rereading Mercy Fletcher Meets Her Match by Aydra Richards.

On the TBR/wish list
Well Versed by Jen DeLuca
Lady X by Molly Fader
One For the Road by Eliot Fletcher
Captive Traitor King by Brigid Kemmerer
The Lines We Cross by Ausma Zehanat Khan
Empire by Sabaa Tahir
Nobody's Baby by Olivia Waite

On the Shelf: July 2026

July was really a reread month for me, which means I needed comfort and familiarity. When I'm struggling with my mental health "meeting" new characters is a lot of work. Luckily, the latest installment of the Veronica Speedwell series was a welcome visit with old friends, Veronica and Stoker. (I'm actually not cool enough to be their friend. Veronica would hate me.) And I eventually did rally and get to know several intriguing fictional strangers. Some of whom the general reading audience won't meet for a while—like the denizens of Beth Revis's Dragons of the Deep. OMG. I don't want to say too much this far in advance. Remind me to squee in late September or October.

I will, however, rave now about Namrata Patel's The Truth About Isha. I've known Namrata for years and enjoyed every book of hers that I've read. This one hit close to home, because Alya is a protagonist who lives in her head. Insular, self-protective, prone to fantasy over reality. (Just tag me directly next time, Nam. lol.) The titular truth about Isha forces her out of her shell, but it's not all "Hooray, she's an extrovert now!" It's a rough ride for Alya, painful and poignant, but I'm glad I accompanied her on it.

The Reading Rundown
The Trouble With Anna by Rachel Griffiths (historical romance)
[Redacted] by TK (out 9/10, suspense, for professional review purposes)
Shadows & Light by C.M. Nascosta (paranormal romance, novella)
The Truth About Isha by Namrata Patel (out 11/17, mainstream/women's fiction)
A Ghastly Catastrophe by Deanna Raybourn (historical mystery)
Dragons of the Deep by Beth Revis (out 1/26/27, romantasy, fantasy romance)
The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer (contemporary fantasy, magical realism)
Nowhere Burning by Catriona Ward (suspense, horror)

Backlist titles & rereads: Claiming the Courtesan by Anna Campbell was first up, and I wrote 75 percent of a thinky newsletter about it. I may not get to 100. I did keep going with historical romances, of course. Like Yours Until Dawn by Teresa Medeiros, His Forgotten Bride by Aydra Richards, and three of The Game of Dukes books by Grace Callaway. I didn't get to four because I had a hankering for paranormal high jinks. So I tore through all six of the Blue Blood Conspiracy books by Bec McMaster and Desire in the Blood by Zoey Draven. All of those titles were rereads! The only new-to-me book was Amanda Quick's Dangerous from 1993. (Quick's Surrender was one of the first historical romances I ever read.)

Currently reading: Heir by Sabaa Tahir and A Curse of Beasts and Magic by Jeaniene Frost.

On the TBR/wish list
Well Versed by Jen DeLuca
One For the Road by Eliot Fletcher
Captive Traitor King by Brigid Kemmerer
The Lines We Cross by Ausma Zehanat Khan
Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher
Empire by Sabaa Tahir
Nobody's Baby by Olivia Waite

On the Shelf: June 2026

It looks like my final count for June was 25 books—and what an amazing reading month it was! Kennedy Ryan's Score was worth the wait and worth the hype, gutting me quite neatly with Verity's journey. I'm not bipolar, I have other mental health issues, but I related so hard to her struggles. Every time I see someone with similar problems fall in love, it gives me hope. That's what a good romance does. It ends with hope, not just happiness. So, as if the smash-hit from Ryan wasn't enough, I also got knocked over by Kate Clayborn's The Paris Match and Shirlene Obuobi's paranormal romance Die For Me. Both books were so exquisitely written that my own abilities felt inadequate in comparison. And they're very different stories! Two clashing personalities trying to fix a destination wedding disaster vs. a driven cardiologist being swept away by a mysterious younger man. If you've been missing classic paranormals with vampire romance vibes, you need to meet Sean and Julian. They also kinda reminded me of Tia Williams's A Love Song For Ricki Wilde.

Before I dive into the lists, I also want to shout out An Ordinary Sort of Evil for delivering on the romance front. Kelley Armstrong is one of my favorite authors and I've followed her around different genres and subgenres. Her historical mystery series is slow-burn and so fun. This latest book had confessions of feelings!!! I was kicking my feet and slapping my couch in glee.

The Reading Rundown
Witch of the Wolves by Kaylee Archer (paranormal romance, historical romantasy-ish)
An Ordinary Sort of Evil by Kelley Armstrong (historical mystery)
Wild, Wild Cowboy by Elizabeth Bright (contemporary romance)
The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn (contemporary romance)
How Simi Got Her Groom Back by Sonali Dev (mainstream fiction, women's fiction)
Seduced By the Werewolf Highwaymen by Eva Leigh (out 7/7, paranormal romance, polyam/why choose romance, novella)
Die For Me by Shirlene Obuobi (out 7/16, paranormal romance)
Score by Kennedy Ryan (contemporary romance)
[Redacted] by TK (suspense, gothic-ish, for professional review purposes)

Backlist titles & rereads: A bunch of old Harlequin Intrigues were on sale in ebook form, so my first two reads of June were Heart of the Night and Echoes in the Dark by Gayle Wilson. I bought Wilson's Only a Whisper in paperback years ago, and it's definitely the strongest of the three—and still a fave—so, naturally, I had to reread it! (And, FWIW, it holds up. Except for the author's constant focus on the Colombian MMC's dark skin. Extra weird because the cover model is a white dude. lol.) Of course I had to get in my monthly dose of historicals, so I kicked off with a reread of The Ground She Walks Upon by Meagan McKinney and then the new-to-me I've Got My Duke to Keep Me Warm and A Good Rogue is Hard to Find by Kelly Bowen. The former was really good, featuring a pair who was a team from the jump and not automatically at odds—and had no duke actually involved (which I do not mind at ALL). Urban fantasy was my next stop, with rereads of Chaotic by Kelley Armstrong and Anne Bishop's Lake Silence and my first visit to Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series. I read the first four books in a row and then the spin-off First Drop of Crimson. I closed out the month by settling back into familiar territory, revisiting Simply Insatiable by Kate Pearce, Warrior Princess Assassin by Brigid Kemmerer, and Some Like it Wild by Teresa Medeiros.

Currently reading: Claiming the Courtesan by Anna Campbell.

On the TBR/wish list
Well Versed by Jen DeLuca
One For the Road by Eliot Fletcher
A Curse of Beasts and Magic by Jeaniene Frost
Captive Traitor King by Brigid Kemmerer
The Lines We Cross by Ausma Zehanat Khan
Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher
Nobody's Baby by Olivia Waite