summer reading ☀️ 📚

of preorder sales and towering TBRs! (25% off Catching Feelings and more!)

Summer is properly here, my TBR overfloweth, and just in time to properly bury myself in books… there’s a Barnes & Noble preorder sale!

As many of you already know, B&N holds these sales a few times a year—if you register for a free account, you get 25% off all preorders of upcoming releases, and a premium membership earns you 35% off! Allow me to influence your TBR?

For starters, I would be remiss not to use this opportunity to remind you that Catching Feelings, my second sports romance, is eligible in this sale. :) If you’ve been here for a minute, you know just how important preorders are for a book’s success—they show stores and publishers that there’s excitement, tell stores how many copies to order, and boost the book’s visibility in algorithms. If you appreciate an author’s work, preordering is the best way to support them.

Catching Feelings is the second book in the Varsity series (it stands alone, but follows the events of Heart Check). It’s my friends-to-lovers football romance featuring Sabrina (head of the Spirit Committee, surprising ally to Harper in book one) and Tyler (the mysterious new football transfer with a few secrets…). My publisher calls it “a swoony young adult romance full of undeniable chemistry and school spirit perfect for fans of Lynn Painter and Friday Night Lights,” and who am I to argue?? If you’re an eldest daughter, people-pleaser, or have an avoidant attachment style… this one’s for you. 🫶

It comes out September 1, and if you preorder it now, not only will you guarantee your copy of these gorgeous sprayed edges, but you’ll also get all sorts of preorder goodies! Just submit a short form here after ordering.

But rest assured I’m loading up my own cart, and I have a LOT of recommendations: both for books I’ve read and loved, and those I can’t wait to get to. Because I’m corny, I’ve (loosely) organized them into recommendations for the different Varsity characters. Buckle up.

To start, for our Catching Feelings FMC, who is girlbossing a little too close to the sun and definitely pretending she’s entirely uninterested in romance:

• Let’s Kiss and Tell: “A sex columnist and a news reporter realize a fake relationship can help them both professionally and personally—but they aren’t prepared for the real feelings that start to develop beyond the headlines—from the bestselling author of It’s Different This Time.” Absolute catnip premise, cannot wait to read.

• The Paddock Club: “A Formula 1 romance set in the Slipstream universe following Cat Cromwell, a fashion influencer on a secret mission to ruin a driver’s reputation, but she may fall for his rival instead.” Absolutely obsessed with this wild ride. Maril is giving us the F1 romance we deserve.

• I Hope The Email Finds You in Hell: “When staying late at the office leads to witnessing an exorcism, Brie Benson's mundane life takes a hellish turn…literally.” SO fun, romantic, and clever!

• Unfinished Business: “In this funny, warmly chaotic novel, a floundering office worker discovers her mother’s ghost is trapped in the company Slack server, and must free her by resolving her own troubled love life.” Clare Osongco’s adult debut is deeply original and beautiful as always!

And for our MMC, Tyler, a deeply unapologetic yearner with a few skeletons in his closet:

• Bad Words: “A sharp and deeply felt debut about art, ambition, and the connections that both inspire and undo us.” The hype is so deserved, y’all. I got an early copy of this and already can’t wait to reread it.

• The Museum of Modern Love. “Tonight, inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art—somewhere between the hours of 8 PM and 5 AM—Auden Peck will fall in love with Miki Kawamura… a yearning rush that builds into a full tidal wave of desire.” I mean, that tagline could describe Tyler perfectly. I cannot wait to read this one!

• What Happened to Those Girls: “Pretty Little Liars meets The Blair Witch Project in this harrowing thriller from the author of Murder Land, brimming with betrayal, unsettling town secrets, and a killer lurking in the woods.” I’m too much of a wimp for this but Carlyn is brilliant enough to make me excited to ruin my sleep anyway!

• In Every Future, It’s Us: “A yearly New Year’s Eve game pushes two lifelong best friends to change their lives forever in this gorgeously sweeping romance, told through past and present timelines, from critically acclaimed author Katie Naymon.” PEAK YEARNING. Absolutely adored Katie Naymon’s next.

For Alex, lover of found family and purveyor of drama in books (because he hates it in his life):

• The Carousel of Forgotten Places: “A romantic, time travelling fantasy filled with humour and a charming cast of found family, the perfect read for those craving a whimsical, cosy romantasy in the vein of Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries. First rule: Don’t mess with the timeline. Second rule: Don’t mess around with the time-god.” The coziest, most delightful found family story from my favorite, S. Hati.

• We’re All Going to Die Tonight: “A twisty, off-the-rails mystery about seven teens, forced to spend a stormy—and deadly—night together. Perfect for fans of There’s Someone Inside Your House and No Place Left to Hide.” Love Veronica’s thrillers, and cannot wait to read this one!

• You’ll Love it Here: “From the bestselling author of I Hope This Finds You Well comes a sharply funny, surprisingly tender novel about a woman stuck in place, her nosy neighbors, and the journey to find where she belongs—with all the heart of a grown-up The Breakfast Club.” The perfect follow-up from one of the funniest, warmest writers I know.

• Slow Burn: “In this YA rom-com two teenage contestants compete on a reality cooking show and dish out a fun enemies to lovers romance.” I love Trinity Nguyen and I love this wonderfully chaotic, heartfelt, romantic book!

For Ryan, who’s unapologetically collecting special editions and picking up flirting tips:

• Die for Me: “A stay-up-all-night, smart, spicy romance following a doctor who finds herself falling for an alluring, much-younger man with a deadly secret.” I loved Obuobi’s last romance, and this one sounds phenomenal.

• Extra-Curricular: “When a former pop star enrolls in college, the last thing she expects is A-plus chemistry with her psychology professor in this sexy and tender romance from #1 New York Times bestselling author Rachel Lynn Solomon.” Just as tender, romantic, and beautifully written as any Rachel Lynn Solomon book. You will not be disappointed!

• Falling Like Snow: “A girl juggles planning her town’s first-ever winter festival and untangling her complicated feelings for both her best friend and the star hockey player in this charming book in the swoony Bramble Falls series that started with the New York Times bestselling Falling Like Leaves.” Come back to Bramble Falls for even more swoons!!

• If Not You: “Five years of history. Four weeks on the road. Two rival copywriters learning love is the hardest sell of all.” ellen o’clover breaks my heart and puts it back together yet again.

For Harper, definitely a romantasy girlie who cannot resist some enemies-to-lovers energy:

• The Hollow King: “The second book in a darkly romantic duology that explores disability, obsession, and the twisted limits of loyalty. From the New York Times bestselling author of Your Blood, My Bones!” You all know I cannot wait to have this one in my hands. Get excited, everyone!!

• Wicked Endeavors: “This high-stakes romantasy follows a vengeful teen who cons her way into an elite society of tyrannical witches. But her warring feelings for two people—an enemy prince and a childhood friend—could ruin everything. Perfect for fans of The Shadows Between Us and Powerless.” DO I NEED TO SAY MORE. kamilah cole is unstoppable.

• The Dark in Her Veins: “From critically acclaimed, bestselling author M.K. Lobb comes a noir romantic fantasy set in a world in which sin is a fatal disease, and the rich hire the poor to carry out their basest instincts—until the forbidden romance between a sinner and a mysterious figure threatens to destroy everything.” I could eat M.K.’s prose with a spoon; loved her adult debut.

• The Winged Game: “Fantasy meets sports romance in this sizzling slow-burn novel in which the disgraced star of a brutal magical sport must team up with the rival who destroyed her career, from the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of The God and the Gumiho.” One of the most delightful books I read all year. RUN!

For Dawson, who loves a fraught partnership and a book he can’t put down:

• 89 Seconds to Midnight. “When a pit fighter needs cash for urgent, life-saving medicine, she reluctantly agrees to spy for the resistance—even as the governor’s son watches her every move—in this fast-paced young adult dystopian romance that’s Silver Elite meets Coldwire.” I love Crystal’s work, and cannot wait for this one!

• The River She Became: “A high stakes, action-packed romantasy from bestselling author Emily Varga where a relic-hunter searches for an ancient fae object to restore the magic to her world, but must learn to trust her own powers—and her heart.” I adored Varga’s first book, and this one sounds right up my alley!

• But I Hate Him: “From New York Times and #1 Indies bestselling author Page Powars, a sizzling queer YA romcom about academic rivals who face off at the most competitive camp in the country.” Featuring a himbo hockey player and the most deadly prank war you can imagine. Adored this one.

• See You at the Sunset: “Two enemies-to-lovers, one unforgettable summer escape…” Set at a Palm Springs retirement community and written by Susan Lee? I’m so sold.

And for Marissa, sleuth extraordinaire, lover of twists and unapologetic women:

• What Haunts the Ice: “a high stakes young adult thriller about what happens when the pursuit of knowledge goes too far, set against the alluring—and endlessly dangerous—backdrop of Antarctica.” I read an early version of this, and will eternally champion anything S. Hati writes!

• The Hardest Ones to Fool: “For fans of the hit Netflix series Inventing Anna and The Girls I've Been comes a bold young adult thriller about a teen scammer who won't let boys, friends, or even murder get in her way.” One of the most anticipated on my TBR. I’ll follow Christina Li wherever she goes.

• These Vile Hearts: “A delightfully wicked, fizzy debut romantasy—an enemies to lovers tale about a desperate mortal woman and a cursed fae prince.” That desperate mortal woman makes a deal to survive her T1 diabetes—I love this book.

• There are Ghosts Here: “Willa has no memory of anything before arriving at Dorsey House, and when she meets two sinister girls who seem to already know her, she slowly begins to lose her grip on what is real . . . and what is a lie. A haunting contemporary speculative thriller for fans of Kill Creatures and We Were Liars.” Absolutely ripped through this one. Tooley at her very best.

I could honestly go on and on and am already seeing more wonderful books pop up in my feed, but I do my best try to cycle through some new recs in every sale as I replenish my cart and abandon my good judgment! What else are you preordering? Have you read and loved any of these? Thank you for listening to my book talk, thank you for your support, and happy summer reading! Here’s that Catching Feelings preorder link one more time—be sure to order by June 26 for the deal. :)

Much love and more soon,

🤍 Emily