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Susan Wiggs, author of The Lost and Found Bookshop

In the wake of a shocking tragedy, Natalie Harper inherits her mother’s charming but financially strapped bookshop in San Francisco. She also becomes caretaker for her ailing grandfather Andrew, who has begun displaying signs of decline. Natalie thinks it’s best to move him to an assisted living facility to ensure the care he needs. To pay for it, she plans to close the bookstore and sell the derelict but valuable building on historic Perdita Street, which is in need of constant fixing. There’s only one problem --- Grandpa Andrew owns the building and refuses to sell. To Natalie’s surprise, her sorrow begins to dissipate as her life becomes an unexpected journey of new connections, discoveries and revelations, from unearthing artifacts hidden in the bookshop’s walls, to discovering the truth about her family, her future and her own heart.

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Rachel Beanland, author of Florence Adler Swims Forever

Atlantic City, 1934. Every summer, Esther and Joseph Adler rent their house out to vacationers and move into the small apartment above their bakery. Despite the cramped quarters, this is the apartment where they raised their two daughters, Fannie and Florence, and it always feels like home. Now Florence has returned from college, determined to spend the summer training to swim the English Channel, and Fannie, pregnant again after recently losing a baby, is on bed rest for the duration of her pregnancy. After Joseph insists they take in a mysterious young woman whom he recently helped emigrate from Nazi Germany, the apartment is bursting at the seams. When tragedy strikes, Esther pulls the family into an elaborate web of secret-keeping and lies, bringing long-buried tensions to the surface.

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J. Courtney Sullivan, author of Friends and Strangers

Elisabeth, an accomplished journalist and new mother, is struggling to adjust to life in a small town after nearly 20 years in New York City. She neglects her work, losing untold hours to her Brooklyn moms' Facebook group, her "influencer" sister's Instagram feed, and text messages with the best friend she never sees anymore. Enter Sam, a senior at the local women's college, whom Elisabeth hires to babysit. Sam is struggling to decide between the path she's always planned on and a romantic entanglement that threatens her ambition. In short order, they grow close. But when Sam finds an unlikely kindred spirit in Elisabeth's father-in-law, the true differences between the women's lives become starkly revealed and a betrayal has devastating consequences.

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July 14, 2020

In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of July 13th and July 20th that we think will be of interest to Bookreporter.com readers, along with Bonus News, where we call out a contest, feature or review that we want to let you know about so you have it on your radar.

This week, we are calling attention to our Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks feature for July, which includes Indie Next, LibraryReads, the Barnes & Noble Book Club, the Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club, the Jenna Bush Hager "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club, the "Good Morning America" Book Club, and more.

Also, we are spotlighting the release of FLORENCE ADLER SWIMS FOREVER, the much-talked-about debut novel of Rachel Beanland, this month's Barnes & Noble Book Club pick and an upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. Don't miss Carol's "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Rachel in Friday's Bookreporter Weekly Update newsletter.

Our latest "Bookreporter Talks To" interview is with Bruce Holsinger, whose novel, THE GIFTED SCHOOL, is now available in paperback. This Bets On pick from last year follows a close-knit community of friends and their parents as applications open for entry into a school for gifted students. What happens to those families is at the heart of the story. Bruce and Carol explore the wider problems that lead parents to push their children, students dealing with the overwhelming pressure of proving themselves, and how this stressful approach to school combined with modern technology of phones affects learning. Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast.

We are so excited to be hosting our first LIVE virtual reader event. "Bookaccino Live: A Lively Talk About Books" will be held TOMORROW, Wednesday, July 15th at 2pm ET via Zoom. Carol will be presenting books that she thinks are great summer reads to dive into between now and the beginning of August, and also will talk about a couple of fall titles that you may want on your radar now. Click here to register for the event. Given the level of interest from readers, we have expanded the room to hold 300 attendees --- and there are limited spots left, so please sign up now. We will send registration details in the morning!

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Kevin Kwan, author of Sex and Vanity

On her very first morning on the jewel-like island of Capri, Lucie Churchill sets eyes on George Zao. The daughter of an American-born Chinese mother and a blue-blooded New York father, Lucie has always sublimated the Asian side of herself in favor of the white side, and she adamantly denies having feelings for George. But several years later, when George unexpectedly appears in East Hampton, where Lucie is weekending with her new fiancé, Lucie finds herself drawn to George again. Soon, Lucie is spinning a web of deceit that involves her family, her fiancé, the co-op board of her Fifth Avenue apartment building, and ultimately herself as she tries mightily to deny George entry into her world --- and her heart.

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Henry James

Paris is the greatest temple ever built to material joys and the lust of the eyes.

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Henry James

Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

In suburban Indiana, we meet Lina, the homemaker and mother of two whose marriage, after a decade, has lost its passion. Starved for affection, Lina battles daily panic attacks and, after reconnecting with an old flame through social media, embarks on an affair that quickly becomes all-consuming. In North Dakota, we meet Maggie, the 17-year-old high school student who allegedly has a clandestine physical relationship with her handsome, married English teacher; the ensuing criminal trial will turn their quiet community upside down. Finally, in the northeast, we meet Sloane, the successful, refined restaurant owner whose husband enjoys watching her have sex with other men and women.

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Joseph Campbell

The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.

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Joseph Campbell

Martin Mull

Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.

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Martin Mull

International Thriller Writers Awards 2020

During a ceremony at “Virtual” ThrillerFest on July 11th, the International Thriller Writers announced the winners of the 2020 Thriller Awards. The awards were presented by literary luminaries, including Sandra Brown, Lisa Gardner, Walter Mosley, R.L. Stine, Scott Turow and Don Winslow.

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