So many new books, so little time! This week we see six great new novels from surviving the zombie apocalypse to a young soldier’s return home from war. Check out the titles below and let us know if there is anything we missed.
Violins of Autumn by Amy McAuley
Betty, an American teenager living in Britain, is determined to contribute to the cause when the Germans begin bombing London in World War II. Instead of collecting scrap metal or running air raid drills like most girls her age, Betty lies about her age and trains to become a spy and member of the Special Operations Executive. Now known by her secret agent persona, Adele Blanchard, she soon finds herself parachuting over German-occupied France in the dark of night to join the secret Resistance movement.
Adele’s missions in Paris and throughout the French countryside delivering top-secret messages lead to several close calls with the Gestapo, but it’s when she crosses paths with a young American pilot that Adele fully realizes the brutality of this war and the seriousness of her circumstances. Plus her changing feelings for this pilot are as uncertain as their future. Can Adele elude the Gestapo long enough to enjoy the future they are trying to protect?
It’s summer, sweet summer!
Self-proclaimed Superflirt Dee Barton can’t wait to spend the summer months practicing her Nine Rules of Flirting on all the cute guys who come to stay at her family’s campground. Why not? Flirting is fun and makes everyone involved feel good — which is pretty much the exact opposite of her relationship with her toxic ex-boyfriend, Blaine. Sabrina Owens’s summer plans include keeping her over-the-top karaoke DJ mother in check, maintaining her own status as the queen of the popular crowd, and being the perfect girlfriend to Blaine.
Each girl sees the other as the enemy. But when a secret blog embroils them in a frivolous lawsuit, they must team up and embark on a risky, flirt-filled plot to set things right again.
Laura Bowers’ new novel is a heartfelt and hilarious story of friendship, family…and flirting!
Something Like Normal by Trish Doller
When Travis returns home from a stint in Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother’s stolen his girlfriend and his car, and he’s haunted by nightmares of his best friend’s death. It’s not until Travis runs into Harper, a girl he’s had a rocky relationship with since middle school, that life actually starts looking up. And as he and Harper see more of each other, he begins to pick his way through the minefield of family problems and post-traumatic stress to the possibility of a life that might resemble normal again. Travis’ dry sense of humor and incredible sense of honor, make him an irresistible and eminently lovable hero.
In a modern world — where witches are hunted down and burned at the stake — two lives interact. Cleo is from a family of witches, and is desperate to develop the ‘Fae’ and become a witch herself. Lucas is the son of the Chief Prosecutor for the Inquisition and his privileged life is very different from the witches he is being trained to prosecute. And then one day, both Cleo and Lucas develop the Fae. In one fell stroke, their lives are inextricably bound together, whether they like it or not.
The Wild Queen: The Days and Nights of Mary, Queen of Scots (Young Royals) by Carolyn Meyer
Mary Stuart was just five years old when she was sent to France to be raised alongside her future husband. But when the frail young king dies, eighteen-year-old Mary is stripped of her title as Queen of France and set adrift in the harsh world, alone. Determined to reign over what is rightfully hers, Mary returns to Scotland. Hoping that a husband will help her secure the coveted English throne, she marries again, but the love and security she longs for elude her. Instead, the fiery young queen finds herself embroiled in a murder scandal that could cost her the crown. And her attempts to bargain with her formidable “sister queen,” Elizabeth I of England, could cost her her very life.
This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High, but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life — and death — inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?