Best Books to Read Now: 2018 Women With Books Summer Reading Challenge

This time of year, I'm always being asked - WHAT'S A GOOD BOOK TO READ???  
Between road trips, vacations and lazy days in the shade, it seems like everyone agrees that it's the perfect time to immerse yourself in a great book. 

So in response to popular demand, I'm introducing....

For the next three months, join me as we explore new genres, discover new authors and bask in the glory of love... mystery... adventure...  Of course you can pick whatever book you want in each category but I'm going to give some recommendations... you know me. I can't RESIST giving book recommendations...

Ready?  Let's start with what everyone's been obssessing about!

A royal book! 
 

I've done a lot of talking about the Royal wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry this spring, including hosting several inspiring authors of royal romance. Here are some of their awesome books:

A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole Amazon || iBooks

Royally Wed by Teri Wilson Amazon || iBooks

Command Me by Geneva Lee Amazon || iBooks

The Royal We - Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan Amazon || iBooks

BEACH BOOKS

Every time I do the lightning round in a podcast interview I ask people if they prefer a book with abs on the cover or a beach scene. So let's pick some books with beach scenes this summer. My recommendations...

Kristy Woodson Harvey's Peachtree Bluff series: Amazon || iBooks

All the Breaking Waves by Kerry Lonsdale: Amazon || iBooks

Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers by Sara Ackerman: Amazon || iBooks

New To You Genre

Branch out this summer. Do you want to try...

A mystery? Try Deanna Raybourn's Victorian ones or Gigi Pandian's Treasure hunt ones!

Fantasy? Try the new series by Jeffe Kennedy or L. Penelope

Historical women's fiction? The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

Paranormal romance & Urban Fantasy?  The Shadowchasers' series by Seressia Glass or anything by (my all-time favorite) Ilona Andrews

Book from a Former Women With Books Guest

I've already mentioned a bunch on this page! But check out the Women With Books episodes for a deeper dive. 

A Diverse / Inclusive Read
 

It's really important to me, as a reader, an author and a podcast host to promote and recommend books by all types of authors. Many of the recommendations I'm making in this post include authors of color, but for even more books check out... 

WOC Romance
20 Books by LGBT Authors You May Not Have Read...but should

 

Debut Author

 

This is another branch of the Women With Books mission statement, to support debut authors. To that end, I'm very excited to suggest these authors who all debuted in the past year!

Alexis Daria's debut,  Take the Lead: Amazon || iBooks

Kate Clayborn's debut,  Beginner's Luck: Amazon || iBooks

Jasmine Guillory's debut, The Wedding Date:  Amazon || iBooks

Madame de Boudoir's debut, King of the Sea  Amazon || iBooks

A Book that Inspired a Movie/ TV Show

I always love reading books that will be or have already been interpreted on the big (or little) screen. Part of it is keeping up with the zeitgeist, participating in the discussions at the water cooler. And part of it is my analytical brain that likes to see the differences in adaptations. Either way, I enjoyed BOTH the books and the adaptations of the first and third of these (and I'll definitely be buying a ticket to Crazy Rich Asians!)

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty: Amazon || iBooks

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan:  Amazon || iBooks

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline: Amazon || iBooks
 

A Book with A Pretty Dress on the Cover

 

As I mentioned above, I always ask guests if they prefer abs covers or beach scene covers. But you know what my favorite type of cover is? Pretty Dress Covers. And these three are GORGEOUS, don't you think??  (Another favorite is Deanna Raybourns' Lady Julia Grey series, mentioned above.)

Chanel Cleeton's Next Year in Havana 
Taylor Jenkins Reid's Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Sonali Dev's A Bollywood Affair

So. Are you ready? Inspired? Feeling competitive?  I'd love to hear what you're reading this summer and what you recommend! Comment below or on any of my social media and use the hashtag: #WWBSummerReads to update your friends and the Women With Books community on what you're reading this summer! (And check out the podcast where I talk about all this!)

AND... while you're updating your TBR pile, make sure you reserve your copy of my next release... THE ROYAL RUNAWAY!  Anyone who has good taste in books will enjoy it! 
 

Cover Reveal - THE ROYAL RUNAWAY!

It's time to announce the secret that I've been carrying for so many months...

Yes, you may commence with the squealing and ooohs and aaahs. I won every book cover lottery, the stars were aligned, the feng shui was perfect, and my publisher clearly loves me the most of all the authors they've ever published, in the history of the world. 

I'm not being cocky, my cover is just THAT GOOD. 

Don't you want to instagram it? Model with it? Print it out and put it on a wall? (Believe me, you're welcome to do all those things!)
 

More than that, don't you want to READ IT???

Honestly, I can't wait for the world to read it. The early readers have been sent into a tizzy by this story of the aftermath of a #RoyalWedding gone wrong. THE ROYAL RUNAWAY is the story that I've always wanted to write - a perfect blend of suspense, romance and mystery. 

THE ROYAL RUNAWAY is a princess story AND a spy story. It has kissing AND dead bodies. It has good and evil, tears and laughs. And kissing. Did I mention kissing?

Oh, you want to pre-order it?  One-click here: Amazon. (And THANK YOU for pre-ordering. It helps my publisher know that people love my stories and want more of them!)
 

Make sure that you're signed up for The Inner Circle newsletter, where I will be sharing exclusive content and inspiration for THE ROYAL RUNAWAY  in the months to come. 

And as this will be a paperback book, I will also be doing book giveaways for my social media followers and newsletter subscribers so follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter!

As always, thank you for your support and excitement! I can't wait to see what the next few months bring!

Best Books to Read Now - May 2018

Reminder/ Caveat/ Disclaimer: This is my (hopefully) monthly list of books I’ve read and enjoyed. These are not reviews, I do not include books I didn’t enjoy because life is too short to speak badly of books!

My omnivorous book tastes are showing this month. Let's see what I'm currently obsessed with....

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Amazon || iBooks

I already posted about this last month, but this is probably still the number one book that people want to talk to me about. Pros, cons, 80's nostalgia, a VR future, everyone is having THOUGHTS about Ready Player One. 

Island of Sweet Pies & Soldiers by Sara Ackerman

Amazon || iBooks

This book has everything - a World War II narrative in a beautiful location, friends, family, love and a lion. Just trust me and read it.

What is everyone reading this weekend? Me? I'll be finishing up Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers! It's so good! #amreading #bookclubbook

34 Likes, 8 Comments - Lindsay Emory (@lindsayemory) on Instagram: "What is everyone reading this weekend? Me? I'll be finishing up Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers!..."

Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes

Amazon || iBooks

I practically live-read this on instagram, sharing the bits and OH YASSS parts that I loved (and needed to hear?) It's a short, easy read that will inspire and motivate you and give you insight into the mind of a woman with a huge cultural impact on the world. 

Kiss of Steel by Bec McMaster

Amazon || iBooks

I have mentioned multiple times, but two of my favorite paranormal series are drawing to a close soon and I've been on the hunt for new ones to take their place. I am happy to announce that I've found two new ones that I'm very excited about (one to share next month as I haven't quite finished the book.)  I devoured this Steampunk/ urban fantasy/ vampire book and I cannot wait to read the rest of the series by the pool this summer.  

Oh I'm so glad that there are such good books in the world, aren't you?
 If you're not already, make sure you're signed up for my Inner Circle newsletter because BIG THINGS are coming. 

And my Women With Books podcast is closing out Season 2 with amazing guests and special royal wedding coverage.  I'm going to have an exclusive giveaway for Women With Books newsletter subscribers at the end of the month you won't want to miss out on!

Best Books to Read Now - April 2018

Reminder/ Caveat/ Disclaimer: This is my (hopefully) monthly list of books I’ve read and enjoyed. These are not reviews, I do not include books I didn’t enjoy because life is too short to speak badly of books!

Because I skipped last month, I’m going to cover five books this month! Are you ready? These are good books, y’all. I think I’ve got something for everyone.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – Taylor Jenkins Reid

Amazon || iBooks

I really can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t like this. There’s old Hollywood gossip, glamour, love and drama. This is one that would be perfect for vacations and multi-generation book clubs. And I’m probably going to re-read it again at some point, like a classic movie.

The Trouble with Twelfth Grave – Darynda Jones

Amazon || iBooks

The penultimate book of the Charley Davidson series has got me feeling… a little emotional, to be honest. The series is coming to a close … next year? (I just checked. It looks like this was moved out from October ’18). There are very few series that I’ve read twelve books of and have been still this invested. Between this and the Kate Daniels series ending, I’m going to be jonesing for a new paranormal series to adopt. Y’all hit a girl up with some suggestions!

Tempest – Beverly Jenkins

Amazon || iBooks

A mail order bride in Wyoming who greets her husband to be by shooting him. With that premise you know you can’t go wrong, especially with Beverly Jenkins’  expert hand guiding you through a passionate love story rich in amazing historical details. As always, I was swept away and I learned so much! My favorite blend.

Next Year in Havana – Chanel Cleeton

Amazon || iBooks

Much in the vein of Tempest, above, this is another fantastic historical story with strong romance story threads and fascinating glimpses of Cuba during revolutionary times and today. Even I, a former Latin American studies major, found so much to sink my teeth into and I can’t wait for the sequel next year!!

The Secret to Southern Charm  - Kristy Woodson Harvey

Amazon || iBooks

I fell in love with the first book in the Peachtree Bluff series last year and knew I had to not only read the second book but invite Kristy Woodson Harvey onto my WOMEN WITH BOOKS podcast. Listen to the episode and you’ll hear ALL MY THOUGHTS on this book (which is out today! Congratulations Kristy Woodson Harvey!!)

OH! And the first book in the series, SLIGHTLY SOUTH OF SIMPLE, which i featured on the blog last year is on sale for $1.99!! Grab it because you'll want to read both together! 

What have you been reading lately? I can’t wait to tell you about what I’m currently reading… NEXT MONTH! *evil laugh *

Looking for a Great Read?

Argh! Because of my responsibilities judging RITA entries, I wasn’t able to get together my usual Best Books list this month.
 

So I thought I’d highlight some of the books I’ve been talking about on the Women With Books podcast.  Almost all my recent guests (and some more distant ones) have had new releases and/or sales.

Kate Clayborn’s award winning BEGINNER’S LUCK is on sale for $.99!  Try out the book that was nominated for Romantic Times 2017 Book of the Year! 

Megan Frampton’s  LADY BE RECKLESS which we talked about in the most recent episode of WWB has just released, if you're in the mood for a historical romance series loosely based on the Bennet sisters.

Alyssa Cole’s A PRINCESS IN THEORY, which we discussed in Chapter 16 is earning raves everywhere. If you are craving more modern royal romance, check it out.

Past superstar guest Penny Reid has a new book out this week: Marriage of Inconvenience!  I'm pretty sure it's a marriage of convenience story, though, so be warned. ;-)

And the lovely Tessa Dare has her LARP-ing historical romance book on sale: ROMANCING THE DUKE (the reason why we talked about LARP-ing and fan-fic on her episode)

And if you’re looking for more recommendations, as always, check out the books recommended by Women With Books guests on my  Goodreads Women With Books Bookshelf. I love that my guests bring a huge diversity of recommendations to the pod, from classics to science fiction and erotic romance. There's something for every book lover, for sure. 

Next month, I will be back with more of my personal list. Until then, keep reading!