Summer reading season is officially here and June is looking like one of the strongest BOTM months of the year. Publishers are putting out some heavy hitters this month and BOTM tends to lean into that summer energy with picks that are accessible, buzzy, and perfect for reading by the pool or staying up way too late on vacation. Here are my predictions for what might show up in the box this month, broken out by genre.
Whether or not my predictions are actually picks, only time will tell. Even if they are not, all or most of these are on my June Most Anticipated New Releases, May Most Anticipated New Releases, and my Summer Most Anticipated List.
SPRING MOST ANTICIPATED
May Most Anticipated New Releases
June Most Anticipated New Releases
When the picks are announced and you find you have space in your box still, make sure to also check out my most recent version of BOTM Add-On recommendations HERE, because who couldn’t use even more books!
Keep in mind that these are simply predictions and books I hope get chosen. I could get these completely wrong, but the anticipation and guessing are part of the fun right?!
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Mysteries & Thrillers
Someone Else’s Husband by Kimberly McCreight feels like a natural fit especially since she’s a previous BOTM author. Nine Lives by Catherine Steadman is another good option. I could also see It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell ending up in the thriller slot instead of literary fiction. Jewell has been a BOTM author multiple times so it’s a safe guess.
Historical Fiction
Daughters of the Sun and Moon by Lisa See is my lock pick. Three Chinese women arrive in 1870 Los Angeles during a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment and connect through friendship to find their own voices. Huge first printing, BOTM-friendly author, and exactly the kind of historical fiction that does well in the box. If they go a different direction, A Fortune of Sand by Ruta Sepetys is another solid option.
Romance
The Someday Garden by Ashley Poston is my main pick: a gardener stumbles upon a secret garden with a mysterious man trapped inside. Magical, swoony, and early reviews are glowing. Romantic Hero is another fun one with a romance novelist whose villainous cowboy character shows up in real life and I loved her book last year. For a debut, Bump, Set, Sparks by Jennifer Moffatt could be a great summer pick with it being a sports romance.
Literary & Contemporary Fiction
The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson is probably my strongest pick here. Jackson is back with her rich people drama, this time in a New England coastal town where a woman on a writing grant falls for a local guy and things get messy. BOTM loved Pineapple Street, so this feels like an easy repeat. On the debut side, The Future Perfect by Cay Kim and Leave and Come Back by Lavanya Lakshmi both have that fresh, book-club-ready energy BOTM loves to spotlight.
Science Fiction & Fantasy
This Immortal Heart by Jennifer Saint and The River She Became by Emily Varga are my two strongest picks. Saint has a loyal readership from Ariadne and Hera, and BOTM loves mythology retellings. The River She Became is a high-stakes romantasy and with BOTM leaning more into that genre lately it could easily grab this slot.
I hope you found a book that you are truly excited about in this post. Let me know which other new releases you are excited for this month or that you’re hoping are BOTM picks, by commenting below or by messaging me on Instagram @speakingof_books. Don’t forget to follow me to get weekly updates and new reviews!
Happy Reading!
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