Can’t Wait Wednesday- Summer Releases

Okay can we talk about how ready we all are for summer!?!? I am in the throws of wrapping up Grad school and my ability to focus is virtually nonexistent. So much to do before May 8th but I am so ready to take a break from school and read so many more books!

Anyway Can’t Wait Wednesday is meme hosted by Tressa @ Can’t Wait Wednesday and for today’s topic I’m talking briefly through adult novels coming out in June and July that I’m excited about.

June

Devolution by Max Brooks

Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks
on June 16, 2020
Goodreads

The #1 bestselling author of World War Z takes on the Bigfoot legend with a tale that blurs the lines between human and beast--and asks what we are capable of in the face of the unimaginable.
As the ash and chaos from Mount Rainier's eruption swirled and finally settled, the story of the Greenloop massacre has passed unnoticed, unexamined . . . until now.
But the journals of resident Kate Holland, recovered from the town's bloody wreckage, capture a tale too harrowing--and too earth-shattering in its implications--to be forgotten.
In these pages, Max Brooks brings Kate's extraordinary account to light for the first time, faithfully reproducing her words alongside his own extensive investigations into the massacre and the legendary beasts behind it.
Kate's is a tale of unexpected strength and resilience, of humanity's defiance in the face of a terrible predator's gaze, and inevitably, of savagery and death.
Yet it is also far more than that.
Because if what Kate Holland saw in those days is real, then we must accept the impossible. We must accept that the creature known as Bigfoot walks among us--and that it is a beast of terrible strength and ferocity.
Part survival narrative, part bloody horror tale, part scientific journey into the boundaries between truth and fiction, this is a Bigfoot story as only Max Brooks could chronicle it--and like none you've ever read before.

I was so excited for Devolution to be a Book of the Month pick for June. Sadly, that was not the case but that doesn’t diminish my excitement for this horror/thriller that asks the questions: what if a town was suddenly cut up from the world and suddenly come into contact with a dangerous creature. Sounds perfect to you know… take our minds off of the fact that we are all stuck inside… okay maybe this isn’t a great book to help you forget that you are essentially cut off from social groups but I am excited about it and still have some hopes that it might be a pick for June.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
on June 30, 2020
Goodreads

From the author of Gods of Jade and Shadow comes a reimagining of the classic gothic suspense novel, a story about an isolated mansion in 1950s Mexico -- and the brave socialite drawn to its treacherous secrets.
He is trying to poison me. You must come for me, Noemí. You have to save me.
After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find -- her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.
Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough, smart, and has an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.
Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.
And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.

I feel like I’m, kind of a shoe in for this book since I read the title. I love reading about people who find themselves trapped in eerie houses with strange companions and this sounds just like that. I’m not sure how dark it will be (I know it’s not horror so probably not at the top of my tolerance threshold). But it’s sounds chilling and mysterious and that cover is beautiful!

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
on June 30, 2020
Goodreads

In the latest thriller from New York Times bestseller Riley Sager, a woman returns to the house made famous by her father’s bestselling horror memoir. Is the place really haunted by evil forces, as her father claimed? Or are there more earthbound—and dangerous—secrets hidden within its walls?
What was it like? Living in that house.
Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors. His tale of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularity—and skepticism.
Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father’s book. But she also doesn’t believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, don’t exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her father’s death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the past, chronicled in House of Horrors, lurk in the shadows. And locals aren’t thrilled that their small town has been made infamous thanks to Maggie’s father. Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself—a place filled with relics from another era that hint at a history of dark deeds. As Maggie experiences strange occurrences straight out of her father’s book, she starts to believe that what he wrote was more fact than fiction.

Every review I have read says that this book contains ghosts and I can hardly contain my excitement. I have read all of Sager’s other books. Once again we have an old (haunted?) house- I’m sensing a trend- and a skeptical but curious protagonist who must face the ghosts her father wrote about. As I’m writing this my mind is drifting to the egalley waiting from Netgalley. I definitely need to pick this one up soon.

July

The Shadows by Alex North

The Shadows by Alex North
Published by Celadon Books on July 7, 2020
Pages: 336
Goodreads

The haunting new thriller from Alex North, author of the New York Times bestseller The Whisper Man
You knew a teenager like Charlie Crabtree. A dark imagination, a sinister smile--always on the outside of the group. Some part of you suspected he might be capable of doing something awful. Twenty-five years ago, Crabtree did just that, committing a murder so shocking that it’s attracted that strange kind of infamy that only exists on the darkest corners of the internet--and inspired more than one copycat.
Paul Adams remembers the case all too well: Crabtree--and his victim--were Paul’s friends. Paul has slowly put his life back together. But now his mother, old and senile, has taken a turn for the worse. Though every inch of him resists, it is time to come home.
It's not long before things start to go wrong. Reading the news, Paul learns another copycat has struck. His mother is distressed, insistent that there's something in the house. And someone is following him. Which reminds him of the most unsettling thing about that awful day twenty-five years ago.
It wasn't just the murder.
It was the fact that afterward, Charlie Crabtree was never seen again...

I adored The Whisper Man and this one sounds just as good. While it’s not a thriller that’s in my comfort zone I really appreciated how disturbing North was willing to get in his debut. There is also hope for this one being a July Book of the Month pick (or even June-, I’m skeptical we will get it early). Some times police proceedrals bore me but the pacing of The Whisper Man was spot on and I have the same expectations for The Shadows.

Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay

Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay
on July 7, 2020
Goodreads

A riveting novel of suspense and terror from the Bram Stoker award-winning author of The Cabin at the End of the World and A Head Full of Ghosts.
In a matter of weeks, Massachusetts has been overrun by an insidious rabies-like virus that is spread by saliva. But unlike rabies, the disease has a terrifyingly short incubation period of an hour or less. Those infected quickly lose their minds and are driven to bite and infect as many others as they can before they inevitably succumb. Hospitals are inundated with the sick and dying, and hysteria has taken hold. To try to limit its spread, the commonwealth is under quarantine and curfew. But society is breaking down and the government's emergency protocols are faltering.
Dr. Ramola "Rams" Sherman, a soft-spoken pediatrician in her mid-thirties, receives a frantic phone call from Natalie, a friend who is eight months pregnant. Natalie's husband has been killed—viciously attacked by an infected neighbor—and in a failed attempt to save him, Natalie, too, was bitten. Natalie's only chance of survival is to get to a hospital as quickly as possible to receive a rabies vaccine. The clock is ticking for her and for her unborn child.
Natalie’s fight for life becomes a desperate odyssey as she and Rams make their way through a hostile landscape filled with dangers beyond their worst nightmares—terrifying, strange, and sometimes deadly challenges that push them to the brink. 
Paul Tremblay once again demonstrates his mastery in this chilling and all-too-plausible novel that will leave readers racing through the pages . . . and shake them to their core.

This might not be the best book for those who want to escape during the pandemic but for those who don’t mind leaning into it. Survivor Song is about a town that is overrun with a rabies like plague and follows a young pregnant woman trying to save herself and her unborn child after being infected by the virus. It will be interesting to see how this one sells in light of current circumstances.

What You Wish For by Katherine Center

What You Wish For by Katherine Center
on July 14, 2020
Goodreads

From Katherine Center, the New York Times bestselling author of How to Walk Away comes a stunning new novel full of heart and hope.
Samantha Casey loves everything about her job as an elementary school librarian on the sunny, historic island of Galveston, Texas—the goofy kids, the stately Victorian building, the butterfly garden. But when the school suddenly loses its beloved principal, it turns out his replacement will be none other than Duncan Carpenter—a former, unrequited crush of Sam’s from many years before.
When Duncan shows up as her new boss, though, he’s nothing like the sweet teacher she once swooned over. He’s become stiff, and humorless, and obsessed with school safety. Now, with Duncan determined to destroy everything Sam loves about her school in the name of security—and turn it into nothing short of a prison—Sam has to stand up for everyone she cares about before the school that’s become her home is gone for good.

I read Things To Save In A Fire thanks to Book of the Month and absolutely loved it. Centers next books is about an elementary school librarian and as someone who is starting a job at a public library it feels right up my alley. Unlike most of the books on the list

What About You?

What adult titles are you most excited to read this summer? Did I miss any of your most anticipated books? Let me know in the comments!