Wondering what to read now? Here are all the hot new August 2021 book releases for you. I’ll let you know what I’ve read, what I can’t wait to read, and what’s getting all the attention this month.
In case you’re new to Booklist Queen, every month I cover all the hottest new book releases. I try to read as many new book releases as I can to give you an honest perspective on what to read and what to skip.
However, I realize that my to-read list might not exactly match yours. That’s why, this year, I’ve decided to also include some of the most popular August 2021 book releases from your favorite authors.
Enough from me. Let’s get on to the August 2021 book releases so you can fill up your to-read list.
The highlights of the month:
- Some Final Summer Thrillers
- A New Inspector Gamache Book
- A Noir Thriller in 1970s Mexico
- Two Intriguing YA Novels
Have I got you interested? Then keep scrolling to see our picks for the best of the August 2021 book releases.
Top August 2021 Book Releases
A Slow Fire Burning
Paula Hawkins
When a young man is murdered on a London houseboat, police investigate three women: his one-night stand Laura, his grieving aunt Carla, and his nosy neighbor Miriam. Even though Miriam spotted Laura leaving the houseboat that night covered in blood, she is loath to say anything. For Miriam knows exactly what it’s like to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
We Are the Brennans
Tracey Lange
After a car accident caused by her drunk driving, Sunday Brennan returns to her large Irish family in New York. Five years earlier, she had abandoned them and her high school sweetheart with no explanation. Determined to rebuild her relationships, Sunday is startled when a man threatens the family’s business and forces the family to confront painful mistakes.
We Are the Brennans is my new favorite book of 2021. Tracey Lange hit it out of the park with this family drama reminiscent of Ask Again, Yes. After reading it, I couldn’t stop pondering the character’s motivations and decisions, and debating how my feelings would have changed if the author had tweaked different characters. Delving into the ways guilt and shame can affect our interactions, We Are the Brennans is a brilliant book club book that I know I will be recommended for years to come.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Celadon Books. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 3 August 2021
Amazon | Goodreads | More Info
The Husbands
Chandler Baker
Even though her husband Hayden helps out, successful lawyer Nora Spangler feels likes she carries an unfair share of the domestic burden. When they consider moving into an exclusive suburban neighborhood, Nora finds a group of high-powered women with extremely supportive husbands. While helping with a resident’s wrongful death case, she learns how far these women are willing to go to get some help at home.
Chandler Baker’s summer thriller just missed the mark for me. Although the premise is spectacular, the execution is lacking. The slow burn mystery developed too slowly, without much action and too much predictability. Moreover, Nora’s husband Hayden was underdeveloped, which fails to give you a strong counterpoint to Nora’s side of the story. Despite the poor delivery, Baker’s message of gender inequality comes through strongly, making you stop and think about the dynamics of modern marriages.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Flatiron Books. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 3 August 2021
Amazon | Goodreads | More Info
Blind Tiger
Sandra Brown
Details are scarce for the latest novel from Sandra Brown, author of Thick as Thieves. Thus far, all we know is that it’s a historical thriller set in Prohibition-era Texas. I’ll be sure to update this once more information is released.
The Madness of Crowds
Louise Penny
As New Year’s Eve approaches, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is surprised when he is requested to serve as security for a lecture by a visiting statistics professor. When he looks into Professor Abigail Robinson, Gamache is shocked by her views and begs for the lecture to be canceled. Accusing him of academic censorship, the university refuses, and as the professor’s ideas start to seep across Three Pines, Gamache must deal with a murder and the spreading madness.
Where the Truth Lies
Anna Bailey
When Abi disappears from a teenage party, the police in her insular Colorado mountain town assume she ran away. As Emma investigates her best friend’s disappearance, she begins to learn that she didn’t know Abi as well as she thought. Although the premise has all the hallmarks of a great summer thriller, Where the Truth Lies was all cliches and stereotypes of small-town American life, possibly because the author is British. The bigotry, homophobia, misogyny, and domestic abuse were all overplayed, lacking in even an ounce of nuance, while the culprit was the most obvious character.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Atria Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 3 August 2021
Amazon | Goodreads | More Info
The Guilt Trip
Sandie Jones
Three couples at a destination wedding in Portugal find themselves torn apart in this summer thriller. Along with their best friends Noah and Paige, Rachel and Jack are excited to celebrate Jack’s brother’s wedding. Yet, the new bride rubs Rachel and Paige all the wrong way and a misunderstanding brings to light betrayals and secrets.
Book of the Month – August 2021
Receiving my blue box from Book of the Month Club is a highlight of every month.
Here’s how it works – each month, they pick 5 books and you get to choose one book or skip until the next month. If you want to add any extra books, then you get them at a discounted price.
Each month is usually a mix of new releases and advance copies of unreleased books. If you are interested in joining, right now you can use my Book of the Month Club affiliate link to get your first book for $5!
The August Book of the Month selections are:
See the Complete List of Upcoming Releases!
Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick
We Were Never Here
Andrea Bartz
On their annual girls’ trip, Emily and Kristen are having the time of their lives in Chile. On the last night, Emily comes back to the hotel to find Kristen in the room with a dead body. Kristen claims she killed that the cute backpacker she picked up attacked her and she killed him in self-defense. Except, the same thing happened last year. As Emily’s guilt over the cover-up reaches a boiling point, Kristen makes a surprise trip to visit her and Emily has serious doubts about their friendship.
Read with Jenna Book Club Pick
The Turnout
Megan Abbott
For the first time, Jenna picks a thriller for her August book club selection. Dara and Marie Durant have been dancing practically since birth. After their parents are killed in a tragic accident, they take over their dance studio with the help of Dara’s husband, Charlie. When a suspicious accident occurs just as the annual Nutcracker performance is set to start, the delicate balance between the three is broken and dark secrets come to the surface.
Oprah Winfrey Book Club Pick
The Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois
Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
Although raised in a Northern city, Ailey Pearl Garfield spent summers in a small Georgia town where her mother’s ancestors were slaves. As Ailey fights for belonging, the burdens of trauma and the heavy expectations of her family weigh her down. While figuring out her own identity, she dives into her family’s history, uncovering a legacy of bondage and resilience that parallels the story of America.
Exciting New August 2021 Book Releases
The Riviera House
Natasha Lester
Working in the Louvre in 1939, Éliane secretly catalogs all the priceless artwork the Nazis are stealing. The Germans don’t realize she can speak German or that she is passing secrets to the Resistance. Trapped in a dangerous game, Éliane can’t decide if she can trust her former lover with her secrets when a trip to the Riveria ups the ante. Meanwhile, in the present day, Remy Lang discovers a catalog of stolen artwork in the Riveria house she inherited and begins to seek answers to her family’s past.
How We Fall Apart
Katie Zhao
When her former best friend Jamie, the top student at their elite prep school, dies, Nancy Luo is shocked to find that she is among the prime suspects. An anonymous social media user called the Proctor keeps implicating Nancy and her three friends. Somehow, the Proctor seems to know all the secrets that should have died with Jamie. As Nancy and her friends work to uncover the Proctor before too much is revealed, Nancy begins to wonder if her friends have even more secrets than she thought.
The Heart Principle
Helen Hoang
After achieving viral success on YouTube, violinist Anna Sun is struggling to figure out how to do it again. Meanwhile, her boyfriend has declared he wants an open relationship. So Anna sets out to have as many one-night-stands as she can. But her one night with Quan Diep turns into much more, and now Anna must fight for the love she didn’t realize she was missing.
Velvet Was the Night
Silvia Moreno-Garcia
In 1970s Mexico City, Maite craves a life of adventure and romance like she reads in her magazines. When her vibrant neighbor Leonora disappears, Maite sets out to investigate Leonora’s involvement with student radicals. At the same time, Elvis, an eccentric thug who longs for a better life, is also searching for Leonora and finds himself intrigued by Leonora’s passionate neighbor.
The Family Plot
Megan Collins
Growing up, Dahlia Lighthouse’s family was like no other. Obsessed with true crime, her parents isolated the family in their secluded island mansion. When her father dies, a body is discovered already in his grave – Dahlia’s twin brother who disappeared when they were teens. Now Dahlia must dive deeper into her eccentric family to learn what happened to her brother.
Truth be told, The Family Plot is just plain weird … and not in a good way. Everything was unrelatable from top to bottom – the characters, the circumstances, the true-crime obsession. Instead of being intrigued by the quirkiness, I was annoyed by the irredeemably flat characters and the bizarre story. I honestly can’t believe I wasted as many hours as I did reading this terrible book instead of DNF’ing it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Atria Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 17 August 2021
Amazon | Goodreads | More Info
In the Wild Light
Jeff Zentner
Growing up in a small Appalachian town, Cash finds himself dodging drug dealers and keeping his head down. Ever since his mother’s death from opioid addiction, Cash has been living with his grandparents, though his Papaw is slowly dying from emphysema. When his best friend Delaney secures them both full-ride scholarships at an elite prep school in Connecticut, Cash must decide whether he can leave his grandparents or his best friend.
Once There Were Wolves
Charlotte McConaghy
Inti Flynn arrives in Scotland with one purpose – to reintroduce gray wolves into the highlands despite the fierce resistance from the local population. When a farmer is mauled to death, Inti buries the evidence, terrified the locals will accuse her beloved wolves. But if the wolves aren’t to blame, who caused his death? And will it happen again?
McConaghy’s August 2021 book release is a hauntingly beautiful novel about healing from trauma – in people and in nature. McConaghy masterfully navigates communicating her message of conservation while still giving an enthralling fictional story that hooks you from the beginning.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Flatiron Books. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 3 August 2021
Amazon | Goodreads | More Info
Popular August Upcoming Releases
What August 2021 Book Releases are You Most Excited to Read?
What books can you not wait to get your hands on this month? Did I miss any August 2021 book releases that you are anticipating? As always, let me know in the comments!
More New Book Releases:
