Ready for a look at the thrilling world of upcoming book releases for 2024? Hold on to your bookmarks because I'm taking you on a rollercoaster ride through the latest novels in mystery, thriller, and romance, sprinkling insider sneak peeks and predictions along the way. From dissecting plot synopses to pre-order tips, this episode guarantees to fuel your love for reading.
Whether you're a die-hard fan of mystery, love a good thriller, or are a hopeless romantic, this in-depth exploration is a must-listen. Stay tuned for part two, coming soon.
Sources:
For links to the books discussed in this episode, click the link here to take you to the Google Doc to view the list.
For episode feedback, future reading and author recommendations, you can text the podcast by clicking the "Send us a message button" above.
For more, follow along on Instagram @whereileftoffpod.
Ready for a look at the thrilling world of upcoming book releases for 2024? Hold on to your bookmarks because I'm taking you on a rollercoaster ride through the latest novels in mystery, thriller, and romance, sprinkling insider sneak peeks and predictions along the way. From dissecting plot synopses to pre-order tips, this episode guarantees to fuel your love for reading.
Whether you're a die-hard fan of mystery, love a good thriller, or are a hopeless romantic, this in-depth exploration is a must-listen. Stay tuned for part two, coming soon.
Sources:
For links to the books discussed in this episode, click the link here to take you to the Google Doc to view the list.
For episode feedback, future reading and author recommendations, you can text the podcast by clicking the "Send us a message button" above.
For more, follow along on Instagram @whereileftoffpod.
I'm Kristen Bahls and you're listening to the Overdressed Teachers podcast and today I get to talk. My voice may sound a little bit higher and I may be extra loud because I am just so excited to talk to you today about some of the new releases book-wise that are coming out in 2024. Authors have already started releasing sneak peeks. They've been releasing a lot. I've done a lot of research, so I'm so excited to bring it to you. It actually ended up being two parts. I was planning on just doing this in one but, of course, as I started researching and researching, and researching, I just kept adding on, and on, and on and on. And I feel like I only not only, but mainly covered pretty popular authors. I didn't get into a lot of indie authors. If I did, if I got into like every book or even every genre, we would be here for a couple weeks. So I narrowed it down. We're in the mystery category, the thriller category and the romance category. And we'll talk about just how many romance books are being sneak peeked for 2024. I don't know what it is. Fantasy books, romance books so many right now. Maybe the other genres are just holding their cards close to their chest and they're going to come out with some a little bit later, but right now, if you're looking up current releases for 2024, you're just going to get hit in the face with a lot of mystery, I would say mystery, a lot of fantasy and a lot of romance. So just be prepared for that.
Kristen Bahls:But I made a statement in my last podcast and I said that I did not have a bookshelf. And as soon as I made that statement I somehow ended up with a bookshelf. So I guess it's just a jinx on myself. Now I have a bookshelf. I haven't had one in a while. If you're wondering how it's categorized because that's what I would be wondering if I was you it is by genre and then by color, and eventually it may be by genre and by author instead of by color. But right now I don't have a lot of books by the same author. But I do have one reference shelf that is by author and it's books. I've already read that. I feel like I'm going to need to reference for this podcast.
Kristen Bahls:So I say this because it is monumental that I have a bookshelf, because normally once I read a book I'm just done with it, I donate it, it goes away. I don't reread it, I'm not going to look at it again, I'm just done it's out. But now I'm actually kind of holding on to a couple really good books that I've already read by some of my favorite authors. So that way, whenever their new books come out, you know I have a reference point and or I might actually reread them again. I don't know if this will actually happen. I say that it'll happen, we'll see if it happens, I don't know.
Kristen Bahls:I guess my thoughts on rereading a book, which just may be definitely not everyone's opinion, is that why would I want to reread a book when I could just find another book that's out there? I mean, there are so many books that are out in the world that I just feel like why would I spend time rereading something that I've already experienced when I could experience a new book? But I don't know. That's just my opinion right now. I say this probably jinxing myself. I'll probably be rereading a lot of books and you'll just be shaking your head at me like, yeah, yeah, you definitely jinxed yourself. But on to the actual book part. So I have preordered three of the books here and I'll tell you which ones they are.
Kristen Bahls:If you did not know I'm assuming that this will apply in the future and I don't want to give away necessarily when I recorded this podcast, but a little bit ago there was a Black Friday deal and if you don't already follow Sarah Adams Instagram, I would recommend it because she shares a lot of good tips and just cute like fan made things and stuff. Anyway, she put about how you could apply targets coupon. It was like buy two get one free, or you know, sometimes they'll run deals on like their app or their website or whatever, and you can. It does include preorders, which is pretty huge, and Target does have a lot of the preorders actually have a lot of the books on this list already ready to go. So if there are deals or coupons or whatever in the future in the app, try to apply it to preorders and you can save some money on the preorders if that is something that you want to do. So that's what I did.
Kristen Bahls:So, anyway, I've already preordered three of the books in this podcast and you know, will I read all the books that I'm talking about? No, and have I read one work from all of the authors that I'm mentoring, mentioning? Mentioning also no, but I really wanted to give you kind of a look at what's coming out, and then of course, I can speak a little bit more to the authors that I enjoy or have read before. But and originally my plan was I'm gonna give you one big snapshot of everything that's coming out. Yeah, no, there are, there's a lot. And as I started researching I was like I'm just gonna be randomly reading and having no idea what they're saying and who these characters are, or anything, if I just do a bunch of authors. So I narrowed it down a little bit and I picked, you know, authors that are more of interest to me, but I tried to give you a wide range. So if you want to hear more on what's coming out, like I said, I was researching and really it just went down a spiral.
Kristen Bahls:So if you did not know which I didn't know, because I'm kind of new to the whole Book thing I mean, I've been reading a while but the popularity of books and authors and social media and all that stuff. So I found that on all of these authors, like Instagram's and again I'm, I'm on Instagram, I'm not gonna be on TikTok, so I have no idea what's going on over there, so I really can't speak to that. But on Instagram the authors are leaking book jackets. They're kind of giving sneak peeks. They're talking about a lot of things that really you can only kind of find on Goodreads. But I will link all my sources down below. So if there's something that you're interested in and you do want to see their post, you can find their post in my show notes.
Kristen Bahls:But it was a lot of research to comb through all of the authors social media accounts. Try to find some dates, some sneak peeks. So, all that to say, I have some sneaked peeks for you. I have some jacket reveal covers. A lot of them have given like a short synopsis of their book so I can tell you a little bit more about the plot that you may not get if you're just r andomly googling it or just trying to see what comes out.
Kristen Bahls:I have more details for you so I would like to get into it because this is going to be a ridiculously long episode. So get comfortable because, like I kind of mentioned before all of the romance authors, they are just really putting on a dog and pony show. And they're gonna use so much detail and when my outline hit nine pages, I just realized that it needed to be two parts and a lot of it. I'm finding like pretty much tumbleweeds for a lot of the other genres. In the last couple weeks, right as I was about to record this episode, so I guess I'm kind of giving you time of when I recorded it. But anyway, about when I was starting to record this episode, all of the mystery and thriller authors started getting on board and releasing things. Because up until that point it was pretty much tumbleweeds for anything other than fantasy or romance. It was just like a couple of mystery or thriller authors that were releasing and I thought, okay, maybe it's just because they had books come out last year. They're not quite yet to their next novel, but no, they were just waiting. And now everyone's releasing everything. And, yes, I want to read everything and I feel like now my Good Reads like reading challenge number is going to have to increase to be able to actually read all of these books.
Kristen Bahls:But 2024 is the year of the romance novel and, holy moly, just be warned that that genre is going to pretty much take over this episode. So like I said grab a blanket, grab some coffee or tea, get working on a task, strap in, get ready. This is probably going to be my longest episode yet, and I do want to warn you that when I am reading through the book jacket leaks or the synopsis that authors are putting on their Instagrams, I'm gonna really get into it. If you didn't already know, I have a broadcast journalism degree. What that actually means is that I basically did like news anchor stuff kind of in college and I've done a lot of like speaking, public speaking and theater adjacent things. So anyway, I'm just trying to warn you that I'm going to read these descriptions basically as if I'm auditioning to be a voice actor. But if any of these authors would like me to voice their novels, just consider this my reel. I'm kidding, but kind of. A nd I know that some of these books and I know that some of these books are more of the mainstream authors. So if you did want me to do at this point like a part three of maybe some lesser known authors you haven't heard of, then I could do that. Just let me know. But yeah, this this is a long, extensive list and I already tried to get it down. First on our list.
Kristen Bahls:I wanted to go with mystery, the mystery genre. Book number one in the mystery genre is called The Reappearance of Rachel Price, and this is by Holly Jackson, and you will recognize Holly Jackson. How to get away wait, no, A Good Girls Guide to Murder. Oh my gosh, I almost said how to get away with murder. A Good Girls Guide to Murder. That series she did Five Survive more recently. So she's had a lot of books. But now she's coming out with the reappearance of Rachel Price and the release date for that is on April 2nd 2024. So this is from Goodreads. I'm gonna read you what the plot synopsis is. Lights, camera lies.
Kristen Bahls:18 year old Belle has lived her whole life in the shadow of her mom's mysterious disappearance. 16 years ago, Rachel Price vanished and young Belle was the only witness, but she has no memory of it. Rachel is gone long, presumed dead, and Belle wishes everyone would just move on. But the case is dragged up from the past, when the Price family agree to a true crime documentary. Belle can't wait for filming to end, and for light, and for life to go back to normal. And then the impossible happens. Rachel Price reappears and life will never be normal again. Rachel has an unbelievable story about what happened to her. Unbelievable because Belle isn't sure it's real. If Rachel is lying, then where has she been all this time, and could she be dangerous? With the cameras still rolling, belle must uncover the truth about her mother and find out why Rachel Price really came back from the dead.
Kristen Bahls:From world renowned author Holly Jackson comes a mind-blowing masterpiece about one girl's search for the truth and the terror and finding out who your family really is. Wow, that one sounds pretty good. I think I'm definitely going to have to pick it up. I like Holly Jackson's books, but some of them have been kind of a hit or miss for me lately. I think I liked a lot of her earlier books, maybe better. So this one, I don't know, I may grab it or I may get it from the library. That's kind of my trick with everything. If I'm not sure, if the author can be kind of hit or miss in my opinion, or if I'm just not totally sure about the plot compared to some others, then I will definitely just pick it up from the library instead and save myself some money. Because that's the worst thing ever is, when you spend your own money on a book and then you don't end up enjoying it, or it sounds really good on the book jacket, like this one, and then it actually starts out slow. That drives me crazy. But I think that this one will be a really good one and the plot's very unique, so I can see it being good and that that is honestly kind of it for mystery.
Kristen Bahls:A lot of these are mystery thriller, but I would consider them more in the thriller genre than in the mystery genre. So I'm going to go ahead and skip to thriller and I only have three in the thriller genre and then the rest of the episode is romance, be warned. Okay, in the thriller category, first up we have Megan Miranda's new novel, and this is called Daughter of Mine and the release date is April 9th, 2024. So all a lot of these are right around my birthday, okay. So, based on her Instagram, here is her short little plot synopsis. When Hazel Sharp, daughter of Mira Lake's longtime local detective, unexpectedly inherits her childhood home, she's warily drawn back to the town and people she left behind almost a decade earlier. But Hazel is not the only relic of the past to return. A drought has descended upon the region and as the water level in the lake drops, long hidden secrets begin to emerge, including evidence that may help finally explain the mystery of her mother's disappearance.
Kristen Bahls:This is one of the books that I pre-ordered, already pre-ordered, ready to go. Can't wait getting it in April comes out April 9th, and this is Megan Miranda's new book, so I'm definitely going to read it. And then the next two. Oh, did I say yeah? No, I have four in the thriller category, but of those four, I don't know. I think I could honestly buy all four, because it was kind of just my favorite authors, wham, wham wham. Speaking, of which One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware is coming out on May 28th. So more of the summer. And via Ruth's Instagram, here is the plot synopsis on hers.
Kristen Bahls:Tired of the daily grind, Lila Santiago and her boyfriend Nico set out for a luxury island to film a new reality TV show with four other couples. At first, everything is picture perfect, but when a tropical storm hits and the boat that is their lifeline gets swept away, things quickly go very, very wrong. As the water runs low and temperatures rise, Lila discovers that someone is playing the game for real. They are determined to survive at any cost, and the stakes are life and death. Are you a traitor or a survivor? Well, I'm definitely going to get that one. That sounds really interesting. A lot of these thrillers kind of sound like I don't know. They all kind of have like some kind of media element in them is what I'm noticing as I'm reading this through. So that should be an interesting twist. Next up we have Only If You're Lucky by Stacey Willingham, and this one is coming out a little bit sooner. The release date is January 16th, 2024. And here is the plot synopsis from Goodreads. Lucy Sharp is larger than life magnetic, addictive, bold and dangerous, especially for Margot, who meets Lucy at the end of their freshman year at a liberal arts college in South Carolina.
Kristen Bahls:Margot is the shy one, the careful one, always a sidekick and never the center of attention. But when Lucy singles her out at the end of the year a year Margot spent studying and playing it safe and asked her to room together something in Margot can't say no, something daring or starved or maybe even envious. And so Margot finds herself living in an off campus house with three other girls. Lucy the ringleader, Sloan the sarcastic one, Nicole the nice one. The three of them opposites but also deeply intertwined. It's a year that finds Margot finally coming out of the shell she's been in since the end of high school, when her best friend Eliza died three weeks after graduation. Margot and Lucy have become the closest of friends, but by the middle of their sophomore year, one of the fraternity boys from the house next door has been brutally murdered and Lucy Sharp is missing without a trace. That one sounds equally as great. Definitely going to pick that one up. And then also newly released. We have Riley Sager's latest novel, and his latest novel is called Middle of the Night and it is coming out June 18th. And here is his slightly longer book jacket's synopsis from Instagram.
Kristen Bahls:The worst thing to ever happen on Hemlock Circle occurred in Ethan Marsh's backyard. One July night 10 years ago, Ethan and his best friend and neighbor, Billy, fell asleep in a tent set up on a manicured lawn in a quiet, quaint New Jersey cul-de-sac. In the morning Ethan woke up alone. During the night someone had sliced the tent open with a knife and taken Billy. He has never been seen again. 30 years later, Ethan has reluctantly returned to his childhood home, plagued by bad dreams and insomnia. He begins to notice strange things happening in the middle of the night. Someone seems to be roaming the cul-de-sac at odd hours and signs of Billy's presence keep appearing in Ethan's backyard. Is someone playing a cruel prank, or has Billy long thought to be dead, somehow returned to Hemlock Circle? The mysterious occurrences prompt Ethan to investigate what really happened that night. A quest that reunites him with former friends and neighbors and leads him into the woods that surround Hemlock Circle. Woods where Billy claimed ghosts roamed and where a medical institute does clandestine research on a crumbling estate. The closer Ethan gets to the truth, the more he realizes that no place, be it quiet forest or suburban street, is completely safe and that the past has a way of haunting the present.
Kristen Bahls:Definitely going to pick that one up for sure.
Kristen Bahls:And that is all I have for the mystery and thriller genre. All of those sound pretty unique and great. I could see myself honestly picking up all of them. Holly Jackson's maybe the only one that I get from the library, but I'll probably, let's be real I'll probably end up buying it. Okay, romance category time.
Kristen Bahls:So for the romance genre, I kind of just want to know, like what is with the romance authors? So if each genre of books was similar to a group of teachers, right now I just feel like the romance teachers are basically the English teachers of the book world. In my opinion, they're just going the extra mile. They're sneaking like book covers and synopsis and reveals and they all have like these really fancy book trailers and like really elaborate, like teacher, like English teachers really elaborate lesson plans that they're just all trying to tie back to this novel. And I feel like they're just trying to take it to the next level and they're basically that teacher that would have a room transformation going on all the time and decorate their classroom all up and everything. That's kind of what I feel like we're getting with these. And, if you didn't already know, I'm starting to learn that a lot of these romance authors have really strong like fan bases and fan groups and so they make just a lot of things like media and t-shirts and all that kind of stuff based on their books and their characters. So I definitely think that they're playing that up.
Kristen Bahls:But all the other authors and all the other genres like where, where are you? I mean, I feel like if you were teachers, you would probably just be using the same lesson plans from last year, and the romance authors slash English teachers are kind of showing you up a little bit. So I don't know, you may need to step up your game and do a bunch of fancy book trailers and stuff. It's just wild, but anyway starting to get into the romance novels. So they have been planning these releases and clearly they're just dying to tell us and give us some sneak peek. So this category is gonna have even more detail and a couple more spoilers than mystery and thrillers, which are a little bit more kind of straight to the point, and they have a shorter plot synopsis or book jacket cover that they're releasing. First up we have The Rom-Comers by another than Katherine Center's, and this is coming up on June 11th, so definitely in the summer and via Katherine's instagram, here is the entire book jacket that she released. It's really pretty and colorful, but anyway, here is the book synopsis from the book jacket.
Kristen Bahls:She's rewriting his love story, but can she rewrite her own? Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She spent her life studying, obsessing over and writing romantic comedies, good ones that win contests, and she's been the sole caretaker for her kindhearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to rewrite a script for a famous screenwriter, Charlie Yates, the Charlie Yates, her personal writing god, it's a break too big to pass up. Emma's younger sister steps in for caretaking duties and Emma moves to LA for six weeks, for the writing gig of a lifetime. But what is it? They say don't meet your heroes.
Kristen Bahls:Charlie Yates doesn't want to write with anyone, much less a failed, nobody screenwriter. Worse, the romantic comedy he's written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus, he doesn't even care about the script, it's just a means to get a different one green l it. Oh. And he thinks that love is an emotional Ponzi scheme. But Emma's not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself and for rom-coms and for love itself. She will convince him that love stories matter, even if she has to kiss, kiss him senseless to do it. But what if that kiss is accidentally amazing? And what if real life turns out to be so much more real than fiction? What if the love story their writing breaks all of Emma's rules and comes true? That sounds really good.
Kristen Bahls:I have already preordered this one. All I had to see was that it was written by Katherine Center and I instantly preordered. So that is book two of three that I have preordered, and I would like to sneak that in this book. There is going to be a Jack Stapleton cameo and if you are not familiar, Jack Stapleton is one of the main characters in one of Katherine Center's earlier novels, The Bodyguard. Oh my gosh, will I probably end up trying to reread the Bodyguard just to hear about Jack a little bit more before his cameo, before this book comes out? Yes, probably yes. And again, this release date is on June 11. And next, in the romance genre, I had to start with my two favorites, of course. So I started with Katherine Center and now I'm moving on to Sarah Adams. Sarah Adams has a book called the Rulebook that is coming out on April 2. And here is her plot synopsis via Instagram. Nora McKenzie's entire career lies in the hands of famous NFL Titan Derek Pender, who also happens to be her extremely hot college ex boyfriend.
Kristen Bahls:Nora did anything as gracefully as she could have back then, and now it's come back to haunt her. Derek is her first official client as an official full time sports agent, and he's holding a grudge. Derek has a sight set on a little friendly revenge. If Nora McKenzie, the first girl to ever break his heart, wants to be his agent, oh, he'll let her be his agent. The plan is simple, make Nora's life absolutely miserable. But if Derek knows anything about the woman he once loved, she won't quit easily. Instead of giving in, Nora starts a scheme of her own. But then a wild night in Vegas leads to Nora and Derek in bed the next morning, married with their rulebook out the window, Could this new relationship be the thing to save their careers or the thing to spark the romance of a lifetime?
Kristen Bahls:This is the other book that I preordered. This is three of the three that I preordered, and I cannot wait to get it in April. I would like to say, if you did not already realize, Derek Pender is from The Cheat Sheet. So this is basically Derek's love story. And something that Sarah Adams does like to do, if you didn't already know, is that she will take a series like she'll take a place, for example, here I'll just use an example. She'll take a place like Rome, Kentucky, and she'll start out with her When in Rome book and she'll have the main characters who fall in love, but then she'll have like single supporting characters and with those supporting characters then she'll do another spin off book, book and tell their love story as well. So it kind of leads to a whole little like universe multiverse of different little love stories, and so you get a little bit of each character in each one, so you don't really have to read them in order. But it does kind of spoil it for you if you get a cameo and they're already together and they leak something or kind of give you a sneak peek of something that happened in the previous book. So I would recommend trying to read them in order. So that means that you do need to read The Cheat Sheet before you read The Rulebook. You will not be disappointed, because I do really enjoy The Cheat Sheet and Sarah Adams herself recommended starting with The Cheat Sheet if you're going to start with one of her books, and I would think that that's pretty good recommendation, I agree. So if you're going to do that, this would be the second book kind of in that series basically. So just kind of keep that in mind.
Kristen Bahls:And I noticed also that almost all of these romance authors, they are kind of pulling from their. They're either pulling from their multiverse, multiverse of characters and they're telling another love story within that grouping of those people in the place, like I was just talking about with the supporting characters, or they're all having cameos from other characters that have been in super popular, beloved bestselling books. So that is a common theme that I've noticed with almost all of these romances. They are continuations on different stories, universes, books in a series, that that is kind of a common thing that they're doing, and I really appreciate that. Of course, it means more reading for you if you've never read their books, but it's kind of nice to see that it doesn't just end with the epilogue and you get a little bit more from each character. That being said, what I remember about Derek like off the top of my head I'm pretty sure he was the one that was like the self proclaimed bachelor in The Cheat Sheet and they were like, yeah, I'm never getting married, I'm never pulling in love and all that kind of stuff. So that would make sense why this is his, his novel. And this is not a drill.
Kristen Bahls:Sarah already said that this is going to be an open door romance. So what that means is that it's going to be spicier than her other books. Just keep that in mind, whatever your preferences are. And she basically said that she really wanted to write it this way and it wasn't that she was influenced by her publisher or anything like that. She just wanted to write an open door romance. So I have no idea what that means for my scale, where I had my spice scale of Sarah Adams, on the left at least, because she was closed door, and then I had Ali Hazelwood, who's definitely not closed door, at the right. So I don't know, this might move my scale, it might adjust I'll have to do some brainstorming and get back to you on how this is going to affect that. But she also was leaking on Instagram because, again, like I said, if you have not followed Sarah Adams on Instagram, I would go recommend it. Because she gives you a lot of like little tidbits through her stories or her posts and so you have to kind of be paying attention to catch them. But on one of her stories she had a response to a Q&A and the question on the Q&A was will we see more of the Walker slash, Rome, Kentucky family? And she responded yes, two more books, two more books. And so she's currently writing book three.
Kristen Bahls:Okay, my guess is that I mean, obviously it has to be either I'm pretty sure it's Madison or is it Madeline. It's Madison or Madeline and Emily the other two sisters I'm pretty sure that's their names, if I'm remembering it correctly. It has to be their love stories. They were both teachers, which I already love. One really wanted to be a teacher and one was just kind of following in her sister's footsteps and I think she did. She like cooking. I feel like she liked cooking and wanted to open up her own place, and so I think they kind of vaguely said that she might be taking a chance at opening. I'm pretty sure at one point they kind of alluded to the fact that she would be quitting teaching and trying to open up her own place. And then at another point in one of the books I'm kind of getting them all mixed up now in my head, but I feel like they also said that, yeah, one of them I can't remember if it was, yeah, which sister it was had someone in their life. So I definitely think that is going to be one of those two. And yeah, so you have, they're part of the Walker family. So of course, Noah, his story is in When in Rome, and then Annie's story is, in Practice Makes Perfect, and so this would be the other other two sisters stories. So we are going to get that, which is really exciting, and I'm so glad that she leaked it. I I squealed a little bit, I was so excited. So we have two more books coming there.
Kristen Bahls:You know, I just wanted to point out that, of course, these may not be your authors, and that's okay, because I was reading this book review whenever I was trying to find, like some character names that I forgot because that's what I realized just escapes me are the names of the characters. Like I know the characters, personalities, I know who they are, I can remember their trope. I just cannot always remember their name. Maybe it's just because I read books too quickly, like their names just escape me. So as I was trying to find some names, I came across a book review and someone was saying that they DNFed The Cheat Sheet and I just think that my jaw hit the floor. How do you not finish The Cheat Sheet? That was my favorite book, like I always say, it's tied with that in Practice Makes Perfect. And it's the one that Sarah Adams herself recommended starting with. She said that that's the most, the best, the most, whatever, the best example of her specific writing style. So I was just shocked whenever I read that and I think it just means, of course, that I mean, we all just have such different preferences. So hopefully you're excited, as excited as me for some of these novels. And, speaking of you know authors, that may not be my thing but could be your thing. We have Daydream coming up by Hannah Grace. And, if you remember, in one of my previous episodes I talked about how I DNF'd,
Kristen Bahls:I did not finish Icebreaker and I think I proceeded to call it heartbreaker the entire podcast, but it's actually called Icebreaker. I could not finish it. I did not give it away. However, I did put it back on my bookshelf because I thought, well, what if Daydream gets amazing reviews and I want to go back and try to finish Icebreaker? I didn't want to cut myself out completely by giving that book away. So I did keep Icebreaker but I honestly I don't. I don't know that I can go back, but I guess we'll see. I'll just have to watch this one. But you know, I think these books are just not my thing. But it may be your thing and if it is, that is fantastic. Like I said, we all have our preferences. So for Daydream by Hannah Grace, the release date is sometime in summer, 24. She said possibly June 4th, like the date I think on Goodreads is set as June 4th, but she said that was just like a date that they had to set to be able to put on there. So she's not sure and pre-order is not available yet, until 2024. So if you are looking to pre-order, you cannot.
Kristen Bahls:And this is book 3 in the Maple Hill series and this is Henry's story, and I also previously said that I didn't love any of the characters. But if I had to pick a character that I liked from this book, I would say that Henry. Yeah, Henry is the most likable character in Icebreaker and I didn't even realize when I was reading it that that was book 2 in the series. So that also may be why DNF'd it. Food for thought, food for thought. But her statement on her Instagram is is this. So it's a little bit more. It's not a book jacket synopsis per se, but she's kind of just pouring her heart, heart out here. So let me read that.
Kristen Bahls:She said I've never been asked for anything in my life more than I've been asked for this book, not even specifically this story, just more Henry. I'm pretty sure I could have sent him on a quest through the peaceful streets of Maple Hills for 400 pages and you'd be all like cool, let me get comfy with my Kindle. I've never wanted to get something right. As much as I do with this book, I feel like Halle yes, she's called Halle, I can finally tell you and Henry represent a lot of people in their early 20s. Well, it still has the same light-hearted vibe as my other books. It tackles things like making friends as an adult and doing things because other people want you to cough. Becoming hockey captain. I've had so many ideas for what I wanted Henry's book to look like, who I wanted him to be with and how his relationship would be enhanced, would enhance how wonderful he already is, and I'm really happy that I landed here. And there's more fluff that, yeah, I didn't add in there, but anyway, that's. That's the gist of it. So this is going to be Henry's story again, like I said, just taking characters from the same universe and coming up with another one in the series. Yeah, maybe not my thing, but hey, if it's your thing, I hope you enjoy this book. We'll see. Mark my words, I may end up reading it. I I honestly I can't tell you. I don't know.
Kristen Bahls:The last romance novel coming out in 2024 of this episode of part one is the Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren. I have not read any novels by Christina Lauren. I know it's kind of shocking. I probably should. I just haven't yet. It's not that her novels sound bad, they just haven't gripped me like some of the others. But again, that's not to say that I could not give her books a try, and I may, may totally just fall in love with them and she may be my next favorite author. Who knows, we'll see. There may be an author spotlight on Christina Lauren after I read her books and decide I love them. I really don't know, but her book is called the Paradise Problem and I don't have a date on this one. Yeah, I don't have a date on this one, but here's what she said on Instagram.
Kristen Bahls:If you are fans of the Unhoney Mooners and Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating, this will be the book for you. We've got opposites attract, only one bed in paradise, married to a stranger, faking familiarity in front of family, and adorable floppy muppet of a heroine. An emotionally repressed hero who melts for her, kayak shenanigans, fumbling through fancy parties, a man who knows how to apologize, and a lot of spice. I don't really know what most of that means. I mean there are a lot of mini tropes going on there, but I don't know, I have no reference to the Unhoney Mooners or Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating, because I have not read those. So but it does say. It does say it has a lot of spice in there.
Kristen Bahls:I Obviously PGed down this a little bit, so if you want to read the whole thing, you can go do that by yourself and click through to the show notes and read that on Instagram. But, like I said, might be a late adopter to this book if it has good reviews and the characters names in this book are Liam and Anna. And there you have it. That is only part one. There are more romance novels to come out. Like I said, I had nine pages of outline, so just get ready. More romance books coming up next and I just kept adding and adding and adding and adding. So get ready for those. Definitely tune in to part two. Stay tuned, because if you thought I was done, yeah, I, I was definitely not. The next one is literally all just romance novels because there were that many. But for now, that's it today on The Overdressed Teachers podcast.