21 June Releases We're Excited About

And what you can read in the meantime

Reading ahead

Our TBR shelves may already be full-to-bursting, but we keep finding new books we want to squeeze on in. From fat, chewy sagas to high-stakes thrillers to immersive historical novels, June's most anticipated list is littered with must-reads! Here are 21 upcoming releases across a mix of genres. These titles are available for preorder, but in the meantime, peruse our recommendations for similar reads that you can enjoy now.

Literary fiction

The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende (June 6)

Samuel was six when he boarded the last Kindertransport train out of Nazi-occupied Austria. Eight decades later, seven-year-old Salvadoran refugee Anita, is separated from her mother at the U.S. border. Spanning time and place, this is a love letter to children who face grave danger—yet never stop dreaming.

What to read first: Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

The Whispers by Ashley Audrain (June 6)

Everything seems perfect as the well-to-do neighbors on Harlow Street gather for a summer barbecue. But when the picture-perfect hostess explodes in fury when her son disobeys her. When that same young boy falls from his bedside window in the night, it raises ominous questions.

What to read first: The Push by Ashley Audrain

Nightbloom by Peace Adzo Medie (June 13)

As young girls in Ghana, Selasi and Akorfa were more than just cousins; they were inseparable. But as they grew into womanhood, unspoken forces drove them apart. When they are reunited by a crisis, they must reckon with all the secrets and conditions leading to their estrangement.

What to read first: The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue (June 27)

A brilliantly funny novel about friends, lovers, Ireland in chaos, and a young woman desperately trying to manage all three. Rachel is a student working at a bookstore when she meets James. He invites her to be his roommate and the two begin a friendship that changes the course of both their lives forever.

What to read first: Trespasses by Louise Kennedy

Mystery, thriller, and horror

All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby (June 6)

After years as an FBI agent, Titus Crown returns to his hometown and becomes the county's first Black sheriff and works to reform a bigoted police force. When his deputies fatally shoot a young Black man, Titus follows the truth uncovering shocking discoveries and secrets hiding in plain sight.

What to read first: Razorblade Tears by S. A. Cosby

Girls and Their Horses by Eliza Jane Brazier (June 6)

Heather Parker is determined to give her daughters the life she never had—starting with the glamorous, competitive world of showjumping. With the horse show fast approaching, the pressure is on, and the "barn moms" will stop at nothing to help their daughters come out on top.

What to read first: Dare Me by Megan Abbott

Night Will Find You by Julia Heaberlin (June 20)

Vivvy Bouchet was ten when she saved a boy's life by making an impossible prediction. Now grown, she is an astrophysicist and the boy she saved is a cop. Searching for a missing girl, he asks for her help. Reluctantly, Vivvy agrees to once again step into the ocean of voices that once nearly drowned her.

What to read first: We are All the Same in the Dark by Julia Heaberlin

The Only One Left by Riley Sager (June 20)

Most people assume teenaged Lenora was responsible for the Lizzie Borden-like massacre of her family, but it was never proven. Now in her seventies and confined to a wheelchair, Lenora begins opening up to Kit, her young caregiver. But is Kit putting herself in danger by trusting her seemingly harmless charge?

What to read first: Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie (June 27)

This clever, breathless thriller explores themes of trauma and revenge against the atmospheric backdrop of Yosemite National Park. Full-throttle action mingles with dark secrets and hidden agendas as the lives of three women intersect in a gripping thrill ride full of hairpin turns and jaw-dropping twists.

What to read first: I'll Never Tell by Catherine McKenzie

Sci-fi and fantasy

The First Bright Thing by J. R. Dawson (June 13)

Rin can jump to different moments in time as easily as her trapeze-artist wife Odette soars through the air. And the circus they lead is a rare home and safe haven for magical misfits and outcasts, known as Sparks. But Rin's past is a malevolent shadow that creeps closer every day.

What to read first: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Shadow Cabinet by Juno Dawson (June 20)

In the second installment of the irresistible Her Majesty's Royal Coven series, a group of childhood friends and witches must choose between what is right and what is easy if they have any hope of keeping their coven—and their world—from tearing apart forever.

What to read first: Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson

Where Echoes Die by Courtney Gould (June 20)

Two estranged sisters travel to an isolated Arizona town to investigate its connection to their mother's death in this paranormal YA thriller. But when Beck and her sister Riley arrive in Backravel it's clear that something's off. As they seek for answers, their unexpected connection brings up long-buried emotions.

What to read first: The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould

The Seven-Year Slip by Ashley Poston (June 27)

Clementine has been burned before. So she forms a plan to keep her heart safe. But then she meets a strange man standing in the kitchen of her late aunt's apartment. The kind of man she could fall head-over-heels for. Except he exists in the past. It turns out, love isn't a matter of time, but a matter of timing.

What to read first: One Last Stop by Casey McQuinton

Historical fiction

Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See (June 6)

When Yunxian enters an arranged marriage, her mother-in-law forbids her from practicing medicine or seeing her friend Meiling, a midwife. Will she be able to break free and continue her work helping other women? Inspired by the true story of a woman physician from fifteenth-century China.

What to read first: The Island of See Women by Lisa See

The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor (June 13)

1940: Alice is a young teacher working to evacuate Britain's children to safety overseas. Lily is a London mother faced with the agonizing choice of sending her children away. When a Nazi U-boat torpedoes the S. S. Carlisle carrying a ship of children to Canada, the two women's lives become fatefully entwined.

What to read first: When We Were Young & Brave by Hazel Gaynor

The Spectacular by Fiona Davis (June 13)

New York City, 1956: Nineteen-year-old dancer Marion feels trapped by the idea of settling down in the suburbs with her high school sweetheart. So when she sees an opportunity to audition for the famous Radio City Rockettes, she jumps at the chance. Meanwhile, the city is reeling from a string of bombings.

What to read first: The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis

Loot by Tania James (June 13)

It's 1794. At seventeen, Abbas is the finest woodcarver in his home town of Mysore, India. When he is conscripted by the Sultan to help create "Tipu's Tiger," he embarks on a hero's quest and an exuberant heist adventure that traces the bloody legacy of colonialism across two continents and fifty years.

What to read first: The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

Romance

Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey (June 6)

Natalie is a feisty Napa heiress licking her wounds after losing her job and her fiancé in one fell swoop. August owns a vineyard, but doesn't know jack about making wine. A faux marriage could help them both. There's just one thing they didn't account for: their unfortunate, unbearable, undeniable attraction.

What to read first: The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan (June 6)

At thirty, Sam's life is on track. She has the perfect fiancé and a great job in Manhattan. But when she arrives to tour a wedding venue near her family's beach house, she's thrown. Wyatt is there. But there's no reason she should feel panicked around the guy who broke her heart when she was seventeen. Right?

What to read first: Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood (June 13)

The many lives of physicist Elsie Hannaway have finally caught up with her. By day, she's an adjunct professor trying to land tenure. By other day, Elsie makes up for her nonexistent paycheck as a fake girlfriend. Honestly, it's a pretty sweet gig—until her carefully constructed Elsie-verse comes crashing down.

What to read first: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Will They or Won't They by Ava Wilder (June 27)

Ever since their secret behind-the-scenes fling imploded, costars Lilah and Shane have despised each other. Now reunited on set for the first time in years—with the world's eyes on them and their post-show careers on the line—they'll have to grit their teeth and play nice.

What to read first: How to Fake it in Hollywood by Ava Wilder

Hopefully there's something here that you want to add to your TBR list! Let us know which new books you're most excited about this month.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to connect with a community of readers like you and get daily book recommendations, literary tidbits, and more.

Read more by Ashly Moore Sheldon