10 Recent Additions to My TBR

Happy Tuesday y’all! What a week it’s been! My mom came for a visit, my birthday was this past weekend, and now I’ve got a cold kicking my butt! So because of that, I will not be doing the topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, Our Favorite Words. My brain and energy level aren’t there. So instead, I’m going to share 10 Recent Additions to my TBR. The majority of these are books that will not be released until 2023.

All titles will lead to Goodreads. If there is no cover, there is not one available as of today.

Let’s get to my list of ten recent additions to my TBR!

Vinyl Resting Place by Olivia Blacke

When Juni Jessup and her sisters Tansy and Maggie put all their beans in one basket to open Sip & Spin Records, a record-slash-coffee shop in Cedar River, Texas, they knew there could be some scratches on the track, but no one was expecting to find a body deader than disco in the supply closet.

Family is everything to the Jessups, so when Juni’s heartbreaking ex arrests their uncle on suspicion of murder, the sisters don’t skip a beat putting Sip & Spin up for bail collateral. But their tune changes abruptly when Uncle Calvin disappears, leaving them in a grind. With their uncle’s freedom and the future of their small business on the line, it’s up to Juni and her sisters to get in the groove and figure out whodunit before the killer’s trail—and the coffee—goes cold.

Music and mocha seem like a blend that should be “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,” but caught up in a murder investigation with her family and their life savings on the line, Juni wonders if she might be on the “Highway to Hell” instead. 

A Thousand Miles to Graceland by Kristen Mei Chase

Grace Johnson can’t escape the feeling that her life is on autopilot—until her husband announces he’s done with their marriage. Grace has a choice: wallow in humiliation or reluctantly grant her outlandish mother’s seventieth birthday wish with a road trip to Graceland. Buckle up, Elvis. We’re on our way.

Now the two are hightailing it from El Paso to Memphis, leaving a trail of sequins, false eyelashes, and difficult memories in their wake. Between spontaneous roadside stops to psychics, wig mishaps, and familiar passive-aggressive zingers, Grace is starting to better understand her Elvis-obsessed mama and their own fragile connection. She may even have another shot at love. Apparently, the King really does work in mysterious ways. But after all these years, will it ever be possible for Grace and her mom to heal past hurts?

Do I Know You? by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

Eliza and Graham are anticipating an anything-but-sexy, weeklong getaway to celebrate their fifth anniversary. Nestled on the Northern California coastline, the resort prides itself on being a destination for those in love and those looking to find it. For Eliza and Graham, it might as well be a vacation with a roommate.

When a well-meaning guest mistakes Eliza and Graham for being single and introduces them at the hotel bar, they don’t correct him. Suddenly, they’re pretending to be perfect strangers, and it’s unexpectedly fun. Eliza and Graham find themselves flirting like it’s their first date and waiting with butterflies in their stomach for the other to text back.

Everyone at the retreat can sense the electric chemistry between Eliza and Graham’s alter egos. But when their scintillating game of roleplaying ends, will they still feel the heat?

The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson

From the author of Yellow Wife, a gut-wrenching novel set in the 1950s about two Black women working to overcome the stumbling blocks that threatens to upend everything they worked so hard for.

Fifteen-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to becoming the first in her family to attend college, in spite of having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising her daughter. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that has been passed onto her like a birthright.

Eleanor Quarles arrived in Washington, DC, with ambition and secrets. When she meets the handsome William Pride at Howard University, they fall madly in love. But William hails from one of DC’s elite wealthy Black families, and his parents don’t just let anyone into their fold. Eleanor hopes that a baby will make her finally feel at home in William’s family and grant her the life she’s been searching for. But having a baby—and fitting in—is easier said than done.

The lives of these two women collide most unexpectedly as they both face life-altering decisions. The House of Eve is a fast-paced, harrowing story that hinges on what it means to be a woman and a mother and how much one is willing to sacrifice to achieve her greatest goal. 

The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest

Shy, bookish, and admittedly awkward, Lily Greene has always felt inadequate compared to the rest of her accomplished family, who strive for Black excellence. She dreams of becoming an editor of children’s books but has been frustratingly stuck in the nonfiction division for years without a promotion in sight. Lily finds escapism in her correspondences with her favorite fantasy author, and what begins as two lonely people connecting over e-mail turns into a tentative friendship and possibly something else Lily won’t let herself entertain–until he ghosts her.

Months later, still crushed but determined to take charge of her life, Lily seeks a date to her sister’s wedding. And the perfect person to help her is Nick Brown, her charming, attractive new neighbor, whom she feels drawn to for unexplainable reasons. Little does she know that Nick is an author–her favorite fantasy author.

Nick, who has his reasons for using a pen name and for pushing people away, soon realizes that the beautiful, quiet woman from down the hall is the same Lily he fell in love with over e-mail months ago. Unwilling to complicate things even more between them, he agrees to set her up with someone else, though this simple favor between two neighbors is anything but–not when he can’t get her off his mind.

Time’s Undoing by Cheryl A. Head

Birmingham, 1929: Robert Lee Harrington, a master carpenter, has just moved to Alabama to pursue a job opportunity, bringing along his pregnant wife and young daughter. Birmingham is, in its heyday, known as the “Magic City” for its booming steel industry, and while Robert and his family find much to enjoy in the city’s busy markets and vibrant nightlife, it’s also a stronghold for the Klan. And with his beautiful, light-skinned wife and snazzy car, Robert begins to worry that he might be drawing the wrong kind of attention.

2019: Meghan McKenzie, the youngest reporter at the Detroit Free Press, has grown up hearing family lore about her great-grandfather’s murder—but no one knows the full story of what really happened back then, and his body was never found. Determined to find answers to her family’s long-buried tragedy and spurred by the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement, Meghan travels to Birmingham. But as her investigation begins to uncover dark secrets that spider across both the city and time, her life may be in danger.

The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro

As the son of Hades, Nico di Angelo has been through so much, from the premature deaths of his mother and sister to being outed against his will to losing his friend Jason during the trials of Apollo. But there is a ray of sunshine in his life–literally: his boyfriend, Will Solace, the son of Apollo. Together the two demigods can overcome any obstacle or foe. At least, that’s been the case so far.

Now Nico is being plagued by a voice calling out to him from Tartarus, the lowest part of the Underworld. He thinks he knows who it is: a reformed Titan named Bob, whom Percy and Annabeth had to leave behind when they escaped Hades’s realm. Nico’s dreams and Rachel Dare’s latest prophecy leave little doubt in Nico’s mind that Bob is in some kind of trouble. Nico has to go on this quest, whether Mr. D and Chiron like it or not. And, of course, Will insists on coming with. But can a being made of light survive in the darkest part of the world? And what does the prophecy mean that Nico will have to “leave something of equal value behind?”

Someone Else’s Bucket List by Amy Matthews

My dying wish is for you to finish my bucket list. I refuse to die without knowing this list will be completed. And I refuse to die without knowing my family will be okay.

Jodie Boyd is a shy and anxious twenty-something, completely unsure of what to do with her life. Her older sister, Bree, is an adventurous, globe-trotting, hugely successful Instagram influencer with more than a million followers. She’s the most alive person Jodie knows—until Bree’s unfathomable, untimely death from Leukemia. The Boyds are devastated, not to mention overwhelmed with medical debt. But Bree thought of everything—and soon, Jodie is shocked by a new post on her sister’s Instagram feed.

The first of many Bree recorded in secret; the post foretells a jaw-dropping challenge for Jodie: to complete Bree’s very public bucket list. From “Fly over Antarctica” to “Perform a walk-on cameo in a Broadway musical,” if Jodie does it—and keeps all Bree’s followers—a corporate sponsor will pay off the staggering medical debt. If she gains followers, the Boyds won’t be the only ones to benefit. It’s crazy, and it’s terrifying. It’s impossible, immoral even, to refuse. So, despite the whole world watching, Jodie plunges in, never imagining that in death, her sister will teach her how to live and that the last item on the list—”Fall in love”—may just prove to be the easiest.

The Housekeepers by Alex Hay

• Genre: Historical Fiction
• Release Date: July 2023

Mrs. King is no ordinary housekeeper. Born into a world of con artists and thieves, she’s made herself respectable, running the grandest house in Mayfair.

The house glitters with treasures beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. But dark secrets lurk in the shadows.

When Mrs. King is suddenly dismissed, she recruits an eclectic group of women from the fringes of society, each with their own score to settle, to launch the most audacious robbery London has ever seen.

Their outlandish plan? On the night of the Park Lane ball, they will strip the house of its every possession – right under the noses of the distinguished guests and their elusive heiress host, Miss de Vries.

Because when a job needs doing right, Mrs. King knows exactly how to clean up.

My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine

Cassie Greenberg loves being an artist, but it’s a tough way to make a living. On the brink of eviction, she’s desperate when she finds a too-good-to-be-true apartment in a beautiful Chicago neighborhood. Cassie knows there has to be a catch—only someone with a secret to hide would rent out a room for that price.

Of course, her new roommate Frederick J. Fitzwilliam is far from normal. He sleeps all day, is out at night on business, and talks like he walked out of a regency romance novel. He also leaves Cassie heart-melting notes around the apartment, cares about her art, and asks about her day. And he doesn’t look half bad shirtless on the rare occasions they’re both home and awake. But when Cassie finds bags of blood in the fridge that definitely weren’t there earlier, Frederick has to come clean.

Cassie’s sexy new roommate is a vampire. And he has a proposition for her.

And that is a list of 10 recent additions to my TBR. Have you heard any of these? Are there any you think I should add?

Looking for some more books to read? Check out my other bookish lists, book reviews, and monthly reading wrap-ups.