For Your Consideration: August 2026 LibraryReads Titles

“Weeks before celebrated classical composer Ryder Wakefield dies, he presses his 30-something protégée, Mia Voss, to complete his work-in-progress, precipitating her plunge into the agony and ecstasy of the creative process in this harrowing psychological thriller from Pedersen (SACRIFICIAL ANIMALS)… Strong-nerved readers will be intoxicated.”—Publishers Weekly

“Hustle culture meets cannibalism in this bruising satire from Montes (PERFECT DAYS)… [Montes’] sense of humor is stinging and he garnishes the novel with a delicious last-minute twist. Readers who can stomach the premise will walk away satiated.“—Publishers Weekly

THE INFINITE STATE by Richard Swan | 9781250386229 | 8/4/26
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“THE INFINITE STATE is a promising beginning to a saga of escaping the oppressive clutches of an imperial state.”—Booklist

DREAMLAND by Olivie Blake | 9781250368935 | 8/11/26
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THE DIVINE GARDENER’S HANDBOOK: Or What To Do If Your Girlfriend Accidentally Turns Off the Sun by Eli Snow | 9781250395184 | 8/18/26
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Determined to be the perfect maid of honor for her sister’s sudden engagement, fiery Thea arrives at a Blue Ridge Mountains retreat only to find a familiar face among the guests. Owen Hayes, the man who paid her to pretend to be his girlfriend at a family wedding three years ago, is actually the groom’s brother and is once again desperate to escape his mother’s matchmaking. To survive the week, the former “exes” agree to reprise their roles, promising a second fake breakup with strictly no feelings involved. However, as old sparks reignite and secrets surface, Thea and Owen must decide if they are still performing or if their connection was never a lie at all. This spicy second chance romance has all the ingredients that romance readers love: yearning, tension, laugh out loud wit, and lots of emotion!

THE RESPONSIBLE PARTY by Claire Carusillo | 9781250408631 | 8/11/26
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GEEK LOVE meets Sam Lipsyte in this rollicking, hilarious debut novel about a family of unforgettable women obsessed with securing their legacy. Replete with inappropriately old boyfriends, dubious medical professionals, and more than a few boats, THE RESPONSIBLE PARTY is the story of several women, in several different timelines, trying to stay afloat.

THE BLACK SHIELD: An American Memoir of Family and Power by Wilbert L. Cooper | 9780374613525 | 8/25/26
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Both an epic history and an intimate family story, a startling account of the lives of Black cops in one Midwestern city. An intimate, bold work of literary nonfiction, THE BLACK SHIELD is an urgent exploration of the complex duality of the Black cop. Cooper grapples with a knot of contradictions: Is the Black officer a sign of progressive change, or of the system’s masterful way of changing its appearance without changing its outcomes? How can he reconcile the fact that law enforcement helped lift his family out of poverty when he lives in an era that is marred by mass incarceration and perpetual police violence? Cooper gives us an American story about race and power of a kind that has never been told before.

THEY SAY A GIRL DIED HERE by Sarah Pinborough | 9781250436689 | 8/25/26
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From the New York Times bestselling author of BEHIND HER EYES and WE LIVE HERE NOW, a thrilling, genre-bending mystery about two murdered girls, a town with dark secrets, and a race to break a deadly cycle.