So, I feel like 15 books in two months is kind of a sad showing for me —  but, in my defense, I moved from New York City to Chicago so I had a lot going on! The ARC of Stripped, by Zoey Castile, was probably the last book to go in my packing boxes! If you loved Magic Mike XXL, this delightful, sexy, summer romance definitely needs to go on your list! (And you’ll never look at the Coney Island Wonder Wheel the same.) Meanwhile, Sarah MacLean and Tiffany Reisz are at the top of their game with Wicked and the Wallflower and The Chateau, respectively, and Tessa Dare’s hilarious The Governess Game threw me a lifeline when I was drowning in doubt post-move.

My favorite read of the month, though, was probably The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty — a  gorgeously immersive Middle East-set fantasy. Yes, there’s romance in it, but you’ll also fall in love with the mythology and the world-building and all of the twists and turns. I can’t wait for book two, The Kingdom of Copper.

The reading rundown:
Stripped by Zoey Castile (out 8/28, contemporary romance)
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty (fantasy)
The Governess Game by Tessa Dare (out 8/28, historical romance)
The King of Bourbon Street by Thea de Salle (erotic romance)
Leia: Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray (young adult fiction, Star Wars tie-in)
One and Only by Jenny Holiday (contemporary romance)
The Snows of Windroven by Jeffe Kennedy (fantasy romance)
A Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo (YA LGBT thriller/psychological suspense)
Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah MacLean (historical romance)
A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn (historical mystery)
The Chateau by Tiffany Reisz (BDSM, erotic fiction)
My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma (young adult romance)
Erstwhile by H.E. (Holley) Trent (sci-fi erotic romance)
Pas De Deux by Lynn Turner (contemporary romance)
Her New Groove by Shelly Ellis (contemporary romance)

On the TBR:
Duke By Default by Alyssa Cole
Bruja Born by Zoraida Córdova
It Takes Two by Jenny Holiday
Erotic Stories For Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal
Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir