The Bookish Mindset

I know it can feel overwhelming scrolling through social media or browsing through bookshops with so much choice. Summer is well and truly here and if you’re looking for something juicy to get stuck into then I can help with that. Each month I create an exclusive list of the months new releases for our patreon group, it’s one of the groups favourite features.

So let me share some of my favourite new releases for August. Just tap on the titles to get more info from Bookshop.org and to support my work.

Katabsis – R. F. Kuang. Fantasy. Hardback. Academics venture into the underworld to save their adviser. Publish date: 28/08

Lucid – Orlaine Johnson. Fantasy. Hardback. Dreams and nightmares move into our world and begin to change reality. Publish date: 07/08

Shasmiso – Brian Chikwava. Literary. Hardback. Two that cannot stand each other fall for one another, traumatised by prejudices. Publish date: 28/08

The Tiny Things Are Heavier – Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo. Literary. Hardback. A story about finding your place as an immigrant in America, set to be heart breaking. Publish date: 14/08

The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park – Michiko Aoyama. Fantasy. Hardback. Author of What You Are Looking For is in the Library releases her next novel, featuring a healing hippo. Publish date: 14/08

Loved One – Aisha Muharrar. Literary. Hardback. A debut from the writer of Parks and Rec and The Good Place, centring love and greif. Publish date: 14/08

Volatile Memory – Seth Haddon. Sci-Fi. Hardback. Sapphic action adventure featuring AI that tricks your memory. Publish date: 14/08

The Stardust Grail – Yume Kitasei. Sci-Fi. Paperback. Described as an “anti-colonial space heist”, I’m already sold. Art thief Maya is tasked with stealing something that could save an alien race. I enjoyed this one! Publish date: 28/08

Forest of Noise – Mosab Abu Toha. Poetry. Paperback. Palestinian Author. Set around life in Gaza, these are full of despair and hope. Publish date: 14/08

Immortal Dark – Tigrest Girma. Fantasy. Paperback. A dark academia novel, set around secret vampire societies and dark secrets. Publish date: 07/08

The Girl with no Reflection – Keshe Chow. Fantasy. Paperback. A gateway to another world is opened through a mirror and Ying is stolen away before her wedding. Publish date: 07/08

Learn My Lesson – Katee Robert. Romance. Paperback. Wicked villans retelling with a modern twist. Publish date: 05/08

Best Hex ever – Nadia El-Fassi. Romance. Paperback. The perfect Halloween romance. A kitchen witch is doomed to hurt anyone that gets close to her. Publish date: 28/08

Love On Sight – Asli Jensen. Romance. Paperback. YA Romance set in London, with themes of class, faith, family and culture. Publish date: 14/08

Have you planned to pick any of these up? I’d love to know!

If you like what you’ve read and would like to access more content, I’d love if you could take a look at my patreon and consider supporting my content on there too. You can also find more content on my Instagram here.

And don’t forget to check out my other blogs and reviews – you can find books with similar themes in the same folder link below, or click back onto blogs to see the whole offering.

Last updated 06/08/2025