You probably know that I am an avid library user. Although I have been buying books a bit more & have been fortunate enough to receive books for review from publishers over the years, I’d still estimate that at least 50% of my books each year come from the library. Around this time of year, as school winds down and I have time off from work for the summer, I’m usually in my local county library branch 2-3 times a week stocking up on reads for the pool & beach. 

Since the pandemic has still slowed down the rate of new books coming in (my library is still also quarantining books for three days after they’ve been returned) & my local branch is on the smaller side, it’s been taking longer than usual for me to get copies of some new releases. That being said, I’ve been putting upcoming releases on hold extra early and making sure to get popular books on hold even sooner lately…which has led to my 10+ book holds list. I know the obvious answer would be to just buy the books myself but I do try to hold myself to a somewhat book budget, aka not buy every new shiny release on my TBR. 

Today I’ll sharing all the books on my library holds list as of this Monday morning – here’s to a few of these coming in this week.. & yes I am fearful that all of these will come in at the same time because I’ll likely only be able to have them out for 2 weeks since many of these are must-reads for the summer. I’m not going to go into too much detail on a few of a titles, since I’ll be sharing & repeating a few in my most anticipated books for Summer 2021 post on Friday and I’ve already mentioned a few of these in anticipated posts. 

Published Books

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The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave – I put The Last Thing He Told Me on my TBR during the week of pub, when all the hype definitely pulled me in. I wanted to get it & read n time for Bad on Paper Podcast’s Book Club episode, but I unfortunately think I’m going to have to wait to listen to the episode until after its released this week. 

Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson – I totally admit that I thought about buying Take Me Home Tonight so I could read it sooner because I love Morgan Matson’s books so much, but I have heard some mixed reviews about this one & I only own one of her books, Save the Date. I’d probably be more tempted to buy it if I had personal copies of her other books.

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren – My library either gets new books as soon as they come in and have them ready on pub date or it takes a few weeks for them to come in, and the pandemic and delayed shipping seems to only lengthened the process (obviously am very grateful to have my library of course & that they even order all of these new books!). One of my summer reading goals is to read all of Christina Lauren’s standalone titles so I can finally make my rankings list, so I may try to read books like Autoboyography and My Favorite Half Night Stand in the meantime. 

A Special Place for Women by Laura Hankin – I LOVED reading Laura Hankin’s Happy & You Know It in December, which I did check out from the library, so another book that I am so excited to get my hands on. 

Under the Southern Sky by Kristy Woodson Harvey – I’m finding myself getting myself into more staple beach reads and authors, like Kristy Woodson Harvey. I could probably start with a book like Slightly South of Simple, but her latest release had me really interested. 

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Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano – Finlay Donovan is Killing It has been on my holds list the longest. I’ve had this mystery on my holds list since early April. There’s only 3 copies in my county system, and I think since books can be checked out for 2 week periods and the 3 day quarantine between returns plus other people having it on holds is what’s causing the delay – this is where I wish our system told us our spot in the holds list!

The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall – The Secret Bridesmaid is a book where I guess I didn’t act fast enough because all available copies are checked out as of this morning. 

It Had to Be You by Georgia Clark – It Had to Be You may be the book where I lose my self control and just go buy a copy because I’ve heard so many good things about this wedding-planning inspired & Love Actually like book. 

Arsenic & Adobo by Mia P. Manansala – My country library bought a few copies of Arsenic & Adobo but I think this is another title experiencing some shipping delays. 

Upcoming Releases

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Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid – I know EVERYONE has Malibu Rising on their holds list because everyone loves TJR. My country system has 20 copies on order. I don’t necessarily need to read Malibu Rising as soon as it comes out, but I know everyone is going to want to get their hands on this one throughout the year so wanted to get my name on the holds list ASAP. Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid comes out on June 1. 

Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand – I’m slowly but surely becoming a Elin Hilderbrand fan after loving her two most recent releases, 28 Summers and Summer of ’69. I’m going to definitely dedicate some of my summer reading to her backlist, but I can’t wait to get my hands on her new release, Golden Girl. I’m not too worried about when this June 1st release will come in because my county library has over 30 copies on order. 

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston – Given all the love for Red, White and Royal Blue, I’m sure Casey McQuiston’sJune 1st release is going to be another one that flies off the shelf this summer.  

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris – The Other Black Girl has been on so many must-read books of summer 2021 lists, so again, I figured I should try to lay my hand on a copy early before everyone goes to read it throughout the next few months. The Other Black Girl comes out on June 1st. 

Have you read any of the books I mentioned? Do you borrow books from the library? What books are you hoping to read this summer? Share in the comments!