Happy Tuesday from the road, friend.
We are on our summer family road trip this week, so this issue comes to you from the Adirondack Mountains. So far we have hit Legoland in New York (a hit with the kids, and we got to have dinner with friends), then drove up to Ticonderoga to spend a few days with family. In a couple of days we are heading to Boston where the plan is the aquarium, the Freedom Trail, and as many good bookish and historic stops as we can squeeze in before we head home. But also some afternoons by the pool to recharge!
It is a quieter week for new releases, so instead of a roundup I thought I would show you what I added to my Kindle for this trip. As a mood reader I need choices!
What I packed for the road
📖 The Wild Beneath by Kelly Anderson. Reese's Book Club August pick and an atmospheric debut about a woman raised on a sailboat in the Pacific Northwest who has always heard voices in the sea. It blends literary fiction, folklore, and a touch of magic, and if you loved Wild Dark Shore, this one is calling your name. This is my first pick for the quiet hotel nights.
📖 Miss Bates by Catherine Cliff. A clever reimagining of Jane Austen's Emma that hands the microphone to its overlooked spinster, Miss Bates. It asks whether the chattering, grateful woman we meet in Emma might be playing a role to survive an impossible situation.
📖 Road Trip by Mary Kay Andrews. Two estranged sisters reunite for their mother's funeral and discover her dying wish was for them to take a journey together. Expect family secrets, an art mystery, sisterly bickering, and a little romance. Pure summer comfort reading.
🎧 In the car: The British Are Coming by Rick Atkinson. This is the one I am most excited about, because the timing could not be better. We are listening to Atkinson's gripping history of the start of the American Revolution while we visit Ticonderoga and head toward Boston and the Freedom Trail. Standing where so much of it happened while the story plays in the car has made the whole trip feel like a living history lesson for all of us!
They also released a graphic novel of it that I got for our youngest. It is incredibly well done! He has loved learning the history of the places we will be.
I also got a Switch lite to finally be able to play Tiny Bookshop so be sure to share your favorite cozy comfort games with me. I'm looking for all the recommendations!
On the blog this week
Wicker (2026): Where to Read the Short Story and Everything We Know About the Movie The upcoming Wicker movie is based on a free short story you can read in about fifteen minutes. I rounded up where to find it, what it is about, and the amazing cast, so you can read it before the film arrives. It is a really well done short story.
One quick reminder
The August giveaway is still open. Comment the August release you are most excited for on my August releases post and you are entered to win a copy of the book you name, any edition, shipped free. Winner drawn September 1.
Happy reading, and safe travels if you are out adventuring too.
xo, Chelsea
P.S. If you have a favorite bookstore in the Boston area, send it my way. I always leave room in the suitcase.
