Dear Book Lovers,
We were delighted by our first official Above the Books Gallery First Friday with featured artist Stacy Clark. Next time you’re in the shop, be sure to look up—her art looks so gorgeous against the brick walls. Find information on becoming a featured artist yourself right here.
Summer officially begins June 20th! There’s no better way to say farewell to spring than to stop by your local independent bookshop (& cafe) and add to your TBR pile. In this newsletter you’ll find upcoming events, gift spotlight on pens, staff recommendations and new releases.
Special congratulations to Westerly authors Christa Carmen & Jessica P. Wick on their Shirley Jackson Award nominations in the Best Edited Anthology and Best Short Fiction categories… both for Monsters in the Mills. Signed copies available.
Finally, don’t forget to check out June’s featured book lists! Reading the Rainbow: Pride Month Book Recommendations, 5 Books for Juneteenth, & 9 YA Reads for Pride.
Looking ahead, we will be closed July 4th, so plan accordingly.
Happy reading!
Upcoming events
Author Talk with Kristy Woodson Harvey
Monday, June 16th from 7:00-8:30PM
Join Martin House Books and The UNITED as we host New York Times bestselling author Kristy Woodson Harvey for an author talk and signing! She will be discussing her latest novel, Beach House Rules. Booklist calls it, "Charming and beachy in the best way, Beach House Rules will appeal to those looking for an escape with emotional depth."
There are two ticketing options for this event - General Admission (NO BOOK) - $6; and General Admission (WITH BOOK) - $35.
Copies of Beach House Rules and Kristy’s backlist will be available to purchase at the event and Kristy will be signing and personalizing any books purchased either with a ticket or at the event.
Tickets can be purchased directly through The UNITED. Note: There will be an ASL interpreter!
→ Tickets can be purchased here
Ocean House Speaker Series: Jim Pierce
Wednesday, July 2nd from 5:00-7:00PM
New York Times bestselling author Jim Pierce will be discussing (and signing) his historical novel: The Beginning. Join us as Ocean House owner and award-winning author, Deborah Goodrich Royce, moderates a conversation with a featured author.
The Beginning takes readers on a journey into Winston Churchill’s world, set in the tumultuous years of 1940 and 1941. From the very first day he became prime minister, Churchill faced relentless challenges. Through historical fiction, the author skillfully transports readers back to these pivotal events, personalizing the experience and bringing history to life.
Tickets include wine, light bites, and a signed copy of the featured book.
→ Tickets can be purchased here
Ocean House Speaker Series: Mary Alice Monroe
Wednesday, July 9th from 5:00-7:00PM
New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe will be discussing (and signing) her latest novel: Where The Rivers Merge. Join us as Ocean House owner and award-winning author, Deborah Goodrich Royce, moderates a conversation with this week’s featured author.
Where the Rivers Merge has already garnered a lot of praise. Shelf Awareness says “Sweeping and sensuous, Where the Rivers Merge is a layered family saga and an insightful exploration of one woman's efforts to honor the past while remaining open to change. Mary Alice Monroe's immersive dual-timeline novel charts a family's complicated history in the Lowcountry outside Charleston, S.C.”
Tickets include wine, light bites, and a signed copy of the featured book.
→ Tickets can be purchased here and are non-refundable
The Peculiar Book Club with Chrissie Lorraine
Friday, July 11th from 6:30-7:30PM
We’re meeting on the second Friday in July because the first Friday is the Fourth of July. Our July pick is replete with witchcraft, sunken treasure, and forbidden love. Author Katy Hays calls it “a thrill-seeking ride through the world of underwater archeology, the archives of Naples, and a coven of witches who will stop at nothing to protect those they love. Readers will be spellbound by this atmospheric, unmissable stunner.”
Don’t forget to mention the book club for 10% your book club purchase. If you can’t make it in June, get started on our July read: The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner.
→ The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner (July pick)
→ The Z Word by Lindsay King-Miller (August pick)
RSVP here. RSVPs not necessary but appreciated.
To see the rest of our upcoming events, visit the Events page on our website.
New releases
Coming Tuesday, June 17th
Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston
Romantic Comedy, Romance, Feel Good
Joni Lark has a secret. She’s one of the most coveted songwriters in LA, and yet she can’t write. There’s an emptiness inside her, and nothing seems to fill it. Until she hears it. A melody in her head, lyric-less and half-formed, and an alluring and addictive voice to go with it—belonging, apparently, to a wry musician with an emptiness of his own. Surely, he’s a figment of Joni’s overworked imagination. Then a very real man shows up in Vienna Shores…
This Princess Kills Monsters by Ry Herman
Fantasy, Lighthearted, Grimm Fairy Tale Retelling
Someone wants to murder Princess Melilot. This is sadly normal. Melilot is sick of being ordered to go on dangerous quests by her domineering stepmother. Especially since she always winds up needing to be rescued by her more magically talented stepsisters. And now, she's been commanded to marry a king she’s never met…
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle
Horror, Out in Paperback, Good Book Club Pick
Misha knows that chasing success in Hollywood can be hell. But finally, after years of trying to make it, his big moment is here: an Oscar nomination. And the executives at the studio for his long-running streaming series know just the thing to kick his career to the next level: kill off the gay characters, "for the algorithm," in the upcoming season finale. Misha refuses, but he soon realizes that he’s just put a target on his back. And what’s worse, monsters from his horror movie days are stalking him and his friends through the hills above Los Angeles…
Psst: There’s a new Chuck Tingle out in August! Click here to preorder.
Hazel Says No by Jessica Berger Gross
Debut, Fiction - Literary, Small Town, Coming of Age
Tracking through the perspectives of each member of the Blum family, this relatable fish-out-of-water story handles big issues with great empathy and humor, capturing the love that unites one unforgettable family and the essence of life in small-town Maine. Emotionally deft, authentic, and compulsively readable, Hazel Says No is a debut novel not to be missed.
The Cliffs by J. Courtney Sullivan
Fiction - Literary, Ghosts, Book to Read by the Sea
Enthralling, richly imagined, filled with psychic mediums and charlatans, spirits and past lives, mothers, marriage, and the legacy of alcoholism, this is a deeply moving novel about the land we inhabit, the women who came before us, and the ways in which none of us will ever truly leave this earth.
Fox by Joyce Carol Oates
Fiction - Literary, Psychological, Memorable Character
A hypnotic, galloping tale of crime and complicity, revenge and restitution, victim vs. predator, Joyce Carol Oates’s Fox illuminates the darkest corners of the human psyche while asking profound moral questions about justice and the response evil demands. A character as magnetically diabolical as Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley and Vladimir Nabokov’s Humbert Humbert, Francis Fox enchants and manipulates nearly everyone around him, until at last he meets someone he can’t outfox.
Don’t Miss These Tuesday, June 10th Releases!
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
Vampires, Gorgeous Writing, Toxic Relationships, Good Book Club Pick
This book is a fantastic addition to the vampire novel. Three interlocking stories across time draw you, the reader, ever onward. Schwab’s writing is gorgeous, her characters memorable (& occasionally frightening for how human but inhuman they are), and the story is intensely personal and small for all its century-spanning scope. Read it. It’s great. Jess recommends this one!
King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby
Thriller, Crime, Southern
Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author S. A. Cosby returns with King of Ashes, a Godfather-inspired Southern crime epic and dazzling family drama.
The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb
Fiction - Literary, Difficult Read, Hard Read, Local
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of two Oprah Book Club Picks—She’s Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True—Wally Lamb comes the propulsive story of a young father who, after an unbearable tragedy, reckons with the possibility of atonement for the unforgivable. Martin House Books-owner Gretchen Miller says this one’s a difficult read—and takes place locally, with the Andrea getting a mention and the main character incarcerated in Connecticut—so be prepared.
Curious what else is coming out soon? View a selection of Upcoming Releases on our web store.
Gift spotlight
We’re delighted to offer a selection of ink, calligraphy dipping pens, and fountain pen + ink sets. Made in Italy, sourced by an American company, these writerly products are absolutely beautiful. Nostalgic Impressions is a family/woman-owned company based out of New York.
Not sure whether you like writing with fountain pens? Give these a try.
Staff recommendations
Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff
Middle Grade, Gayle Rec, Coming of Age
11-year-old Bug is used to the ghosts haunting their house, but then a new one arrives the summer before middle school and is determined to convey an important message. Decoding this message leads Bug on a journey of self-discovery while still grieving their uncle’s death and navigating changing friendships.
Too Bright to See is part ghost story and part coming-of-age story full of heart and humor.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Fantasy, Gayle Rec, Heartwarming, Cozy, Feel Good
Heartwarming and humorous. The slogan “love makes a family” was never so true as at this orphanage for magical youth in The House in the Cerulean Sea.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
Vampires, Jess Rec, Gorgeous Writing, Toxic Relationships, Good Book Club Pick
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is so good we’re mentioning it twice in the same newsletter. Jess loved this book; it feels timeless and classic and thoroughly present all at once.
The latest at Cafe 1888
Hello, sunshine
We’re sliding into the summer groove over here at Café 1888—and while there’s nothing too wild to report, we do have some little joys we thought you’d want to know about.
The summer salad is back (because we missed it too): fresh spinach, strawberries, cucumbers, feta, toasted almonds, a drizzle of balsamic and honey—basically a warm weather mood on a plate.
Drink-wise, we’ve got a few new ways to brighten your day:
Mango Green Tea Lemonade – light, fresh, and just the right zip
Peach Pie Latte – sweet, smooth, and a little nostalgic
Coconut Cold Brew – bold, tropical, and iced to perfection
Swing by early—we open at 7 AM daily—for a coffee and a good book before you hit the beach, or pop in post-shopping for something cool and relaxing.
And if you’re more in the evening unwind mood, we’ve got you there too. Think chilled rosé, crisp sauvignon blanc, or our newest beer addition: Night Shift’s Night Lite lager—easy-drinking, refreshing, and perfect after a hot day.
Come for the coffee, stay for the vibes.
Order online anytime at cafe1888.com
Martin House Books opens daily at 9AM, Cafe 1888 opens at 7AM. We’re open until 6PM Monday–Wednesday, until 8PM Thursday–Saturday, and until 5PM on Sundays.
Thanks for stopping by,
Martin House Books