Can't Wait Wednesday: The Paris Widow / The Forgotten Names / Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books / Code Black

The New

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by the marvelous Tressa at Wishful Endings to spotlight upcoming release we are excited about that we have yet to read.

Here are three upcoming releases that caught my attention and immediately ended up on my wish list I am looking forward to reading all of them. 

The Paris Widow by Kimberly Belle
Release Date: June 11, 2024 by Park Row

A dream vacation turns deadly when secrets from the past catch up to a married couple in Paris in this new edge-of-your-seat thriller from USA Today bestselling author, Kimberly Belle.

When Stella met Adam, she thought she had finally found a nice, normal guy—a welcome change from her previous boyfriend and her precarious jetsetter lifestyle with him. But her secure world comes crashing down when Adam goes missing after an explosion in the city square. Unable to reach him, she panics.

As the French police investigate, it’s revealed that Adam was on their radar as a dealer of rare and stolen antiquities with a long roster of criminal clients. Reeling from this news, Stella is determined not to leave Paris until she has the full story. Was Adam a random victim or the target of the explosion? And why is someone following her through the streets of Paris?

An irresistible, fast-paced read set in some of Europe’s most inviting locales, The Paris Widow explores how sinister secrets of the past stay with us—no matter how far we travel.[Goodreads Summary]

The Forgotten Names by Mario Escobar
Release Date: June 11, 2024 by Harper Muse

Based on the true story of one ordinary woman who risked everything to reunite Jewish children with the true names they hadn't even realized they'd lost.

France, 1992. Law student Valérie Portheret is in the middle of researching her thesis on the Klaus Barbie trials when she stumbles across an unexplained list of 108 names. Curious, she investigates further and discovers that the list contains the names of Jewish children who were smuggled out from under the Nazi regime during WWII by receiving new names, new lives, and hiding in plain sight by "boarding" in homes like the Chateau de Peyrins. While visiting the Chateau, the son-in-law of the original owner shows Valérie the meticulous hidden records of the children who found safety behind the castle's walls. She finds it difficult to distinguish between the names of the legitimate French children who boarded and the changed names of the Jewish children, but Valérie resolves to locate each of the original children--who are now adults--in order to hear their stories and shed light on their true origins.

Facing escalating opposition from people who would prefer to forget the Holocaust ever happened or even deny it outright, Valérie embarks on a twenty-five-year quest to right the extreme wrongs of history and reunite individuals with their birthright heritages.

The Forgotten Names reminds the world of the impact that one person can have in the face of overwhelming odds. [Goodreads Summary]

Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller
Release Date: June 18, 2024 by William Morrow

The provocative and hilarious summer read that will have book lovers cheering and everyone talking! Kirsten Miller, author of The Change, brings us a bracing, wildly entertaining satire about a small Southern town, a pitched battle over banned books, and a little lending library that changes everything.

Beverly Underwood and her arch enemy, Lula Dean, live in the tiny town of Troy, Georgia, where they were born and raised. Now Beverly is on the school board, and Lula has become a local celebrity by embarking on mission to rid the public libraries of all inappropriate books—none of which she’s actually read. To replace the “pornographic” books she’s challenged at the local public library, Lula starts her own lending library in front of her home: a cute wooden hutch with glass doors and neat rows of the worthy literature that she’s sure the town’s readers need.

But Beverly’s daughter Lindsay sneaks in by night and secretly fills Lula Dean’s little free library with banned books wrapped in “wholesome” dust jackets. The Girl’s Guide to the Revolution is wrapped in the cover of The Southern Belle’s Guide to Etiquette. A jacket that belongs to Our Confederate Heroes ends up on Beloved. One by one, neighbors who borrow books from Lula Dean’s library find their lives changed in unexpected ways. Finally, one of Lula Dean’s enemies discovers the library and decides to turn the tables on her, just as Lula and Beverly are running against each other to replace the town’s disgraced mayor.

That’s when all the townspeople who’ve been borrowing from Lula’s library begin to reveal themselves. It’s a diverse and surprising bunch—including the local postman, the prom queen, housewives, a farmer, and the former DA—all of whom have been changed by what they’ve read. When Lindsay is forced to own up to what she’s done, the showdown that’s been brewing between Beverly and Lula will roil the whole town...and change it forever. [Goodreads Summary]

Do any of these books interest you? What upcoming releases are you looking forward to reading?

The Old(er) 

Carole of Carole's Random Life in Books has given me the perfect excuse to spotlight those unread books on my TBR in her Books from the Backlog feature, reminding me what great books I have waiting for me under my own roof still to read!

These past few months I have been featuring books on the losing end of my TBR List Poll, which includes all books on my TBR shelves. This one was one of the options in my July 2016 poll that I still haven't gotten to. Yet. 

Code Black (Paranormal Crimes Division #1) by Tina Moss 

(City Owl Press, 2015)

Heat Up the Night...Heed the Call.

Gossip mag reporter Sera Benenati knows a thing or two about unearthing secrets...and burying them. As an unregistered supernatural, her freedom depends on keeping her fire-wielding abilities contained. Yet, the threat of a little flame isn’t enough to snuff out her journalistic pursuits. She’s determined to claw her way to the top and land a spot with a real paper.

When she tracks a lead on a string of gruesome paranormal murders to the small town of Buckhorn, Arizona, she’s certain she’s landed the perfect scoop. But, as the crime scene reveals victims with bite marks, torn flesh, and battered bodies, Sera may have smoked out more than she can burn. As the investigation grows hot and Sera winds up in the crosshairs, she’ll need the help of a sexy shifter, special agent Talon Rede, to unmask the murderers before she becomes the next victim. [Goodreads Summary]

Have you read Code Black?  Does this book sound like something you would like to read? 

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