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NEW BOOKS TO PUT THE SPARKLE IN YOUR JULY FESTIVITIES

Texas authors will light up your summer reading list with this  brilliant collection of new releases. We’re highlighting speculative and legal thrillers, historical fiction, a sports memoir, and much more. No matter where the summer takes you, we have just the book to brighten your beach reading or put the sparkle back into a rainy summer afternoon.

The Brothers & Sisters Eatery

Gabe Reaume

Historical Fiction

266 pages

June 30, 2026

In the roaring heart of 1920s Chicago, two men from worlds apart share a common language: food. With their families in tow, Samson Sanders leaves the heat of segregated Texas for a new start, while Massimo ‘Mass’ Messina crosses an ocean from Sicily for better opportunities.
When the men meet working together at the Union Stock Yards, a simple lunch pail mix-up sparks a culinary sensation. By blending smoky Southern soul with Old World Sicilian tradition, they create a taste that has weary workers lining up for more.

A hard to resist saga of immigration, migration, ambition, and the transformative power of breaking bread.This is historical fiction at its most flavorful.

Crafting Love (Coastal Dreams, Book Three)

Alexa Aston

Fiction / Romance / Small Town Romance

Oliver-Heber Books

286 pages

July 28, 2026

After designing Tidewater, an upscale resort, architect Sullivan Shepherd arrives on site to oversee construction and finds himself drawn to small-town life.
After a decade in a touring theatrical company, Piper Roberts returns to her hometown, ready to put down permanent roots.

The pair find much in common during their whirlwind romance and sparks continue to fly, even as Sullivan’s time in the Bay begins to wind down.

Will Sullivan ditch his white collar job in order to craft furniture and remain in Driftwood Bay, or will he let love slip through his fingers and return to New York?

The Frequency

Randall D. St. Claire

Fiction / Mystery / Speculative Thriller

Atmosphere Press

376 pages

July 21, 2026

When a pawn shop owner’s life collides with an extraordinary threat stemming from an archival myth, staying alive is only half the battle and knowing the true enemy may be impossible.
The Frequency navigates betrayal, deception and a larger conspiracy than imagined, while sustaining loyalty, resilience and bonds that form when everything else falls apart.

Get it Done: Seven Decades of Lessons From a Political Legend

Ben Barnes with David Ritz

Nonfiction

Grand Central Publishing

261 pages

July 14, 2026

From one of the most influential officeholders in Texas and power brokers in Washington over the last seventy years, lifetime Democrat Ben Barnes, an intimate and unexpected look behind the corridors of power.
Ben Barnes started out as a whistleblower. He was only nineteen when he uncovered corruption in the Health Department in Austin, Texas, and testified against the culprits. He felt empowered—a guy like him could make a difference. Now at eighty-seven, despite his impressive career, he is trying to go more places and solve more problems than any other time in his life. Barnes is ready to share his decades of political experience and remind readers that there is a way to keep going and keep fighting, even in the golden years. The golden years are a fine time to get things done.

Indigo, The Deep

Kellye Abernathy

YA / Coming of Age / Fantasy

Atmosphere Publishing

269 pages

July 7, 2026

“In the heart of the deepest sea caverns, there is a stillness. Learn to surrender to it.”

 

Fifteen-year-old Condi Bloom knows the magic will happen again. The autumn equinox is looming. Strange currents are sweeping through her coastal town. Tides are turning wild, and a mercurial mist cloaks the lonely rock tower known as Windy Hollow, long believed to be haunted.

When a silent threat glides into the cove, altering the fragile ecosystem and drawing sharks close to shore, Condi ignores the danger. A fierce surfer, she insists on pushing her skills to the limit, hoping to heal a broken heart. Meanwhile, seventeen-year-old Firth Cristo, a bold free diver, is tormented by a past he cannot reveal. Guided by the Beachlings, the mystical women who teach the secrets of the deep, he dares to explore remote underwater sea caverns, navigating the pulsing tides of a shimmering enchantment.

Inspired by the certainty of wonder and the uncertain nature of time, Condi and Firth dive into their rawest places, discovering that healing—of nature, of others, and of themselves—is found in the bounty of a limitless sea.

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