4 hot new books to read in August

Friends at war

In 1914 London, tensions between two childhood friends escalate to the breaking point. Impassioned Thea has become a women’s rights activist who scorns the quieter Kezia for her desire to settle down and marry. Kezia can’t understand Thea’s extremist interests. When the two unexpectedly get caught up in the war, they’re forced to change their thinking in ways they couldn’t have imagined. An astute study of the role of women during wartime from two radically different points of view. —  Kristin Eliason

The Care and Management of Lies, Jacqueline Winspear, $34.

Love on the line

It’s a classic tale of girl meets boy, girl marries boy . . . then work and family get in the way. Georgie McCool is an ambitious comedy scriptwriter on the brink of her first big break, while her husband, Neal, has given up his own dreams so she can pursue hers. Neal cooks, takes care of their two little girls and makes sure Georgie has clean clothes to wear to work. Somewhere in the midst of the chaos, their relationship has quietly eroded. Still, Georgie takes it for granted that Neal will always be there — until one day he isn’t.

A magic phone (rotary, naturally) and her husband’s voice coming from the past make Georgie realize just how much she has to lose. But would she do things differently, even if she could? A warm, lighthearted look at love in the modern world. —  Sydney Loney

Landline, Rainbow Rowell, $29.

Royal battle: good vs. evil

Nineteen-year-old princess Kelsea Raleigh Glynn battles the dark magic of the vicious Red Queen and other supernatural evils to reclaim her dead mother’s throne in this thrilling new series. Emma Watson has already signed on to play the lead in the film! — Lora Grady

The Queen of the Tearling, Erika Johansen, $25.

Fatal day

In the first sentence of Celeste Ng’s debut novel, readers discover that Lydia Lee, the adored middle child of a mixed-race family, is dead. Her parents and two siblings are undone by the tragedy, and with each page the events that led to the moment of Lydia’s death are gradually revealed. Ng dissects the dynamics of the Lee family and examines race and gender in small-town ’70s Ohio through characters who are utterly real and emotionally convincing. —  Dominique Lamberton

Everything I Never Told You, Celeste Ng, $31.