It’s the month of lazy days with time to take a book to the cabin, on the road, or to a shady park. But not just any book. Here are a romcom, a thriller, and essays of wit and wisdom from Minnesota writers.

“Anywhere With You” by Ellie Palmer (Putman, $19)

Minnesotan Ellie Palmer introduces her new romance, “Anywhere With You,” Aug. 5, 2025, at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in St. Paul. (Courtesy of Penguin Random House)

I know what this is and the bounds of what it can be. He’s a nomad, and I’m a workaholic who desperately needs to pay off her mortgage on a very immovable house. We are the two least compatible people on this planet. But even knowing that doesn’t feel like enough to keep me safe from the way this man could destroy me if he disappears again into a puff of smoke and an unsatisfying text message. –   from “Anywhere With You”

Ellie Palmer’s humorous romcom/road trip focuses on Charley Beekman, recently-divorced lawyer whose career is languishing. So it’s not surprising she’s wary of marriage, and when her free-spirited sister, Laurel, announces plans to be married in Minnesota’s North Woods, Charley has to rush to the campgrounds from the Twin Cities to stop the wedding. Problem is, she has to ride with Ethan, who is gorgeous but unreliable.

Charley and Ethan were friends-friends for years, so close that he was supposed to participate in Charley’s wedding. But just before the ceremony he disappeared, not to be seen for years. Now, he’s back in Charley’s life, as charming as ever. During their drive north, there is the romance genre push-pull as their relationship breaks the bonds of friendship and hovers into kissing territory and beyond. Charley knows they are opposites, but she can’t resist Ethan’s kindness and good looks, even if he is a roaming, nomadic musician.

When the couple arrives at the campgrounds where Laurel wants to get married, Charley needs time to have a frank talk with her sister that will stop the ceremony. But everything goes too fast, as the sisters, Ethan, and Laurel’s fiancé deal with medical emergencies that befall the men who are supposed to officiate at the wedding. They meet a hot guy who rents boats and offers them a place for an impromptu pre-wedding celebration that includes hilarious skinny-dipping scenes.

As everything surrounding the wedding gets out of control, Charley and Laurel hash out their sister relationship with Laurel taking charge of her life and telling Charley she’s doing things her way. There is, of course, a happy ending.

“Anywhere With You” is Palmer’s second romance, after “Four Weekends and a Funeral.” It’s getting rave reviews from critics and readers, with The Washington Post calling it one of the most anticipated romances of the summer.

Palmer will introduce her novel at 7 p.m. Tuesday at St. Mary’s Episcopal church, 1895 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, presented by Minneapolis-based Tropes & Truffles bookstore. With Naina Kumar and Alexandra Vasti. Registration required. Go to tropes&truffles.com. She will also read at 7 p.m. Thursday at Content bookstore in Northfield.

“I Become Her” by Joe Hart (Thomas & Mercer, $16.99)

Undated courtesy photo, circa July 2025, of the book cover for award-winning Minnesota author Joe Hart’s new thriller, “I Become Her.” (Courtesy of the author)

Seconds drew out, slow and agonizing. They elongated into minutes that leaped by. Each one put more and more distance between us. Between him and rescue. Between me and discovery. Because what if he was still alive? If he recovered and told everyone what had happened. How I’d acted and what I’d said. How erratic and paranoid I’d been. How he’d only been wanting to talk. How I’d pushed him. – from “I Become Her”

Edgar Award-winner Joe Hart, author of 20 novels including “Obscura” and “The River Is Dark,” gives us a mystery so dark and twisty it should win multiple awards. Even the title has a double meaning readers won’t understand until the shocking end.

Imogene and her husband, Lev, are on their honeymoon cruise when Lev falls overboard. Imogene, who seems paranoid, sounds the alarm, but he isn’t found until a fisherman rescues him. Lev will recover, but his memory seems to be affected, for which Imogene is grateful.  Maybe he won’t remember falling overboard. Did she push him?

What Imogene can’t forget is looking for Lev before the incident when she goes ashore in Greece to see if he is with a waitress whose hand he was touching at lunch. All she sees in the dark is two figures running to a cave in the rain. Was that her husband? At first, it seems Imogene is obsessing about nothing. But when the couple returns home and some of Lev’s memories return, Imogene discovers someone from Lev’s past whom he never mentioned. Then, a woman on the run named Sierra tells her story in separate chapters. Slowly, Imogene begins to fear for her life.

Put this at the top of your TBR pile.

“And So, Adieu” by Margie Zats (Nodin Press, $19.95)

“And So, Adieu” by Margie Zats

I must take issue with the NFL who has titled the moment when the ball changes hands from one team to another as a “turnover.” Surely, with all their vocabulary, they could have devised a less flaky communication and left my afternoon snacks alone.– from “And So, Adieu”

Margie Zats combines her gentle sense of humor with plays on words and love of food in her final book, published just months after her death last December at the age of 90. An author and chef who graduated from Ecole de Cuisine La Varenne in Paris, Zats was a cooking instructor, food columnist and creator of the pastry gift baskets Margie’s Marvelous Munchies. Among her published books is “Stories Savory and Sweet,” winner of the Midwest Publishers Association humor prize. She was also a co-founder of the Groves Academy in St. Louis Park for children with learning disabilities.

In this slender book, Zats muses about everything from watching life from her kitchen window to what makes a perfect nosh and the time Prince attended a family wedding reception. Food, in fact, runs through this collection. “Food is our common denominator,” she writes.

Reading Margie Zats is like sharing a piece of Blueberry Lemon cake with a good friend. And if you want to channel Margie, the recipe is in the book.

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