August Oklahoma Book Releases

Welcome back to Read LOKal! Let’s find something good to read.

Double Duty: The Secret Life of Melinda Malone by Linda Hughes (Women’s Fiction - 8/1/26)

Melinda Malone is tired of playing it safe.
Beneath the routine of her everyday life lives a woman hungry for excitement and adventure.
Then an unexpected work assignment sends her to Istanbul.
Far from home, Melinda finds herself navigating a shadowy world of CIA secrets, deception, and danger. In a city where trust is essential, one man breaks through her guarded defenses: a Turkish archaeologist whose charm is matched only by the mysteries surrounding him.
As danger closes in, she must choose. Does she want the safety she’s always relied on...or the life she never knew she wanted?
Connect with Linda at lindahughes.com

The Hanged Man: Manifest Destiny Book 4 by JB Caine and Betsey Kulakowski (Paranormal Thriller - 8/8/26)

The reckoning begins …
In New Orleans’ French Quarter, a cursed tarot Card vanishes from an occult antiquities shop, the scene of a brutal murder—The Hanged Man, an Artifact tied to a cryptic puzzle book that has treasure hunters and conspiracy theorists circling the city.
Eliza and Esme Wren are sent in with a new experimental containment device and one mission: recover the Artifact before its influence spreads. But nothing about this case is contained for long. Elias and Solan are soon pulled into a separate trap when a familiar enemy arrives with a vendetta—and the knowledge to expose the Aegis Order’s darkest secrets, including Solan’s illicit use of Artifacts and Elias’s buried past.As old betrayals resurface and THE HANGED MAN tightens its grip, the team discovers the Artifact is only the beginning. In New Orleans, secrets don’t stay buried—and some are deadly enough to kill for.
The greatest threat isn’t the Artifact. It’s the truth.
Connect with JB. Connect with Betsey.

Taming the Beast by Amy Prokopis (Paranomal Romance - 8/27/26)

Celebrate Bookish Oklahoma and support Read LOKal by grabbing Read LOKal merch at our Shopify store! This is your last chance - store closes August 6.

Eat Your Words by Tamela Miles (Fantasy/Paranormal Romance - 7/1/26)

Connect with Tamela on Instagra - @tamelasstories.

Advocating with Courage, Not Chaos by Kelli Smith (Planner - 7/1/26)

Ignorant, Stupid, Smart and Wise: Growing Up Ignorant and Poor in Oklahoma by Price Brown (Educational and Inspirational Memoirs - 7/17/26)

What does it mean to grow from ignorance to wisdom? In this heartfelt memoir, the author shares unforgettable stories of growing up poor in rural Oklahoma, where family, faith, hard lessons, and basketball help to shape the man he would become. Filled with humor, heartbreak, and hope, Ignorant, Stupid, Smart and Wise is a coming-of-age journey that reminds readers that our beginnings do not define our future—and that wisdom is often earned one life lesson at a time.
Find the book here.

She Works Hard for the Money by Marty Ludlum (Mystery - 6/23/26)

Tales of a Traveler in Poetry and Prose by Brion K. Hank (Literature and Fiction - 3/21/26)

Wolf Pack Book 2: The Rescue by Joy Pheonix (Fantasy - 2025)