I am taking next week off due to travel. Fear not, I will be back in your inboxes in July.
Happy reading!
Summer may just be officially beginning, but summer book publishing seems to be winding down—and I’m okay with that! May and June are such huge book release months, my summer TBR runneth over. I’m more than ready to dig in to all these exciting summer releases!
July might be a lighter publishing month, but make no mistake, plenty of promising books caught my eye. A number of them feel better suited to my fall reading tastes, and that’s great—something to look forward to!
Here are the July books on my reading radar:
July 1
Spectacular Things by Beck Dorey-Stein.* Two sisters examine what they owe each other and what they are willing to sacrifice to make their dreams come true.
Port Anna by Libby Buck. An enchanting debut novel exploring second chances and blossoming romance in a charming port town in Maine, perfect for fans of J. Courtney Sullivan’s The Cliffs and Catherine Newman’s Sandwich.
Our Last Vineyard Summer by Brooke Lea Foster. A captivating new novel set in 1965 and 1978 about a graduate student who returns with her sisters to their family’s summer home on Martha’s Vineyard and begins to unravel old family secrets.
I Want This Place to Burn: Essays by Maris Kreizman. A debut essay collection by the inimitable cultural critic Maris Kreizman—an introspective, searing account of the life experiences that have pushed this former “good Democrat” even further to the political left.
July 8
Night Watcher by Daphne Woolsoncroft. Nola Strate, a late night radio host in Portland, Oregon, listens to stories of hauntings and cryptic sightings for a living. But one foggy evening, a caller describes an eerie scene that triggers memories of Nola's childhood escape from a serial killer, and she fears he's back to finish what he started.
These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean. A razor-sharp, wildly sexy novel about a wealthy New England family’s long-overdue reckoning . . . and the one week that threatens to tear them apart.
Finding Grace by Loretta Rothschild.* Blending a page-turning moral dilemma with satisfying emotional poignancy, Finding Grace is a sweeping love story that explores the price of a new beginning, how the ghosts of our past shape our future, and whether redemption can be found in the wreckage of what we've lost.
Vera, or Faith by Gary Shteyngart.* A poignant, sharp-eyed, and bitterly funny tale of a family struggling to stay together in a country rapidly coming apart, told through the eyes of their wondrous ten-year-old daughter.
Mailman: My Wild Ride Delivering the Mail in Appalachia and Finally Finding Home by Stephen Starring Grant. An exuberant, hilarious, and profound memoir by a mailman in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, who found that working for the post office saved his life, taught him who he was, gave him purpose, and educated him deeply about a country he loves but had lost touch with.
A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhirst. The electrifying true story of a young couple shipwrecked at sea: a mind-blowing tale of obsession, survival, and partnership stretched to its limits.
July 15
The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Three women in three different eras encounter danger and witchcraft in this eerie multigenerational horror saga from the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic.
The Other Wife by Jackie Thomas-Kennedy. A big-hearted novel of nostalgia and longing, and a poignant exploration of how we choose to love.
House of Beth by Kerry Cullen. A haunting and seductive tale of a young career woman who slides quickly into the role of stepmother, in a life that may still belong to someone else.
One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford. In this heart-wrenching and unique spin on the zombie mythos, a brilliant scientist desperately searches for a cure after a devastating epidemic while also hiding a monumental secret—her undead husband.
The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst. A cozy fantasy nestled on a far-away island brimming with singing flowers, honey cakes, and honeyed love. A standalone novel set in the world of The Spellshop.
A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna. A whimsical and heartwarming novel about a witch who has a second chance to get her magical powers—and her life—back on track, from the national bestselling author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.
Browse these titles: Bookshop | LibroFM
*denotes I have a complimentary advanced review copy
Tell me:
Are any of these books on your reading radar?
Which July releases are you looking forward to?
What are you planning to read in July? (Front or backlist!)
Reading
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins. I’ve been rereading the Hunger Games trilogy with my teen and tween over the last few months. After finishing the primary trilogy we decided to continue with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes which was new to me as I did not read it in 2020 when it published though I do recall seeing some very mixed reviews. Now I understand why.
I did not care for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, really I found it quite a slog to read. I’m not quite sure what this book intended to be, but I know it’s much too long and meandery. To me, this book came off as deeply philosophical with the characters representing different values and viewpoints on society, but this is done with a super light touch and I never really understood the point that was being made across more than 500 pages; it didn’t go deep enough on philosophy, characterization, or plot to have a successful story. My kids basically had no idea what was going on and found it very boring. A disappointing read on the heels of a thrilling trilogy.The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark. This title came up frequently whenever I saw June releases being discussed and the more I heard about The Ghostwriter the more interested I was to read it. I have never read any Julie Clark before, though she seems to be a pretty popular author. I love a book within a book situation, throw in a messy father-daughter relationship and a mysterious murder event from the 1970s and I am in!
I think my expectations perhaps may have been a bit unfairly high going in, but I did enjoy this and read it very quickly.Summer by Edith Wharton. Read for
‘s Short Summer Readalong. This is my second Wharton, I read The Custom of the Country in early 2024. Though I much preferred Custom of the Country I’m glad I read Summer and I’m appreciating Chelsey’s supplemental materials for the readalong.The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick. I am a sucker for a 1960s setting, add a group of suburban housewives reading The Feminine Mystique for book club and there’s no way I wasn’t reading this! Though is was a bit heavy handed at times for my personal preference it actually exceeded my expectations in some ways of what I anticipated from a book club book exploring complex topics like 1960s Feminisim.
Listening
Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves by Sophie Gilbert. I am the woman of the generation being explored in this book. I entered high school in 2000, my formative years spanned the late 90s into the early 2000s. I found this book fascinating, spot on, and incredibly relevant.
Watching
Mad Men, Season 5 (DVD!) We just finished season 5 in our series rewatch.
Eating & Drinking
This Vineyard Chicken and Pasta Salad is one of my favorite dinner salads, topped with Lemon Garlic Grilled Chicken, of course. I was able to make it with lettuce and herbs from our garden!
Sweet Potato Black Bean Quesadillas for Taco Tuesday
And another round of these super quick and easy Buffalo Chicken Burgers
Our first good watermelon of the season! We bought one a few weeks ago that wasn’t worth mentioning—this one felt like summer.
Links + Loves
Get Your Highlighters Ready. (The Cut) This article about lifelong learning gaining popularity is interesting. I consider myself a lifelong learner, I can’t fathom ever reaching a point where I’m no longer curious to learn new things. Hearing learning is trendy is heartening, especially at a time when anti-intellectualism, exporting thinking to AI, brain rot, and shortened attention spans are also trending. While I think there is really something to this intellectual trend it does make me wonder whether something that has always existed is just being repackaged and resold to meet the moment.
Lit Hub has helpfully scoured all the major summer reading lists to compile The Ultimate Summer 2025 Reading List with all the most frequently selected titles in order of popularity.
As someone who finds private libraries fascinating and will absolutely sneak a peak at bookshelves whenever the opportunity presents I appreciate Book Riot’s Why Book Lists and Private Libraries Fascinate Us.
Best Reviewed Books of the Week (Lit Hub)
The Most Anticipated Queer Books for Summer 2025. (Electric Lit) This is a really excellent list!
What are you reading, listening to, eating, watching, liking, and/or linking this week? Let’s chat!
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Until next time!
I am so very excited about the new book by Sangu Mandanna, I loved her first one. And I listened to the Book Club for Troublesome Women, and that is the kind of book club I would join. I enjoyed spending my time with these women!
I’m reading an ARC of These Summer Storms right now (about 100 pages to go), and it’s so good—even though I usually find rich people fiction a little dull. The ennui! Save me.
What’s really striking is how much Sarah MacLean’s writing has leveled up. Her historicals were always fun, fizzy romps, but this is something else—sharply observed, emotionally precise. A real evolution.