17 Amazing New Books for All Your July Reading Needs

Kelly Harms gives us the classic “Freaky Friday” plot, but with a mom-judging twist. Celeste, a perfectly relaxed suburban mom, and her neighbor, ambitious productivity consultant Wendy, have little in common other than their children’s shared activities. When they somehow find themselves in a body-swap plot, they’re forced to reevaluate what they really believe about each other’s lives and start to realize that they have more respect for each other than they thought. Out July 1.

Get ready for the latest entry in Sonali Dev’s contemporary retellings of Jane Austen novels, centered on an Indian-American family. In this novel, India, a stress management coach, is hired by her best friend’s brother Yash, a politician who has just been the target of a hate crime, to help him process his trauma and stay the course for his campaign. The one thing that might get in the way? A decade-old secret the two of them share. Out July 6.

If you know about Elaine of Astolat, it’s probably from Tennyson’s famous poem about the cursed girl who lives in a tower and dies after falling in unrequited love with Lancelot. In Laura Sebastian’s epic retelling, Elaine is part of a group of friends whose fates have already been foretold—but none of them are ready to let their destinies just happen without a fight, and Elaine herself struggles to change the path of tragedy, no matter what it costs her. Out July 6

Kristin Harmel’s latest historical fiction draws inspiriation from true tales of heroism during the Holocaust. After being stolen from her German parents as a baby by a strange and solitary woman, Yona grows up with knowledge of the forest and of the supernatural, but not of the outside world. As a young woman, Yona encounters Jews fleeing into the forest to hide from persecution and certain death and teaches them how to survive, but her own barely remembered past could either put them in danger or save them all. Out July 6.

A young woman in a small town is hiding a secret in Linsey Miller’s novel: She has the power of the banished gods within her. She’d rather stay hidden, marry her best friend, and live a quiet life, but when a mysterious prince comes to town, he forces her hand: her help in exchange for the life of someone she loves. To help the prince hold back the encroaching darkness, she has to release the power she’s been holding back and discover the truth about their dangerous world. Out July 6.

Grady Hendrix offers up a fresh take on vampire thrillers, with a little bit of tongue-in-cheek humor along with the horror. Lynette, a survivor of a horrific massacre—aka a “final girl” in horror film parlance—starts a support group for other women like her to help work through their trauma and get their lives together. When one of the women goes missing, though, they realize that the horrors aren’t over, and someone is looking to finish the job and take them all down. Out July 13.

Get organized and mindful with this guide to minimalism, from Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, aka the “Minimalists” recognizable from their Netflix documentaries. It’s a guide to living well without excess, full of advice and ideas about decluttering life and focusing on the things (and people) that matter most. Out July 13.

Think Notting Hill with a 21st-century twist, and you’ve got this delightful Hollywood-adjacent rom-com from Jasmine Guillory. Ben’s job in advertising takes an unexpected turn when his company is hired to work with Anna, a rising Hollywood star, and he’s assigned to lead the campaign. As Ben and Anna find their professional respect growing into personal connection, their carefully curated jobs in the spotlight come into conflict with the messiness of real life and real love. Out July 13.

Joe Keohane pens this nonfiction look at the power of human connection and the very concept of “strangers.” It’s an exploration of the human instinct to distrust, as well as the ways in which people and societies who embrace strangers have reaped any number of benefits. In our world today, with a lot of disconnect, it’s the perfect book for understanding why we should reach out to one another. Out July 13.

Shelley Parker-Chan’s epic fantasy is reimagining of the founding of China’s famed Ming dynasty, with a queer, Mulan-esque twist that imagines a totally different version of history. In this retelling, the eighth son of a poor family is prophesied to achieve greatness. When he’s killed by a passing bandit, his sister takes his identity, joins a monastery, and begins her journey to claim greatness, even if she can’t do it in her own name. Out July 20.

In the 1940s, Katharina, the heroine of Karin Tanabe’s historical fiction novel, is an ambitious translator at the UN; by the 1950s, she’s a wealthy wife, feeling trapped by the constraints of her perfectly proscribed Fifth Avenue life. When they FBI approaches her with a request to help infiltrate the circle of a former acquaintance turned suspected Soviet mole, Katharina jumps at the chance, diving headfirst into a world of stolen documents, spies, secret identities, and potentially world-altering intelligence. Out July 20.

Samantha Downing returns with a twisty thriller about the cutthroat world of private schools. Teddy has just been named Teacher of the Year at one of the most elite schools in the country, so he doesn’t have time to think about the suspicious deaths on campus or the student who won’t stop digging into Teddy’s mysterious private life. Teddy believes his job is to turn his students into good thinkers and good people, unlike their pushy parents, and he’s not about to let anyone stand in his way. Out July 20.

Take the fake-dating trope to the next level with Lyssa Kay Adams’s latest “Bromance Book Club” rom-com. This time, the story centers on Bromance Book Club member Vlad and his childhood-friend-turned-wife-of-convenience, Elena. Married to get Elena out of Russia when her journalist father went missing, the pair haven’t had a romantic love story—until now, although Elena’s past might endanger their happily-ever-after. Out July 20.

Andie J. Christopher’s new contemporary romance is all about learning to accept that what we want out of life might change over time. After years in the clergy, Patrick is not so sure if it’s truly his calling, or if he just did it to please his late mother. Spending time with fundraiser Sarah to save a community program only highlights what Patrick’s been afraid to admit: He may be ready for a totally different life than he had planned. Out July 20.

Two teenagers wake up to find themselves the only people left on earth in Brianna Bourne’sa YA novel with an apocalyptic twist. As perfectionist ballerina Hannah and slacker musician Leo explore the new world, they lean on each other and bring each other out of their shells, but their search for answers reveals more and more sinister details about the world they’ve woken up to. Out July 20.

Caroline Beecham’s novel begins in 1943, where Alice, a rising editor in the publishing world, unexpectedly finds herself pregnant. When her mother betrays her and whisks her child away for a secret adoption, Alice begins a search for her daughter, crossing paths with an American editor whose job it is to help Alice’s press survive the challenges of WWII. Out July 20.

It’s a rom-com with an acidic twist in Sonia Hartl’s latest. Brinkley, a would-be academic who left that all behind, secretly works for a discreet company that specializes in revenge—specifically, women who want revenge on the men who wronged them. When the company branches out and hires male “heartbreakers,” too, Brinkley is horrified to discover that her new colleague is a former target, forcing her to reevaluate what she’s doing with her life and her job and whether or not revenge is really something that can sustain her. Out July 27