It’s the perfect summer escape
Summer nights call for stories that transport you completely—tales that make you forget the humid air and late sunsets as you lose yourself in worlds of romance, murder mysteries, and a supernatural world. July 2025 brings an exceptional collection of fantasy and romance novels perfect for both lazy poolside afternoons and cosy late-night reading sessions. Whether you’re searching high and low for a book to make you laugh, move you profoundly, thrill you, make you fall in love again or a book to console you, we’ve curated a guide on the books we’re loving this month and itching to dig into this year.
If you’re looking for more books to get lost in, then check out our best summer books to read this sun-kissed season—all of which are books that will keep you engrossed even on monotonous days. Want more book guides? Head on over here.
Here are the most anticipated books of July 2025 to add to your TBR list:
Overruled
Lana Ferguson
Starting the month on a good note, Lana Ferguson is back with another light-hearted romance. Overruled sees Danica Pierce getting a case that gives her a shot at making partner and taking it in a heartbeat, but things get complicated when Ezra Hart comes into the picture as the opposing side of Danica’s most important case—the man she’s sleeping with and hates. But, when battling each other in the courtroom gets Danica and Ezra closer together, they must choose between falling for each other or being each other’s worst enemy.
Release Date: 1 July 2025
City of Smoke and Brimstone
Kayla Edwards
It’s time to go back to the city of Angelthen, where Loren Calla and Darien Cassel return in the fourth installment of the House of Devils series. Expect to see more supernatural beings—darkslayers, vampires, werewolves, witches and other creatures—fight for their city, power and the people they love. Set in a perilous urban fantasy setting and surrounded by romances, found family trope and moral complexities, this book is for all the readers who love Zodiac Academy, City of Bones, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Fourth Wing.
Note: You do need to read the book series in order. This isn’t a standalone.
Release Date: 8 July 2025
The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy
Brigitte Knightley
In this slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romantasy duology, Osric Mordaunt, deadly assassin of the Fyren Order, finds himself in desperate need of healing—and the only one who can save him is Aurienne Fairhrim, a brilliant scientist and a loyal member of a rival Order. Faced with the collapse of her funding, Aurienne grudgingly accepts Osric’s bribe, despite her deep disdain for everything he stands for. Forced to work together to cure his mysterious illness and investigate a resurging plague, their reluctant partnership crackles with tension, banter, and a growing attraction they both try to deny. Think hypercompetent idiots in denial, a slow burn full of sharp edges, and an assassin who falls first and hardest—all bound by the kind of chemistry where evisceration might just be a love language.
Release Date: 8 July 2025
Rose in Chains
Julie Soto
One of the most anticipated romantasy of the year, Rose in Chains follows Briony Rosewood—stripped of her magic and freedom—who is captured as the dark forces of Bomard claim victory. Sold at auction to Toven Hearst, a powerful enemy noble and her long-standing, forbidden infatuation, Briony becomes a pawn in a brutal new world ruled by Heart Magic and ruthless ambition. But even in defeat, hope lingers—and help may rise from the unlikeliest of places. If you love the Dramoine fan fiction world, then you’ll love this book to the core.
Release Date: 8 July 2025
Of Flame and Fury
Mikayla Bridge
One of the hottest books of the season, this enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance book is a must-read. A debut for Mikayla Bridge, Of Flame and Fury is set on an island where phoenix racing offers both deadly thrills and massive rewards. The book follows Kel Varra as she teams up with Warren “Coup” Coupers—a charming, arrogant rival she can’t get out of her head—to win the annual races. The stakes escalate when a shadowy tech mogul offers Kel a lucrative deal, displaying an unnerving fascination with her phoenix, Savita. This decision plunges Kel into a web of conspiracy that threatens everything she holds dear, including Coup himself. Packed with scorching romance, shocking revelations, political conflicts, and unpredictable magic, this explosive tale builds to an epic confrontation where survival is far from guaranteed.
Release Date: 15 July 2025
Time of Your Life
Jessa Hastings
Taking us back to the 90s, Jessa Hastings sets her latest book in 1995, where Joah Harrigan, the brash, enigmatic frontman of the biggest band in the world, and Ysolde Featherstonhaugh, the most iconic model of the generation, fall for each other. From their very first encounter, it’s an all-consuming plunge—wild, unguarded and utterly unstoppable. Together, they create a love too powerful to end and too destructive to survive—one that doesn’t fade away but consumes everything in its path. And, the more they want each other, the more they resent each other.
Release Date: 15 July 2025
Maid For Each Other
Lynn Painter
If you loved the 2002 Maid in Manhattan film, then you’ll devour this. Maid For Each Other follows Declan Powell, a man who always puts his career first, propositions his cleaner, Abi Mariano, to fake date him to get his parents off his back. During this arrangement, Declan promises to provide everything she needs, such as a home, while her apartment is going through a building-wide infestation outbreak. And, as a part-time student with two jobs, Abi couldn’t say know. But what they didn’t expect was to develop feelings for each other.
Release Date: 15 July 2025
Forgotten Dreams
Natasha Madison
After finding out she was adopted, Sierra heads to the small town where she was given up to find out more about herself and the secret that everyone is trying to keep buried. What she didn’t expect was to run into Caleb, an owner of a construction firm, who’s hell bent on protecting her and her secrets. When someone wants her out of town, Caleb does everything in his power to keep her close to his heart. Peppered with emotional depth, humour, spice and love, this is a great book to cosy up to on summer days and nights.
Release Date: 18 July 2025
Chasing Shelter
Catherine Cowles
When Ellie Pierce moved to Sparrow Falls, all she ever wanted was peace and sanctuary. But when she ends up living next door to a broody, single dad—who is also her brother’s best friend and the sheriff of the town—everything changes, especially when Ellie gets in danger. With every heated glance, every stolen touch, Trace Colson makes her want to peel her layers away and open her heart to a life she’s long given up on. But, being close to him could also put him, her and his daughter at risk. Dotted with spice, humour, love and complexities, this small town romance shows how ordinary hearts beat against extraordinary darkness.
Release Date: 22 July 2025
Not Quite Dead Yet
Holly Jackson
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder—now a hit Netflix series—comes her adult debut: a twist-filled thriller about Jet Mason, a 27-year-old heiress with seven days to live after a violent Halloween attack leaves her with a fatal head injury. Jet has always believed she had time, but now, as the countdown begins, she realises someone wants her dead—and it could be anyone: her powerful family, her ex-boyfriend, or her former best friend turned sister-in-law. With only her childhood friend Billy to trust, Jet is determined to solve the mystery of her own attempted murder before it becomes a murder for real.
Release Date: 22 July 2025
A Theory of Dreaming
Ava Reid
Ava Reid’s dark academia duology returns for its final book, following the aftermath of Effy and Preston in A Study in Drowning—in the wake of their earth-shattering discoveries. Still dreamlike, immersive and lush like the first book, the second book follows Effy after defeating the Fairy King, where the entire university—and soon the entire nation—is waiting for her to fail. As conflict erupts between the nations of Llyr and Argant, Effy and Preston find themselves caught in the crossfire: Effy, who once escaped into dreams, now finds herself stripped of that refuge, while Preston becomes dangerously entangled in visions that threaten to consume his very identity.
Release Date: 29 July 2025
Over The Moon
Laura Pavlov
Bridging the gap between hockey and small town romance, Laura Pavlov brings us a forbidden love story that will leave our cheeks flushed, laughing uncontrollably, loving wildly and pining for our very own sportsman. Over The Moon follows Clark Chadwick, who needs to spend the next few months of his career recovering after tearing his MCL. To speed up the process, Eloise Gable, the team’s new physical therapist, is sent to Rosewood River to help. But, with all the yearning, built-up tension and heart eyes going back and forth, they both eventually snap. To make matters worse, Eloise is completely off limits and the coach’s daughter.
