If you had asked me a couple of weeks ago, I would have told you there aren’t that many books I’m really looking forward to coming out in July. And then I sat down to make this post and I realized that I am wildly incorrect. It’s a good thing I have a vacation coming up because I have a lot of reading to do! So let’s talk about what some of the books on my radar!
ARCs
I’m not sure how this happened, but somehow I have 11 ARCs for July… And I read so few of my June ARCs for some reason, so here’s hoping I can actually get caught up. Admittedly, I did read a lot of past due books from 2024 and before in June so you win some and you lose some. So, here’s what I’m hoping to get read in July…
Destination Weddings and Other Disasters by M.C. Vaughn is the follow up to Romancing Miss Stone, which I read and really enjoyed so much last year. This one comes out on July 1st and is following Julia Stone who is helping plan her mother’s wedding to a man whose son made her life miserable ten years ago. And I presume we’ll get to watch the two of them fall in love in Belize, which sounds perfect to me!
These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean is MacLean’s first foray into contemporary fiction with a strong romance thread leading through it. As MacLean is one of my favorite historical romance authors, I’m really looking forward to reading These Summer Storms, which features a super dysfunctional family apparently. I can’t wait. It comes out July 8th.
Rose in Chains by Julie Soto is a book I was extremely surprised to receive an audio copy of on Netgalley because it’s a Berkley title and they hate me. But I am really intrigued by this book despite having very complicated feelings about the marketing of it. So instead of talking about any of the marketing or what this book is based off of because if you don’t know, you can find out somewhere else, I’m going to tell you what the book is about now. Rose in Chains kicks off a trilogy of a dark fantasy romance series in which the villain won the war and now Briony Rosewood is auctioned off to the enemy, Toven. Presumably they will start the process of falling in love, but I’m kind of hoping for a slow burn? I’m really hoping the book works for me because I do love Julie Soto’s writing, but I’m also anxious because dark romance is always super hit or miss for me depending on how dark we mean when we say dark. I’ll let you know! This comes out on July 8th.
All the Men I’ve Loved Again by Christine Pride is about Cora who falls in love with two men in her twenties and then at almost 40 she re-encounters them and falls in love with them again. Or something. I found myself intrigued by this synopsis, but I’m honestly not sure how I’m actually going to feel about it, so I look forward to finding out! All the Men I’ve Loved Again also comes out on July 8th.
The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst is a standalone set in the same world as The Spellshop, which is a book I really enjoyed last year. This particular installment follows the librarian who created the sentient plant and was then turned into a wooden statue in the library. And yet, one day Terlu wakes up on an island with a lot of greenhouses with only one other human on the island. He offers to let Terlu stay until she’s ready to return home, but does Terlu even have a home to return to? And does she want to? I can’t wait to find out! The Enchanted Greenhouse comes out on July 15th.
Sweet Thing by Kate Meader is a surprise single dad and nanny hockey romance!! And while I like to pretend I’m not a trope reader sometimes, I cannot get out of this single dad era that I’ve found myself in. Can’t stop won’t stop picking these books up. Sweet Thing is out on July 15th.
Between These Broken Hearts by Lexi Ryan is the direct sequel to Beneath These Cursed Stars so I’m not going to say much here, but I will say that I am SO EXCITED about this one. I just finished finally reading Beneath These Cursed Stars and I adored it just as much as the original duology. Between These Broken Hearts comes out on July 22nd.
August Lane by Regina Black is Black’s second book and considering how much I really enjoyed The Art of Scandal last year, I can’t wait. August Lane follows a Black country artist who returns to his hometown for a concert, which results in him coming face to face with his first love who actually wrote the lyrics to his very famous song. I’m really looking forward to this one because a) I love books with music and b) I loved Black’s writing. So here’s hoping this one works for me so much! August Lane comes out on July 29th.
The Game Plan by Kristin Callihan is the third book in her Game On series that was initially self-published. I’ve been meaning to re-read this entire series for a while, but thus far I’ve only managed a re-read of book one, The Hook Up, so I’m actually so excited to get to this one. I love this series so much and Fiona and Ethan’s story was one I really loved so I can’t wait to revisit it! This re-release drops on July 29th.
The Brave and the Reckless by Dylan Dyer follows Esra who drops out of med school and joins her brother at a Wild West themed amusement park, Bravetown, where she winds up filling the role of the resident damsel in distress. Interestingly, the man who is playing Ace (the cowboy who saves her), Noah, seems to hate her at first sight. So this is some semblance of hate to love, which is a trope I have a tendency to enjoy. This release drops on July 29th.
Road Trip with a Rogue by Kate Bateman is the third book in Bateman’s series that starts with Second Duke’s the Charm. This final book in the trilogy follows Daisy, who accidentally holds up her first love’s carriage when she meant to hold up the carriage containing his nephew. Both of them are now on their way to catch up to the nephew and his would-be bride, though they have very different reasons for chasing after the couple. I tend to really enjoy Bateman’s works and I’m excited to catch up with this series. Road Trip with a Rogue drops on July 29th.
Books I Wish I had an ARC Of:
Other Books on My Radar or Books I Think You Might Enjoy:
Closing Thoughts
There are so many books that are coming out next month, so what ones did I miss that are on your radar? And arguably most importantly, what books do you want me to prioritize if I get behind on my ARCs again? I’ll do my best! Here’s hoping that July is a better month than June, even if the news as I’m writing this paragraph makes that seem unlikely. I hope you can all stay cool and safe during the upcoming months and that your reading gives you moments of respite and escape.
xx
firewhiskeyreader 