📚 New Book Releases July 2025: Fantasy, Romance, Thrillers & Historical Must-Reads
- Alis Page
- 2 hours ago
- 13 min read
Looking for your next great read? July 2025 is bursting with brilliant new book releases across all of my favourite genres — fantasy epics, swoon-worthy romances, spine-tingling thrillers, and heart warming historical fiction. Whether you're building your summer holiday TBR or just love staying ahead of the publishing curve, I’ve rounded up just some of the most exciting titles hitting shelves this month.
There’s something here for every kind of reader, so grab a cup of something lovely and let's take a look at some of the best new book releases for July 2025.
🧙♀️ Fantasy New Releases – July 2025
A Forbidden Alchemy by Stacey McEwan
Stacey McEwan returns with a tale of dangerous enchantments, forbidden knowledge, and a heroine caught in the crossfire of ancient magic. Expect rich worldbuilding and intense romantic tension — perfect for fans of Fourth Wing and The Serpent & the Wings of Night.
About Book: Nina Harrow and Patrick Colson are only twelve years old when they are whisked from their disenfranchised mining towns to dazzling Belavere City to test for magical abilities. Nina’s lifelong dream is to become an Artisan, a powerful elemental mage who fulfils the city’s grand ambitions, while Patrick wants only to reunite with his family of Craftsmen in the mines.
But together, they discover a devastating secret: Artisans aren’t born, they’re chosen.
With this information, they part ways. Patrick returns home, while Nina finds her place as one of the rarest, most coveted types of Artisan.
When a Craftsman revolution ignites years later, Nina is captured by Patrick’s rebel group – and he hasn’t forgotten her. In fact, he needs her help for a mission that could shift the tides against Belavere City. She reluctantly agrees to aid him, battling the sparks between them. But when Nina’s first love reappears, asking her to betray Patrick for the Artisans, she faces an impossible choice that will determine the fate of their world.
Critical Role: Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon
A fantasy-romance blend set in the world of Critical Role? Yes, please. This witty, steamy romp brings a much-loved in-game fictional book to life and is sure to delight CR fans and romantasy lovers alike.
About Book: A merchant’s daughter who yearns for adventure gets more than she bargained for when she falls for a broodingly handsome stranger in this saucy romantasy from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Hurricane Wars.
As the daughter of an ambitious merchant, Guinevere’s path has been predetermined: marry into a noble house of the Dwendalian Empire, raise her family’s station, and live quietly as a lordling’s obedient wife. But Guinevere longs for a life unbounded by expectations, for freedom and passion and adventure.
Those distant dreams become a sudden reality when her caravan is beset by bandits, leaving her guards slain and Guinevere stranded alone on the dangerous Amber Road. Her only chance of survival is to travel alongside Oskar, the aloof half-orc who saved her during the attack.
Unlike Guinevere, Oskar’s path is not so set in stone. With his mother dead and his apprenticeship abandoned, all that’s left is a long, lonely walk to a land he’s never seen to find family he’s never met. The last thing he needs is a spoiled waif like Guinevere slowing him down – even if the spark between them sizzles with promise.
Despite his cold exterior, Oskar is brave and thoughtful and unlike anyone Guinevere has ever met. And while Guinevere may be sheltered, she brings out a softness in him that he has never dared to feel before. As the flames of their passion grow, they realize that soon they’ll need to choose between their expected destinations or their blossoming romance.
Den of Liars by Jessica S. Olson (Book 1 in The Devious Series)
Secrets, betrayals, and hidden agendas unravel in this compelling start to a new series. With a cunning female lead and a tangled web of courtly intrigue, this fantasy debut promises deception and drama in equal measure.
About Book: A young thief attempts a daring casino heist during a high-stakes magical tournament and finds herself torn between two warring brothers.
At the Liar's Den, secrets are power . . .
Lola St. James is the world's best kept secret. When her father's loss in the magical Liar's Dice Tournament - a high-stakes competition where players are forced to gamble with their deepest secrets - made her a target, she was rescued by the Thief, the notorious leader of the Tentacles.
Now, living under the pseudonym Astra, she is determined to prove herself and become a full-fledged Tentacle. But when a critical heist goes sideways, the only way forward is for Lola to compete in the Liar's Dice Tournament herself. Lola is confident in her ability to pull off the job, but the Thief's mysterious and powerful brother, the Liar, runs the game and he turns out to be more than she bargained for. As her attraction for him grows and illusions run wild, she will be forced to confront the secrets of her past, the truth of the brothers' history, and the lies she tells herself.
Tenderly I Am Devoured by Lyndall Clipstone
Haunting and poetic, Clipstone’s latest is gothic fantasy at its most atmospheric. Expect yearning, dark magic, and a love story that teeters on the edge of ruin. Ideal for fans of lush, lyrical writing.
💕 Romance New Releases – July 2025
An Irish Summer by Alexandra Paige
Transport yourself to the emerald hills of Ireland with this evocative, emotional romance about second chances, summer sunshine, and the healing power of love.
Call Your Boyfriend by Olivia A. Cole & Ashley Woodfolk
A heartfelt and powerful story co-written by two incredible authors, this book explores friendship, love, and vulnerability in the modern dating world — all with a dash of wit and warmth.
About Book: All is fair in love and revenge...
Cynical but sensitive Beau Carl is on a mission. She needs to know if ultra-popular Maia Moon – the girl she’s been secretly hooking up with for months – really has feelings for her. But when she shows up at the last big party of the year before prom, she sees Maia about to kiss someone else.
Sweet, inexperienced Charm Montgomery is the “someone else.” And she’s ecstatic that she’s been reading Maia’s flirty behaviour in their tutoring sessions correctly. But when the kiss is interrupted and Maia accepts an elaborate promposal from her douchey, popular boyfriend just a few days later, both Maia and Beau end up heartbroken.
There’s only one thing for them to do – get her back. And the only way to do that is for Beau to tutor Charm on how she can get their former crush to fall for her so hard that Maia will dump her ex … and then get dumped for once.
As their plan starts working, Beau and Charm grow closer too, in a way neither expected. But are either of them ready to let go of their scheme to take a chance on something a little sweeter – and scarier – than revenge?
Huckleberry Hill by Emma Slate (Book 1 in the Saddles & Spurs series)
This small-town romance is packed with charm, humour, and just the right amount of steam. If you love community-based stories with strong character arcs, this is one for your list.
About Book: When my fiancé leaves me because I can’t have children, I do the only thing I can think of . . .
I run away to my family’s ranch in Idaho to hide from my feelings and nurse my wounded heart.
I expect the comforts of home, the solitude of the mountains, and long horseback rides through the forest.
What I don’t expect is my father’s new ranch hand.
Declan Brewer.
Tall. Dark. Rugged.
And he looks just as delicious on a horse as he does a Harley.
He’s got a wicked smile full of promises . . .
Our chemistry is undeniable, and in one forbidden moment, we combust. But instead of burning out, our energy rages into a passionate inferno.
Between bouts of pleasure in Declan’s arms and the laughter we share in his bed, he chips away at the armour I’ve erected around my heart.
Declan is everything I’ve ever wanted, but I’m scared he won’t stay when he finds out the truth . . .
I’m broken, and I don’t know if love will be enough.
The Invitation by Jodi Ellen Malpas (Book 1 in the Arlington Hall series)
A glamorous event. A mysterious stranger. A night that changes everything. Malpas delivers another intense and irresistible romance that’s guaranteed to sweep you off your feet.
About Book: Amelia Lazenby deserves a breather―from work and from the stress of a recent breakup. Courtesy of her best friends, she gets a day of pampering at a posh country spa called Arlington Hall. Instead of finding calm, she finds her pulse racing when she sees flawlessly rugged Jude Harrison. Hand on heart, she’s never laid eyes on such a stunner. And an unexpected steam room meet takes their instant attraction to a whole new level.
Amelia wasn’t looking for an intense new affair. But the passion Jude ignites is off the charts. Even if he is a little possessive. Even if his temper can be as formidable as the influence he has on her body. He becomes all the more intriguing when Amelia discovers that Jude not only owns Arlington Hall but that their meeting was no accident. It was planned. But to what end?
That’s a mystery as irresistible as Jude himself. Is he worth the risk? Or is this the man who could break her?
🔪 Thriller New Releases – July 2025
A Mother Always Knows by Sarah Strohmeyer
A twisty domestic thriller with chilling undertones, this one explores how far a mother will go to protect her child — and what happens when the truth starts to unravel.
About Book: Stella O'Neill is just your average millennial, working at a public library and worrying about making rent. No one would suspect she's been living under an assumed name or that she was raised in a Vermont commune of "diviners" where, and as a ten-year-old, she witnessed her mother's brutal murder--a crime that has gone unsolved for years.
But her quiet, anonymous existence is upended when a true-crime obsessive posts her current name and location on the internet. Now, Stella has to get out of Boston before her mother's killer can find her and finish the job he started all those years ago. Fed up with living in fear, she heads to the off-the-grid retreat of her childhood to confront her mother's unhinged guru who controlled their lives for so long--the infamous Radcliffe MacBeath.
Stella has two powerful assets: determination and a supernatural gift. Relying on her mother's beloved rose quartz pendulum, Stella will have to outwit the charismatic leader who's ruined so many lives and discover once and for all the true identity of her mother's killer--before becoming his next victim.
Cold Iron Kills by Alex Smith (Book 18 in the DCI Robert Kett Crime Thriller Series)
The long-running and much-loved series returns with another gritty case. This time, DCI Kett must confront a killer with a deadly signature – and a personal vendetta. Fans of British police procedurals will love this.
About Book: He is master of them all.
After years of searching, DCI Kett and the extreme crime task force have finally found Joseph Maynard—one of the last members of Hollenbeck. A psychopath of the highest order, Maynard’s violent and coercive nature has reared its head too many times in recent cases.
It’s time to end his reign of terror once and for all.
But the raid on Maynard’s lair goes wrong. By capturing him, Kett sets in motion a horrific chain of kidnappings—five innocent victims snatched from their homes in the same night.
Only Maynard knows how to save them, but it’s not freedom he’s asking for in return. It’s something unthinkable.
Kett and the team must find Maynard’s victims before time runs out, because it’s not just their lives on the line.
It is Kett’s too.
Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox
A glamorous weekend away goes terribly wrong in this addictive locked-room thriller. Secrets, shifting alliances, and shocking revelations — perfect for fans of Lucy Foley or Megan Miranda.
About Book: Everyone's invited. Everyone's a suspect. An exclusive black-tie birthday party. A sprawling mansion. A body falling from a balcony. One of the guests is dead, and another is a killer - but who is the hunter, and who is the prey? As the drinks flow, so do the lies . . . and nobody is safe. Was it Dani, the tenacious new mother with a history of postpartum psychosis, or Kim, the ex-wife with an alcohol problem? Orlaith, the elderly Irish nanny who talks to spirits? Mikayla, the lonely teenager, or the clique of toxic mean girls who pretend to embrace her? Or was it the pair of psychotherapists who watch and judge them all? And whose body is hurtling towards the sea?
The Namaste Club by Asha Elias
Yoga, wellness… and murder? This fresh, satirical thriller dives into the dark underbelly of a seemingly serene wellness retreat. Smart, sharp, and satisfyingly sinister.
About Book: Just inland from Florida's sun-splashed Treasure Coast is the Namaste Club yoga centre. An exclusive oasis of palms, lakes, and adorable guest villas, it's perfect for getaways where Shakti, a serenely blond Instagram influencer, holds yoga retreats for well-heeled Miami ladies. The Namaste Club is a place of reflection, a place of release and redemption...or at least, that's the sales pitch.
This weekend, however, is Transcendence Week, and a new bunch of South Florida burnouts have arrived. There's Indira, fabulously wealthy after her divorce from the fast-frozen fruit king of Florida. There's Indira's bestie Jessica, also divorced and trying to get her groove back. There's Barbara, heir to a massive family fortune, who's taken a vow of silence for the retreat that will be sorely tested. And then there's Carol Anne from Vero Beach, a happy tradwife and proud gun owner who recently did something...inadvisable; she's just here while things cool off in her hometown.
And then, of course, there's Daniel, the toned, man-bunned apprentice yoga instructor. He's cute if you like that sort of thing. And many of the rich ladies do.
Last but not least, there's Bubba, the retreat centre's resident twelve-foot American alligator. Before Transcendence Week is over, Bubba will have his moment of glory as well--when one of the visitors winds up in his jaws.
🕰️ Historical Fiction New Releases – July 2025
Typewriter Beach by Meg Waite Clayton
Set against the backdrop of World War II, this sweeping novel blends resistance, resilience, and romance. A powerful story of courage told with Clayton’s trademark emotional depth.
About Book: 1957. Isabella Giori is ten months into a standard seven-year studio contract when she auditions with Hitchcock. Just weeks later, she is sequestered by the studio's "fixer" in a tiny Carmel cottage, waiting and dreading.
Meanwhile, next door, Léon Chazan is annoyed as hell when Iz interrupts his work on yet another screenplay he won't be able to sell, because he's been blacklisted. Soon, they're together in his roadster, speeding down the fog-shrouded Big Sur coast.
2018. Twenty-six-year-old screenwriter Gemma Chazan, in Carmel to sell her grandfather's cottage, finds a hidden safe full of secrets--raising questions about who the screenwriter known simply as Chazan really was, and whether she can live up to his name.
In graceful prose and with an intimate understanding of human nature, Meg Waite Clayton captures the joys and frustrations of being a writer, being a woman, being a star, and being in love. Typewriter Beach is the story of two women separated by generations--a tale of ideas and ideals, passion and persistence, creativity, politics, and family.
Designed With Love by Tracie Peterson
A new Christian historical romance from a beloved author. Set in turn-of-the-century America, it follows a young woman navigating societal pressures and her dreams of becoming an architect.
About Book: After being widowed on her wedding day, Emma Johnson moves to Cheyenne with her sister-in-law to start over. When her deceased husband's brother travels with her to help her get established, she finds herself drawn to him. But is he only after his brother's inheritance, or does he truly care for her in return?
Our Last Vineyard Summer by Brooke Lea Foster (Book 2 in The Hope of Cheyenne Series)
Return to the lush vineyards of Cheyenne for a heartfelt story about family, identity, and the power of place. A perfect pick for lovers of historical fiction with heart.
About Book: After suffering through her first year of graduate school at Columbia following her senator father’s death, Betsy Whiting is hoping to spend the summer with her boyfriend…and hopefully end the summer as his fiancée. Instead, her mother―a long time feminist and leader in the women’s movement―calls Betsy and her sisters back home to Martha’s Vineyard, announcing that they need to sell their beloved summer house to pay off their father’s debts.
When Betsy arrives on the island a week later, she must reckon with her strained familial relationships, a long-ago forbidden romance, and the complicated legacy of her parents, who divided the family even as they did good for the world.
Following a dual timeline between 1965 and 1978, and filled with the vibrant, sunlit nostalgia of the cherished New England vacation setting, Our Last Vineyard Summer poignantly captures two generations of women navigating love, loss, and womanhood while trying to find the courage to stand up for what they believe in―and the strength to decide if the home they once loved is worth saving.
The Collector of Burned Books by Roseanna M. White
Literary intrigue meets historical drama in this thought-provoking novel about forbidden stories, hidden messages, and the brave souls who preserved truth in the shadows of war.
About Book: In this gripping World War II historical about the power of words, two people form an unlikely friendship amid the Nazi occupation in Paris and fight to preserve the truth that enemies of freedom long to destroy. Paris, 1940. Ever since the Nazi Party began burning books, German writers exiled for their opinions or heritage have been taking up residence in Paris. There they opened a library meant to celebrate the freedom of ideas and gathered every book on the banned list . . . and even incognito versions of the forbidden books that were smuggled back into Germany. For the last six years, Corinne Bastien has been reading those books and making that library a second home. But when the German army takes possession of Paris, she loses access to the library and all the secrets she d hidden there. Secrets the Allies will need if they have any hope of liberating the city she calls home. Christian Bauer may be German, but he never wanted anything to do with the Nazi Party he is a professor, one who s done his best to protect his family as well as the books that were a threat to Nazi ideals. But when Goebbels sends him to Paris to handle the relocation of France s libraries, he s forced into an army uniform and given a rank he doesn t want. In Paris, he tries to protect whoever and whatever he can from the madness of the Party and preserve the ideas that Germans will need again when that madness is over, and maybe find a lost piece of his heart.
📚 Final Thoughts – Your TBR is About to Explode!
Whether you're in the mood for magic, mayhem, love, or a little mystery, July 2025 is packed with exciting new books that are well worth your attention. I’ve already added several of these to my ever-growing TBR pile – no regrets!
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Happy reading, bookworms! 💌📖
Love Alis x
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