A fresh batch of stories is arriving this July, and readers are buzzing with excitement. Whether you’re into fantasy, mystery, or contemporary fiction, the month promises some big releases. Let’s take a look at the 10 most anticipated books of July 2025.
A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping: By Sangu Mandanna
Sera Swan was once among Britain’s most powerful witches until a magic ritual gone awry—resurrecting her great-aunt Jasmine—stripped her of most of her abilities and saw her exile from the Guild. Now, she (reluctantly and often grumpy) assists her aunt in running a quirky enchanted inn in rural Lancashire. Alongside managing eccentric guests and a mischievous talking fox, Sera’s haunted by the loss of her magic and the life she’d planned. Sparks of hope flare when she discovers an ancient spellbook that might restore her powers, but decoding it requires help.
Enter Luke Larsen, a reserved magical historian with his own reasons for staying at the inn—and who just happens to be an ex one‑night stand of Sera’s. Initially prickly and distant, Luke is drawn into her world as they work together to unravel the spell’s secrets. As the two grow closer, Sera learns that real magic might lie not in lost power, but in love, found family, and embracing the weird, wonderful connections she’s built.
Not Quite Dead Yet: By Holly Jackson
Jet Mason, 27, from one of Vermont’s wealthiest families, expects life to unfold later—until a brutal Halloween night changes everything. An unseen attacker delivers a catastrophic head injury, leaving doctors convinced she’ll suffer a fatal aneurysm within seven days. Suddenly, Jet views everyone around her as a suspect—family, ex-boyfriend, even her former best friend turned sister-in-law—for the assault that may have been intentional. With limited time and deteriorating health, she teams up with her childhood friend Billy, determined to investigate the mystery herself
This is Holly Jackson’s first novel for adult readers, transitioning from her YA success with A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. The narrative unfolds as a tightly-wound countdown thriller across roughly 400 pages, blending suspense, emotional depth, and Jackson’s signature twist-driven style. As Jet races against the clock—while battling the physical and psychological fallout of her injury—she realizes that uncovering the truth about her own attack might not only save her life, but also challenge her perceptions of who she trusts.
These Summer Storms: By Sarah MacLean
Alice Storm, banished from her family’s private Rhode Island island for defying her billionaire father, returns after his sudden death. Expecting to lay low, she instead learns of a posthumous “inheritance game”: her estranged mother and siblings must each complete assigned tasks during a week-long stay, or risk losing everything. As secrets, rivalries, and emotional wounds surface, Alice contends with an icy reception—from her authoritarian mother and distant siblings—and the constant oversight of Jack Dean, her father’s enigmatic second-in-command, who also happens to be the man she had a one-night stand with.
While navigating forced proximity with her fractured family, Alice begins to rediscover her own strength and identity, finding unexpected balance between grief and defiance . Romance simmers with Jack as sparks fly amid tension, professional clashes, and mutual secrets . Critics compare the novel’s high-stakes familial drama to Succession and Knives Out, enhanced by MacLean’s steamy, character-driven narrative—making this a compelling, emotionally charged contemporary debut.
The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy: By Brigitte Knightley
Osric Mordaunt is a member of the Fyren Order of assassins who suddenly falls grievously ill—his only hope of survival lies with Aurienne Fairhrim, a highly skilled healer and scientist from the rival Haelan Order. In a twist of fate, he breaks into her workplace, coerces her with bribery, and forces a reluctant collaboration to treat his illness and investigate a resurgence of a deadly pox ravaging the land. Despite their orders being sworn enemies, Aurienne’s moral compass and Osric’s wounded vulnerability set the stage for unexpected teamwork—and chemistry.
As they dig deeper into the mysterious pox outbreak, their initial antagonism and sharp banter soften into a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance infused with witty, science-driven dialogue and morally complex characters. Set against a vivid magical world influenced by STEM principles, the narrative weaves humor, intrigue, and high-stakes healing into a heartfelt connection that challenges both their loyalties and beliefs.
She Didn’t See It Coming: By Shari Lapena
Bryden Frost appears to have the perfect life—successful careers alongside her husband Sam, a beautiful daughter, and a luxury condo in Albany, NY—until one day she vanishes without a trace. When Sam returns home to find her car, phone, laptop, and keys all left behind, panic ensues. There’s no sign of forced entry, and nothing seems stolen. As the police, led by Detective Jayne Salter, launch an investigation, Sam quickly becomes a suspect. But suspicion soon broadens to include her true-crime–obsessed sister Lizzie, her best friend Paige, a mysterious neighbor with a troubling past, and even the charming Tesla driver involved in her minor fender‑bender earlier that morning.
As layers of secrecy and deceit are uncovered—covering affairs, addictions, jealousy, and grudges—each person around Bryden is revealed to have their own hidden agenda . When Bryden is ultimately found murdered in a plastic-wrapped suitcase, the case deepens into a gripping puzzle of red herrings and moral ambiguity. Lapena delivers a tightly‑plotted domestic thriller full of unexpected twists, emotional undercurrents, and a shocking finale that questions how much we really know about those closest to us—and if anyone can be truly trusted.
The Woman in Suite 11: By Ruth Ware
Ten years after nearly dying aboard a cruise in The Woman in Cabin 10, travel journalist Lo Blacklock—now a mother of two—is invited to the grand opening of a luxury hotel on the shores of Lake Geneva, owned by elusive billionaire Marcus Leidmann. Eager to reignite her career, Lo attends with hopes of securing an exclusive interview. But the evening takes a sharp turn when she receives a cryptic note and is late‑night summoned to Suite 11—only to encounter a woman claiming to be Leidmann’s mistress and begging for rescue from mortal danger.
Lo’s act of compassion plunges her into a fast‑paced, continent‑spanning chase across Europe as she helps the desperate woman flee . As the story unfolds, familiar faces from the cruise resurface—critics, photographers, and her old acquaintance Carrie—forcing Lo to confront past trauma while navigating a complicated mystery. Though some critics found the suspense less gripping than before, many praise the return of Lo’s tenacious, sharp instincts and the emotional stakes of balancing career ambition with maternal responsibility.
Rose in Chains: By Julie Soto
In a war-ravaged magical realm, Princess Briony Rosewood of Evermore is captured by enemy forces from Bomard—practitioners of hostile heart‑magic—after her kingdom falls. Alongside fellow survivors, she’s sold off at a dehumanizing auction as a “heartspring,” a living reservoir of magic, to the highest bidder. To her shock, the cruel heir Toven Hearst becomes her owner—her former classmate and a member of the oppressive Bomardi elite. Stripped of freedom and magic, Briony’s resolve hardens as she clings to dignity, hoping to reclaim her power and survival against the odds.
Despite the grim circumstances—including themes of violence, forced captivity, and the weight of wartime politics—Toven begins to show unexpected compassion. As they navigate dark intrigues, Briony and Toven develop a slow-burn enemies‑to‑lovers bond. Amid the brewing revolution, their charged relationship becomes a beacon of hope and rebellion in Julie Soto’s richly built romantasy world. The narrative balances tension, political stakes, and emotional depth, setting the stage for a dramatic and suspenseful trilogy opener.
Arcana Academy: By Elise Kova
Clara Graysword has spent her life scraping by in Eclipse City through illicit tarot‑card magic—until she botches a job and is sentenced to life in Halazar prison for her illegal inking of cards. Her luck changes when Prince Kaelis, the academy’s headmaster, offers a daring escape: infiltrate royal circles by posing as his betrothed and use her rare inking abilities to steal a legendary tarot card from the king. Introduced as Clara Redwin, she enrolls as a first-year student at the prestigious Arcana Academy—a place where one misstep could land her back behind bars or worse.
At the academy, Clara navigates high-stakes magical trials and rigid social hierarchies while struggling to trust her enigmatic fiancé Kaelis. Their relationship evolves from mutual suspicion to a tense, slow-burn bond amid intrigue, hidden agendas, and a fresh, tarot-based magic system that reviewers describe as “inventive” and “fresh,” evoking dark academia vibes. With richly woven world-building confined to the academy’s dark halls and a final cliffhanger leaving readers eager for the next installment, Arcana Academy sets an atmospheric stage for the series.
The Bewitching: By Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The novel follows graduate student Minerva Contreras in 1998 Massachusetts, where she’s researching Beatrice Tremblay—a 1930s horror writer whose one published work, The Vanishing, was inspired by her roommate’s eerie disappearance at Stoneridge University. As Minerva delves into Tremblay’s archives, unsettling parallels surface: strange noises, feeling stalked by an unseen force, and eerie echoes of stories her great-grandmother, Alba, told of a witch’s curse in early-1900s Mexico. When Minerva uncovers overlapping mysterious timelines, she realizes the spectral danger may still be active on campus.
Spanning three eras––1908 Mexico (Alba), 1934 Depression-era New England (Tremblay/Virginia’s disappearance), and 1998 (Minerva’s own haunting)—the book weaves dark academia, folk horror, and generational trauma into a tightly wound multigenerational thriller . Critics praise Moreno‑Garcia’s atmospheric storytelling: Kirkus calls it “suspenseful and terrifying” with masterful tension, while Publisher’s Weekly highlights its “spooky and sophisticated” gothic tones. Through shifting perspectives and a chilling finale, The Bewitching delivers a haunting exploration of magic, power, and the legacies women inherit.
Our Last Resort: By Clémence Michallon
Siblings Frida and Gabriel left a tightly controlled cult in upstate New York fifteen years ago, their bond forged by shared trauma. Seeking peace and reconnection, they retreat to the luxurious Ara Hotel in remote Escalante, Utah—but paradise shatters when a glamorous young woman, vacationing with her wealthy, older husband, is discovered brutally murdered on the grounds, prompting a police lockdown and immediate suspicion falling on Gabriel. As Frida grapples with growing evidence against her brother, her memories unravel, dredging up dark events, cult dynamics, and a scandal they’d hoped had been buried in their escape years ago .
The narrative alternates between the tense present-day murder mystery and stark, evocative flashbacks of their harrowing upbringing, creating a claustrophobic thriller infused with emotional depth and psychological insight. As investigators close in and their hidden pasts unravel, Michallon builds toward a shocking climax that forces readers to question how well we truly know the people closest to us—and whether blood ties and shared suffering bind us or blind us.
Also Read: Most Anticipated Debut Books of June 2025
