13 Anticipated New Book Releases for July 2023
With a couple of releases from favorite authors and some debuts I’m looking forward to, July is looking like it’s going to be a great month for reading. These are 13 new book releases I’m excited for in July 2023.
Romance
1. Business or Pleasure
Author: Rachel Lynn Solomon
Release: July 4th, 2023
I’m a big fan of Rachel Lynn Solomon, ever since I read Ex Talk back in 2020. Since then, I’ve also enjoyed Weather Girl and See You Yesterday, with See You Yesterday being a favorite of mine. It’s a cute story about college kids who get stuck in a time loop.
Business or Pleasure sounds like a fun, light romance, and I can’t wait to read it. It follows Chandler Cohen, a ghostwriter, and Finn Walsh, a C-list actor who plays a werewolf. The two meet at a hotel and unfortunately, their one-night stand is nothing to write home about. Chandler can’t get away easy though, as it turns out her next project is a biography on the werewolf actor himself.
2. Hello Stranger
Author: Katherine Center
Release: July 11th, 2023
I’m new to Katherine Center’s books, but I’ve seen some of my favorite bookish creators say good things about The Bodyguard, so I’m going to give Hello Stranger a read. According to her website, some call Center, “the reigning queen of comfort reads.” If there’s anything I need now, it’s a comfort read.
Hello Stranger will be the second book I’ve read this year that features face blindness—a condition that makes it impossible to discern facial features. In this contemporary romance, our main character, Sadie, deals with the sudden onset of this condition, her future as an artist, and the advances of not one, but two romantic interests.
3. Good Fortune
Author: C.K. Chau
Release: July 11th, 2023
Chau is a new author, with Good Fortune as her debut novel. According to her website, she is a Chinese-American writer based out of New York, and a “melodrama enthusiast.” Good Fortune seems like it’s going to be something of an enemies-to-lovers plot, which I’m always into.
Good Fortune is about Elizabeth Chen, a concerned citizen who doesn’t like the new acquisition of the local community center. The new owners are “good Chinese boys with Hong Kong money,” and it seems like they’re going to prioritize profit over community. Elizabeth doesn’t like this development, and goes toe-to-toe with the new investors, trying to sway their choices.
4. The Summer Girl
Author: Elle Kennedy
Release: July 18th, 2023
Elle Kennedy is a very prolific romance author, with more than 40 titles to her name. She’s a New York Times bestselling author, but for some reason, I haven’t heard of her stuff until now. I’m interested in The Summer Girl (because, honestly, I love the cover and the vibes) and I’m hoping I’ll have found a new favorite, so I can go back through and read the rest of the series.
This is the third book in the Avalon Bay anthology, following Cassie Soul, who comes to spend the summer in Avalon Bay. She’s looking for a good time, but when she meets Tate Bartlett, it seems like she may be in for more than she bargained for. This book promises romance, excitement, and plenty of family secrets brought to life.
Thrillers
5. Cutting Teeth
Author: Chandler Baker
Release: July 18th, 2023
As a huge metaphor for the maternal load and the insanely high expectations we hold for mothers, Cutting Teeth piqued my interest instantly. Though I never plan to have children of my own, the mothers I do know are far more often sacrificing their time and mental well-being for their children than fathers do.
This book explores these concepts through a preschool turned tiny coven of vampires, showing what may happen if a group of adorable four-year-olds were to become murder suspects, due to their thirst for blood and biting tendencies.
6. Everyone Here Is Lying
Author: Shari Lapena
Release: July 25th, 2023
Shari Lapena is a prolific writer with many quality thrillers to her name. I read Not a Happy Family last year, and I thought it was a pretty good three-star read, so I’m looking forward to Lapena’s next book.
Everyone Here Is Lying follows a neighborhood called Stanhope as it deals with the disappearance of nine-year-old Avery. As more details and secrets come to fruition, it becomes clear that Stanhope isn’t the safe haven everyone may have thought it was.
7. One of Us Is Back
Author: Karen M. McManus
Release: July 25th, 2023
Karen M. McManus is a master of young adult thrillers, and I’m sure One of Us Is Back will be no exception. I’m a big fan of the audiobook versions of her books, as I find they usually help the time pass during long drives. I’ve read the first two in this series, as well as The Cousins, Two Can Keep a Secret, and Nothing More to Tell.
One of Us Is Back is the third installment in the series that also include One of Us Is Lying and One of Us Is Next. It continues the story with more mystery: a billboard going up in town, introducing a new game, and one of the original four coming back to town.
Young Adult
8. Love & Resistance
Author: Kara H. L. Chen
Release: July 4th, 2023
I don’t usually read a lot of YA, but I thought this looked fun. This is Kara H. L. Chen’s debut novel.
Love & Resistance tells the story of Olivia Chang, a frequent mover who encounters a stuck-up racist at her new school. When she defends herself, she gains attention she doesn’t want and eventually joins the Nerd Net, a society of rebels within the school who have been going against the queen bee, attempting to oust her from her throne.
9. All That’s Left to Say
Author: Emery Lord
Release: July 18th, 2023
Call me simple, but when I saw this book described as being for “fans of Robin Benway and Jandy Nelson,” I knew I wanted to read it. Emery Lord has many YA books to her name, but I haven’t read any yet.
All That’s Left to Say tells the story of Hannah MacLaren, a high school girl grieving the loss of her cousin and best friend, Sophie, who died of an overdose. Hannah is on a mission to find out who gave her cousin pills, even if it means putting herself through hell and ruin what’s left of her high school experience.
Other Fiction
10. The Librarianist
Author: Patrick deWitt
Release: July 4th, 2023
Patrick deWitt is the author of several books, none of which I’ve read. I’m interested in The Librarianist because it seems like it’s going to be a cozy read, and there’s nothing better than a book about books. It’s about a retired librarian who starts volunteering at an elderly center, and starts exploring his past and his regrets.
11. The Centre
Author: Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
Release: July 11th, 2023
Goodreads describes this one as “a darkly comic, boundary-pushing” debut from Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi. As a long-time aspiring bi-lingual person, I was immediately intrigued by the ideas in this book. That there would be a club somewhere that could help you learn to speak a language in just ten days? That would be magical.
Except in The Centre, it’s not magical. It’s surreal, dark, and comical, making it seem like our main character isn’t going to like what she finds in her pursuit for language-learning. This book also features travel through London, New Delhi, and Karachi, which is another plus.
12. The Air Raid Book Club
Author: Annie Lyons
Release: July 11th, 2023
The Air Raid Book Club is a historical fiction novel that follows Gertie, a widow and bookshop owner grieving the loss of her husband just before the start of the second war. As Hitler imposes stricter laws on the Jewish population, families start sending their kids away, and Gertie takes in a refugee named Hedy. The two of them start a book club together, offering book discussions during the air strikes.
13. Deep Sky
Author: Yume Kitasei
Release: July 18th, 2023
This is Yume Kitasei’s debut novel, and it’s a sci-fi thriller about a half-Japanese girl who joins a space exploration mission to save humanity. When a bomb goes off and kills several of the crew, Asuka is the only witness, which places her under suspicion. As the crew struggles to right the course and continue the mission, suspicions within the vessel rise and Asuka has to decide who to trust.
