Summer is well and truly here so it’s the perfect time to tell you about this month’s new releases. Get a cold drink with plenty of ice, feel the sun on your skin and get ready for a new book. Sounds perfect, right? It’s definitely the perfect time to pick up a book being the National Year of Reading too, we’re ready to Go All In!
So let me share some of my favourite new releases for the month. Just tap on the titles to get more info from Bookshop.org and to support my work. Or if you prefer an audiobook, then I’d definitely recommend Libro.fm!
The Heirs – Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé. YA Thriller. Paperback. Five heirs are the result of a genius making social experiment, what could go wrong? Our August book club pick! Publish date: 02/07.
Canon – Paige Lewis. Literary. Hardback. Described as “a non-binary epic” and a reimaging of the biblical book of Deborah. Publish date: 02/07.
Leave and Come Back – Lavanya Lakshmi. Romance. Hardback. A Bollywood inspired romance, where childhood sweethearts reconnect. Publish date: 02/07.
Queenie is Working On It – Candice Carty-Williams. Literary. Hardback. Queenie is back in all her glorious chaos and we’ve missed her. Publish date: 02/07.
Miss Hortense and the Last Rite – Mel Pennant. Crime. Hardback. The second in the Miss Hortense series, following a retired Jamaican nurse solving. Publish date: 02/07.
Cursed Daughters – Oyinkan Braithwaite. Thriller. Paperback. Sequel to My Sister, The Serial Killer. Eniiyi is forced to face her family’s dark past after she falls in love. Publish date: 02/07.
The Last Soldier of Nava – Yejin Suh. YA Fantasy. Paperback. A debut with Korean inspired mythology, sapphic rep and shadow magic set to heal a nation. Publish date: 02/07.
Wench – Erynne Rivers. Fantasy. Hardback. A romantasy retelling of Maid Marian and Robin Hood. Sold! Publish date: 16/07.
The First House – Avni Doshi. Literary. Hardback. From the author of Burnt Sugar comes a novel about unravelling and rebirth. Publish date: 16/07.
Cool Machine – Colston Whitehead. Literary. Hardback. Twice winner of the Pulitzer prize, Whitehead is back with the finale to the Harlem trilogy. Publish date: 21/07.
The Princess Trap – Talia Hibbert. Romance. Paperback. Republishing her backlog with Sourcebooks, this one has fake engagement and royalty tropes. Publish date: 21/07.
Just a Highland Fling – Naina Kumar. Romance. Paperback. Set in the stunning highlands, this enemies to lovers romance is swoon worthy! Publish date: 23/07.
The Girls Who Grew Big – Leila Mottley. Literary. Paperback. From the author of Nightcrawling comes her next novel of teenage mothers in Florida. Publish date: 23/07.
Harbour of Hungry Ghosts – Eliza Chan. Fantasy. Hardback. From the author of Fathomfolk comes a new duology set in the Opium war era of Hong Kong. Publish date: 28/07.
Necessary Fiction – Eloghosa Osunde. Literary. Paperback. From the author of Vagabonds comes a novel of “cross-generational queer life in contemporary Nigeria”. A stunning novel. Publish date: 30/07.
I, Medusa – Ayana Gray. Fantasy. Paperback. A re-imagining of Medusa as a young Black woman, with cruel gods and wicked games. Publish date: 30/07.
Have you planned to pick any of these up? I’d love to know!
If you like what you’ve read and would like to access more content, we have a cosy community over on patreon and if you love a bookish giveaway and learning about all the new releases, we’d love to have you with us. You can also find more content on my Instagram here.
And don’t forget to check out my other blogs and reviews – you can find books with similar themes in the same folder link below, or click back onto blogs to see the whole offering.
Last updated 09/07/2026
The Bookish Mindset 
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