Need a new book? 15 new releases to read now, from romantasy to nonfiction

USA Today

7 days ago

Nothing distracts from the heat like a journey into a far-off fictional land.
Some of us are spending our summers curled up with a good book in the air conditioning, while others prefer their read at the beach. Or, if you're like me, cramming too many books into my suitcase that I'll never have time to read on my summer adventure.
Whatever your reading habits are, July has been jam-packed with stories for every booklover. We've seen a juicy biography about Gwyneth Paltrow and her Goop empire, a nonfiction guide to healthier, sober living and new poetry collections to calm and soothe the mind.
What to read next: 15 new releases to check out now
Across thrilling AI-driven family drama, high-stakes romantasy and propulsive narrative nonfiction, here are 15 new books from July we recommend reading.
'Maggie; Or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar' by Katie Yee
With awe-inducing prose, 'Maggie' is a meditation on motherhood, grief, interracial relationships and aging. It follows a woman who finds out her husband is having an affair just as she is diagnosed with breast cancer. She decides, fittingly, to name her tumor Maggie, after her husband's lover. Hilarious and heartbreaking, Yee packs a serious punch in just around 200 pages.
'These Summer Storms' by Sarah MacLean
Full of enough heart, private island trysts, grief and sibling rivalry to keep you glued to the page, 'These Summer Storms' is a romance and family saga about the estranged daughter of a tech billionaire finally coming home. Alice Storm returns to her family's private island when her father unexpectedly dies, hoping to fly under the radar for the funeral. But she and the remaining Storm family members are swept up into an inheritance game – her father's last wish, organized by her father's stern, handsome right-hand man.
'A Marriage at Sea' by Sophie Elmhirst
This is nonfiction that reads like fiction – the best kind. 'A Marriage at Sea' seamlessly brings readers alongside Maurice and Maralyn Bailey's journey at sea, giving an intimate look at the weeks they spent stranded on a tiny life raft after a shipwreck. Elmhirst's retelling is a triumph, second only to the seemingly impossible feat of Maurice and Maralyn themselves. You won't be able to put it down.
'Culpability' by Bruce Holsinger
A gripping page-turner, Holsinger's 'Culpability' follows a family dealing with the consequences of an AI-riddled world. The Cassidy-Shaws' automated minivan crashes into another car and kills an elderly couple, and everyone in the car bears some responsibility, some more hidden than others. When they decide to recuperate on the Chesapeake Bay, their proximity to each other and a tech mogul next door will force them to confront their moral dilemmas.
'History Lessons' by Zoe B. Wallbrook
History professor Daphne Ouverture might be your next favorite unsuspecting sleuth. 'History Lessons' is a mystery set in a tightly-knit college town where beloved professor Sam Taylor is murdered and, before he dies, sends one final text to his colleague, rookie French colonialism professor Daphne. Now, she'll have to put down her ungraded papers to investigate his death and a campus cover-up endangering Harrison University's students of color.
'The Idaho Four' by James Patterson and Vicki Ward
If you've kept up with the trial of Bryan Kohberger, the man sentenced to life in prison for murdering four University of Idaho students in 2022, you can now learn the victims' story in 'The Idaho Four.' James Patterson and journalist Vicky Ward interviewed more than 300 people close to the case and its investigation to paint a picture of the day of the murders, the families left behind and Kohberger himself.
'Love is a War Song' by Danica Nava
If you love hyper-contemporary stories or couldn't get enough of 'Hannah Montana: The Movie,' this summer romance novel is for you. 'Love is a War Song' follows disgraced Native American pop star Avery, who is sent to live with her estranged grandmother after she's canceled for an offensive photoshoot. There, she meets grumpy ranch hand Lucas, who can't stand what Avery represents. But when the ranch's future is in jeopardy, they'll have to put their differences aside to save it.
'Spent' by Alison Bechdel
Fans of 'Fun Home' and graphic novels alike should look no further than 'Spent,' a hilarious new autofiction piece following a fictional cartoonist named Alison Bechdel who runs a pygmy goat sanctuary in Vermont. As her graphic memoir about her taxidermist father gets adapted into a successful TV series, Alison grapples with capitalism and privilege in a climate-change-ravaged world on the brink of civil war.
'House of Beth' by Kerry Cullen
A new entry into a burgeoning 'tradwife horror' subgenre, 'House of Beth' is about a young woman, Cassie, escaping from her life to her suburban hometown after a gutting breakup and a horrific work incident. She reconnects with her high school best friend Eli, now a widowed father, and quickly slides into his life as his new wife and stepmother to his children. But there's something eerie beneath the picturesque life, including gory, haunting visions and the shadow of Eli's late wife.
'Immortal Consequences' by I.V. Marie
'Immortal Consequences' is a new, fast-paced YA dark academia fantasy centered on six students competing to change their fate. Blackwood Academy is an enchanted boarding school that straddles the realms of life and death, and students can only leave by being the sole victor of the Decennial tournament. But this time around, they're not the only ones competing.
'Typewriter Beach' by Meg Waite Clayton
This historical fiction from the author of 'The Race for Paris' follows an unlikely friendship between Léon Chazan, a blacklisted screenwriter, and Isabella Giori, a young actress hoping to be Alfred Hitchcock's new star. 'Typewriter Beach' is about women's mistreatment in Hollywood, McCarthy-era Los Angeles and the hunt to discover a family legacy.
'A Resistance of Witches' by Morgan Ryan
A World War II historical fiction with a twist of magic, 'A Resistance of Witches' is about a coven of British witches trying to best Hitler and his armies by tracking down magical relics that could win the war. After a Nazi witch infiltrates the Royal Academy of Witches, the unassuming Lydia Polk takes the mission into her own hands. She'll have to travel through occupied France with unlikely allies, avoiding natural and supernatural enemies to find the grimoire.
'The Satisfaction Café' by Kathy Wang
'The Satisfaction Café' is a character study about unexpected life paths and found family. Joan Liang's life has taken twists she never anticipated – she ended up in the U.S. when her older brothers were meant to live abroad, her first marriage ended in disaster (see: a stabbing) and she's now married to a much older, wealthy man with children. As she ages, she seeks a new change and opens a third space for lonely people to find connection.
'Night Watcher' by Daphne Woolsoncroft
Thriller 'Night Watcher' follows a late-night radio host who listens to hauntings for a living, but finds herself the subject of one of the stories. Nola Strate encountered notorious serial killer the Hiding Man as a child, though it's a story she's never told on Night Watch. But after a series of chilling coincidences, Nola becomes convinced the killer is back to get her. With no help from the police and evidence pointing to her father (the original Night Watch host), she'll have to turn to her faithful listeners to unmask the Hiding Man.
'How Freaking Romantic' by Emily Harding
Looking for a new enemies-to-lovers romance for your summer? Try 'How Freaking Romantic.' Lawyer Bea Nilsson's best friends are getting divorced, and after she picks a side, she storms into the office of attorney Nathan Asher determined to sway the alimony petition. It's loathe at first sight. Everything changes when Nathan turns out to be her new colleague at NYU Law and uncomfortable truths about her friends' divorce come to light.
Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY's Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you're reading at [e-mail].