15 New Books We Can’t Wait To Read in Summer 2025

‘Five Found Dead’ by Sulari Gentill

Joe Penvale, a crime fiction author, just fought the biggest medical battle of his life – and won. Now, he and his twin sister, Meredith, are onboard the Orient Express to Paris for some much-needed rest and relaxation. Meredith also secretly hopes that this train ride will inspire Joe to start writing again. But when Joe and Meredith wake up the next morning, they’re shocked to find the cabin next door has turned into a bloody crime scene, with no body to be found.

The two decide to work together, with the help of other passengers with law enforcement backgrounds, to solve this murder mystery. Then the steward guarding the crime scene is murdered, and a killing spree commences that leaves five dead. Joe and Meredith must race against time to catch the killer before they reach the end of the train tracks.

‘Fog and Fury’ by Rachel Howzell Hall

Former LAPD cop Sonny Rush moves to the picture-perfect town of Haven, California with her grandmother to join her godfather’s flourishing PI business. But she quickly finds herself involved in the town’s biggest crime: Figgy, a goldendoodle in a Versace collar, has gone missing.

As Sonny gets to know her neighbors while solving the dognapping mystery, she runs into her ex-boyfriend, who happens to be one of the wealthiest citizens in Haven, and even worse, finds a teenage body on a popular hiking trail. Sonny learns to question everything and look beneath the surface of this idyllic town, which could be harboring worse secrets that could destroy her.

‘Such Good People’ by Amy Blumenfeld

It’s 10 p.m. on a Thursday when April’s life changes forever. What started as meeting her friend Rudy at a college bar quickly escalated to Rudy being arrested and incarcerated, and her being expelled. Within months, April meets Peter, a prodigious young attorney who helps her get her life back on track.

Fifteen years later, April is happily married to Peter with three kids and a fulfilling career. But on the night before Peter’s election for local office, headlines explode about April’s past, threatening the life she worked so hard to build. April must use her experiences with love, loss, and loyalty to make a difficult choice: protect herself and the life she’s created, or protect Rudy, the one who sacrificed everything to make this life possible.

‘Marguerite by the Lake’ by Mary Dixie Carter

Phoenix is a gardener who works on the esteemed Rosecliff grounds, home to the high-profile Gray family: Marguerite and her husband Geoffrey. Marguerite’s high-class garden parties have cemented her as a legend, so much so that she is the muse behind the famous Serge Kuhnert painting, Marguerite by the Lake.

When Phoenix saves Geoffrey from a falling tree during a dangerous storm, Geoffrey’s gratitude turns into something more. A forbidden love begins to blossom, and Marguerite is not happy. The affair grows, but then Marguerite falls to her death from the same point at Rosecliff where she posed for Marguerite by the Lake. Is it a coincidence? Or freak accident?

‘The Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club’ by Gloria Chao

Three women, Kat, Olivia, and Elle, got played by the same cheating scumbag: Tucker Jones. When the three agreed to meet to plan out their revenge, they didn’t expect to find his dead body in a closet.

Not only do they feel guilty for wanting him dead mere hours before his untimely death, but they also look guilty due to a strong motive and a crime scene now covered in their DNA. To clear their names, Kat, Olivia, and Elle go undercover to find Tucker’s real killer. They soon discover that everyone who was in Tucker’s life has a strong reason to want him dead. Will the Murder Club be able to solve this mystery? Or will they go down for a crime they swear they didn’t commit? 

‘The Love Haters’ by Katherine Center

Katie Vaughn has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer, or help her coworker Cole profile Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West, which is sure to put her on the map. The problem? Katie can’t swim, but pretends she can. The other problem? Cole and Hutch are brothers who don’t get along.

Katie gets entangled with Hutch, along with his colorful Aunt Rue and his Great Dane, and then gets trapped in a lie… while also taking swimming lessons, flying on a helicopter, dancing on a conga line, competing in a drinking contest, surviving a hurricane, and stealing some kisses along the way.

While working in paradise, Katie can face her truth and admit she’s in love, or let her past take control and remind her that she is a love hater.

‘What’s Yours Is Mine’ by Jennifer Jabaley

Valerie Yarnell is a single mother who sacrificed everything for her daughter Kate. Kate dreams of becoming a dancer, just like her best friend Colette, whose mom, Elise, is a former prima ballerina. Elise has everything Valerie yearns for: Kate’s admiration and the man of Valerie’s dreams, which causes an ongoing rivalry between the two. And when Kate outshines Colette at a dance competition, Colette begins to feel the pressure to stay in the spotlight and impress her demanding mom.

Then a violent attack, followed by a media firestorm and explosive town scandal, erupts and threatens to ruin everything they’ve all worked for. The four begin to understand just how complicated a mother-daughter relationship can be.

‘Charity Trickett Is Not So Glamorous’ by Christine Stringer

It’s 1997 in Hollywood, and Charity Trickett has just moved to Los Angeles to assist the director of the biggest blockbuster film of the year in hopes of breaking into the film industry. Just as Charity impresses Canopy Studios’ executives and begins to put her name on the map, her dreams of becoming a screenwriter and producer are threatened by backstabbing coworkers, an evaporating bank account, love gone wrong, and an FBI investigation that could land her in jail and cost the studio millions of dollars. As long as Charity listens to her head rather than her heart, she should be able to stay out of trouble.

‘Courtroom Drama’ by Neely Tubati Alexander

Sydney Park has been chosen to serve on the jury of a high-profile case, one of the most interesting things ever to happen to her. Margot Kitsch, a cast member of the reality show Authentic Moms of Malibu, is arrested after the death of her husband, Joe. One of the other jurors is Damon, Sydney’s childhood best friend, whom she hasn’t seen in over 10 years.

As the two reconnect, despite the court’s warning not to, Sydney struggles to stay focused on the case. Damon’s tendency to break the rules and find adventure is hard to resist, but the reasons why their friendship abruptly ended when they were about to become something more are complicated. Sydney will need to stay focused and give Margot the fair trial she deserves, or her unfinished business with Damon could cause the mistrial of the century.

‘Heir of Storms’ by Lauryn Hamilton Murray

Blaze is a Rain Singer who was born into a powerful fire-wielding family. The result? A catastrophic storm that left thousands dead.

Blaze has been locked away ever since with a big secret. Her powers that made her an outcast disappeared, and she’s not sure she wants them back. When she and her twin brother, Flint, get the opportunity to compete for the empire’s crown, Blaze is faced with difficult decisions. Threats are looming at the Golden Palace, and a love triangle between the enchanting Crown Prince and a dangerously alluring newcomer has Blaze questioning everything.

‘Katabasis’ by R.F. Kuang

Alice Law has risked her pride, health, love life, and most definitely her sanity to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world. When Grimes suddenly dies in a magical accident, which may have been Alice’s fault, she has no choice but to go into Hell to rescue him, as her future is in his incorporeal hands.

Alice is ready to risk her life to achieve her dreams, but so is Peter Murdoch, Alice’s rival. All Alice and Peter have are the tales of Orpheus and Dante to guide them, just enough chalk to draw the pentagon needed to cast their spells, and the burning desire to make their academic trauma mean something.

When Alice and Peter discover Hell isn’t like the storybooks and that Magick isn’t the answer to everything, they’ll need to become perfect allies, or be led to their doom.

‘Love On Tour’ by Lee Adams

Christine Matthews has her dream job working in the country music industry, but she still feels like her life is missing something. When Christine breaks her heel and falls into the middle of the street, none other than Nashville singing sensation Austin Garrett comes to her aid.

When Austin realizes she helped launch his latest hit, he invites Christine to be his date to the CMT Awards that night, and Christine is quickly thrust into the spotlight.

Afterwards, Christine receives a ton of attention and criticism online, which rehashes cyber-bullying trauma from her past. More drama ensues when she realizes she’s more interested in Austin’s tour manager, Matt. Will Christine join Austin and Matt on tour and follow her dreams, or will she leave it all behind?

‘Tell Them You Lied’ by Laura Leffler

Anna entered art school with big dreams and ideas, ready to make an impact. She wasn’t prepared to meet someone as mysterious as Willow, but the two quickly formed a creative bond that was equal parts invigorating and intricate.

Five years later, Anna is struggling to navigate the New York art scene, and Willow’s manipulative tendencies have risen to the surface. Desperate to take her power back, Anna stages a mugging that is supposed to show Willow the monster she’s become.

However, the mugging occurs on September 11th, 2001, and when Willow never returns home, Anna keeps quiet about the arranged set-up despite her growing fear that she is responsible for Willow’s disappearance.

‘The Bewitching’ by Silvia Moreno Garcia

Nana Alba told Minerva stories that have stayed with her all her life. Now, Minerva is a graduate student studying the history of horror literature and researching the life of Beatrice Tremblay, a forgotten horror author. When Minerva discovers that Tremblay’s novel, The Vanishing, is based on a true story of Beatrice Tremblay’s obsession with her unworldly roommate, who mysteriously disappeared during the 1930s, Minerva’s research takes a dark turn.

As Minerva continues her research, she realizes that the spirit that stalked Tremblay and her missing roommates also aligns with a story Nana Alba told her about her encounter with a witch in the 1900s. Now, in 1990s, Massachusetts, Minerva begins to feel that the same force that followed Beatrice Tremblay and Nana Alba is now following her. 

‘The Enemy’s Daughter’ by Melissa Poett

Set in a ravaged land split between two warring settlements—the powerful Kingsland and the outnumbered Five Clans—this story follows Isadora, an 18-year-old healer caught in the crossfire.

When she’s mortally wounded by a poisoned arrow, her life is unexpectedly saved by an enemy assassin, Tristan. But the magic that saves her forges a dangerous bond, allowing him to see into her memories…and possibly use them to destroy her people. Unless Isadora can master it first—and bring down everything he’s sworn to protect.

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