Another month, another reading wrap-up! It’s a little bit late, but I’m not posting it as late as I have the last couple of months – particularly last month, ew – so I’m considering this a win. Anyway, here it is: my reading wrap-up for July 2025!
Like in June, and earlier in the year during February, my reading in July was kind of pretty not-good. I also once again didn’t post as much on the blog as I wanted to, but whatever. I’m definitely planning on doing better during August, but we’ll see what happens.
Anyway, let’s just start talking about my StoryGraph statistics from last month!
July Reading 2025
I read 1 book and 384 pages
😐 MOODS: I had three Moods in July, which is the same as the month before. The Moods from this past month were: Adventurous, Lighthearted and Funny.
👢 PACE: The book I read last month was fast-paced.
🔢 PAGE NUMBER: The graphic novel I read last month was 384 pages.
📖 FICTION/NONFICTION: It was once again all fiction. As usual.
🎭 GENRES: There were two Genres on the graph this month. They were Fantasy and Graphic Novel.
📄 FORMAT: This pie chart was once again correct. Four months in a row. I didn’t know the Format chart had it in it.
⭐ RATING: My median star rating for last month was 5.0, which makes sense as I only read one book and that was the rating I gave it.
📉 PAGES READ DAILY: My reading during July, as I’ve mentioned before, was pretty terrible. I didn’t really read anything until the very end of the month, wherein I read the novel over the last two days.
So yeah, my reading was not great in July, and my blog activity was also not the best. I really, really want to do better in August though. Summer has always been kind of difficult for me where productivity is concerned, and that includes reading books. I don’t know why that is, and I hate that it is that way for me, but that’s just kind of how it is. The past two months have been particularly bad, though – I’ve never had a June and July come out this bad. But August is sometimes when I’m able to get back into it, so I’m hoping that’s the case for this year.
I absolutely have contingencies for my reading this month though. For one thing, I’m definitely (finally) getting back into reading One Piece in August, and the next arc is three super-volumes/omnibuses, so that’s three books right there. I’d also really like to read at least two other books, so hopefully that will also happen. I don’t know yet if there’s gonna be stuff from my TBR, if I’m gonna spontaneously pick stuff or it’ll be both yet, though. I very much want to get back on track with everything – I love reading more than mostly everything and this blog is important to me, even if sometimes both feel like a bit of a slog.
Anyway, as always, thank you for joining me in checking out my StoryGraph stats for my July reading in 2025. Thank you also for reading, and I hope you have a great day/night!
Like last month, t’s a little later in the month again, but I’m here again participating in another Birthstone Book Covers!
Birthstone Book Covers is a fun monthly post created by Leslie @ Books Are the New Black. Each month, she features book covers that are either the same color of that month’s birthstone or include the color in the title.
July has one birthstone – Ruby.
Rules:
📚 Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Black) and link back to her so she can check out your post. 📚 Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone. 📚 HAVE FUN! 📚 Nominate people if you want!
Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin
Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis
What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher
The Forest King’s Daughter by Elly Blake
The Dragon Heir by Cinda Williams Chima
The Shadow Throne by Jennifer A. Nielsen
What are your favorite books with red book covers? If you participated in Birthstone Books, which books did you choose this July?
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have the most amazing day/night!
Hey there everybody! Another month, another bunch of new books that are coming out! Yep, it’s The Most Intriguing New Books of July 2025.
This used to be a quarterly post, but I’ve recently decided to do it monthly instead. Also, even though this post is about new releases, it’s primarily focused on fantasy and science fiction, as those are the genres I tend to prefer to read. (Not to say other genres won’t ever appear on these lists – it just isn’t super likely; it’s likely to be a very rare occurrence if it happens at all.)
If you’ve seen this post by me before, you know the drill; I’m only interested in these books – there’s no guarantee that I’m gonna read all of them. There’s not even a guarantee that I’m gonna read even half of them. We shall see. Anyway, let’s get going! This month there are four books that have caught my eye.
RELEASING: July 1st
A young thief attempting a daring casino heist during a high-stakes tournament is torn between two warring brothers in Den of Liars.
Lola St. James is the world’s best kept secret. When her father’s loss in the Liar’s Dice Tournament–a high-stakes competition where players are forced to gamble with their deepest secrets–made her a target, she was rescued by the Thief, the notorious leader of the Tentacles. But the Thief’s kindness came with a Lola’s heart. In the years that follow, she and the Thief form a bond like no other, able to feel each other’s emotions because of their shared heart.
Now, living under the pseudonym Astra, she is determined to prove herself and become a full-fledged Tentacle. But when a critical heist goes sideways, the only way forward is for Lola to compete in the Liar’s Dice Tournament herself. Lola is confident in her ability to pull off any heist, but the Thief’s mysterious brother, the Liar, runs the game and he turns out to be more than she bargained for. As her attraction for him grows and illusions run wild, she will be forced to confront the secrets of her past, the truth of the brothers’ shared history, and the lies she tells herself.
RELEASING: July 15th
New York Times bestselling author Sarah Beth Durst invites you to her new standalone novel nestled on a far-away island brimming with singing flowers, honey cakes, and honeyed love. The hardcover edition features beautiful sprayed edges.
Terlu Perna broke the law because she was lonely. She cast a spell and created a magically sentient spider plant. As punishment, she was turned into a wooden statue and tucked away into an alcove in the North Reading Room of the Great Library of Alyssium.
This should have been the end of her story . . . Yet one day, Terlu wakes in the cold of winter on a nearly-deserted island full of hundreds of magical greenhouses. She’s starving and freezing, and the only other human on the island is a grumpy gardener. To her surprise, he offers Terlu a place to sleep, clean clothes, and freshly baked honey cakes—at least until she’s ready to sail home.
But Terlu can’t return home and doesn’t want to—the greenhouses are a dream come true, each more wondrous than the next. When she learns that the magic that sustains them is failing—causing the death of everything within them—Terlu knows she must help. Even if that means breaking the law again.
This time, though, she isn’t alone. Assisted by the gardener and a sentient rose, Terlu must unravel the secrets of a long-dead sorcerer if she wants to save the island—and have a fresh chance at happiness and love.
Funny, kind, and forgiving, The Enchanted Greenhouse is a story about giving second chances—to others and to yourself.
RELEASING: July 29th
Ninth House meets Legendborn in this thrilling first book in a dark academia fantasy series about a teen who’s willing to do anything to find her brother—even infiltrate a secret society full of monsters.
When August’s brother disappears before his sophomore semester, everyone thinks the stress of college got to him. But August knows her brother would never have left her voluntarily, especially not after their mother so recently went missing.
The only clue he left behind was a note telling her to stay safe and protect their remaining family. And after August is attacked by a ten-foot-tall creature with fur and claws, she realizes that her brother might be in more danger than she could have imagined.
Unfortunately for her, the only person with a connection to the mysterious creature is the bookish Virgil Hawthorne…and he knows about them because he is one. If he doesn’t find a partner to help control his true nature, he’ll lose his humanity and become a mindless beast—exactly what the secret society he’s grown up in would love to put down.
Virgil makes a proposition: August will join his society and partner with him, and in return, he’ll help her find her brother. And so August is plunged into a deadly competition to win one of the few coveted candidate spots, all while trying to accept a frightening reality: that monsters are real, and she has to learn to master them if she’s to have any hope of saving her brother.
RELEASING: July 29th
Fans of the hit webcomic Aurora, will delight in the first series installment in print, which follows a found family of heroes on a journey to save a god from an immortal witch.
The shining city of Vash in the world of Aurora is protected by a great and powerful god of the same name, but even Vash’s incarnation cannot withstand the Collector, an immortal sorceress bent on unmaking the world. Vash’s city is destroyed and his soul abducted, leaving only ruins and the wounded, empty body of his incarnation. When newborn soul Kendal awakens in the body, he is driven to rescue the imprisoned Vash. Now Kendal must grapple with living as a mortal and defeating a force powerful enough to sunder the gods.
Kendal is aided by the friends he makes along the way: Alinua, a volatile elven hermit terrified of her uncontrollable life magic; Erin, the prideful Elemental Magus, master of all six elements, who is burdened with a world-shattering curse; and Falst, a surly beastman trying to find his way in a world that hates him. Together, they will journey through magic and mystery, explore perilous environments, and confront ancient forces. Stars dance beyond the shimmering curtains of Aurora; it is time to draw those curtains back…
With exclusive author commentary and bonus story content, Aurora (Volume 1) has plenty for both fans and new readers to enjoy.
So yeah, these are all of the books releasing in the in July 2025 that I’m at least a little interested in. What books are coming out soon that you’re looking forward to? Do we share some of the same ones?
As always, thank you all so much for reading, and I hope you have a great day/night!
