Tales & Tea: All The New Books to Read in July 2026

For some people, summer may be getting sun-kissed at the beach, sipping an aperol spritz or spending slow afternoons tubing down the lake. But, for the bookish among us, it’s reading until the wee hours, a stacked nightstand, dog-eared pages and a TBR pile that just won’t quit growing. Whether you’re a bookish person all year round, someone looking to get back into reading, or finally finding the time to pick up a book this summer, there’s no shortage of new releases to explore.

This July, the new releases are giving us everything: a thought-provoking book on love, life and loss, a forbidden romance that refuses to stay platonic, and an interconnected story between nine people, and so much more.

Scroll below to see our curated guide on the best new books to add to your reading list this summer and beyond.

If you’re after a thought-provoking read that lingers long after the final page, Country People is the one for you. The book follows Milez Krzelewski, a doting father who is convinced he’s a disappointment to his family. So, when his wife Kate accepts a professorship at a prestigious college, he decides to make changes and move forward with his life. A blend of wit and wonder, the book sees into a family’s leap into the unknown—an exploration of parenthood, belief and marriage.

This summer, escape to a charming small town—you may end up meeting a stranger who will do anything to keep you safe. This single-dad romance follows Nova Monroe finding her feet again in Starlight Grove after 413 days in captivity. But, Kol Archer—the man who found her—won’t let her face her troubles, memories and pain alone, so he’s made it his mission to protect her. But the closer they grow, the more dangerous it gets, and someone is determined to stop Nova from moving on.

A timeless story about life and death, this is a fantastical tale about Travis, who offers people comfort in their final hours of life—a person who knows that every life must eventually end. Until he meets Dalia, a midwife and her eight-year-old daughter, Layla, and suddenly being detached and finding his place in the universe becomes harder to navigate.

The immediate sequel of The Irrestible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy sees Orsic and Aurieena playing a dangerous game of love and hate—every healing session between them draws them closer together. When the deadly Pox threatens the world of Tiendoms, the two of them continue to blur the balance between peace and war. If you love a slow-burning tension, steamy moments and witty banter set in a fantasy world, then this one delivers perfectly.

Are you still deep in your Off Campus binge? Then you’ll want to pick this one up next. In this sports romance, Abigail Thompson hits rock bottom—kicked out of her apartment and is forced to ask her half-brother for help. What she doesn’t expect is ending up in her brother’s best friend’s spare room. Jack Baker is a professional hockey player who is flighty, flirty and full of himself, everything Abby swore she’d avoid in a man But, living under the same roof changes things. Day by day, walls come tumbling down, until confiding in each other turns into falling into each other’s bed.

Are you in need of a good cry and spice at the same time? You’re in luck. Love Wells Kept is a small-town romance that follows Jackson, who loses years of his memory after sustaining a severe head injury in an accident. Feeling like a stranger in his own life, he goes back to his family’s ranch to remember his wife Kate and his two kids. Kate, on the other hand, puts on a brave face for her family, but she’s secretly grieving the loss of the man she knew—terrified he might be gone for good. Still, she refuses to give up on Jackson, or on their love.

The romance author’s latest book puts a PhD-wielding atmospheric scientist at the centre of it all. Quincy Monroe has a thriving digital platform and a reputation to match in a male-dominated field, while Sebastian Dunn—her oldest rival and best friend’s brother—is the kind of effortlessly magnetic TV weatherman that makes everyone forget their own name. Everyone but Quincy. When a record-breaking Florida hurricane season forces them into the same orbit, years of carefully maintained contempt begin to erode—and some collisions, however long they’ve been building, simply cannot be outrun.

This second-chance romance follows Emery Finch, desperate to revive both her troubled marriage and her husband—whom she married out of the blue during a blistering night in Vegas—after a tragic accident takes Luca from her. Emery breaks every rule to bring him back, scientifically and emotionally. It might be a miracle of science, but for Emery, it’s her one shot at a second chance. And this time, she’s not letting it go to waste.

In the next book of the Mavericks series, Evie Emberson collides head-on with Aiden “Ace” Hayes, her brother’s brooding, coder best friend, whose one unbreakable rule is to never touch Evie. But, she’s not the kid he remembers anymore, and the closer they get, the harder that rule becomes to keep. What starts as snark and stolen glances spirals into something more. Aiden has to choose between protecting her or betraying the only family he’s ever known.

We’re going back to Arcana Academy and the stakes are even higher—tarot magic, forbidden desires, battles and betrayals. The second book of the fantasy romance series continues with Clara Grayswood on the run and being hunted by the people of Oricalis. Not even her mastery of tarot can save her until she meets the mysterious Worldkeepers. But, she’s already in an alliance with Prince Kaelies—a man she can’t escape and doesn’t want to escape from. Hiding in plain sight at Arcana Academy, Clara plays a dangerous game of cat and mouse.

If a man on a motorcycle does something to you, do not skip this one. Foxx is a dark enemies-to-lovers romance that follows Mia Tyler, who’s out for revenge, and her target, Aiden Foxx, the president of a motorcycle club. But there’s just one complication. Her older brother, Mason, is a top-ranking member of a rival club, so if her identity is exposed, it could cost her everything. And yet, the only problem on her list now is not to fall in love with Aiden.

It may not be curl up in your cardigan and light some candles season, but this dark academia book is fantastical enough to brighten your summer days. Set in an elite university in the Scottish Highlands, this enemies-to-lovers book follows Ophelia as she sets out to destroy Alex Corbeau-Green and his family at any cost. But then she fell in love with him, and they became each other’s everything. Now, after Alex’s father vanishes and Ophelia is at the centre of it all, Alex flees back to New York to pick up the pieces, leaving Ophelia with a secret, a stalker and a body neither of them can explain. And the only way to survive it is the one thing they swore they wouldn’t do again: trust each other. This is the second book in the Sorrowsong University series—be sure to read Nightshade first.

Imagine The Notebook meets Love Actually—that’s Meet Me in Paris. Following the lives of nine Americans in Paris and seven intertwined love stories, this book will break your heart and put you back together. From a 23-year-old woman and a dying mother desperately trying to make memories together to a rockstar who may just have met the love of his life and a woman discovering her husband’s infidelity, this book explores love, loss and finding your way home.

Known for her laugh-out-loud, witty and spicy romance books, Meghan Quinn is back to steal our hearts with Just For The Plot. The sports romance book follows Bower, who moves into the same apartment as her best friend’s brother, a man she wants but can’t have. When late nights turn to book club confessions, and banters turn to deeper attraction, the lines of being just friends start to blur. And, now they must decide whether their love is worth the risk.

What begins as a calculated arrangement unravels into something raw and consuming—jealousy that burns, yearning that aches and a will-they-won’t-they dance so charged it threatens to incinerate them both. He wants her gone. But then tragedy shatters everything, and suddenly the man who pushed her away needs her desperately—not as a bride, but as a piece on the chessboard of power. He fights it. She resists it. And yet, with every stolen glance and unspoken confession, the line between obligation and obsession blurs beyond recognition.