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Books in July - Book recommendations
- The Little Bookshop
- Jul 1
- 8 min read
Happy July and thus happy Summer holidays everyone! Hope you have a wonderful summer break filled with new adventures and many stories! There are again some nice books getting published this month so before you go, take a look at the little list and perhaps you find some more summer reads:
Contemporary books
Maid For Each Other by Lynn Painter (3 July)
New book by Lynn Painter - romance for the Summer! When Declan’s parents tell him they met his girlfriend at his apartment, he's surprised to say the least. But it is nice to have them off his back about being single for a change… Declan is a busy man, working his way up at Hathaway Holdings. Which is why he’s never met the woman who cleans his penthouse every week. Abi is a professional cleaner, so it’s ironic when she’s forced to move out because of an infestation in her building. Thanks, Apartment 2B! Declan finds out who Abi really is, and decides to make her a proposition: pretend to date him, and he’ll provide everything she needs. Abi needs a place to stay, and Declan is out of town, so the solution seems simple and, crucially, free.
Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe (3 July)
Seen great critics about this one, so now you can discover it! (small paperback!)
As the child of a Hooters waitress and an ex-pro wrestler, Margo Millet's always known she’d have to make it on her own. So she enrolls at her local junior college, even though she can’t imagine how she’ll ever make a living. She’s still figuring things out and never planned to have an affair with her English professor—and while the affair is brief, it isn’t brief enough to keep her from getting pregnant. Despite everyone’s advice, she decides to keep the baby, mostly out of naiveté and a yearning for something bigger. Now, at twenty, Margo is alone with an infant, unemployed, and on the verge of eviction. She needs a cash infusion—fast. When her estranged father, Jinx, shows up on her doorstep and asks to move in with her, she agrees in exchange for help with childcare. Then Margo begins to form a plan: she’ll start an OnlyFans as an experiment, and soon finds herself adapting some of Jinx’s advice from the world of wrestling. Like how to craft a compelling character and make your audience fall in love with you. Before she knows it, she’s turned it into a runaway success. Could this be the answer to all of Margo’s problems, or does internet fame come with too high a price?
Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson (17 July)
Known for ‘A Good Girl's Guide to Murder’ (YA), now her first book for adults!
In seven days Jet Mason will be dead. Jet is the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Woodstock, Vermont. Twenty-seven years old, she’s still waiting for her life to begin. I’ll do it later, she always says. She has time. Until Halloween night, when Jet is violently attacked by an unseen intruder. She suffers a catastrophic head injury. The doctor is certain that within a week, the injury will trigger a deadly aneurysm. Jet has never thought of herself as having enemies. But now she looks at everyone in a new light: her family, her former best friend turned sister-in-law, her ex-boyfriend. She has at most seven days, and as her condition deteriorates she has only her childhood friend Billy for help. But nevertheless, she’s absolutely determined to finally finish something: Jet is going to solve her own murder.
Return to the DallerGut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee & translated by Sandy Joosun Lee (17 July)
And we’re back again in the cozy Dream Department Store!!
It has been a year since Penny first walked through the doors of DallerGut Dream Department Store, and surviving a year at the store means one thing . . . She is now an official employee of the dream industry! She can finally take the express commuter train to the Company District, where all the dream production companies are located and discover how all raw dream materials and testing equipment are produced. But the Company District is not quite what she expected, it hides the darker underbelly of the magical industry that Penny thought she was a part of. Penny discovers the Civil Complaint Center, full of people filing complaints about their dreams. She also learns about the regular customers who have stopped coming to the store. As she gets to the bottom of each complaint, she begins to expand her horizons, transforming from just selling dreams to understanding what lies in the hearts of their lost regulars.
YA Books
Crow Children by James Dixon (3 July)
This is a short novel and sounded sooo interesting! Unsure where she fits in at her new school and reeling from the unexpected death of her dad, Ava finds herself drawn to Dustin, a troubled older boy who performs rituals in the woods to communicate with the crows, messengers between this world and the afterlife. When the crows offer to return her beloved nan’s memories, Ava must decide whether she will pay their price and exchange a soul for a soul.
Circle of Liars by Kate Francis (3 July)
Another thriller in our list because, of course, thrillers can be beach reads as well (I love reading thrillers in the sand!)
Seven liars in the circle. Only one can survive… Seven teens arrive for a school retreat - only to find an abandoned motel and a sinister text message waiting for them: I know what you did a year ago. Each of the seven buried a guilty secret about their tragic school fire. And now someone is out for revenge. Every hour they must choose the guiltiest one among them to cross over the white line that circles the motel and be killed. Otherwise, they all die. But who deserves to live, and who to die? Because only one of them can survive…
Flamefall by Rosaria Munda (10 July)
Second one in the The Aurelian Cycle!
After fleeing the revolution and settling into the craggy cliffs of New Pythos, the dragonlords are eager to punish their usurpers and reclaim their city. Their first order of business was destroying the Callipolan food supply. Now they're coming for the dragonriders. Annie is Callipolis's new Firstrider, charged with leading the war against New Pythos. But with unrest at home, enforcing the government's rationing program risks turning her into public enemy number one. Lee struggles to find his place after killing kin for a leader who betrayed him. He can support Annie and the other Guardians . . . or join the rebels who look to topple the new regime. Griff, a lowborn dragonrider who serves New Pythos, knows he has no future. And now that Julia Stormscourge is no longer there to protect him, he is called on to sacrifice everything for the lords that oppress his people--or to forge a new path with the Callipolan Firstrider seeking his help. With famine tearing Callipolis apart and the Pythians determined to take back what they lost, it will be up to Annie, Lee, and Griff to decide who--and what--to fight for.
Of Flame and Fury by Mikayla Bridge (17 July)
‘Fourth Wing’ meets ‘Iron Widow’ in this enemies-to-lovers romantic fantasy by debut author Mikayla Bridge.
On an island built from ash and shrouded in fire, phoenix racing is a sport just as profitable as it is deadly. Kel Varra and her team of underdogs, the Crimson Howlers, are desperate to win the annual races and the fortune that comes with it. But the Howlers need a new rider, which leads Kel to join forces with Warren “Coup” Coupers – an arrogant rival she can’t get out of her head. As tensions rise on and off the track, Kel accepts a job from a mysterious tech mogul who shows an unsettling interest in her phoenix, Savita. This thrusts Kel into a conspiracy that endangers everyone she loves, especially Coup, as her resentment ignites into something dangerously new. Heart-pounding pages full of steamy romance, fiery confessions, political scheming, and volatile magic culminate in a final battle that none may survive.
Children’s Books
Dogdunnit by Peter Bently (3 July)
I love word puns and I love mystery, perfect combination, isn’t it?!
A cat-and-dog whodunnit reminiscent of the great detective Sherlock Holmes!Crimes are sweeping the neighbourhood: sofas torn to shreds, muddy pawprints on the beds, poo left on the kitchen floor… all the evidence points towards the culprits being DOGS, and Inspector Keyhole is quick to arrest every last one. But the great cat detective Purrlock Jones thinks she knows who the real villain is. It must be the feline mastermind and her arch enemy Moggiarty… (Age: 3+)
Dante N. Ferno is NOT a Loser by Brian Gordon (3 July)
‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ meets ‘Loki’, so fun!
Ever since his trousers fell down in front of the whole school, Dante has struggled to shake off his seriously uncool reputation. Luckily, he has a foolproof plan to become the most popular kid at his new school:
1. Completely reinvent himself.
2. Make a ton of friends and accept his nomination as their leader.
3. Become good at sports stuff and win all the game things.
4. Rub his newfound popularity in the face of all the haters he grew up with.
Sounds easy, right? Well think again - Purg School is attended by infamous creatures from myths and legends and they're not going to let him shake off his loser status overnight! Dante is going to have his work cut out to beat the bullies and show the world that he is NOT a loser. (Age 8-11)
Amari and the Despicable Wonders by BB Alston (17 July)
I LOVE Amari! This is the third one in the series - now available as a smaller paperback!
War has come to the supernatural world, and Amari’s two worst enemies are leading the charge. Elaine Harlowe has manipulated her way into becoming prime minister, using her mind control ability to force the Bureau to take up her vicious grudge against magiciankind. Meanwhile, Dylan Van Helsing, the newly crowned leader of the League of Magicians—and Amari’s former partner—is after a destructive new power that would not only ensure the magicians’ victory . . . it would make him invincible. With neither the Bureau nor the League safe for Amari, and her newly returned brother, Quinton, determined to keep her out of the fray, she and her friends decide to find a way to end the war on their own. So when they learn that the only way to stop Dylan is to find powerful magical inventions known as Wonders, they go after them. But wielding these items comes at a terrible cost, and Amari will have to decide just how much she’s willing to sacrifice . . . because the Despicable Wonders will demand everything. (Age 8+)
The Great Green Island by Becky Colvin by (24 July)
Perfect for this Summer holiday season!
Meet adventurous Ali, a nature-loving girl with a mystery to solve on an island that is much more than it seems. Because this small island holds a big secret. A magical secret in the shape of a Great Green Crocodile. Ali lives with her Dad on a beautiful island with a busy fishing village. So busy in fact that, no matter how hard she tries, Ali can never persuade anyone to stop what they are doing and come exploring with her. That is until the morning everyone wakes to find ALL the fish have disappeared. Every. Last. One. Who – or what - could have taken them?The Great Green Island weaves mystery and adventure with the wonders of nature, reminding us all to stop and experience the world around us - and to do it together! Inspiring and imaginative, this is a tale that will make you see magic. (Age 3+)
We hope you enjoyed our little list and that it gave you some book inspiration!
Looking to pre-order one of these books? Just follow the path! 👇
This blog post is written by The Little Bookshop, your bookshop for English books in Rennes.
