July’s sunny days bring with them an assortment of light and colourful summer beach reads.
This month’s rom-com lineup celebrates romance with quirky gimmicks and genre-bending concepts. From fantasy romances to witchy bed and breakfasts to D&D campaigns, love shines in the most unusual and unlikely places this month.
In order of release date, here are six romance novels to check out this July:
1. The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley — July 8
When an assassin falls ill, he has to ask an enemy healer for help in this enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance.
However, as the two work together under a common cause to solve a mysterious illness and save their factions, Osric and Aurienne manage to catch something much more dangerous — romantic feelings for each other.
Book Description:
When Osric Mordaunt, member of the Fyren Order of assassins, falls ill, he realizes he needs the expertise of a very specific healer. As fate would have it, that healer belongs to an enemy faction, the Haelan Order.
Aurienne Fairhrim and her fellow Haelan are inundated by sick children suffering from an outbreak of a long-forgotten Pox. Unable to get the funding needed to launch an immunization program, the Haelan Order is desperate for money — so desperate that when Osric breaks into their headquarters to bribe Aurienne to heal him, she is forced to accept.
As Osric and Aurienne work together to solve not only his illness but the mysterious reoccurrence of the Pox, they find themselves ardently denying their attraction which only fuels the tension between them.
2. A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna — July 15
After a powerful witch is forced into magic exile for resurrecting the dead, Sera Swan takes up a job running an enchanted inn in Lancashire.
This cozy fantasy romance heats up when a magical historian arrives on a dark winter’s night looking to book a stay. While reluctant to get mixed up in the crazy day-to-day of the inn, Sera needs his help to craft a spell that will allow her to regain her powers and her future.
Book Description:
Sera Swan used to be one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she resurrected her great-aunt Jasmine from the (very recently) dead, lost most of her magic, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was exiled from her Guild. Now she (slightly reluctantly and just a bit grumpily) helps Jasmine run an enchanted inn in Lancashire, where she deals with her quirky guests’ shenanigans, tries to keep said talking fox in check, and longs for the future that seems lost to her. But then she finds out about an old spell that could hold the key to restoring her power…
Enter Luke Larsen, handsome and icy magical historian, who arrives on a dark winter evening and just might know how to unlock the spell’s secrets. Luke has absolutely no interest in getting involved in the madcap goings-on of the inn and is definitely not about to let a certain bewitching innkeeper past his walls, so no one is more surprised than he is when he agrees to help Sera with her spell. Worse, he might actually be thawing.
3. Roll for Romance by Lenora Woods — July 15
When Sadie loses her job, she flees to Texas and seeks refuge in her friend’s Dungeons & Dragons campaign. When an outgoing bartender is persuaded to join the group’s game, Sadie struggles not to fall in love with Noah’s elfish character or the man playing him.
When reality threatens to overtake their fantasy, Sadie and Noah will have to roll the dice on whether their relationship can withstand the challenges of career changes and long-distance separation.
Book Description:
When Sadie Brooks unexpectedly loses her marketing job, she flees New York City to spend the summer with her best friend in small-town Texas, where joining his Dungeons & Dragons campaign is the perfect distraction while she plans her next steps.
In the game, she becomes Jaylie, a powerful human cleric blessed by the Goddess of Luck. But in real life, Sadie believes her luck has run out — until she meets Noah Walker, the outgoing bartender roped into joining their party as Loren, an adventurous and charismatic lute-strumming elf. Just as Jaylie finds herself succumbing to the bard’s charms over the course of their party’s travels, Sadie also begins to fall under Noah’s spell.
As their relationship progresses in both worlds, Sadie wonders if what they have might last beyond the game. But like his traveling bard character, Noah never stays in one place for long. When a new opportunity arises in New York, Sadie must face the truth about why she lost her job in the first place—and whether she and Noah have found something in Texas worth staying for. Torn between her career dreams in the city and the exciting uncertainty of a new adventure, she will have no choice but to roll the dice.
4. Only Lovers in the Building by Nadine Gonzalez — July 15
A play on Only Murders in the Building, this tongue-in-cheek romance follows Liliane as she books a summer stay in Miami Beach.
There, she is drawn to fellow romance reader and professor Benedicto. As they spend hours by the pool giving out dating advice and discussing romance tropes, the other residents start to assume they are experts in the field of falling in love. But as they consider starting a romance-themed podcast, they miss all the signs of the love brewing between them.
Book Description:
After her legal career comes to a sudden and humiliating end, Liliane Lyon books a restorative summer rental at The Icon, a quintessential Art Deco building in Miami Beach, where her only plan is to bask in the sun, read, and sip cocktails. But soon she’s enchanted by the colorful community, including university professor Benedicto Romero — resident tortured poet, whose sole intention for sabbatical is to indulge in brooding introspection.
When they discover a shared passion for romance novels, Lily and Ben are soon spending hours reading together by the pool, the spark between them unwittingly giving the other residents the impression that they’re experts in matters of the heart…no matter that IRL their disastrous love lives bear little resemblance to the stories they’re reading.
But while Ben and Lily can pinpoint a trope a mile away and give excellent advice to others, they can’t make sense of the sizzling chemistry between them, and the suggestion of a professional podcast suddenly forces them to consider the long-term.
5. How to Sell a Romance by Alexa Martin — July 15
A pyramid scheme takes a romantic turn when a teacher turns to a side hustle selling makeup to make ends meet. Then she runs into investigative reporter Lucas, a man determined to expose the makeup company after losing all his money and his wife to the scheme.
After a disastrous hookup where Lucas learns Emerson is his daughter’s teacher, he backs off on using her to infiltrate the pyramid scheme. But when Emerson finds out what the company is doing, Lucas is the only one she can turn to for help.
Book Description:
Emerson Pierce loves everything about being a kindergarten teacher except the painfully low salary. It isn’t until she hears about Petunia Lemon—an opportunity to sell makeup products, make some extra money, and meet a group of skin-care aficionados—that she begins to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Sure, it sounds a little too good to be true, but what’s the worst that could happen?
Investigative reporter Lucas Miller didn’t always have a chip on his shoulder…until his wife joined Petunia Lemon, drained their savings, and filed for divorce. Now he’s a little bitter, a lot single, and determined to expose the company. After infiltrating their largest convention yet, the last thing he expects is to lose sight of his mission for one night with the gorgeous woman at the bar.
When Emerson and Lucas learn that she’s his daughter’s teacher, they decide to ignore their scorching chemistry. Until things with Petunia Lemon turn downright diabolical and Emerson turns to Lucas for help. They work together to bring the company down but can the two come out on top in this pyramid scheme of love?
6. Love Is a War Song by Danica Nava — July 22
When a Native pop star falls from grace, Avery Fox finds herself living on a ranch in Oklahoma and working under the disgruntled ranch hand Lucas.
When word gets out that their family might lose the ranch, Lucas has to accept that Avery’s musical talents can help raise funds to keep it open. In contrast, she learns what it’s like to be surrounded by her Indigenous culture on the rez.
Book Description:
Pop singer Avery Fox has become a national joke after posing scantily clad on the cover of Rolling Stone in a feather warbonnet. What was meant to be a statement of her success as a Native American singer has turned her into a social pariah and dubbed her a fake. With threats coming from every direction and her career at a standstill, she escapes to her estranged grandmother Lottie’s ranch in Oklahoma. Living on the rez is new to Avery — not only does she have to work in the blazing summer heat to earn her keep, but the man who runs Lottie’s horse ranch despises her and wants her gone.
Red Fox Ranch has been home to Lucas Iron Eyes since he was sixteen. He has lived by three rules to keep himself out of trouble: 1) preserve the culture, 2) respect the horses, and 3) stick to himself. When he is tasked with picking up Lottie’s granddaughter at the bus station, the last person he expected to see is Avery Fox. Lucas can’t stand what she represents, but when he’s forced to work with her on the ranch, he can’t get her out of his sight—or his head. He reminds himself to keep to his rules, especially after he finds out the ranch is under threat of being shut down.
It’s clear Avery doesn’t belong here, but they form a tentative truce and make a deal: Avery will help raise funds to save the ranch, and in exchange, Lucas will show her what it really means to be an Indian. It’s purely transactional, absolutely no horsing around…but where’s the fun in that?
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What will you be reading in July? Share your picks in the comments below!
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Alicia Gilstorf
Alicia is a writer from Canada. She credits her passion for TV and film to superheroes, workplace comedies, cheesy holiday movies, and coming-of-age stories.
