July is a quieter month for rom-com releases. But for the dedicated beach and porch readers, the summer is just getting started, so here are new releases that will bring the heat (and the feels).
Join us as we highlight notable romance book releases each month to add to your never-ending TBR pile. These lists will include a range of adult, young adult, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC novels to put on your radar. They could be stand-alone books or new releases in a best-selling series.
Our July rom-com picks include jewel thieves who steal our hearts, a racy FI romance, and a tender wedding crasher meet cute.
In order of release date, here are 6 rom-com novels we are excited to read in July:
1. Joined at the Joints by Marissa Eller — July 2
Two polar opposite teens bond over their joint juvenile rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis in this poignant romantic journey.
Baking-obsessed Ivy would prefer to spend her summer in the kitchen until class-clown Grant comes along and sweeps her off her feet. Their sophisticated summer romp tackles chronic illness and social anxiety while exploring coming-of-age milestones like first kisses and friendship breakups.
Book Description: Chronically ill seventeen-year-old Ivy has stayed in watching the Food Network all summer — pies are better than people, and they don’t trigger her social anxiety. So when her (also) chronically ill mom and sister cook up a plan to get Ivy out of the house and into a support group, Ivy doesn’t expect to say more than a few words.
And she certainly doesn’t expect Grant. Grant is CUTE: class-clown cute, perfectly-messy-hair cute, will-always-text-you-back cute. There’s an instant connection between them. He has the same diagnosis as her — juvenile rheumatoid arthritis — and he understands Ivy’s world. But just because he understands Ivy’s pain doesn’t mean he can take it away. And she wishes he could—because it’s getting worse. Ivy has always tried her best to appear pain-free, but between treatment plans, symptom management, and struggling with medical self-advocacy, being sick feels more and more difficult. Will Ivy’s delicious new romance pan out? Can she keep up the façade for him and the world?
2. Hearts Overboard by Becky Dean — July 9
When STEM-loving Becky is dumped for being boring, she sets out to prove her ex wrong and win him back with an adventurous cruise to Alaska. Enter jock Tanner, a long-time nemesis from Becky’s past that makes it his personal mission to push her outside her comfort zone.
But as her great outdoor adventures push her to be brave, Becky has to face the fact that it isn’t her ex, Caleb, that she is falling in love with.
Book Description: Set sail with this banter-filled rivals-to-lovers romance between a STEM-loving girl and a jock guy that will fill you with wanderlust and have you rooting for love in the great outdoors! Love is on the horizon. After a very public breakup where her ex, Caleb, told her she is both, a.) boring, and b.) stuck in her ways, Savannah Moore decides her mom’s company cruise to Alaska is the perfect opportunity to show people that she can be fun. One new thing a day should be enough to prove to others and herself that she isn’t “Moore the Bore.”
Stepping out of her comfort zone isn’t easy, especially since her long-time nemesis, Tanner Woods, is also on the ship. His family and hers are friends, and Tanner knows her — and her true self — better than she’d like to admit. When he learns of her plan, Tanner offers to help Savannah be adventurous and encourages her to try everything: zip lining and dogsledding, hiking the bear-infested Alaskan wilderness, late-night karaoke, and a polar plunge. Savannah will win Caleb back by showing him just what he’s missing. Except, after spending so much time with Tanner, she’s not sure Caleb is the one she wants anymore.
3. The Ping-Pong Queen of Chinatown by Andrew Yang — July 16
A lighthearted student mockumentary film turns into a cathartic project for Felix’s film club as he and fellow classmate Cassie bond over their fears of the future and their painful pasts.
Felix will go on a journey that ponders whether academic achievement and his parent’s approval should come before the connections he has made through his short film.
Book Description: On the eve of Felix Ma’s junior year of high school, his parents hire a college admissions coach to help him find a marketable activity. Cynically trawling for extracurricular excellence, Felix decides to start a film club at school. But then he meets Cassie Chow, a bubbly high school senior who shares Felix’s anxieties about the future and complicated relationship with parental expectations.
Felix feels drawn to Cassie for reasons he can’t quite articulate, so as an excuse to see her more, Felix invites Cassie to star in his short film. While the project starts as a lighthearted mockumentary, at the urging of Felix’s college admissions coach, who wants to turn the film into college essay material, it soon morphs into a serious drama about the emotional scars parents leave on their kids.
4. Jewel Me Twice by Charish Reid — July 23
A self-proclaimed thief-cute, Jewel Me Twice offers heists and a love affair between two skilled jewel thieves in this Oceans 11-inspired rom-com.
When professional thieves and former partners Celeste and Magnus are reunited over a locked safe, they embark on a treasure hunt across Europe. However, jewels are the least of their worries when the pairing uncovers they still have feelings for one another.
Book Description: He was her partner — both in crime and between the sheets. It’s been five years since professional thief Celeste St. Pierre laid eyes on Magnus Larsson. These days, she runs a Manhattan antique store, but her talent for stealing beautiful, shiny things hasn’t faded. And as a chance reunion over a locked safe proves, neither has the heat between her and the gorgeous, ice-cool Magnus.
For Magnus, only one thing beats the thrill of getting away with robbery — and that’s the woman he’s tried hard to forget. Their last job together ended in disaster. But if they’re going to honor their mentor’s last wishes to pull off the theft of the century, they’ll have to temporarily put their grudges behind them. Crisscrossing Europe on a real-life treasure hunt, Celeste and Magnus quickly rediscover how well they work together.
5. Cross the Line by Simone Soltani — July 23
This one is for the F1 fans. Cross the Line introduces DSev, a driver with a banged-up image after a social media disaster, and Willow, the girl who has the skills to turn his career around.
Yet, as the sister of Dev’s best friend, Willow has been harboring a crush on the F1 driver since childhood. Can these co-workers keep things professional? With a kiss already in the books, it’s unlikely.
Book Description: Formula 1 driver Dev Anderson’s career is on the line. After a social media disaster leaves him with an angry team and sponsors threatening to jump ship, he needs someone to help save his image. At a party in Monaco, he bumps into the woman who can fix it all. There’s just one problem: she’s his best friend’s little sister. And, okay, maybe there’s another problem — he kissed her last year and hasn’t been able to stop thinking about it since.
Recent college grad Willow Williams needs a job. She may have a talent for seeing the bright side of any bad situation, but it’s hard to stay positive when she’s struggling to get hired. So when Dev offers her a temporary solution, she can’t help but say yes. Even if it means ignoring the crush she’s had on him since childhood.
6. The Wedding People by Alison Espach — July 30
A contemporary romance, The Wedding People is set at a grand inn in Rhode Island, where an unlikely wedding crasher unexpectedly strikes up a bond with the bride who accounted for everything — except Phoebe.
All about chance encounters and the humor of humility, this story promises a life-changing wedding for its guests.
Book Description: It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She’s immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamt of coming for years―she hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe―which makes it that much more surprising when the women can’t stop confiding in each other.
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What will you be reading in June? 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.
