Happy Tuesday!
There are a handful of books on our radar this week, namely contemporary romances. There’s only one release week left and that is shaping up to be a doozy when it comes to new releases.
Which new releases are you excited for this week? Let us know in the comments!
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Henry Tudor Must Die
Author: Jillian Laine
Released: July 21, 2026 by Berkley
Genre: Historical: European, Science Fiction/FantasyOne queen exiled. Another headed for the gallows. Both hungry for revenge. England’s most infamous queens set out to reclaim their story and unite in vengeance against Henry VIII.
Anne Boleyn is going to die, and neither her cleverness nor her witchery can save her. So when her late rival, Catalina de Aragón, miraculously appears in her cell at the Tower of London on the eve of her execution, very much alive and offering a daring escape plan, no one is more surprised than Anne.
Lina doesn’t have Anne’s magic—but she has just as much hate for England’s wretched king. Severed from her daughter and stripped of all her influence, Lina breathes only for the Hellebore Sisterhood, a clandestine and powerful society with a vested interest in keeping both queens alive…and using their particular skills to advance womankind.
Anne and Lina’s old rivalries pale in comparison to a common enemy. One by one, they capture their pawns, infiltrating the court, recruiting the new queens in Henry’s orbit, and eliminating the men who plotted against them. Always inching closer to their true target…
And they want his head.
Sarah: The six wives decide they’re going to get revenge on Henry VIII, and I’m thinking fans of “Six” will adore this. I also think this book signals a growing trend I’m calling “Tudorpalooza.”
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If Books Could Kill
Author: Kate Eberle
Released: July 21, 2026 by Penguin Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Romance, Science Fiction/FantasyA NOVEL LOVE STORY meets LOVE IN THE TIME OF SERIAL KILLERS in this rom-com following Roxie Mitchell, an adventure-loving romance reader who finds herself trapped in a meet-cute turned murderous
When Roxie makes a tongue-in-cheek wish to live out the plot of her favorite author’s next novel, she has romance in mind—namely, the sweet, safe, swoon-worthy storylines Anna Matthews is known for. It should be a dream come true when her wish is granted and she finds herself swept into a first date with a handsome stranger who seems designed to take her breath away.
Except for one little hiccup: That handsome stranger tries to take her breath away. Literally. With a knife. The thing is, Roxie may be the new Anna Matthews protagonist—but this time, Anna is writing a crime thriller.
Thrown into a perilous genre she’s never read, Roxie is desperate for help. So when her escape takes her straight into the path of Grant Hoffman, an anxious English professor with a convenient love of crime novels, she decides that kidnapping a grown man is a small price to pay for her own survival. Together, Roxie and Grant navigate a madcap story where the lines between fiction and reality blur. They’ll find out if they have what it takes to make it to The End—or maybe even Happily Ever After.
Romances with meta book plots are really in right now.
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Just a Highland Fling
Author: Naina Kumar
Released: July 21, 2026 by Dell
Genre: Contemporary Romance, RomanceSparks fly on a road trip through the Scottish highlands in this delightful forced proximity romance from the bestselling author of Flirting With Disaster.**
Neelu Pillai makes a last-minute decision to fly to Scotland for her estranged father’s wedding with one goal: to get through it with as little conflict as possible. But when her tipsy tirade at the rehearsal dinner is the reason her father gets left at the altar, she agrees to help him track down his runaway bride.
There’s just one problem: The third member of this road trip through the highlands is Jacob, the hot desi bagpiper from the wedding who just happens to be Neelu’s recent one-night stand. They couldn’t keep their hands off each other a few nights ago, but now he can’t seem to stand her.
Their journey to Skye is certainly not smooth, but as the two work together through the obstacles, doing their best to reunite Neelu’s father with his bride, they realize that there’s more to each other than meets the eye. And that the electric connection they’d felt the night they met is still as strong as ever. . . .
Fiery first impressions, fierce clashes, and undeniable chemistry make for a bumpy ride through the Highlands in this swoony, witty romance about family, forgiveness, and finding love where you least expect it.
Sarah: One night stand at estranged father’s wedding leads to a bride with cold feet and a road trip with her “hot desi bagpiper one night stand” who now seems really mad at her?
Lara: I’m really curious about this one.
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The Story Keeper
Author: Kelly Rimmer
Released: July 21, 2026 by MIRA
Genre: Gothic, Historical: Other, Mystery/ThrillerIn the aftermath of a tumultuous year, Fiona Winslow finds solace in the decaying grandeur of Wurimbirra, the rambling family estate she once called home. Intent on restoring it, she discovers the keys to more than just the dilapidated mansion—beneath the crumbling plaster and dust are secrets that have been buried for a generation.
When a curious book, The Midnight Estate, catches her attention in her late uncle’s library, Fiona is plunged into a tale that mirrors her own—a story of love, loss and betrayal. But as the lines between fiction and reality blur, Fiona must ask herself: Is the true mystery the one hidden within the walls of her ancestral home, or is it within the pages of a book that chose her as much as she chose it?
Told in a dual narrative and set against the Gothic backdrop of Wurimbirra, Kelly Rimmer, bestselling author of The Things We Cannot Say, weaves an intricate and compelling tale, inviting readers into the heart of a family’s deepest secrets with an absorbing book-within-a-book mystery.
Sarah: This is a book-in-a-book story featuring a family estate in an Australian-set gothic. Oh, my.
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Vera Stein Is Fine
Author: Julie Murphy
Released: July 21, 2026 by Avon
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romance, Women's FictionFrom #1 New York Times bestseller Julie Murphy comes a heartfelt and hilarious tale of a woman who thinks life and love have passed her by until she’s thrown into her grandmother’s quirky world of octogenarian free love and gets a second chance with the one man she never expected to see again. Perhaps it’s never too late to play the opening credits…
Welcome to Starlight Palms, a favorite retirement facility among Hollywood actors and industry professionals tucked away just outside of sunny Palm Springs. Filled with forgotten scream queens, eccentric screenwriters, and heartthrobs of the past, it has a brand-new resident: Vera Stein, age forty.
Vera knows she’s missed her chance at a life worthy of the silver screen, just like she missed her chance at ever finding true love. But Vera isn’t one to take chances. She’s spent most of her adult years caretaking for her dying mother and her movie star boss’s ego. Now abruptly houseless and jobless, Vera has nowhere to land, so to grandmother’s house we go!
The Starlight Palms Senior Living Center is midcentury Hollywood down to its pastel-painted bones. This desert gem isn’t lacking in saucy plot twists (swinging seniors, anyone?) or a leading man: Elias Buckley, the on-site doctor and Vera’s former ill-fated college fling and—for reasons that will stay in Vegas—legally her ex-husband according to the state of Nevada.
It’s not long before Vera falls into a job as the activities coordinator and under the spell of a certain smart-mouthed doctor… Suddenly all those empty years in LA look less like mistakes and a lot more like backstory. With a fresh start at her fingertips, Vera begins to see that even with all the detours she’s taken, there’s still a Hollywood ending (and maybe even a happily ever after) in sight…
Lara: This one was such a good fit for me. It felt like the book was written just for me as I’m also going through a big life change in my 40s.
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Yes, Chef
Author: Grace Reilly
Released: July 21, 2026 by Avon
Genre: Contemporary Romance, RomanceThe Bear meets It Happened One Summer in this delicious new romance from USA Today bestselling author Grace Reilly, in which a down-on-his-luck chef and a determined social media maven strike a reluctant deal to bring a beloved restaurant back to life.
If you can’t take the heat…get out of the kitchen.
After a public meltdown in the dining room of one of Manhattan’s most elite restaurants, Chef Jack Hartman is back in his South Florida hometown. Angry, grieving, and saddled with the unwanted storefront his late mentor left him, his life is spinning out of control. And that’s before Poppy Winfield, the blond, bubbly, utterly infuriating daughter of his former boss, shows up at his dock.
Poppy needs to escape. From her disapproving family, her horrible ex-boyfriend, and her reputation as someone who has never taken anything seriously. But more than that, she wants to prove herself—and she has just the plan to do it. Unfortunately, that plan involves Jack Hartman, the most arrogant, prickly, intimidating man she’s ever had the pleasure of throwing a shrimp at.
She knows Jack is desperate to come back from his unceremonious firing, so she proposes a deal: working together to open a revamped version of his mentor’s restaurant. He’ll handle the menu, and she’ll use her skill as a social media influencer to sell the hell out of its grand opening. If she and Jack can make the restaurant a success, it’ll be an accomplishment no one can deny—and a ticket for them both to return to New York.
Jack is intrigued, but only on his terms: if Poppy’s going to work for him, she must learn the ropes of the entire business. Including how to cook. From him.
As sparks fly both in and out of the kitchen and tensions reach a boiling point, Poppy and Jack are left wondering–could they be a perfect pairing? Or is this whole experiment a recipe for disaster?
Dahlia: Look, I don’t know why grumpy-sunshine is at its sexiest in the kitchen, but it just is. I don’t make the rules. And I love foodie romances.
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I will read in any genre of romance (except horror, although I find it theoretically delightful that horror romance is gaining ground). I would read any of these books if I ran across them in the wild! I am not trying to rain on anyone’s parade. But what I am truly excited for at this point is historical and I can’t find any. Of the 132 coming soon romances at my library, 8 are historical, but most of that is either historical rom com, which alas appears to mean contemporary in (poorly researched) costumes, or they are meta which is indeed a huge trend, that I don’t appreciate in any time period. And I don’t need an implausible reimagining of famous people in which they don’t suck. Wolf Hall was brilliant yeah yeah, I grew up on Mary Renault I get it but what about all the non-famous people? Who were not Dukes?
This may be one of my many me problems, but I don’t think I am the only one who wants this?
Intrigued by IF BOOKS COULD KILL, so I’ll add that to my library holds.
I’m excited for Ashley Poston’s Star Wars book, EYES LIKE STARS. I liked Poston’s DEAD ROMANTICS and NOVEL LOVE STORY, so I think this one will be fun.
I am excited about DESTINATION FUNERAL by Paige Harbison, which comes out today. The cover copy describes it as Groundhog Day meets Practical Magic. I love a time loop. (Also, her book THE OTHER SIDE OF NOW was one of my favorite books last year—it had romance but was really about getting a second chance with your best friend from high school. I cried. And sent a copy to my best friend.)