New York’s Best Burgers

Half the year is gone, and a new quarter has started, but the books? The books are fire. July has so many great releases coming out, from bestselling award-winners to highly anticipated debuts, and it was really hard narrowing things down for each of the below genres. For instance, I wanted very badly to add Jacqueline Harpman’s We Were Forbidden after the moment I Who Have Never Known Men, as well as Heartstopper #6 by Alice Oseman, one of the most popular graphic novel series currently being published. Hustle, Baby by Priya Guns, meanwhile, sounds like a good time, while I’m sure Rene Denfeld’s The Talking Bone will take me through there emotionally. And then there’s the middle grade Airrelle of the Maroon Witches by Sumayyah Beck, which has a tagline that would make me buy anything (it’s described as “Kiki’s Delivery Service meets Black Panther“).

The books that I did include need to be added to your TBR ASAP. In them, Pulitzer Prize-winning Colson Whitehead finishes his Harlem trilogy, a highly anticipated romantasy takes us to the demon realm by way of Chinese mythology, an Indigenous chef shares his personal journey, and much more.

Literary Fiction

Cool Machine by Colson Whitehead

I don’t usually list sequels in new release round-ups because they often require having read the previous book(s), but any release by a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is worth a shout-out. Plus, according to a few reviews I’ve read on Cool Machine, you don’t really need to have read the first two books in The Harlem Trilogy it belongs to. It looks at New York City in the ’80s and its explosion of real estate development, which gets juxtaposed with homelessness. We follow Ray Carney as he tries to play it straight (he’s just been named Furniture Dealer of the Month at his job), but gets dragged back to do just one more heist. To his credit, it’s because his wife was unfairly denied a loan by the bank. In any case, Ray and his associates find themselves navigating a new New York City, which is fighting to have a glistening new exterior, while its inner workings maintain the same level of inequity and violence., Erica Ezeifedi

Romantasy

Dominion by Jean Kwok

The first in a new series, Dominion introduces us to Rubi, a young woman who has little to speak of in terms of magic in a world where magic is the biggest currency. When she catches the eye of a powerful leader in a different dominion after hurting one of his faction, he sends her into a brutal trial that leaves some partnered with tygers and some slaughtered. When she emerges selected, the world changes for her overnight, and becomes even darker than she knew., Jessica Pryde

Sci-Fi

Not with a Bang by Temi Oh

This is a first-contact family drama about the Minton family, who are having several crises. The dad has become a doomsday prepper; one daughter, Briar, is obsessed with a UFO cult and her missing classmate; and the other daughter, Chantale, is having terrible nightmares. And this is all before the aliens show up on Chantale’s wedding day and cause chaos and destruction!, Liberty Hardy

Nonfiction

Our Knives Will Save Us: Dispatches from a White Mountain Apache Chef by Nephi Craig

When Nephi Craig was facing felony charges at 18, the judge gave him probation. The requirement? He could either work or go to school. Craig chose school and enrolled in a culinary arts program. There, he discovered a passion for cooking and realized that the European-inspired dishes required native ingredients from the Americas. From there, he found a lifelong love for studying Indigenous cuisine and ingredients., Kendra Winchester

Romance

Die for Me by Shirlene Obuobi

Shirlene Obuobi’s first paranormal romance continues her practice of bringing us complicated Black medical professionals who are solid in their professional lives but still in search of the personal life they deserve, but…well, we also have potentially supernatural creatures this time. Sean is a cardiologist still dealing with the trauma of a past abusive relationship, and she doesn’t have time or much interest in pursuing a relationship, especially with a younger man. But when she meets Julian at a wedding, the fall is immediate and unstoppable., Jessica Pryde

Graphic Novel/Manga

Memories of Giselle by Katia Vecchio

As she moves through adolescence, Giselle feels less and less like herself. Perhaps this is unsurprising, given her difficult family situation, but there’s something else going on, something that Giselle can’t really remember. She will have to figure out what that something is if she hopes to truly move forward., Eileen Gonzalez

Mystery, Thriller, or True Crime

The Intrigue by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

For fans of noir, historical fiction, and con men!

It’s not easy being a conman when your partner in crime has died, you realize the looks you rely on will fade one day, and the economy is not great. This is Ulises current problem in 1940s Mexico. He needs a big fish to con, which he thinks he’s found with Perla. Problem? Perla has a niece who wants in on the con. Bigger Problem? Perla has her own secrets…, Jamie Canaves

Fantasy

The Memory Bookshop by Song Yu-jeong, translated by Shanna Tan

Magical establishments have been a hot subject in novels for a few years now, but nothing is better than a magical bookshop, amirite? In this Korean bestseller, the Memory Bookshop appears to those who need it most, its shelves filled with books of their own memories. Patrons can go back three chapters in their life to correct past mistakes…but they must give up time in their future as payment., Liberty Hardy

Historical Fiction

With Her Baby on Her Back by Suzette D. Harrison

Zinnie’s newborn baby is strapped to her back, her daughters’ hands in hers, as she sets off on a two-thousand-mile journey she has no choice but to make. As an enslaved midwife, she saves lives even as her own life is controlled by others. But when she crosses state lines, her determination to protect her children could prove the spark she needs to fight for their freedom., Rachel Brittain

Horror

Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle

Chuck Tingle is back with another chilling camp-horror novel. Think Beetlejuice with the thrills and gore of Drive. By day, Poppy Stringer is just your average mom and aspiring fashion influencer. But since fashion isn’t paying the bills, Poppy makes money by robbing graves at night. When rockstar Eddie Michaels unexpectedly dies, Poppy is sent to retrieve the body. She’s hopeful that nabbing the remains of a queer icon will earn her enough money to get out of this business once and for all. She didn’t count on Eddie coming back to life., Emily Martin

Young Adult

Funerals Are For the Living by Sami Ellis

Two words: racist cult.

Junie Daniels was in a car accident a month ago. Her sister died, and her mother has since been so deep in her grief that she’s mostly just checked out of life. She’s unable to plan a funeral for her daughter, so Junie decides she has to do it.

The cheapest place where Junie can get a grave for her sister is in the next town. But Williamsville has a sinister history and legacy, including that its namesake was an enslaver who practiced dark magic. Janie can only worry so much, as she lives in North Carolina, where such historical stories aren’t exactly rare.

But things at the cemetery are feeling weird. Janie enlists her best friend Omari to help her investigate what’s happening. Then, the two girls are taken. It seems like Williamsville’s legacy isn’t a rumor…nor is it gone., Kelly Jensen

Children’s/Middle Grade

Leroy Has Something to Say by Emily Rosenthal and My Phuong Thai

Leroy is a lonely ghost who keeps scaring off families even though he really just wants a friend. Then a new family moves into his house and he meets their daughter, Tara, who is nonverbal and uses a tablet to talk. Luckily, she isn’t afraid of him. Ultimately, it’s a sweet story about friendship that features a disabled main character and represents different ways of communicating., Rachel Rosenberg

Other Book Riot New Releases Resources:

All the Books, our weekly new book releases podcast, where Liberty and a cast of co-hosts talk about eight books out that week that we’ve read and loved.

The New Books Newsletter, where we send you an email of the books out this week that are getting buzz.

Finally, if you want the real inside scoop on new releases, you have to check out Book Riot’s New Release Index! That’s where I find 90% of new releases, and you can filter by trending books, Rioters’ picks, and even LGBTQ new releases!