Must-Read Books
July 2025
Adult Fiction
Dream On, Ramona Riley
by Ashley Herring Blake

In this 1st steamy and feel-good Clover Lake romance, sparks fly between waitress Ramona Riley and actress Dylan Monroe in small-town Clover Lake, New Hampshire, where Dylan's shooting a movie. The two kissed years ago, but Dylan doesn't seem to remember. Can this unlikely pair find a second chance at happily-ever-after? For fans of: Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous by Mae Marvel.
Flashlight
by Susan Choi

Flashlight follows American Louisa Kang and her family across locations and years, but focuses on the night young Louisa and her ethnically Korean father walk on a Japanese beach. The next morning, she washes ashore, amnesiac and clinging to life, but her dad can’t be found. Covering family relationships and geopolitics, this slow burn novel is "never sentimental, never predictable" (Kirkus Reviews). Try this next: Kyung-Sook Shin's I Went To See My Father.
The Voice We Find
by Nicole Deese

After their parents die, music producer August Tate becomes the guardian of his Deaf teenage sister but needs more income. He takes on audiobook work and meets voice actress Sophie Wilder, who's back home in California, broke, and desperate to get away from her cold, dysfunctional family. If you're interested in how audiobooks are made, pick up this sweet Christian romance, the 3rd in the Fog Harbor series, which works as a standalone.
Murder Takes A Vacation
by Laura Lippman

After winning the lottery, 68-year-old widow Mrs. Blossom goes on her first international trip, which finds her facing deceptive fellow travelers and a deadly mystery. Using skills she learned from working for PI Tess Monaghan, Mrs. Blossom sets things right while seeing Paris and going on a European river cruise. This cozyish tale by bestselling author Laura Lippman will interest fans of Nicholas George's A Deadly Walk in Devon.
The Girls of Good Fortune
by Kristina McMorris

Facing anti-Chinese sentiment in 1880s Oregon, half-Chinese Celia hides her heritage and works as a maid for Portland's mayor. His son, who knows Celia’s secret, loves her and proposes. But with him away at school, her father murdered, and her unexpectedly pregnant, Celia ends up housekeeping at a brothel, before other dangers surface. Recipes and an author's note add to this compelling tale. Read-alike: Jenny Tinghui Zhang's Four Treasures of the Sky.
The Curious Inheritance of Blakely House
by Joanna Davidson Politano

In 1901 England, clockmaker Sydney Forrester runs a small shop with the aunt who raised her and is drawn to broken things. When she's told she's inherited the estate of an unknown relative, she heads alone to remote Northumberland, finding a house filled with unusual inventions, two men who also have a claim to the estate, and rumors of murder. A "masterful work," raves Library Journal about this historical Christian novel.
A Shipwreck in Fiji
by Nilima Rao

In 1915 Fiji, Police Sergeant Akal Singh, who was sent to the remote British outpost as punishment, chaperones two strong-willed European ladies to a neighboring island. But along with his friend Constable Taviti, he ends up dealing with a murder. This engaging 2nd book starring Sgt. Singh follows A Disappearance in Fiji, but can be read on its own. Read-alike: Abir Mukherjee's A Rising Man.
Can't Get Enough
by Kennedy Ryan

In this 3rd and final novel of the Skyland trilogy, ambitious talent manager Hendrix Barry tries to quell her attraction to off-limits billionaire tech tycoon Maverick Bell while also juggling caregiving responsibilities for her mother, who has Alzheimer's. Will her complicated family dynamics and forbidden feelings keep her from her happily-ever-after? Try this next: Plus Size Player by Danielle Allen.
With A Vengeance
by Riley Sager

Anna Matheson lures six individuals responsible for her family’s ruin onto a luxury train, planning to confront them and force confessions. But when a passenger is murdered, Anna's carefully laid plans unravel. Now, she must risk her own life to protect her enemies as the situation spirals into deadly chaos.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil
by V.E. Schwab

This genre-defying novel follows three lesbian vampires, their lives connected across centuries as they come to terms with their affliction and face love, hunger, immortality, and grief. For fans of: LGBTQIA fantasy with intricately plotted narratives and complex supernatural characters such as Carmilla: The First Vampire by Amy Chu and Someone You Can Build A Nest In by John Wiswell.
The Listeners
by Maggie Stiefvater

In January 1942, war comes to West Virginia when the United States government orders the luxury Avallon Hotel to house Axis Power diplomats. Balancing work, worry, and ethical questions, hotel manager June Porter Hudson also gets to know a handsome FBI agent. This atmospheric adult fiction debut by a bestselling YA fantasy novelist has hints of magic and is a "must-read for all historical fiction fans" (Library Journal). Read-alike: Melanie Benjamin's Mistress of the Ritz.
Kill Your Darlings
by Peter Swanson

Peter Swanson's twisty thriller follows Thom and Wendy Graves, a seemingly ordinary couple with a deadly secret. Told in reverse, the narrative reveals their shared dark past, Wendy's growing plan to murder Thom, and the slow unraveling of their marriage. This complex psychological tale is full of surprises and emotional tension.
So Far Gone
by Jess Walter

In a divided 2016 America, retired Rhys Kinnick hits his son-in-law Shane at Thanksgiving and then goes off-grid in Washington State. A few years later, his grandkids show up, brought by a neighbor at the request of Rhys' daughter. But then Shane sends members of his church militia after the kids, leading Rhys to team up with an eccentric group of old friends. Read-alike: The Feral Detective by Jonathan Lethem.
Adult Nonfiction
Joy Goddess: A'Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance
by A'Lelia Bundles

A'Lelia Bundles "brings vibrant life" (Publishers Weekly) to her great-grandmother A'Lelia Walker (trailblazing entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker's daughter), who parlayed her status as the United States' first high-profile Black heiress to become a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance and a prolific patron of the arts. Try this next: Madam C.J. Walker: The Making of an American Icon by Erica L. Ball.
Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers
by Caroline Fraser

In her disturbing and well-researched true crime account, Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Fraser (Prairie Fires) examines the history of serial killers in the Pacific Northwest from the 1940s to the 1980s. For fans of: The Killer Across the Table: Unlocking the Secrets of Serial Killers and Predators with the FBI's Original Mindhunter by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker.
Dreaming of Home: How We Turn Fear Into Pride, Power, and Belonging
by Cristina Jiménez

In her moving debut, MacArthur Fellow and community organizer Cristina Jiménez recounts her family's fraught immigration journey from Ecuador to the United States in the 1990s, detailing her fears of living undocumented, her commitment to social justice activism, and her role in helping enact Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Try this next: Children of the Land by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo.
By the Second Spring: Seven Lives and One Year of the War in Ukraine
by Danielle Leavitt

Utilizing journals and extensive interviews, historian Danielle Leavitt profiles seven everyday Ukrainians in her evocative account of life during wartime. Further reading: Displaced: Civilians in the Russia-Ukraine War by Valery Panyushkin.
When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World
by Jordan Thomas

In his unputdownable debut, anthropologist and former Los Padres Hotshot wildland firefighter Jordan Thomas recounts his experiences during the 2021 fire season in California, detailing how climate change, colonization, and political malfeasance have exacerbated the rise of megafires in the American West. Try these next: The Last Fire Season: A Personal and Pyronatural History by Manjula Martin; Wildfire Days: A Woman, a Hotshot Crew, and the Burning American West by Kelly Ramsey.
Youth Fiction
George & Lenny Are Always Together
by Jon Agee

Anxious brown bear George and curious gray rabbit Lenny are best friends who do everything together. So what will happen when Lenny wants to try a bit of solitude? This sweet and simple story uses expressive art to explore a timeless question about friendship. Read-alikes: I Am Going! by Mo Willems; Days with Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel.
The Midwatch Institute for Wayward Girls
by Judith Rossell

When she arrives at the Midwatch Institute, headstrong Maggie Fishbone discovers that the gloomy-seeming orphanage is actually a school that trains girls to “solve mysteries and do good deeds and fight bad guys.” Set in a 1920s-era world of airships and motorcars, this clever story offers plenty of intrigue and thrills.
This Moth Saw Brightness
by A.A. Vacharat

Participating in a university’s clinical study on teen health sounds good to Wayne (who goes by D), especially after his crush Jane joins. When things turn strange, D teams up with his best friend and Jane to investigate the sinister motivations behind the research. This thought-provoking thriller is unputdownable.
Contact your librarian for more great books!
Otto Bruyns Public Library of Northfield
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