What I Read In July 2025
July was another big travel month for me, so I was able to finish 10 whole books! I have been hard at work prepping for our monthly Book Trivia nights so you’ll see a lot of books by Emily Henry and Taylor Jenkins Reid this month, but I was able to squeeze in some others, too!
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I enjoyed going to some of TJR’s earlier books this month to prep for our Taylor Jenkins Reid Book Trivia night happening in August. This story follows a young woman who is grieving the loss of her husband, who she was only married to for a week prior to his death. I thought the exploration of grief was well done, and I loved the main character’s relationship with her mother in law. This wasn’t one of my favorite TJR reads by far, but it was a solid one!
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While it was a little confusing at first, Immortal Longings ended up being a really fun book for me. I found the premise so unique: being able to jump into other peoples’ bodies? So cool and interesting. I liked the main character, Calla, who felt realistic, problematic and angry. The love story was so well done and the ending has me so excited to dive into book two of this series.
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While this wasn’t my favorite Emily Henry book ever, I did enjoy People We Meet On Vacation. In particular, I really liked the male main character, Alex, but I found Poppy to be frustrating at times. Overall I’d recommend this one for a quick, fluffy read, especially if you’ve liked her other books!
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This was by far one of the coolest, weirdest books I’ve read this year, and I absolutely loved it. It’s a bit of fantasy, a bit of horror, a bit of sci fi and a bit of gothic fiction. The story follows a young woman who escapes from a strict religious compound where she was raised while 7 months pregnant with twins. She ends up living in the woods and raising them for years before circumstances spur her to learn more about the place she escaped from, uncovering difficult truths rooted in American history.
If you’re a horror lover that loves a story that will make you think, I highly recommend this one!
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This is a necessary read, particularly for those looking to understand how our current social and political movements are informed by history. In a series of speeches and interviews with the contributors, Angela Davis explores the unrest in Gaza and the protests in Ferguson while tying them into previous political movements and protests. I came out of it with a ton of book recommendations and topics I’m excited to learn more about.
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The first TJR book I ever read was Daisy Jones and the Six. I fell in love with it, and since then I’ve ready almost every single one of her books. Daisy Jones has always remained my favorite. Until now.
This book destroyed me in the very best way. I found myself absolutely devouring Joan’s story and rooting for her and all the astronauts in her class. Not only was the story compelling, the emotion behind the writing felt visceral. The musings on life, the universe and the possibility of a higher being were beautiful. And those last 20 pages? Absolutely diabolical. This is a strong recommend from me.
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I absolutely adored this sweet story about three unlikely characters who become dependent on each other. Told in part from the point of view of an octopus, Remarkably Bright Creatures is a story of grief, unlikely friendship and community. Reading Marcel’s (the octopus’s) point of view was a delight and I found myself rooting for all the characters. This is a great story for anyone who loves contemporary fiction with a little mystery and a little miracle in it.
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This book was the one I was most excited for in the Skyland trilogy by Kennedy Ryan, and it did not disappoint! I absolutely loved Hendrix and her story. It was a joy to read about her softening herself to love while remaining a fierce entrepreneur and creative. The depth of Hendrix’s story was part of why I loved this book: from her taking care of her aging mother to handling a lawsuit rooted in racism, there is absolutely no way anyone could say Can’t Get Enough is a fluffy romance. The book has meat and spice, and I loved every minute of it.
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What would you do if the love of your life disappeared in an accident and was assumed dead, only to be found years later, after you’re engaged to someone else?
That’s the question explored in One True Loves, a book where you get two sweet love stories in one, making it all the more complex when the main character has to choose. The primary focus of the book is on the love story and not necessarily the whole “husband lost at sea and then suddenly returns” aspect. I would have loved if that storyline had been explored a bit more, but overall I thought the book was well done and enjoyable.
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Big Beautiful Life is probably in my top three Emily Henry reads. I loved the mystery element as Alice and Hayden try to piece together Margaret Ives’ life, and I’m a sucker for the grumpy/sunshine trope. That said, this book reminded me a lot of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and I could never quite get over that similarity or stop comparing the two. If you enjoyed that book of Reid’s, I think you’d definitely like this one. And I loved seeing Emily Henry take a stab at a romance where the romance itself was pretty secondary to the story.
Need other recommendations? Ask me for some ideas!