Books I Want to Read July 2023

Another month, another careful curation of books I want to read!

I’m not entirely sure why I have more of a desire to read in the summer months, I think it definitely stems from having summers off from school growing up, so I would try to devour every and any book before the school year returned with it’s exams and homework.

Either way, I am not complaining because this month some highly anticipated releases will finally be on shelves. I do tend to lean more towards fiction and romance novels around the summer time as that seems to be when most of them are published. But of course, YA and Adult Fantasy will forever be my number one!

That all being said, here are the books I will be reading in July!

Sunshine Nails by Mai Nguyen

So I read the synopsis of this and it reminded me of Pho Love Story by Loan Le which I read a few months ago and loved.

I love stories where the family dynamics are shifting and rivals and values are put to the test. It seems like it will be such a fun read with pure moments and emotional character growth!

The Synopsis:

Vietnamese refugees Debbie and Phil Tran have built a comfortable life for themselves in Toronto with their family nail salon. But when an ultra-glam chain salon opens across the street, their world is rocked.

Complicating matters further, their landlord has jacked up the rent and it seems only a matter of time before they lose their business and everything they’ve built. They enlist the help of their daughter, Jessica, who has just returned home after a messy breakup and a messier firing. Together with their son, Dustin, and niece, Thuy, they devise some good old-fashioned sabotage. Relationships are put to the test as the line between right and wrong gets blurred. Debbie and Phil must choose: do they keep their family intact or fight for their salon?

The Housekeepers by Alex Hay

I LOVE a good heist book and this seems like it will be a fun read. It reminds me a bit of Oceans 8, which I loved, so having an-all female main character book where they are pushing the limits of society expectations and a huge mysterious secret to be unraveled… sign me up.

The Synopsis:

Mrs. King is no ordinary housekeeper. Born into a world of con artists and thieves, she’s made herself respectable, running the grandest home in Mayfair. The place is packed with treasures, a glittering symbol of wealth and power, but dark secrets lurk in the shadows.

When Mrs. King is suddenly dismissed from her position, she recruits an eclectic group of women to join her in revenge: A black market queen out to settle her scores. An actress desperate for a magnificent part. A seamstress dreaming of a better life. And Mrs. King’s predecessor, with her own desire for vengeance.

Their plan? On the night of the house’s highly anticipated costume ball—set to be the most illustrious of the year—they will rob it of its every possession, right under the noses of the distinguished guests and their elusive heiress host. But there’s one thing Mrs. King wants even more than money: the truth. And she’ll run any risk to get it…

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

I am sad to admit that I have yet to read a book by Ali Hazelwood. I don’t know why it has taken me so long but that is going to change with this one here. This is one of her newest releases and just reading the synopsis below has given me butterflies. I love a good enemies to lovers/rival situation, advocating for women and women in STEM in particular, all encapsulated in a cute romcom vibe.

I don’t know why but I have a feeling that girls who grew up reading and obsessing over Sarah Dessen (ME) would love reading books by Ali Hazelwood. I can’t wait to see if I’m right!

The Synopsis:

The many lives of theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway have finally caught up with her. By day, she’s an adjunct professor, toiling away at grading labs and teaching thermodynamics in the hopes of landing tenure. By other day, Elsie makes up for her non-existent paycheck by offering her services as a fake girlfriend, tapping into her expertly honed people pleasing skills to embody whichever version of herself the client needs.

Honestly, it’s a pretty sweet gig—until her carefully constructed Elsie-verse comes crashing down. Because Jack Smith, the annoyingly attractive and broody older brother of her favorite client, turns out to be the cold-hearted experimental physicist who ruined her mentor’s career and undermined the reputation of theorists everywhere. And that same Jack who now sits on the hiring committee at MIT, right between Elsie and her dream job.

Elsie is prepared for an all-out war of scholarly sabotage but…those long, penetrating looks? Not having to be anything other than her true self when she’s with him? Will falling into an experimentalist’s orbit finally tempt her to put her most guarded theories on love into practice?

Bellegarde by Jamie Lilac

I LOVE and I mean LOVE a good 90s angsty teen romcom. When I saw the cover, then read the synopsis, I immediately pre-ordered this book. It has all the makings of a great coming of age story set in a time so different from our own but yet so similar. I just know this is one I am going to devour in one sitting and enjoy all the way through.

The Synopsis:

Bellegarde reimagines the 90s romcom classic She’s All That in 18th-century Paris, France.

The lush pastel world building of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette meets the modern twist of Bridgerton in this YA historical romcom debut.

Beau Bellegarde, a second-born son, makes a deal: if he can turn Evie Clément, the unapproachable baker’s daughter, into the winner of the Court Ball, making her the most desired bachelorette in Paris, he inherits the family fortune, but his target has plans of her own.

The Sweetest Revenge by Lizzy Dent

I LOL’d so loud when reading the synopsis, I knew that this book would be one I probably won’t be able to put down, I’d laugh out loud and get weird looks, and I’d definitely get second-hand embarrassment from the main character, which is just the best kind of book.

I think you can notice at this point I am on a romcom kick, although completely unintentional, I am not mad about it! I love light and airy summer reads embedded in all the things I love from humour to heart-wrenching stories… I am excited to read this one for sure!

The Synopsis:

Her past is a mess. But her present is about to get delicious.

Amy is more than one disastrous night of drunken revenge on her boss/ex-boyfriend’s Audi—the night that tanked her rising TV producer career and led to a hasty move to London for a fresh start. She is thirty years of awesomeness. At least, that’s what Amy tells herself every morning before trekking to her mediocre job making trailers at a failing British TV channel.

Two years later, she’s finally starting to believe it. Sparks are flying between her and Jake, her handsome new downstairs neighbor, and there’s a competition at work that just might get her career back on track while bringing her and Jake even closer. But then, in a twisted turn of fate, the ex-boyfriend who wrecked her life is hired as her new boss and past and present are about to epically, hilariously collide.

Happy Place by Emily Henry

Another little admission, I have yet to read an Emily Henry book either and I am so mad that I am so late to the game because I’ve been told such amazing things about her books, and the synopsis to this book below, has me itching to start it already.

I feel like this would be the perfect summer read!

The Synopsis:

Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t.

They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.

Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.

Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who know you best?

And those are all the books I am hoping to read throughout July!

I definitely had a theme going without even knowing it LOL, of beautifully colourful covers, romantic stories with humour and intrigue, and just good vibes to sit with under the summer sun!

If you’ve read any of these or will be reading them, let me know!!!

Happy Reading

x

Mariam