Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I receive a small compensation to help support my blog if you decide to make a purchase through my links at no cost to you.
Must-Read New Book Releases Coming in August 2025
August 2025 new book releases are closing out the summer with a strong finish. As vacation days wind down and back-to-school season approaches, this month delivers a mix of buzzy thrillers, sweeping romances, and thought-provoking literary fiction perfect for squeezing in a few more great reads.
This list features the most anticipated August 2025 new book releases to add to your TBR. Whether you’re looking for a poolside page-turner or a book to ease you into fall reading mode, there’s something here for every reader.
Want to know which books I am predicting for Book of the Month and Aardvark Book Club? Check out my predictions lists!
Related: August 2025 Book of the Month Predictions and August 2025 Aardvark Book Club Predictions

Mystery/Thriller August 2025 New Book Releases

The Dead Husband’s Cookbook by Danielle Valentine
Release Date: August 5, 2025
When infamous chef, restaurateur, and television personality Maria Capello’s husband died, the media circus was intense…and quick to cast the blame. Whispers claimed Maria murdered her husband to build her culinary empire on his bones, and that there was an all-too-grisly reason his body was never recovered. Yet for the past few decades, the Capello family maintained their stoney silence―until now.

The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen
Release Date: August 5, 2025
Nothing is as it seems in Sarah Pekkanen’s The Locked Ward, a shocking psychological thriller about the complex bonds of sisterhood―and what happens when they are stretched to the breaking point.

Too Old for This by Samantha Downing
Release Date: August 12, 2025
A retired serial killer’s quiet life is upended by an unexpected visitor. To protect her secret, there’s only one option left—what’s another murder?

We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter
Release Date: August 12, 2025
First Book in a Series
Welcome to North Falls—a small town where everyone knows everyone. Or so they think.

Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham
Release Date: August 26, 2025
A pulse-pounding new Southern thriller from the author of the runaway bestseller A Flicker in the Dark.








Romance August 2025 New Book Releases

Anywhere With You by Ellie Palmer
Release Date: August 5, 2025
From the beloved author of Four Weekends and a Funeral, a nostalgic, heartwarming romance about a Type-A woman who road trips through the Minnesotan woods with her non-committal childhood best friend . . . only for their long-suppressed sparks to start flying.

For the Record by Emma Lord
Release Date: August 12, 2025
An electrifying rom com of rivalry and redemption, perfect for fans of Emily Henry and Daisy Jones and the Six, from New York Times bestselling author Emma Lord.

The Incredible Kindness of Paper by Evelyn Skye
Release Date: August 12, 2025
For fans of Matt Haig and Clare Pooley, an enchanting novel about a pair of long-lost childhood friends who find themselves magically linked through origami flowers as adults—from the New York Times bestselling author of The Hundred Loves of Juliet.

Rivals to Lovers by Elise Wayland
Release Date: August 12, 2025
One classic novel. Two adaptations. A competition that shakes up everything. Perfect for fans of Emily Henry and Ali Hazelwood, this steamy rivals-to-lovers romance set in Manhattan features two writers fighting to write the adaptation of their favorite classic novel.

Here for a Good Time by Pyae Moe Thet War
Release Date: August 26, 2025
In Pyae Moe Thet War’s electrifying and heartfelt new rom-com, a writer’s attempt to find inspiration for her new novel is sabotaged by a vacation gone horribly wrong…and feelings for her off limits best friend.






Contemporary Fiction August 2025 New Book Releases

Atomic Hearts by Megan Cummins
Release Date: August 5, 2025
Debut Author
Atomic Hearts is an unforgettable story of the relationships that shape us beyond all reason and the ways it might be possible to pull ourselves back from the brink.

Full Bloom by Francesca Serritella
Release Date: August 5, 2025
Debut Author
A sensual and seductive novel set among the upper echelons of New York City, Full Bloom is at once a poignant story of becoming and a riveting mystery that asks: Who are you without your inhibitions? Does being wanted get you what you want, or will you be devoured by desire?

Dominion by Addie E. Citchens
Release Date: August 19, 2025
Debut Author
A brilliantly crafted Black Southern family drama told with the captivating force, humor, and tenderness carried in the hearts of these women, Addie E. Citchens’s Dominion wrestles with the many brutal, sinister ways in which we are shaped by fear and patriarchy, and studies how we might yet choose to break free.
Literary Fiction August 2025 New Book Releases

Moderation by Elaine Castillo
Release Date: August 5, 2025
A bold and inventive novel about real romance in the virtual workplace—bringing Castillo’s trademark wit and sharp cultural criticism to an irresistible story about the possible future of love.

Loved One by Aisha Muharrar
Release Date: August 12, 2025
A funny, wise, heartbreaking story about a woman journeying into the unknown in the wake of sudden loss.

Seduction Theory by Emily Adrian
Release Date: August 12, 2025
When two married professors tiptoe toward infidelity, their transgressions are brought to light in a graduate student’s searing thesis project.
Historical Fiction August 2025 New Book Releases

L. A. Women by Ella Berman
Release Date: August 5, 2025
An electrifying novel about the complicated friendship between two ambitious writers and the ultimate artistic betrayal: one writes a book based upon the other’s life, revealing everything…from the author of Reese’s Book Club Pick Before We Were Innocent.

The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso
Release Date: August 26, 2025
For fans of The Ministry of Time and The Midnight Library, a sweeping, unforgettable novel following two remarkable women moving between postwar and Cold War-era America and the mysterious time space, a library filled with books containing the memories of those who bore witness to history.

While The Getting Is Good by Matt Riordan
Release Date: August 26, 2025
Amid the gangland wars of Prohibition, one fisherman’s long-shot play to secure his family’s future brings disaster to everyone he loves.





Horror/Gothic Fiction August 2025 New Book Releases

13 Months Haunted by Jimmy Juliano
Release Date: August 12, 2025
From Dead Eleven author Jimmy Juliano, a twisty, edge-of-your-seat novel about a unique haunting in the early 2000s.

Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle
Release Date: August 12, 2025
Lucky Day is the latest from Chuck Tingle, USA Today bestselling author of Camp Damascus and Bury Your Gays, where one woman must go up against horrifying odds to save the world.

What Hunger by Catherine Dang
Release Date: August 12, 2025
A haunting coming-of-age tale following the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, Ronny Nguyen, as she grapples with the weight of generational trauma while navigating the violent power of teenage girlhood, for fans of Jennifer’s Body and Little Fires Everywhere.

The Possession of Alba Díaz by Isabel Cañas
Release Date: August 19, 2025
When a demonic presence awakens deep in a Mexican silver mine, the young woman it seizes must turn to the one man she shouldn’t trust…from bestselling author Isabel Cañas.

The Unseen by Ania Ahlborn
Release Date: August 19, 2025
The Unseen is a haunting tale that walks the line between the familiar and the unknown, drawing us into a chilling narrative where reality itself feels just out of reach.

If You’re Seeing This, It’s Meant For You by Leigh Stein
Release Date: August 26, 2025
Fates collide after a tarot influencer disappears from a decaying Hollywood mansion in this unnerving gothic mystery.




Fantasy August 2025 New Book Releases

Accomplice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Release Date: August 5, 2025
3rd Book in the Assistant and the Villain Series
Once Upon a Time meets The Office in Hannah Nicole Maehrer’s laugh-out-loud viral TikTok series turned novel, about the sunshine assistant to an Evil Villain…and their unexpected romance.

The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk by Carissa Broadbent
Release Date: August 5, 2025
4th Book in the Crowns of Nyaxia series
New York Times bestselling author and BookTok sensation Carissa Broadbent returns with a brand new novel in the Crowns of Nyaxia series, The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk.

House of the Beast by Michelle Wong
Release Date: August 5, 2025
Debut Author
Step into the House of the Beast in this dark fantasy debut from The Legend of Korra graphic novel illustrator Michelle Wong, about a young woman who strikes a deal with a mysterious and alluring god to seek revenge on her aristocratic family—featuring illustrations throughout by the author.

The Society of Unknowable Objects by Gareth Brown
Release Date: August 12, 2025
From the author of the internationally bestselling The Book of Doors, another fantastical, stand-alone novel in which a trio of seemingly everyday people are members of a secret society tasked with finding and protecting hidden magical objects—ordinary items with extraordinary properties.

Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher
Release Date: August 19, 2025
From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes Hemlock & Silver, a dark reimagining of “Snow White” steeped in poison, intrigue, and treason of the most magical kind

The Seven Miracles of Beatrix Holland by Rachael Herron
Release Date: August 19, 2025
A cozy family story that is the queer love-child of Practical Magic and The Parent Trap as one woman is about to discover that she’s a witch.

Katabasis by R. F. Kuang
Release Date: August 26, 2025
Dante’s Inferno meets Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi in this all-new dark academia fantasy from R. F. Kuang, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and Yellowface, in which two graduate students must put aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul—perhaps at the cost of their own.





Sci-Fi/Dystopian August 2025 New Book Releases

The Island of Last Things by Emma Sloley
Release Date: August 12, 2025
A soaring, propulsive, and unforgettable novel about two zookeepers at the last zoo in the world. With a heart-stopping final twist, The Island of Last Things is an elegy for a disappearing world and a gorgeous vision for the future.

These Memories Do Not Belong To Us by Yiming Ma
Release Date: August 12, 2025
Debut Author
For fans of Cloud Atlas and The Power, a hauntingly beautiful and prescient debut set in a future where a renamed China is the sole global superpower.

The Once and Future Me by Melissa Pace
Release Date: August 19, 2025
Dark Matter meets Girl, Interrupted in this gripping psychological thriller about a young woman teetering on the edge of reality.
More On The Blog
Which new book releases are you looking forward to in August 2025?
Shop my bookmarks, stickers, Kindle lock screens, and digital reading journals on Etsy!
Follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook so you never miss a new post from me! You can also join my book club on Facebook!
Talk Bookish To Me