Summer 2025 Book Releases to Add to Your Vacation Reading List

Spring showers have brought May showers, but we’re convinced that sunnier days are ahead when we look at the next few months' release lineup! As a bookstore, we get to read books early and plan for seasons wayyy in advance, which is a blessing and a curse. There are books and authors we want to shout the praises of from the highest mountains, only to realize that pub day is three, six, or twelve months away! But summer is so close, we can feel it – the freshly mowed grass, dads in sandals with stark white socks firing up the grill, kids out of school enjoying their freedom, their parents counting down the days till back-to-school. But more importantly, plenty of time in the sun (or great indoors with AC) with a fresh stack of books to escape to. 

 

We’re excited about A LOT of titles, but here are twelve of our most anticipated books of Summer 2025:

Killer on the Road/The Baby Sitter Lives by Stephen Graham Jones (July 15, 2025)

Of course we had to have a Stephen Graham Jones title on the list, or, in this case, two-in-one. SGJ is one of our top selling authors and a new book drop from him is always a reason to celebrate! His publisher, Saga Press, is doing this really cool throwback to pulp fiction of the 60s, 70s, and 80s with this “double” format and we can’t wait. The Babysitter Lives was originally only available as an audiobook and Killer on the Road has never seen publication!

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The. Possession of Alba Diaz by Isabel Cañas (August 19, 2025)

Courtney is all about the vibes. We’re looking for a three-peat with Isabel Cañas and this one could end up being our favorite so far. Moody and gothic novels may seem like the perfect fodder for gloomy and oppressive months like February, but there’s something special about a book that can creep you out or make your skin crawl in the bright sunshine, next to a pool. 

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The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw (July 22, 2025)

Cass Khaw is a resident favorite of basically the entire store. Their books transcend genre lines, stretching themselves together, forming refreshingly new takes of tried and true tropes and genre trappings. The Library at Hellebore is a fantasy novel, but it’s hard to separate the inherent horrors from Khaw’s work.

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Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab (June 10, 2025)

Does this one even need justification for being on the list? It’s V.E. effing Schwab. Whether you’ve been along for the ride since the Shades of Magic trilogy, or maybe you jumped into The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, it’s no secret that Schwab’s writing can reach inside and melt even the coldest of hearts. An instabuy author, always and forever. 

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Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings (August 5, 2025)

The romance girlies are going to EAT this summer. Sadly, we can’t put all of the books we’re feral for on the list, but if one book could encapsulate our excitement for the genre, it would be this one. Mazey Eddings can do no wrong and we’ll read anything with her name on it. 

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Flirty Dancing by Jennifer Moffatt (May 27, 2025)

Can we sidebar for a minute? Just the two of us. Okay, is everyone gone? Good. This one is on the list because Adam really wants to read it but he’s “the horror guy” and so it’s totally unexpected for this to be on her because of him. Look how cute it is!!!! 

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How to Dodge a Cannonball by Dennard Dayle (June 17, 2025)

We’re not known as the literary fiction bookstore – and we probably never will be – but when it hits the right notes, how can we pass it up? How to Dodge a Cannonball landed on our radar back in February at a conference and when we met the author and got to learn more about him and his passion for the book, it was infectious and we instantly fell in love with it, too. 

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A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim (June 3, 2025)

It always helps us be excited for a book when we know the finished product is ✨g o r g e o u s ✨ A Beauty and the Beast inspired romantasy is precisely our entire personality and something we are prepared to absolutely devour. PS: If you need something to tide you over til this one comes out, might we recommend reading Lim's previous novel, Six Crimson Cranes?

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My Ex the Anti-Christ by Craig DiLouie (July 1, 2025)

Craig DiLouie is one of the most criminally underrated horror authors on the market. His previous novels have topped our end of year lists and succeeded in giving us nightmares and religious deconstruction. Plus, he’s a wonderfully wholesome and sweet Canadian, which makes it hard to not want to support this guy. 

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Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle (August 12, 2025)

Chuck Tingle is a revolution. Chuck has, somehow, become a friend of the bookstore and been kind enough to chat with us virtually and keep us stocked with signed bookplates. More importantly, everything he writes has a common goal: to prove LOVE IS REAL. Some might assume his writing is a gag, or that he is just writing stories to set up some sort of punchline, but Chuck’s work is always serious, beautiful, and always wholly Chuck. Lucky Day is the newest entry in his traditionally published line of horror novels and is a delight. 

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The Unmapping by Denise S. Robbins (June 3, 2025)

It wouldn’t be an Underbrush list without one weird lil guy. The Unmapping is that lil guy. Perfect for if you want something to scratch that speculative/dystopian itch that reality is only kinda hitting. But for real, what would you do if you woke up and all the buildings had moved and switched places?

 

PS: Want to learn more about the publisher Bindery, a startup trying to disrupt the industry through community-backed publishing? You can follow our owner Courtney's journey as a Bindery tastemaker here.

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Girl in the Creek by Wendy N. Wagner (July 15, 2025)

Last on the list, but not in our hearts. We were already vibrating with excitement over Wendy Wagner’s new book from TOR Nightfire, but then we found out that Nightfire is sending Wendy all the way to see us on July 17th for an in-person event to celebrate!!!! We have a soft spot for cosmic horror, so this one was already on our radar.

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EVENT DETAILS

Want a curated summer reading experience? 

Underbrush is launching two curated genre boxes–Horror and Romantasy–this July! Subscribe to receive 3-4 books handpicked by our booksellers every quarter with signed bookplates and other goodies from publishers!

Quarterly Romantasy Book Box (July 2025)

$75.00

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Quarterly Horror Book Box (July 2025)

$75.00

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