On the Shelf: July 2025

Twenty-one books in July brings my total for the year so far to 132 titles consumed. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. However, I'd be more exhausted if I was constantly thinking about everything else going on in the world. As always, reading provides both comfort and escape. And, sure, normally escaping to Florida during hurricane season isn't the wisest idea, but it's a safe trip within the pages of Jen DeLuca's Ghost Business. I needed this return to Boneyard Key, the kitschy haunted town as full of romantic potential as it is ghosts. It's very much a story about finding home and community, and watching both Tristan and Sophie grow as they fell in love was so satisfying. But growth isn't just for first-time lovers. In Tarah DeWitt's Left of Forever, there's a gorgeous, second-chance romance with divorced pair Ellis and Wren slowly working their way back to each other. Folks on social media have been raving about this book, and justifiably so!

Before we get to the lists, I also want to shout out Darkwater Lane, Carrie Ryan's closer in Rachel Caine's Stillhouse Lake series. It's great seeing Gwen and her family finally achieve some peace and happiness—but, of course, it wouldn't be a Stillhouse Lake book without a lot of white-knuckling along the way.

The Reading Rundown
Darkwater Lane by Rachel Caine and Carrie Ryan (suspense, thriller)
Two Secrets to Surrender by Grace Callaway (historical romance)
Ghost Business by Jen DeLuca (out 9/9, contemporary romance)
Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt (contemporary romance)
Streams and Schemes by Rebecca Kinkade (erotic romance, contemporary romance)
Tips and Trysts by Rebecca Kinkade (erotic romance, contemporary romance)
Masks and Mishaps by Rebecca Kinkade (erotic romance, contemporary romance)
Ready to Score by Jodie Slaughter (contemporary f/f romance)
To Catch a Thief by Anne Stuart (historical romance)

Backlist titles & rereads: Regarding the Duke, The Duke Redemption, Return of the Duke, and Olivia and the Masked Duke, Pippa and the Prince of Secrets, and Glory and the Master of Shadows by Grace Callaway. As much as I love reading Callaway and fell down this reread rabbit hole, I don't actually advise rereading this many books in a row, because certain tics become repetitive. Space out your Grace for maximum enjoyment! I also reread Falling Into Bed With a Duke by Lorraine Heath--which meant I had to reread the book that comes directly after, The Earl Takes All (aka "Gorilla Twins"). Them's the rules. lol. When it comes to reading, I don't make 'em and I don't break 'em. Naturally, I kept on with rereads, tackling Ruthless and Reckless by Anne Stuart to palate-cleanse after disappointment with her new release and going back to Scrap by Cate C. Wells. Then I wrapped up my backlist adventures with Skyla Dawn Cameron's chilling suspense novel, The Silent Places.

Currently reading: Shadowheart by Laura Kinsale. Again.

On the TBR/wish list
Gabriela and His Grace by Liana de la Rosa
The Lines We Cross by Ausma Zehanat Khan
The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James