Stock Your Shelves with the Most Exciting August Book Releases of 2025
As summer comes to an end, it’s time to ramp up your TBR list with exciting August book releases. Whether you’re looking for a dashing romance or a bone-chilling thriller, consulting this curated list of our most anticipated titles will make shopping easy.
Popular Book Genres in August 2025
If you take a closer look at the upcoming August book releases, you’ll find a wide variety of book genres to suit every kind of reader, including:
- Psychological thriller
- Speculative fiction
- Romance (in all its many subgenres!)
Brand-New August Book Releases to Look Out For
It doesn’t matter if you prefer reading off your Kindle alternative, love leafing through pages the good old-fashioned way, or listen to audiobooks—every kind of reader can look forward to these exciting August book releases:
Last Seen by J.T. Ellison
In Ellison’s latest psychological thriller, Last Seen, out August 1st, Halley James’ life is falling apart. Her marriage is ending, she’s lost her job at the forensics lab, her dad needs emergency surgery, but, above all else, she’s discovered her mother did not die in a car crash like she was led to believe as a little girl: she was murdered, and her father lied about it for years. Desperate for the truth, Halley chases down a lead in Brockville, Tennessee, but every answer threatens to expose unspeakable secrets.
People Like Us by Jason Mott
People Like Us, out August 5th, may not be a memoir, but it is deeply rooted in Jason Mott’s life. In this August book release, the storylines of two Black writers, one who’s on a global book tour after receiving a major prize and the other, hired to give a speech at a school after a shooting, merge together in a wickedly funny, achingly sad, and very real take on our world as we know it.
Jenny Cooper Has a Secret by Joy Fielding
Still reeling from the death of her husband and her best friend’s dementia diagnosis, 76-year-old Linda Davidson can’t help feeling alone. Eager to escape her tense living situation at her daughter Kleo’s house, she visits a friend at Legacy Place, a memory care facility, where she meets Jenny Cooper, a 92-year-old dementia patient with a shocking confession: she kills people. In Jenny Cooper Has a Secret, out August 5th, Linda’s not sure what to believe—that is, until a patient nearby dies.
The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar
If you enjoyed Louis Sachar’s Holes as a kid, it’s time to add your favorite childhood author to your TBR with The Magician of Tiger Castle, out August 5th. As his first foray into the world of adult fiction, we can’t wait to see what this August book release has in store for the readers who grew up with him!
Set long ago and far away, the struggling Kingdom of Esquaveta is in desperate need of an alliance, forging an arranged marriage between its Princess Tullia and a notoriously unpleasant prince. But one month before the big day, she falls in love with a lowly apprentice scribe. Determined to see this wedding through, her father turns to Anatole, his court magician, to brew a potion that will convince Tullia to agree to the marriage. Will he save his reputation and the fate of the kingdom or betray the princess and risk ruin?
He Falls First by Jill Shalvis
Penny Rose paid the price of falling in love once—and has vowed to never do it again. Busy with her catering job and taking care of the dilapidated house that she shares with her feisty grandmother and tween brother, she’s sworn off all things love and sex—that is, until Ryder Colburn, the snarky contractor, starts testing her limits. Will she let him tear down her carefully constructed walls? Bring this title to your book club and dive into the swoon-worthy romance, He Falls First, out August 5th.
We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter
We Are All Guilty Here, out August 12th, is the first book in Karin Slaughter’s new North Falls series. When two teenage girls vanish on a firework-lit night in a small town where everyone knows everyone, North Falls ignites. But for Officer Emmy Clifton, who turned away when her best friend’s daughter needed her help, it’s personal. As Emmy combs through the puzzle left behind, she realizes that these two may be keeping more dangerous secrets than the average teenager—maybe even some worth killing for.
The Surrogate Mother by Freida McFadden
Abby wants a baby more than anything in the world, but after years of infertility and failed adoptions, it seems that motherhood may not be in her future. That is, until Monica, her personal assistant, offers to serve as a surrogate. But when strange things start happening, it turns out the woman carrying Abby’s child may not be who she says she is. If you love reading Freida McFadden as much as we do, The Surrogate Mother, out August 19th, is just the August book release you need.
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
From the hit author of Yellowface and Babel comes a highly anticipated August book release, Katabasis, out August 26th. Alice Law has sacrificed her pride, health, love life, and sanity to accomplish one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. When she gets the chance to work at Cambridge with the greatest magician in the world, Professor Jacob Grimes, everything is going according to plan—until he dies in a magical accident that could be her fault.
Determined not to let death stop her from pursuing her dreams, Alice heads into Hell to find Grimes. Unfortunately, her rival Peter Murdoch has the same idea. Armed with enough chalk to draw Pentagrams for their spells and a burning desire to secure a future, the two set out together across Hell to try to save a man, regardless of the peril it puts them in.
A Few Extra August Book Releases to Keep in Mind:
- Alchemy and a Cup of Tea by Rebecca Thorne, out August 12th
- The Society of Unknowable Objects by Gareth Brown, out August 12th
- Emma on Fire by James Patterson and Emily Raymond, out August 19th
- Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher, out August 19th
- Kiss the Villain by Rina Kent, out August 26th
- The Break-In by Katherine Faulkner, out August 26th
- …and so many more!
With goosebump-inducing mysteries and soon-to-be fantasy classics hitting our bookshelves all month long, there’s bound to be a book for you. Stop into Novel, grab a bite to eat off our sandwich menu, and pick up whichever August book release captures your attention best!