Goodreads’ Most-Awaited Book Releases of August 2025 Are Here—and We Want to Read Them All originally appeared on Parade.
August signifies the beginning of the school year for many—students and parents alike. But there are still a few weeks left to capitalize on those last vacations or relaxed days before schedules kick back into high gear, and what better way to do so than curling up with a good book? A new good book? Goodreads released its list of most popular books to be published in August, so you can refresh your summer reading list (or transition it from summer to fall!).
Whether you’re into historical fiction, fantasy, biographies, romance, sci-fi or nonfiction, there’s a book coming out this month that’s sure to make a mark on you.
Related: Reese Witherspoon Names Her Book Club’s Pick for July
Fiction
People Like Us by Jason Mott
Moderation by Elaine Castillo
When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén
Dominion by Addie E. Kitchen
Atomic Hearts by Megan Cummins
Whether you’re looking for a literary-themed novel following two Black writers navigating a violent society or a teenage girl in the Midwest who writes to escape her drug- and drama-filled reality, a heart-aching (yet heartwarming) tale about complicated family ties and love or a lighter, more witty story about romance in the developing world of virtual reality, this month’s fiction releases will impress you.
Historical Fiction
The Hounding by Kenobe Purvis
The Secret Book Society by Madeline Martin
L.A. Women by Ella Berman
The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
The Possession of Alba Díaz by Isabel Cañas
Maybe August is calling you to step back in time to explore what life would be like in a different time period. These books will transport you to Victorian-era London, the witch trials in London (with a twist), and 20th-century Los Angeles and Mexico when it was known as New Spain.
Mystery and Thriller
We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter
Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham
Too Old for This by Samantha Downing
The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen
High Season by Katie Bishop
Romance
Accomplice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk by Carissa Broadbent
Love Arranged by Lauren Asher
Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings
For the Record by Emma Lord
Many of the upcoming romance books are highly anticipated sequels to series from popular TikTok authors—some explore magical kingdoms with villains and frogs, others twist and turn through dark underworlds with angry gods, and others feature steamy scenes in lakefront mansions inhabited by good-looking billionaires.
Related: How to Read All of Kristin Hannah’s Books in Order—Including the ‘Firefly Lane’ Series!
Fantasy
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher
The Society of Unknowable Objects by Gareth Brown
The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar
House of the Beast by Michelle Wong
Science Fiction
The Once and Future Me by Melissa Pace
These Memories Don’t Belong to Us by Yiming Ma
The Islands of Last Things by Emma Sloley
Automatic Noodle by Analee Newitz
Sunbirth by An Yu
The sci-fi releases of August vary widely in setting and story (as expected from science fiction). Choose between futuristic China, where the government can access and manipulate your memories; a story of two zookeepers on Alcatraz Islands who run the last standing zoo in the world; a foodie tale about service bots running a top-rated noodle restaurant and more.
Young Adult
Mistress of Bones by Maria Z. Medina
The Good Vampire’s Guide to Blood and Boyfriends by Jamie D’Amato
Wish You Were Here by Elle McNicoll
Woven From Clay by Jenny Birch
A Spell to Wake the Dead by Nicole Lesperance
Nonfiction
The Man No One Believed: The Untold Story of the Georgia Church Murders by Joshua Sharpe
Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty by Kaila Yu
The Answer Is in the Wound by Kelly Sundberg
Such Great Heights: The Complete Cultural History of the Indie Rock Explosion by Chris DeVille
With Her Own Hands: Women Weaving Their Stories by Nicole Nehrig
Memoir & Autobiography
With Her Own Hands: Women Weaving Their Stories by Alexis Okeowo
Tart:Misadventures of an Anonymous Chef by Slutty Cheff
A Truce That Is Not Peace by Miriam Toews
Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything: A Memoir by Alison Stoner
Hotshot: A Life on Fire by River Selby
Acclaimed fiction writer Miriam Toews gets personal with her first nonfiction release, an anonymous chef depicts the exhilarating yet exhausting world of the restaurant industry in London and New Yorker staff writer Alexia Okeowo speaks on growing up as the daughter of Nigerian immigrants in Alabama, a state with a tragic yet triumphant history.
History & Biography
Baldwin: A Love Story by Nicholas Boggs
Between Two Rivers: Ancient Mesopotamia and the Birth of History by Moudhy Al-Rashid
Rope: How a Bundle of Twisted Fibers Became the Backbone of Civilization by Tim Queeney
The Undiscovered Country: Triumph, Tragedy, and the Shaping of the American West by Paul Andrew Hutton
The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making and Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb by Garret M. Graff
The books on this list, with their intriguing covers and beautiful stories, will help you close out the summer on a reading high.
Related: The Book Title of Your Life’s Story, Based on Birth Month
Goodreads’ Most-Awaited Book Releases of August 2025 Are Here—and We Want to Read Them All first appeared on Parade on Aug 1, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
