Happy Tuesday, book people! Can you believe it's the first of July already? It's hotter than the dickens here in the Arizona desert. It's 110 degrees outside and, after running errands out in the heat (not my idea), my brain is officially fried. Today's Top Ten Tuesday prompt is a freebie and since I do a post for the Bookish Books Reading Challenge on the first day of each month, I'm going to make things easy on myself and combine them. 

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Ten Seven Bookish Books I Read in June and Three I Want to Read in July

I went crazy with bookish books in June. Here are the seven I read in the order I finished them (title links lead to my reviews on Goodreads or here at BBB):

1. The Burning Library by Gilly Macmillan (available November 18, 2025)—Macmillan is one of my go-to mystery/thriller authors because her novels are usually engrossing page turners. Her newest is different than her previous books, more cerebral and less edge-of-your-seat exciting. It concerns an ancient piece of fabric that is said to contain a clue to the whereabouts of a rare manuscript that two warring female secret societies would kill (and have killed) to possess. When a grad student receives international attention for her translation of an important folio, she unwittingly lands herself in the middle of the societies' deadly feud. What exactly is she dealing with and how can she protect herself and those she loves from some very dangerous women?

2. Same Page by Elly Swartz—This middle-grade novel centers around a timely topic: book banning. Bess Stein, who has just been elected 6th grade class president, is dismayed when the book vending machine she installs at her school comes under fire for containing "inappropriate" literature. How can she convince the powers that be that banning books is wrong?

3. Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library by Amanda Chapman (available August 26, 2025)—Tory Van Dyne is a book conservator who lives and works at her family's private library. When a knowing British woman appears after hours in the Christie Room claiming to be the Queen of Crime's ghost, Tory reluctantly humors the eccentric stranger. "Mrs. Christie" informs the conservator that she's come to help Tory solve a murder that is about to be committed. Tory dismisses the woman's loony talk—until a murder occurs and the "ghost" offers observations so spot on that Tory can't help believing that "Mrs. Christie" may just be telling the truth about her otherworldly identity. 

4. A Death At Seascape House by Emma Jameson—The first book in a cozy mystery series set on an idyllic British island, complete with white sand beaches (Yes, they really exist in England. Who knew?), this opener introduces us to Jemima Jago. The librarian is sent to St. Morwenna to catalog a private collection of historical documents about Cornish history. Before she can get started, she discovers the dead body of a crotchety old busybody. Thanks to the reputation Jemima earned as a teenager on St. Morwenna, she quickly becomes the prime suspect in the victim's murder. In order to clear her name, she'll have to find the real killer before she's next.

5. The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict—In order to prove their worth to their male colleagues, five female crime writers come together to solve the real-life mystery of a young English nurse who was murdered while on a quick holiday in France. As Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Baroness Emma Orczy, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham put their heads together to track down a killer, they also find friendship, empathy, and support.

6. Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery—Written almost 20 years after Anne of Green Gables, this children's novel is the first in a series starring a newly-orphaned girl who is sent to live with her estranged family in an unfamiliar town. As she tries to get used to her new life, the imaginative child experiences many ups and downs.

7. Murder Past Due by Miranda James—This book is the first installment in a cozy mystery series that revolves around Charlie Harris, a Mississippi librarian, and his Maine coon, Diesel. When an old classmate of Charlie's, now a famous author, is killed, the librarian finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation. Although the detective on the case demands that he leave the sleuthing to the professionals, Charlie can't seem to stop himself from playing Hercules Poirot. Whodunit?

For July, I'm planning to read:

8. Rabbit Rabbit by Dori Hillestad Butler and Sunshine Bacon—I just started this middle-grade book about two 12-year-old cousins who are communicating in secret in order to find out what happened between their mothers to tear their family apart. Bee is a voracious reader, while Alice is such a reluctant one that her parents pay her for each book she reads. Books are one of the things that the girls, who come from very different backgrounds, bond over.

9. The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso (available August 26, 2025)—The time space is a library of books filled with the memories of the dead, one that can be accessed only by special timepieces that were passed down from father-to-son, although they're now mostly possessed by the government. Lisavet Levy is an 11-year-old girl who was hidden in the time space in 1938 by her watchmaker father, who never returned to collect her. When she discovers that government agents are destroying books in the time space, she sets out to save the precious volumes. 

10. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 2 by Beth Brower—It seems like everyone I know IRL loves this series. The first book was a quick, fun read, so I'm up for continuing on. In this second installment, Emma continues to get used to her new life living under the thumb of her insufferable uncle, who has squandered away her inheritance. Although she can't afford to buy even one beloved book to keep her company, Emma finds amusement in the eccentric people around her.

There you go, seven bookish books I read in June and three I hope to read in July. Have you read any of them? What did you think? What's your favorite bookish book? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

Besides the seasonal Top Ten Tuesday prompts, my favorite ones are those that focus on new releases. Even though I have THOUSANDS of older titles on my TBR lists, my head is always turned by these bright, shiny up-and-comers. I love knowing what titles are forthcoming so I can get excited about reading them! So, yay for today's TTT topic: Top Ten Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2025. 

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.

Thanks to ARCs, I've already read a few of the July-December titles I was looking forward to most, including:

The Woman in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware (available July 8)

That Last Carolina Summer by Karen White (available July 22)

Asylum Hotel by Juliet Blackwell (available July 29)

You Belong Here by Megan Miranda (available July 29)

Last Light Over Galveston by Jennifer L. Wright (available August 1)

Where Only Storms Grow by Alyssa Colman (available August 19)

Murder in Miniature by Katie Tietjen (available September 23)

Outside by Jennifer L. Holm (available October 7)

The Burning Library by Gilly Macmillan (available November 18)

(The title hyperlinks will take you to my review of the book on Goodreads.)

Here are ten I haven't read yet, in order of publication:

1. The View From Lake Como by Adriana Trigiani (available July 8)—It's been a hot minute since I've read anything by Trigiani, but I've enjoyed many of her books in the past. This one centers around a woman whose heart has been broken by her recent divorce. When another tragedy hits, she retreats to her ancestral home in Italy, where she uncovers secrets about her family's past. As she learns more about her kin, she also learns more about herself and her place in the world, all of which might be exactly what she needs to heal and begin her life anew.

2. Everyone Is Lying to You by Jo Piazza (available July 15)—Although they were best friends in college, Bex and Lizzie haven't seen each other in years. Bex disappeared after graduation, eventually transforming herself into a trad wife who shows off her perfect family life to her millions of Instagram followers. When Bex reaches out, offering a struggling Lizzie an opportunity to share some of the limelight, Lizzie can't refuse. When Bex disappears again and her husband is found dead at their ranch, Lizzie is left with a million questions. Who is Bex now? What has she done to get where she is? Did she kill her husband or is she the one who's become a victim? It's up to Lizzie to find out.

3. D.J. Rosenblum Becomes the G.O.A.T. by Abby White (available August 5)—This YA novel stars the titular character, a teenage girl who is prepping for her bat mitzvah while also trying to figure out what really happened to her cousin. Everyone says Rachel took her own life; D.J. is convinced she was murdered.

4. The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective by Jo Nichols (available August 19)—Mrs. B is the landlady of a series of bungalows near the beach in Santa Barbara, California. She's careful about renters, letting only to people she cares about. As a result, she's surrounded by an eclectic group of lovable misfits. When an ex-con who maybe has the potential to be violent moves in and a dead body is soon found in the neighborhood, the police naturally suspect the former prisoner. Mrs. B is so sure he's not a murderer that she confesses to the crime herself. Her arrest prompts her tenants to form an investigation club to find the real killer and free their beloved landlady.

5. The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso (available August 26)—The time space is a library of books filled with the memories of the dead, one that can be accessed only by special timepieces that were passed down from father-to-son, although they're now mostly possessed by the government. Lisavet Levy is an 11-year-old girl who was hidden in the time space in 1938 by her watchmaker father, who never returned. When she discovers that government agents are destroying books in the time space, she sets out to save them. 

The premise of this one sounds complicated (I'm not sure if I've described it correctly), but intriguing. I'm in! 

6. The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown (available September 9)—I'm probably going to have to reread the first five books in the Robert Langdon series before I move on to this sixth installment, but that's okay. In this newest book, the symbology professor is in Prague attending a lecture given by his new girlfriend, Katherine Solomon. She is about to publish an explosive new book that could shatter long-held beliefs about human consciousness. When a murder occurs and Katherine vanishes along with her manuscript, Langdon finds himself on a desperate, dangerous search for answers and for his missing girlfriend.

7. The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (available September 16)—Since I'm not totally sure I understand what this one is about, here's the official plot summary:

8. You Are the Detective: The Creeping Hand Murder by Maureen Johnson (available September 16)—This short YA novel is supposed to be an "interactive" murder mystery, although I'm not quite sure on the details. At any rate, it's about a group of people, each of whom is hiding a guilty secret, who are invited by an anonymous source to a posh house party. When one of them is killed, seemingly without anyone seeing a thing, Scotland Yard is completely flummoxed. Needing a fresh pair of eyes, they call in, well, you, to solve the murder. 

Sounds fun!

9. The Whisper Place by Mindy Mejia (available September 16)—I reread the first book in Mejia's Iowa Mysteries series earlier this year, then read the second installment right after. Since I enjoyed both so much, I was thrilled to discover that a third one is coming out soon. Fortunately, I was able to secure an e-ARC, so I'm already a few chapters into this engrossing mystery.

Old friends Max Summelin (a longtime police officer) and Jonah Kendrick (a tortured psychic) have formed a private detective agency that is doing well, but not well enough to turn away business. So, when a scruffy young man drops $20,000 in cash on their desk, begging the duo to do anything necessary to find his missing girlfriend, they can't really refuse, no matter how sketchy the whole thing seems. Turns out, the young man doesn't even know his girlfriend's real name. Max and Jonah have their work cut out for them. Who is the young woman, really? Did she run away when her boyfriend started asking too many questions or did someone else cause her disappearance? 

10. 6:40 to Montreal by Eva Jurczyk (available September 23)— This murder mystery gets a low overall rating on Goodreads, but I don't care, I'm going to read it anyway! I love a locked room mystery and trains make such compelling settings for them. In this one, a writer is using the six-hour train ride from Toronto to Montreal to get some much-needed work done on her book. All of her plans go awry when her fellow passenger suddenly dies. Soon, the peaceful journey becomes a desperate race for survival against a vicious killer. 

There you are, ten upcoming titles that I'm excited to read. How about you? Which ones are you looking forward to? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.