The Baroness’ Choices of New Books Publishing This Week
2025, Week 30’s New Books
My choices for this week include Sweet Romance, Romantic Comedies, Historical Mystery, and Cozy Mystery.
Is it hot where you live? We’re making the most of being at home by reading. Yet, my reading challenges are still kicking my behind. Stay cool and summer on.
Here are my choices for New Books Publishing Week 30 of 2025!
Beauty and the Grease by Stephanie J. Scott
Midlife Meet Cute #4
Publication Date: July 22, 2025
Genre: Sweet Romance
Picking up my stranded ex from the side of the road is only the beginning of my problems. Somehow, I’ve agreed to be his fake girlfriend for the weekend.
Jenny:
I’m on a routine tow truck call through the auto shop I own when my day frays worse than my hair: stranded in the ditch is none other than my ex, Chase, who shattered my heart.I admit, I don’t mind seeing the man lose his cool. It took me years to gain my Lady Boss confidence, even if my tow truck is bright orange and second hand from a retired clown.
I can’t abandon Chase, though that’s exactly what he did to me over fifteen years ago. The upside? I’ll charge him top dollar for the tow and repairs on his swanky European sedan. The downside? As I’m driving him to his work conference, he does the worst thing ever.
He apologizes. Only my heart is too hardened to ever let Chase back in.
Chase:
I’ll take Jenny any day over my ex-wife, whose heated phone conversation attempting to cast off our kids on her designated weekend sent me off-roading in my Audi. She has no idea my job is at risk and that this work retreat is my chance to save it.What’s meant to be a simple drop-off turns nearly deadly after a tornado forces Jenny to shelter with me at the retreat center.
Now my bosses believe I brought a significant other to the work event. Shockingly, Jenny plays along, but I suspect she’s drawn to the yoga retreat next door over pretending to date the man who dashed her belief in love. I want her to stay, but I can’t let my boss know the secret of our past or my reputation—and my job—are toast.
Meanwhile, my heart is battling with what I’ve known for years. Leaving Jenny was a mistake.
Heart Marks the Spot by Libby Hubscher
Publication Date: July 22, 2025
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | StoryGraph | Amazon
A treasure hunter and the bestselling adventure novelist who broke her heart after one successful expedition reunite for a summer to search for lost riches.
Treasure hunter Stella Moore dreams of having it all—wealth, love, and a flourishing career—but knows she’ll never be that lucky. Every summer she and her childhood friends travel to search for hidden treasure, but she can barely manage her bills, let alone a relationship. Then, a chance encounter with alluring novelist Huck Sullivan during an expedition in Iceland has Stella thinking maybe her fortune has changed.
After his last book bombed, Huck hasn’t written a word. Joining Stella and her crew on an adventure seems like the perfect distraction from his problems, and when the crew finally uncovers hidden treasure, he is certain that he’s found more than just inspiration for his next novel. Huck and Stella’s undeniable connection gives way to an unforgettable night on a black sand beach.
After Huck disappears without a goodbye, Stella vows to put the heartbreak behind her—but that’s easier said than done when, a year later, every bookstore has a life-size cutout of her ex-lover next to stacks of his latest record-breaking bestseller. Good thing it’s time for another summer treasure hunt. Stella throws herself into mapping the path to a shipwreck off Key West, but the last thing she expects is an extra crew member showing up in search of material for a sequel and a second chance.
Stella and Huck are prepared for storms, sharks, sea sickness, even a tentative truce. But facing the feelings they buried and confronting the devastating truth about why Huck left is the only way to find what their hearts have been searching for all along.
Love Is a War Song by Danica Nava
Publication Date: July 22, 2025
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | StoryGraph | Amazon
A Muscogee pop star and a cowboy who couldn’t be more different come together to strike a deal in this new romantic comedy by Danica Nava, USA Today bestselling author of The Truth According to Ember.
Pop singer Avery Fox has become a national joke after posing scantily clad on the cover of Rolling Stone in a feather warbonnet. What was meant to be a statement of her success as a Native American singer has turned her into a social pariah and dubbed her a fake. With threats coming from every direction and her career at a standstill, she escapes to her estranged grandmother Lottie’s ranch in Oklahoma. Living on the rez is new to Avery—not only does she have to work in the blazing summer heat to earn her keep, but the man who runs Lottie’s horse ranch despises her and wants her gone.
Red Fox Ranch has been home to Lucas Iron Eyes since he was sixteen years old. He has lived by three rules to keep himself out of trouble: 1) preserve the culture, 2) respect the horses, and 3) stick to himself. When he is tasked with picking up Lottie’s granddaughter at the bus station, the last person he expected to see is the Avery Fox. Lucas can’t stand what she represents, but when he’s forced to work with her on the ranch, he can’t get her out of his sight—or his head. He reminds himself to keep to his rules, especially after he finds out the ranch is under threat of being shut down.
It’s clear Avery doesn’t belong here, but they form a tentative truce and make a deal: Avery will help raise funds to save the ranch, and in exchange, Lucas will show her what it really means to be an Indian. It’s purely transactional, absolutely no horsing around…but where’s the fun in that?
There Will Be Bodies by Lindsey Davis
Flavia Albia #13
Publication Date: July 22, 2025
Genre: Historical Mystery
Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | StoryGraph | Amazon
A decade after the destructive eruption, Flavia Albia finds herself investigating family secrets and possible crimes buried in the ash of Mount Vesuvius.
In first century Rome, Flavia Albia―daughter and successor to Marcus Didius Falco―is once again faced with uncovering the truth. Quite literally. Only ten year’s previous, Mount Vesuvius erupted and rained ash down about the Roman cities and towns along the Bay of Naples. But while some cities were destroyed, others were merely badly damaged. And the uncle of Flavia Albia’s husband seizes the opportunity to buy a villa…cheap! It just has to be dug out of the ash, and restored. Oh, and any bodies uncovered, including the previous owner, given a proper burial.And as the Villa is being renovated, there are indeed bodies found. But one is not like the others―instead of buried in the ash, the previous owner’s body is found in a locked storeroom and Albia is immediately suspicious that he didn’t die in the eruption. With suspicious caretakers, a large inheritance, untrustworthy friends and a Sicilian pirate sniffing around, Albia must solve the riddle of a long ago death, maybe murder, to prevent another one.
The Seattle Cipher by Wendy Meadows
Travel Writer Mystery #7
Publication Date: July 24, 2025
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Patricia McKay should have known better than to think she’d get a peaceful vacation.
Her boss sends her to Seattle with a nice hotel and actual free time. What could go wrong? Everything, apparently, when Patricia visits an art exhibit in an old theater and stumbles across a set of mysterious numbers that don’t make sense.
With puzzle-lover Levi Edelstein by her side, what starts as innocent curiosity quickly turns deadly. Dangerous strangers want a stolen diamond. An old woman harbors explosive secrets. And Patricia’s quiet getaway becomes a race against time.
Can she crack the code before the killer strikes again?
Well, that’s it for the New Books Releasing Week 30 of 2025
Drop a comment if you like one of the books above or if you have one to recommend.
Thank you for stopping by,
Happy Reading!
Baroness’ Book Trove is an Amazon affiliate, meaning that if you click the link and make a purchase, this blog receives a small percentage of the sale. Primarily, this helps offset the website’s costs and a few giveaways.
Leave a Reply