The best books to read this July, based on your mood

The monsoons arrive with mixed emotions. There’s undeniable romance in the air, with cinematic skies, the urge to be tucked up in your blanket, a hot drink to sip from, a tottering tower of books to read. Yet, the moody atmosphere also makes for introspection, the desire for a little thrill down your spine, and maybe a story that makes you keep the lights on.

July has a way of making you feel everything at once. So, whether you’re craving slow afternoons with a cup of tea and nowhere to be, or looking for company when you're questioning life decisions, here are some stories that will let you disappear for a few hours.

If you're in the mood for historical fiction, pick:

The Star from Calcutta by Sujata Massey 

Set in Bombay in 1922, Sujata Massey's latest Perveen Mistry mystery transports readers to the glittering beginnings of India's silent film industry, where rising movie stars, ambitious directors and lavish studio parties mask dangerous secrets. Perveen—Bombay's first female lawyer—is hired by Champa Films after its leading actress, Rochana, leaves the Calcutta studio that made her famous, triggering a bitter legal dispute over her contract.

Before Perveen can untangle the case, a glamorous screening party ends in tragedy when a government film censor is found murdered on the studio grounds. To make matters worse, Rochana vanishes overnight. Suddenly, Perveen's role shifts from legal counsel to reluctant investigator as she navigates a maze of blackmail, studio rivalries, political censorship, hidden romances, and betrayals stretching across Bombay and Calcutta. The mystery unfolds alongside Perveen's own increasingly complicated personal life, making every discovery feel more urgent.

Beyond its compelling central mystery, the novel vividly recreates colonial Bombay at a fascinating cultural turning point, painting a picture encompassing Parsi households, British high society and the excitement surrounding India's fledgling film industry. Rich in atmosphere and meticulously researched, it's historical fiction that unfolds gently.

If you're craving quiet days, pick:

Sophie, Standing There by Meg Mason 

Sophie Pattison has built a life that appears perfectly ordinary from the outside. She's dependable at work, deeply loved by her brother and best friend, and happiest when she's surrounded by books. But beneath her carefully ordered routine lies a growing sense of disconnect that she struggles to put into words.

Everything changes when she rediscovers the work of an author she adored years ago. Reading her novels turns into listening to every interview and podcast she can find, with the author's voice slowly becoming a constant companion through Sophie's days. What begins as admiration gradually grows into something far more consuming, forcing Sophie to question the boundaries between comfort, admiration and the possibility of genuine connection.

Meg Mason writes with her signature blend of wit and emotional precision, finding humour in awkwardness and tenderness in the smallest everyday moments. Rather than relying on dramatic plot twists, the novel gently explores how people seek meaning, companionship, and hope in unexpected places, making it an intimate read.

If you're a lover of literary fiction, pick:

Land by Maggie O'Farrell 

Ireland, 1865. The Great Famine may have ended, but its scars remain visible across the country. Mapmaker Tomás is working on the ambitious Ordnance Survey project, documenting the landscape with painstaking precision while quietly trying to preserve the memory of the lives and communities erased by tragedy. Accompanying him is his ten-year-old son, Liam, who watches his father with equal parts admiration and confusion.

When Tomás has a strange encounter deep within an ancient woodland, his behaviour changes dramatically, leaving Liam to make sense of a mystery that feels rooted as much in folklore as in history. As father and son continue their journey across Ireland's windswept coastlines and forgotten forests, the novel gradually reveals how grief, memory and place become inseparable.

Maggie O'Farrell blends historical detail with myth, family drama and ghostly undertones to create a story where the landscape itself becomes a character. Every field, tree, and coastline carries echoes of the past, making Land as much about the stories embedded in a country as those carried by the people who inhabit it.

If you're looking for a sharp social satire, pick:

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke 

Natalie Heller Mills has turned the image of the perfect traditional homemaker into a multimillion-dollar brand. Millions follow her online for videos of homemade bread, vintage dresses, farm life and wholesome family moments, unaware that much of her carefully curated world is supported by producers, nannies and a production team working behind the scenes.

Then, overnight, Natalie wakes up in 1855. Suddenly, the aesthetic she's built her career around becomes an unforgiving reality. Modern conveniences disappear, domestic work becomes physically gruelling, and the freedoms she once took for granted vanish almost instantly. As she struggles to survive a life of endless labour and rigid gender roles, Natalie desperately searches for an explanation. Is she trapped in an elaborate reality show, experiencing time travel, or living through something even stranger?

Part psychological thriller, part speculative fiction and part biting social commentary, Caro Claire Burke dismantles the romanticised fantasy of "traditional living" by forcing its protagonist to confront history without filters, algorithms or perfectly edited Instagram posts. It's provocative, funny and guaranteed to leave you thinking long after the final page.

If you're craving a twisty thriller, pick:

Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston 

Ashley Elston swaps the unreliable narrator trope for something even more compelling: two women with everything to lose and only one airtight alibi between them. Camille Bayliss appears to have the perfect life: a wealthy Louisiana socialite married to Benjamin Bayliss, a successful lawyer. But behind closed doors, her marriage is built on surveillance, manipulation and secrets. Ben tracks her movements, controls her every decision, and, Camille is convinced, is hiding something far darker than infidelity.

Enter Aubrey Price, whose own life was irrevocably changed by a tragedy a decade ago. She's spent years believing Ben knows the truth about what happened that night, and when her path crosses with Camille's, the two women devise a daring plan. Aubrey will impersonate Camille for twelve hours, giving Camille the opportunity to search her husband's office, uncover evidence and finally expose him.

But the carefully orchestrated plan falls apart when Ben is found dead the very next morning. Suddenly, both women become entangled in a murder investigation where every lie creates another problem, every answer raises new questions, and trusting the wrong person could be fatal. Told through alternating perspectives, the novel layers deception upon deception until it's impossible to know who's telling the truth. Fast-paced and packed with clever reversals, it's the kind of thriller that makes "just one more chapter" impossible until you complete the book.

If you want to lose yourself in pure escapism, pick:

The Astral Library by Kate Quinn 

For anyone who's ever wished they could step inside the pages of their favourite novel, Kate Quinn has turned that fantasy into a stupendous adventure. Alexandria "Alix" Watson has spent most of her life relying on books more than people. Raised in foster care and juggling multiple jobs to make ends meet, she escapes each evening into the quiet reading rooms of the Boston Public Library, where stories offer the stability real life never has.

Everything changes when she discovers a hidden doorway leading to the Astral Library, a magical place where books aren't simply stories but gateways into entirely new worlds. Presided over by an enigmatic Librarian, the secret institution offers the desperate and the lost the chance to begin again by literally entering the books that shaped them.

As Alix begins exploring these extraordinary literary worlds, she travels through elegant Regency ballrooms inspired by Jane Austen, stalks London's foggy streets alongside Sherlock Holmes and wanders into the glittering excess of The Great Gatsby. But the Library itself is under threat. A mysterious enemy is hunting its inhabitants, forcing Alix to become far more than an observer inside these beloved stories. Equal parts literary adventure and a love letter to the transformative power of reading, The Astral Library is written for anyone who believes that books can change lives.

If you're ready for some supernatural suspense, pick:

The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer 

Some job listings are simply too good to be true. When Macy Mullins stumbles across a Craigslist advertisement offering generous pay for just three days of caretaking at an isolated house on the Oregon coast, she knows something feels off. The wording is strangely ominous, the instructions are vague, and the location couldn't be more remote. But after months of unsuccessful job interviews and mounting financial pressure, turning it down isn't really an option.

What begins as an unusual side job quickly descends into something far more terrifying. The house seems to follow rules nobody fully explains. Ancient rituals must be performed without question. The surrounding forest feels almost sentient, and an incomprehensible force lurking on the property appears to have existed long before the house itself. As Macy uncovers fragments of the property's disturbing history, she realises she's become part of an ancient cycle whose consequences stretch far beyond her own survival.

I’m not typically a reader of horror, but Marcus Kliewer’s previous book had me gripped, and I knew I had to read The Caretaker. It’s been making waves in Hollywood as well, and the standout is the fact that the author slowly builds dread rather than relying on cheap scares, allowing every unanswered question to deepen the unease. The result is psychological horror at its finest, where isolation, folklore, and the unknown become infinitely more frightening than anything lurking in the dark.

Lead image: Getty Images 

Also read: This June, enter the worlds of gods, royals, and heroes with these books that retell legends 

Also read: Game, set, jewel: How tennis became luxury fashion's most enduring inspiration