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Our Most Anticipated Titles for the Rest of 2025
Plus community chats with Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu & Stephanie Dray, and more ...
BookBrowse Highlights
Hello Readers!
This week’s First Impressions pick, Travis Kennedy’s The Whyte Python World Tour, whisks reviewers back to the ‘80s with a story of glam rock, the CIA, and the Cold War.
In Editor’s Choice, Maria Reva’s Endling breaks the fourth wall to show its author addressing the Russian invasion of Ukraine in a sobering but bizarre metafictional war tale.
We’ve got you covered from July to December with our most anticipated reads for the second half of 2025.
Don’t miss our Ask the Author interviews with Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu and Stephanie Dray, who talk to BookBrowsers about research for their latest novels, Sojourner Truth, pasta sauce, and much more.
Plus, check out our previews for July and a new Wordplay!
Thanks for reading,
The BookBrowse Team
First Impressions
Each month, we share books with BookBrowse members to read and review. Here are their opinions on one recently released title.
The Whyte Python World Tour by Travis Kennedy
“The story of Rikki Thunder, a glam metal drummer who gets caught up in a CIA operation to end the Cold War, is unique and entertaining. Amusing characters and humorous dialogue make this a quick and easy read.” —Jennie W. (Denver, CO) “This was an adventure with many light-hearted and laugh-out-loud satirical moments. Although the book was on the lighter side there was some emotional depth as well…unique, with a well-written plot and a satisfying ending.” —Stephanie L. |  |
“It is so difficult in this world of many, many books to come across an uplifting and original novel like this. The writing was descriptive, the characters jumped off the pages. Reading this book was just like watching a movie in my head…I hope my book club will choose to join me on the Whyte Python World Tour, I think they will love it!” —Catherine O. (Altavista, VA)
Editor’s Choice
Endling by Maria Reva
A Ukrainian native raised mostly in Canada, Reva retains close ties to her Ukrainian family and culture. While she was writing Endling, her homeland was invaded by Russia. Some authors might finish their book as if nothing had happened, and some might shelve the project indefinitely. I was shocked in the best way to see that Part II was in autobiographical first person, with the author telling her own story. She shares the grant proposal she wrote to travel back to Ukraine, alongside exchanges with editors and agents about her work. On some level, I believed the author was going to go rescue her characters, so entwined does her story become with theirs. … continued Review by Erin Lyndal Martin |  |
July-December Most Anticipated Reads
As the second half of the year approaches, we have you covered with our most anticipated reads for the last six months of 2025, including plenty of fresh contemporary fiction, an exciting haul of speculative and historical works, a new biography of James Baldwin, and memoirs from Margaret Atwood and Arundhati Roy. … continued |  |
BookBrowsers Ask Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu & Stephanie Dray
In “Ask the Author” sessions held in the BookBrowse community forum, members interview Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, who wrote The Creation of Half-Broken People, and Becoming Madam Secretary author Stephanie Dray. You can see upcoming and former author conversations here.
Kim Kovacs: What was the process you used to research the history behind The Creation of Half-Broken People? Did you uncover anything surprising? Has the process changed over the course of your writing? Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu: I started doing archival research in 2004 when I was a film student. I was looking mostly for images and archival footage to include in my MFA thesis film, The Inheritance. |  |
I walked into the National Archives building not knowing that I was just about to fall in love with old documents and images that captured the history of my country, albeit imperfectly or incompletely. I was forever changed. … continued
Kim Kovacs: What was the process you used to research Frances’s life and career, and the era in which she lived? Did you uncover anything that surprised you? Stephanie Dray: I started this book in March 2020 while the pandemic was roaring. That meant I wasn’t able to go and do the kind of research I might usually do, on site. |  |
Instead, I relied upon the digitized oral history of Frances Perkins as well as her biography of FDR and the biographies that have been written about her, including my personal favorite by Kirstin Downey. … continued
July Previews
We know it can be tough to keep up with all the new books coming out every month, so we do the hard work for you. We've carefully selected 100+ of the most noteworthy books publishing in July and are continually updating our selections — check them out and get yourself on the library waitlist ahead of the crowd! |  |
BookBrowse members can see, sort, and download the full list of previews for all months. Non-subscribers can view books up to the current month and a limited selection of future months. If you don't already, you may also wish to subscribe to our Publishing This Week newsletter.
Wordplay
Solve our Wordplay puzzle to reveal a well-known expression, and be entered to win a one-year membership to BookBrowse!
"C K the C"
Click for the answer to the last Wordplay (B a L), and a detailed breakdown of its meaning and history.
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