Today's Read Contributor As the calendar turned to August 1, 2025, a fresh wave of literary anticipation swept across bookstores nationwide. A curated selection of eight new fiction titles has emerged as essential reads for the late summer season, each offering a unique blend of emotional depth, imaginative storytelling, and bold authorship.
Elaine Castillo’s novel Moderation, released on August 5, introduces readers to Girlie Delmundo, a Filipino-American content moderator at a major social media company. Promoted into a high-stakes VR moderation role, Girlie must navigate workplace trauma, long-standing family pressures, and the potential for new romance. The novel explores the intersections of digital exploitation, immigrant identity, and the emotional toll of virtual labor, positioning itself as a dystopian romance laced with social commentary.
Emily Adrian’s Seduction Theory, arriving on August 12, is written as the fictional thesis of Roberta Green, an MFA student at an elite writing program. Through Roberta’s lens, the novel dissects the marriage and entanglements of two professors caught in webs of infidelity and literary ambition. The narrative blends satire, metafiction, and unreliable narration to interrogate power, storytelling ethics, and emotional entanglement within academia.
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Jason Mott’s People Like Us, published August 5, offers a surreal, genre-blending tale that follows two Black writers grappling with gun violence, fame, grief, and dreamlike experiences. As a spiritual successor to his National Book Award-winning Hell of a Book, this new novel merges lyrical prose with biting satire, using elements like sea creatures, time travel, and literary self-awareness to reflect on America’s racial wounds and creative identity.
Addie E. Citchens’ Dominion delivers a multigenerational Southern family saga centered on the enduring weight of patriarchal power. Through the voices of resilient women navigating systemic oppression, the novel delves into cultural legacy, family bonds, and the slow-burning struggle for autonomy. Though not yet widely reviewed, early readers hail it as a powerful portrayal of Southern life and feminine strength.
Isabel Cañas returns with The Possession of Alba Díaz, a historical horror novel set in colonial Mexico. The story follows Alba, a young woman caught between societal expectations and supernatural forces. As colonial authority clashes with personal agency, the novel explores the haunting effects of repression, weaving themes of gender, history, and spiritual possession into a gothic romance steeped in cultural tension.
Chris DeVille’s Such Great Heights provides a narrative exploration of indie rock’s rise, focusing on the cultural histories and digital communities that shaped the genre. Tracing the evolution from blog-based music sharing to algorithmic platforms, DeVille captures the nostalgic energy of early-2000s music culture while critiquing the transformation of grassroots scenes in the internet age.
In Ruth, debut author Kate Riley delves into the life of a woman living inside a Christian commune. The novel examines conformity, emotional repression, and the quiet courage it takes to question inherited belief systems. As Ruth reflects on her past and confronts the community’s constraints, the narrative becomes a journey of self-definition and quiet liberation.
Chloé Caldwell’s Trying presents a novel with memoir-like intimacy, chronicling one couple’s emotionally raw attempt to conceive. With honesty and vulnerability, Caldwell explores infertility, relationship strain, and the quiet devastation of unmet expectations. The book stands out for its sharp prose and empathetic insight into the emotional landscapes of longing and loss.
Together, these eight titles reflect the breadth of contemporary fiction in 2025. From speculative tech thrillers and campus dramas to historical horror, music culture, religious introspection, and memoir-style storytelling, the August lineup offers a deeply engaging spectrum of narratives for readers seeking both entertainment and insight during the final weeks of summer.
