![a fair-skinned person with their hair in a bun holding a stack of books that is obscuring their face](https://s32875.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/a-fair-skinned-femme-looking-person-holding-a-stack-of-books-that-is-obscuring-their-face.jpg.optimal.jpg)
The Most Read Books on Goodreads In July
What the biggest, buzziest books of the moment? There are a lot of ways to approach this question: is it the bestselling books? The ones getting the most positive reviews? Or, perhaps, the ones being read by the most people? That last definition is where the most read books on Goodreads comes in.
Of course, we can’t get an accurate picture of the books everyone on Earth is reading right now — we can’t even get an accurate snapshot of book sales! Still, Goodreads is the reading tracker with the most users, so it’s the closest thing we have. It’s always interesting to see how the books being talked about the most — the ones you might see on TikTok, in New York Times reviews, or even recommended in person frequently — are not necessarily the ones that are actually being read by the most people. It’s not even a match for the bestseller list, because as we all know, buying a book and reading it are very different things.
Here are the top five books marked as read by the most users on Goodreads in July — plus a couple more I’ve chosen from the long list. Let’s dive in!
#5:
![Cover of The Housemaid by Freida McFadden](https://s32875.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/The-Housemaid-by-Freida-McFadden.jpeg.optimal.jpeg)
The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
The first book in the Housemaid thriller series was read by more than 80,000 Goodreads readers last month with a 3.9 rating, and it’s not the only McFadden book on this list. In fact, McFadden is currently outselling John Patterson and John Grisham!
Mikkaka Overstreet recommends this as a book you can’t put down: “Rich people are truly terrifying. A woman becomes a housemaid for a rich family. She finds that the wife is an asshole, the husband is downtrodden, and the kid is a pawn. But here’s the twist: the housemaid has a dark secret that her suburban antagonist doesn’t know about. Who should you root for? Who can be trusted? Readers won’t know until the very last page.”
#4:
![Just For the Summer Cover](https://s32875.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/195820807.jpg-e1703955720790.png)
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
This summer romance was marked as read by almost 87,000 readers in July, and it has a 4.4 average rating.
Erica Ezeifedi recommends this as one of the most popular books on BookTok this summer: “This April release is all up and down BookTok. It’s a romance that starts with Reddit, of all things. Justin reveals in a Reddit thread that he’s cursed, and how every woman he goes on a date with finds her perfect match right after she breaks up with him. And Emma, feeling like she has nothing to lose, especially since her next assignment as a traveling nurse will place her in Minnesota, thinks that dating Justin might prove to be fruitful. But then Emma’s raggedy mother turns up, and Justin has to take care of his siblings, and suddenly, the idea that the two of them may be perfect together starts to form.”
#3:
![Reckless cover](https://s32875.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Reckless.jpg.optimal.jpg)
Reckless by Lauren Roberts
This is the second book in the romantasy trilogy that began with Powerless. It was read by almost 99,000 Goodreads users last month, with a 4.2 average rating.
Silvana Reyes Lopez recommends Powerless as one of the slowest slow-burn romances ever written: “In this first novel, we meet Paedyn Gray, an Ordinary — someone with no power or ability. The king has decreed that all Ordinaries must be banished to preserve the Elites, the people who were blessed with powers. Because of this new law, Paedyn has taken matters into her own hands, and she now pretends to be an Elite to survive. But when she unsuspectingly saves one of Ilyas princes, her life suddenly changes.”
#2:
![cover of Funny Story by Emily Henry](https://s32875.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Funny-Story-by-Emily-Henry.jpeg.optimal.jpeg)
Funny Story by Emily Henry
Emily Henry’s newest contemporary romance had a staggering 102,000 readers in July, with a 4.3 average rating.
Emily Martin recommends this as the feel-good book of the summer: “There’s so much to love about this book. Yes, you’ve probably guessed there is a cute little love story. But the part of the book that really hugged my heart was Daphne’s journey to rediscovering herself post-breakup. This is so much more than a romance. This is the story of a woman making friends, thriving in her job, learning more about who she is and what she cares about, and generally just coming into her own. This was such an empowering story in ways I couldn’t have predicted.”
#1:
![The Housemaid Is Watching cover](https://s32875.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/The-Housemaid-Is-Watching.jpg.optimal.jpg)
The Housemaid Is Watching by Freida McFadden
Finally, the most read book on Goodreads last month is the third book in the Housemaid series. Almost 118,000 Goodreads users marked this as read in July, and it has a 3.9 average rating.
In this suburban psychological thriller, the main character thinks she’s made it now that her and her husband can afford their own house…but something is strange in this neighborhood, and a stranger warns her not to trust her neighbors.
More of the Most Read Books on Goodreads In July
You might have noticed the most read books on Goodreads are not diverse in any sense of the word, so here are two more of the top 50 most read books on Goodreads in July that are by authors of color.
![yellowface book cover](https://s32875.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/yellowface-book-cover.jpg.optimal.jpg)
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Yellowface came out in 2023, but it’s still in the top 50 most read books on Goodreads last month. It has almost 560,000 total ratings with an average of 3.8.
Emily Martin recommends this as a must-read book about books: “June Hayward dreams of being a literary star, but she worries no one cares about reading stories about white girls. So when her friend Athena Liu unexpectedly dies, June does the only thing she can think to do: she steals Athena’s manuscript, an experimental novel about Chinese laborers in World War I, and submits it as her own work. With this new book, June rebrands herself as Juniper Song and uses an ethnically ambiguous picture as her author photo. The book becomes a New York Times bestseller, but June can’t escape her guilt, or the fear that her secret will come out.”
![Twisted Love by Ana Huang cover](https://s32875.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Twisted-Love-by-Ana-Huang.jpeg.optimal.jpeg)
Twisted Love by Ana Huang
This romance novel was originally published in 2021, but it found new life on TikTok recently. It has over a million total ratings, with an average rating of 3.7.
Silvana Reyes Lopez recommends this as a stand-out best friend romance (specifically, a sibling-of-your-best-friend romance): “Ava’s brother, Josh, is going to Central America for a job opportunity, so he’s leaving his perfectly nice apartment that happens to be next door to Ava’s. Also, Josh is worried about leaving Ava alone. After her traumatic childhood, Josh just wants the best for his sister. That’s why he tells his best friend Alex Volkov to keep an eye on her. Alex, the mysterious young billionaire, isn’t so thrilled about this new turn in his life, but slowly, he starts to spend time with Ava and falls for her.
Although there are far more secrets left to uncover in both of their lives, Ava and Alex will try their hardest to get to their happily ever after.”
If you’re looking for more buzzy books, check out The Bestselling Books of the Week, According to All the Lists.
Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.
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