16 Books to Read This Summer

Multi-level marketing schemes, a journalist unearthing a family secret, broke millennials who plan a heist, and other sunny reads

It feels like it’s a million degrees outside, and all I want to do is hang by the pool with an XL iced blueberry oat milk matcha and a good book. Can you relate? Then this letter is for you.

The summer season of reading has finally arrived, with so many new and exciting books. Narrowing this list down was incredibly hard. Like I could’ve added 30 more titles, but I’ll save those for future letters. If you’re looking for the perfect book to add to your TBR list this month, here are some of the ones I'm most excited about.

If you’re craving romance, but definitely not getting on an app ever again…

Hey, it’s me! Fictional boyfriends are better anyway, and these romance novels prove it.

• No Ordinary Love by Myah Ariel

  I loved Myah’s debut novel, When I Think of You, so very excited to dive into No Ordinary Love about “a PR partnership between a pop superstar and a pro-athlete bad boy [that] turns into so much more.”

• How to Sell a Romance by Alexa Martin

  A romance set against the backdrop of a multi-level marketing scheme? Messy and steamy, the best kind of read. (out on July 15)

• Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

  Admittedly, the title made my face scrunch up in that “WTF” kind of way, but the premise intrigued me: “Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve.”

• Only Lovers in the Building by Nadine Gonzalez

  Set in tropical Miami, a newly unemployed 30-year-old attorney retreats to an art deco hotel where she meets a writer and discovers a shared love of romance novels. You can guess what happens next. (out on July 15)

If you’re ready to be consumed by plot, not just a person…

These are the stories with the kind of twists worth staying up to read “one more chapter.” Even if you are going to regret it the next day at work.

• Coded Justice by Stacey Abrams
  Another Avery Keene novel! This time, following her “down a dark rabbit hole into the breathtaking and dangerous use of AI in the medical industry.” Timely. (out on July 15)

• Love You To Death by Christina Dotson
  Shout out to my TikTok algorithm for bringing this thriller to me. “When two best friends' hobby of crashing weddings takes a deadly turn, they're forced to embark on a road trip of survival.” (out on July 22)

• We Don’t Talk About Carol by Kristen L. Berry
  A five-star read that I finished in six hours on a cross-country flight! In it, “a dedicated journalist unearths a generations-old family secret—and a connection to a string of missing girls that hits way too close to home.”

• Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson
  Did you love A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder? Me too, which is why I’m excited to read Holly’s first novel for adults. “A twisty thriller about a young woman trying to solve her own murder.” (out on July 22)

If you want to escape to worlds where anything is possible…

Reality’s not great right now. Not great at all. So, no one can blame us for wanting to check out for a little bit…maybe aliens wouldn’t be so bad.

• The Art of Vanishing by Morgan Pager
  I’ve heard that art imitates life, but what happens when art comes to life? This is a magical love story “between a museum employee and the man in a masterpiece hanging on the walls.” (out on July 1)

• Meet Me at the Crossroads by Megan Giddings
  "On an ordinary summer morning, the world is changed by the appearance of seven mysterious doors that seemingly lead to another world.” Mesmerizing? Confusing? Kind of scary? The answer is “D”, all of the above.

• Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston
  Another twisty, magical romance, this time following “a hitmaking songwriter and a bitter musician.” I’m going to go ahead and get my tissues ready because The Seven Year Slip broke me.

• I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com by Kimberly Lemming
  A woman “gets dropped on a strange planet only to fall for not one, but two, aliens.” Bonkers in the best way (I hope).

If you relate to messy, imperfect people still trying to figure life out…

Which you should, because, honestly, aren’t we all still figuring things out?

• The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley
  Leila’s sophomore novel is all about “the joys and entanglements of a fierce group of teenage mothers in a small town on the Florida panhandle.” If it’s anything like her first book, Nightcrawling, it’ll be a hard, tear-jerking read with bits of humor and lots of heart.

• My Train Leaves at Three by Natalie Guerrero
  An “electric coming-of-age novel that explores grief, family, sexuality, and love as an ambitious young woman from Washington Heights tries to make it on Broadway.” (out on July 15)

• The Payback by Kashana Cauley
  What do broke millennials saddled with student loan debt do? Plan a heist, of course. (out on July 15)

• The Best Man: Unfinished Business by Malcolm D. Lee with Jayne Allen

  Picking up where The Best Man: The Final Chapters TV series left off, this story catches fans up on the lives of Harper Stewart, Jordan Armstrong, and Robyn Stewart, a love triangle that’s been aggravating the hell out of everyone since 1999’s The Best Man movie. So, I’m confident that it’ll be messy with a capital “M.” (out on July 1)

What’s on your reading list this summer? Reply to this email or let me know in the comments.

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