Find a corner, curl up!
It's summer, which means the sun is out and your schedule is free. For you book-lovers out there, it's a great opportunity to catch up on your summer reading. The suntan lotion has been taken out of storage, the popsicles are in the freezer, and your mind is ready to obsess over your next beach read.
Yes, summer vacation is supposed to be the season where you go on thrilling adventures, meet new people, and discover new places. But if you're not a huge fan of the outside world or the only trip you can afford this summer is a trip to your neighborhood park, you can still do all of these things! A good novel is all you need... and you don't even have to leave your beach chair for it!
Summer vacation plans or not, nothing is more relaxing than sitting back with a glass of your favorite drink and a good novel.
Whether you're packing your beach bag, or your hefty suitcase is stuffed to the brim with swimsuits and sundresses, these books are a must have for your summer vacation plans. Even though most of these are summer-themed (to celebrate the season, of course), there's a great variety of genres here, a sweet treat for anyone looking to dive into something new and different.
This list includes heart-wrenching stories about self-discovery, friendship, funny slices of life, and the pain and pleasure of finding love. Guaranteed, you'll be at the edge of your seats when delving into these stories, and the next thing you know, the sun will have set and it will be a brand new summer day.
So go ahead and grab one of these and have your fun, summer adventure! And it won't end with just one adventure — you have plenty to look forward to, so get a move on and start reading.
1. The Girls by Emma Cline
The Girls will have you racing through the pages before you even leave for your summer travels. Evie Boyd's desire to be accepted leads her to join a cult-like group of reckless girls who turn to a man as their leader. As Evie becomes more involved in the close-knit circle and her obsession with one of the members intensifies, she fails to realize the terrifying violence she has surrounded herself with.
Buy it on Amazon.
2. Swear on this Life by Renee Carlino
Calling all romantics: struggling writer Emiline grudgingly decides to read the literary "it-book" of the year. When she realizes that her childhood love is the author of the bestselling novel and the book is inspired by their relationship, she is faced with a whirlwind of emotions.
How could he reveal the dark secrets of her childhood to the world? And why was there a happy ending between the two main characters? Emiline must decide whether or not she is willing to face her past in order to discover if the fiction her childhood love wrote is anything more than just that: fiction.
Buy it on Amazon.
3. It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
Lily has it all. She's got the degree, the business and a gorgeous neurosurgeon, Ryle Kincaid, to prove it. Ryle fits everything in the checklist Lily has subconsciously compiled, except for one thing: he has a strict no dating rule. Add a reemerging first love to the recipe and you'll be turning the pages faster than you can read just to find out what happens in this love story.
Buy it on Amazon.
4. Hitched by Kendall Ryan
For a sexy read to spice up your summer, look no further than Kendall Ryan's latest, the New York Times bestselling author of Bait & Switch and Screwed. In Hitched, we meet playboy and heir to a billion-dollar company. There's only one thing he must do to gain full control of his inheritance: produce an heir. He has 90 days to have a baby with his wife, but she hates him and he must do whatever it takes to make this happen. He's convinced: "I'll have her begging for me."
Buy it on Amazon.
5. Untethered by Julie Lawson Timmer
For those looking to dig their toes a little deeper into the sand this summer with an emotional page-turner, be sure to pack Untethered in your beach bag. The novel follows Char Hawthorn as her life is turned completely upside down following the unexpected death of her husband. If losing her husband wasn’t enough, Char loses her stepdaughter after she’s sent to live with her biological mother.
With this new distance between them, tensions rise between Allie and Char, and it's Char's connection to Morgan, a foster child Allie's been tutoring, that keeps her grounded. But when Morgan disappears, Char is forced to question her future with both girls and do her best to navigate the foster care system in America.
Buy it on Amazon.
6. The Problem With Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Many view silence as deadly, but Mallory "Mouse" Dodge views it as a way to protect herself. After years of homeschooling, Mallory faces the terrifying and exhilarating adventure of spending her senior year at a public high school, where she runs into her childhood friend and protector, Rider Stark.
It doesn't take long for Mallory to notice the lingering scars Rider has been covering up. As she watches Rider lose control of his life, Mallory must make a decision: stick to her vow of silence or speak up for the people.
Buy it on Amazon.
7. Losing It by Emma Rathbone
Looking for a laugh as you spray on that sunblock? Julie Greenfield is a twenty-six-year-old virgin and she is not happy about it. After realizing that her 58-year-old aunt is also a virgin, Julie starts to fear that she may never "lose it." Follow Julie as she learns about the ins and outs of intimacy.
Buy it on Amazon.
8. 25 Sense by Lisa Henthorn
For those who are living out the best of their youth this summer, 25 Sense is the novel for you. Claire Malone just wanted to live a normal life in New York City, but that didn't include sleeping and falling in love with her married boss. Through Claire, debut author Lisa Henthorn explores the complexities of new adulthood in this coming-of-age tale for the millennial generation.
Buy it on Amazon.
9. Modern Lovers by Emma Straub
For those of you with a somewhat questionable adolescent past, meet Modern Lovers by Emma Straub. College band mates Elizabeth, Andrew and Zoe are well past their wild days, content with the adult world they live in. But when their children start to act in similar fashion as their former selves, they are forced to face the secrets of their past, including the story behind the fourth band mate who rose to fame and fell without them. Once these unwelcome memories have resurfaced, they can never be reclaimed.
Buy it on Amazon.
10. Gridley Girls by Meredith First
Gridley Girls is all about the power of friendship and sisterhood. If you have a secret, Meg Monahan is the one to turn to. Her three high school best friends — Anne, Jennifer and Tonya — depended on Meg to keep their secrets about everything, from boys to parents to school. Years later, when tragedy strikes at Anne's wedding, Meg must unwillingly face one of the biggest secrets she has ever kept.
Buy it on Amazon.
11. Here's To Us by Elin Hilderbrand
Here's To Us will spice up your vacation. Deacon Thorpe passed away, leaving behind three loving wives who definitely do not love each other. Deacon's dying wish was to have his entire family, wives and all, assemble at his Nantucket summer cottage to commemorate his life. But the weekend brings much more than just a toast to Deacon's life. You won't be able to put the pages down as the lies, tears, accusations and drama pile up in this crowded cottage.
Buy it on Amazon.
12. Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty by Ramona Ausubel
Family money is nice until there is none left. The charmed life of Fern and Edgar becomes anything but charmed when they learn that the family money has disappeared. While Edgar and Fern go off on their own adventures to try to make sense of their new status of poor, their three children are left to create their own adventure at home. This unique story about American wealth has the perfect mix of excitement, imagination and insight for your summer.
Buy it on Amazon.
13. Clear to Lift by Anne Wilson
For a tangled love story filled with action and adventure, turn to Clear to Lift as your summer 2016 read. Navy helicopter pilot Alison Malone is used to following to rules. All she really wants to do is move back to San Diego where she can be with her fiancé like she is supposed to be. But when Will Cavanaugh saves her life and introduces her to a world filled with new and exciting things, suddenly she is far more uncertain about the future she had planned out for herself.
Buy it on Amazon.
14. The Lucidity Project by Abbey Campbell Cook
The Lucidity Project is a summer beach read with a new age fiction twist. The story follows Max Dorigan as she struggles with depression in a non-traditional way. Upon her arrival at a health and wellness resort in the Caribbean, Max feels like an outsider. But when Dr. Micah McMoneagle discovers a way for people to enter each other's dreams, Max and the other residents begin to work through their problems, embarking on an adventure that ultimately reveals who they really are and what they are meant to do.
Buy it on Amazon.
15. One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Can you have two true loves? Years after losing her high school sweetheart, Jesse, to a tragic accident, Emma falls in love with Sam, the man who put all her broken pieces back together. But when Jesse is found alive, Emma must listen to her heart in order to discover what she wants in life. Will she choose the husband she thought was dead or her fiancé?
Buy it on Amazon.
16. Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
Tess comes to New York City in the summer of 2006 with a desire to taste all of the forbidden fruits the city has to offer. Compared to her mundane past, everything is far more exciting than she could have anticipated. The privileged life she chooses awakens her to a world filled with drugs and food and wine, and leads her into a dangerous love triangle that may be set to end poorly.
Buy it on Amazon.
17. The Memory of Us by Camille Di Maio
If you're all about epic historical love stories, The Memory of Us is the summer read for you. Julianne Westcott is caught between the life she was always meant to lead and the life that leads her towards love. As war blazes on and the truth about her supposed perfect family is revealed, Julianne is forced to leave everything she knows in order to protect her loved ones.
Buy it on Amazon.
18. Invincible Summer by Alica Adams
Eva, Benedict, Sylvia and Lucien were inseparable in college, but as their dreams grew, they grew apart. Now in their thirties and scattered across Europe, the foursome realizes that they cannot control their own destiny as much as they had hoped. They are brought back together in a way none of them could have anticipated and in a way that will keep your nose stuck in the pages until the sun sets on your breezy summer day.
Buy it on Amazon.
19. You'll Grow Out Of It by Jessi Klein
From stories about just what happens to tom boys who never grow out of it (and what it means to be a "tom man"), to a tribute to Joan Rivers for her inspiring demonstration of how to be a female comedian, You'll Grow Out Of It takes readers from Klein's awkward childhood,up through her early career working at Comedy Central and Saturday Night Live and beyond.
Buy it on Amazon.
