PEOPLE’s Most-Anticipated Summer Books: Best Beach Reads, Thrillers, Fiction, YA and More
Splash into summer with these sizzling new reads
See our favorite books coming out now through Labor Day — and consider taking one with you to the beach this summer! And if one that isn't out yet strikes your fancy, hit that preorder button now. You'll thank your past self when the book you completely forgot you ordered shows up in your mailbox.
'Summer Fridays' by Suzanne Rindell
Sawyer’s first New York City summer is lonely while her fiancé works 24/7 on a case with his coworker Kendra. Believing their partners are having an affair, Sawyer and Nick (Kendra’s surly boyfriend) become uneasy companions, spending summer Fridays exploring the city. Rom-com perfection. — Lisa Greissinger
Related: PEOPLE Picks Our Staff's Favorite Romance Novels
'The Wedding People' by Alison Espach
When Phoebe checks into a posh hotel with plans to end her life, her doom is derailed by a raucous wedding party helmed by an über-controlling bride. A feel-good testament to the life-altering magic of chance meetings that’s perfect for days by the pool. — Rennie Dyball
'The Same Bright Stars' by Ethan Joella
Everybody loves Schmidt’s—a historic family restaurant in Rehoboth Beach, Del.—including the corporate chain that’s pressuring owner Jack Schmidt to sell. A warm novel about possibilities in midlife and the power of community. — Marion Winik
'Honey' by Isabel Banta
This delightfully nostalgic debut full of millennial-bait Easter eggs charts early aughts teen pop-princess Amber’s rise to stardom. Pressured by the demands of music producers, the media and fans, she shakes off the need to please and finds her truest self. Honey is delicious. — Caroline Leavitt
'The Midnight Feast' by Lucy Foley
British nepo baby Francesca Meadows opens a resort on her family’s oceanside estate, which unleashes the furor of locals, a long-locked trove of dark secrets—and a dead body on the beach. An irresistible whodunit with an irresistible Blair Witch-meets-Fyre Festival backdrop. — Claire Martin
'Don't Let the Devil Ride' by Ace Atkins
After 58 unanswered calls, Addison realizes her husband, Dean, has disappeared —and it’s not the first time. Broke and out of options, she turns to her dad’s buddy Porter Hayes to find him. But things take a turn for the dangerous when a hook-handed mercenary comes looking for him too. A heart-pounding ride. — Lisa Greissinger
'You Will Never Be Me' by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Once best friends, the two momfluencers in this searing black comedy compete so greedily for sponsors and popularity that they destroy their relationship — and may stop at nothing to stay on top. Read this instead of doomscrolling. — Robin Micheli
'Middle of the Night' by Riley Sager
Ethan Marsh has returned to his childhood home 30 years after his best friend, Billy, disappeared from their backyard, and some seriously strange things are afoot. The vibe is a classic summer coming-of-age story with a page-turning side of paranormal activity. — Rennie Dyball
'A Thousand Times Before' by Asha Thanki
A multigenerational tale that travels from the partition of India and Pakistan to the present-day United States, this sweeping, moving saga follows the women in one magical family. They have the ability to access their ancestors’ memories through an inherited tapestry, a gift that’s both a blessing and a burden. — Wadzanai Mhute
'This Great Hemisphere' by Mateo Askaripour
A cinematic epic from the author of Black Buck, this novel is set in 2529. Two populations, Invisibles and Dominant Population (DP), have an uneasy coexistence until the brother of a woman from the Invisibles is suspected of assassinating a DP leader. Her search for answers unearths family secrets and kicks off a resistance movement. — Wadzanai Mhute
'Four Squares' by Bobby Finger
A funny thing happened on the way to the gay senior center. A late-blooming Manhattan novelist is lonely when his longtime support system moves away. But he finds there is life after the losses he and his city endured in the 1990s in this charming novel. — Marion Winik
'The Lion Women of Tehran' by Marjan Kamali
Ellie and Homa become best friends in 1950s Iran, but years of escalating oppression by both the monarchy and the Islamic fundamentalist government test their bond. An evocative read and a powerful portrait of friendship, feminism and political activism. — Claire Martin
'Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All' by Chanel Miller
In her first middle-grade children’s book, the author of Know My Name spins an insightful, funny story of two girl “sock detectives,” Magnolia and Iris, who are determined to return orphaned socks found at Magnolia’s family’s New York City laundromat to their rightful owners. It’s the kind of summer romp that will launch a lifetime of imaginative reading adventures. — Marion Winik
'Playing for Keeps' by Jennifer Dugan
From the author of Some Girls Do, this sapphic YA romance follows ace pitcher June (who has an ego to match her skill) and budding referee Ivy, whose parents dream of more for her. They don’t initially hit it off but soon find there may be something more to their rivalry on the field. This sweet romance is a home run.
Related: Obsessed with Challengers? Read These Steamy, Spicy Sports-Themed Romance Novels Next
'Wicked Marigold' by Caroline Carlson
Princess Rosalind is impossibly good. Because she can’t compete with her sister, Princess Marigold tries to be evil — but it’s not as easy as she thought it would be. A richly imagined middle-grade examination of sibling dynamics with plenty of endearing fantasy elements. — Sue Corbett
'Upstaged' by Robin Easter
Most of the drama at summer theater camp happens offstage in this graphic novel about navigating a friendship that starts to blossom into something more and learning how to handle disappointment. — Sue Corbett
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