Looking for some good books to read this summer? Check out this reading list with 16 great suggestions. With a mix of fantasy, YA, and historical fiction, there’s sure to be at least one you’ll want to add to your own to your own Goodreads shelves!
When I left for Iceland a few weeks ago, summer seemed like a far off dream here in Maine. But when I got home, the gorgeous weather was here, and hopefully here to stay! Somehow I have a ridiculously full week this week… someone needs to talk to my boss about giving me a break because all I want to do is READ! I feel like I haven’t been able to read that many books lately and with a pile a mile high, I’m anxious to get going on them. And now with longer days, there’s nothing I want more than to sit out on the back deck in the sunshine with a glass of crisp homebrewed iced tea and a good book.
Please keep in mind that I have not yet read these books, this is MY summer reading list. I curate these lists based on my tastes, others reviews, previous reads, etc., but there are still times when a book lets me down and one of these books might let you down too, but that’s what books are all about right? What might speak to one person might not resonate with another. But I do think this is a pretty good collection of books, they’re packed with adventure, mystery, humor, love, and female leads – sounds like a great summer reading list if you ask me!
Don’t forget to follow me on Goodreads and you can find all the books here on my Summer 2016 shelf which will make them easy to add to your own!
I’ll be updating the rest of the photos tomorrow since Amazon decided its two-day shipping was going to take 3-days… and don’t forget to join me on my facebook page at 6pm EST on 5/25/16 where I’ll be doing a live broadcast talking about these books! You’ll be able to ask me questions and all sorts of fun stuff, so join me, I want to chat about all things books with you!
Landline by Rainbow Rowell
Why it made the list: Those of you who follow along with my book posts probably remember that this was on my weekend reads for summer list from last year, well, I still haven’t gotten to it, but I’m determined to. Rowell is one of those authors that I enjoy reading, I like her style, even if I feel like her endings are a bit incomplete (ahem, Fangirl and Eleanor & Park). This one seems to have a bit of the supernatural tied into it, so of course, I’m totally in!
Synopsis: Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble; it has been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now. Maybe that was always beside the point.
Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn’t expect him to pack up the kids and go home without her.
When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything. That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts… Is that what she’s supposed to do? Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?
The Unfinished Symphony of You and Me by Lucy Robinson
Why it made the list: I don’t even remember how this book came across my path, but I’m super intrigued. With a story that bounces between New York City and London with love and music and mystery involved, who wouldn’t want to spend an afternoon in the park with this book!
Synopsis: Sally is an incredible singer, but she sings only in her wardrobe where nobody can hear her. She’d rather join a nudist colony than sing in public. That is until she ventures to New York where a wild and heady summer of love and loss changes her forever. No longer able to hide in the shadows, Sally must return home to London to fulfill a promise she cannot break – to share her voice.
But just as she’s about to embark on her new life, a beautiful man turns up on Sally’s doorstep bearing a sheepish smile and a mysterious hand-written message. How did he find her? Why is he here? Does he hold the truth to what happened back in New York? And, with him back on the scene, will she still have the courage to step into the spotlight?
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Why it made the list: I’ve had this series on my to-read shelf for quite some time. I’ve heard excellent things about it, and it sounds like a story that I would fall into and only come up for air when necessary. Plus, I’ve been loving all the kick-ass books with females heroines lately!
Synopsis: Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight – she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.
When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace – or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away…
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah Maas
Why it made the list: First of all, I feel in love with Maas’ Throne of Glass series, so obviously I needed to read this one too. Secondly, I’ve heard this series is better… I don’t know if that’s possible, but either way, it sounds like I’m in for a good story!
Synopsis: When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.
As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it… or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.
The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand
Why it made the list: I read All The Bright Places back in February, and it left me a little speechless. This book seems very similar, and while I’m not eager to jump right into it, I think it’s going to make for a good rainy weekend read. It’s also received great reviews!
Synopsis: The last time Lex was happy, it was before. When she had a family that was whole. A boyfriend she loved. Friends who didn’t look at her like she might break down at any moment. Now she’s just the girl whose brother killed himself. And it feels like that’s all she’ll ever be.
As Lex starts to put her life back together, she tries to block out what happened the night Tyler died. But there’s a secret she hasn’t told anyone-a text Tyler sent, that could have changed everything. Lex’s brother is gone. But Lex is about to discover that a ghost doesn’t have to be real to keep you from moving on.
Asking for It by Louise O’Neill
Why it made the list: I’m a bit of an SVU addict (although I’m two seasons behind, life’s kind of been getting in the way), and I feel like this book is going to be right up my alley. I’ve heard great things about this book, and I’m excited to start it! Plus, I’m a sucker for pretty much any story set in Ireland.
Synopsis: It’s the beginning of the summer in a small town in Ireland. Emma O’Donovan is eighteen years old, beautiful, happy, confident. One night, there’s a party. Everyone is there. All eyes are on Emma. The next morning, she wakes on the front porch of her house. She can’t remember what happened, she doesn’t know how she got there. She doesn’t know why she’s in pain. But everyone else does. Photographs taken at the party show, in explicit detail, what happened to Emma that night. But sometimes people don’t want to believe what is right in front of them, especially when the truth concerns the town’s heroes…
One Plus One by Jojo Moyes
Why it made the list: Well, you might remember how Me Before You broke me last year, and I just finished The Girl You Left Behind a few weeks ago. So needless to say, I’m ready for more Moyes! This book seems a little bit more modern than her other stories I’ve read, and I’m curious to see how it plays out since it doesn’t look like it will be the tear-jerking type.
Synopsis: Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being bullied and your math whiz daughter has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can’t afford to pay for. That’s Jess’s life in a nutshell—until an unexpected knight-in-shining-armor offers to rescue them. Only Jess’s knight turns out to be Geeky Ed, the obnoxious tech millionaire whose vacation home she happens to clean. But Ed has big problems of his own, and driving the dysfunctional family to the Math Olympiad feels like his first unselfish act in ages… maybe ever.
Love Like Crazy by Megan Squires
Why it made the list: For me this sounds like the ultimate summer adventure book, add in a little coming of age story, and it might just be the perfect book for summer!
Synopsis: All things that can be considered—and oftentimes are—just a bit crazy. With an alcoholic father and an absentee mother, seventeen-year old Eppie Aberdeen has learned firsthand that life’s circumstances aren’t always sunshine and roses.
So Eppie doesn’t expect the fairytale, because reality certainly isn’t one. She’s not waiting on the handsome prince with his white horse to come to her rescue. But even though she’s not waiting on it, that doesn’t stop nineteen-year-old Lincoln Ross from driving straight into her heart with his teal and white campervan and his too tall stature and perpetually goofy grin.
It’s difficult to believe in a happily ever after when a happy now is quite hard to find. But Lincoln gives Eppie hope that despite the odds, a true and unconditional love might actually be out there. A revised fairytale. A new kind of love story. But then again, that might just be plain crazy.
To All the Boys I Loved Before by Jenny Han
Why it made the list: Guys, this has been on my to-read list FOREVVVVER! I added it because I thought it sounded good, but then one of my favorite book reviews posted a bad review of it, and it turned me off from it. But she also hated Red Rising, and I absolutely loved it, so maybe she can’t be trusted… haha <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/72x72/1f609.png" alt="