If you’re anything like us, our ideal weekend agenda involves a bottle of bubbly and a good book. With summer coming full force in just a few weeks, we want to help you build the perfect lineup of editor-approved books to fulfill all your summer reading needs! From heartwarming love stories to suspenseful thrillers, these are our editors’ top 15 most binge-worthy books to add to your reading lineup this summer!
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A Court of Thorns and Roses
Sarah J Maas
- Genre: Fantasy Fiction
- Goodreads rating: 4.20 stars
- Story themes: fantasy, romance, suspense, adventure
- Synopsis: Set in a world divided between mortal humans and immortal fae, ACOTAR follows the thrilling journey of Feyre Archeron, a human girl who is taken captive by Tamlin, a faerie lord, after killing what she thought was a wolf in the woods. As Feyre spends more time in Tamlin’s court, she discovers a world of magic and danger beyond her imagination. However, a shadowy threat looms over the faerie world, and Feyre must navigate a complex web of politics, alliances, and betrayals in order to save Tamlin and his court from destruction. Along the way, she confronts her own prejudices and biases towards the faerie world, and begins to question everything she thought she knew about herself and her place in the world.
It Ends with Us
Colleen Hoover
- Genre: Romance Fiction
- Goodreads rating: 4.27 stars
- Story themes: love, domestic violence, trauma, and forgiveness.
- Synopsis: Lily Bloom is a young woman who has just moved to Boston to start a new life. She meets Ryle Kincaid, a handsome neurosurgeon, and they quickly fall in love. However, Lily soon discovers that Ryle has a dark side, and she must confront the truth about him and her past.
Truth be told, we think Colleen Hoover’s books are all binge-worthy!
Verity
Colleen Hoover
- Genre: Thriller Romance
- Goodreads rating: 4.36 stars
- Story Themes: love, loss, betrayal, and psychological suspense.
- Synopsis: Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer who is hired to complete the remaining books in a bestselling series after the original author, Verity Crawford, is injured in a car accident. Lowen travels to the Crawford family’s secluded estate to go through Verity’s notes, where she discovers an unfinished autobiography that reveals disturbing secrets about Verity and her family. As Lowen becomes more involved with the family, she becomes increasingly unsure if Verity’s injuries were truly accidental, and if she herself is in danger.
Happy Place
Emily Henry
- Genre: Romance novel
- Goodreads rating: 4.41 stars
- Story Themes: self-growth, friendship, growing up, changing, grief, and mental illness
- Synopsis: Harper Evans has lost her way in life. After her career falls apart and her relationship ends, Harper retreats to her childhood vacation spot, a lake house in a small Michigan town. There, she reconnects with her family and meets a charming and mysterious man named Adam. As Harper begins to rebuild her life, she discovers a box of letters and journals that belonged to her late mother, which leads her to uncover long-buried family secrets. Through these revelations, Harper gains a new understanding of herself, her family, and the importance of finding happiness in unexpected places.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Genre: Historical Fiction
- Goodreads rating: 4.45
- Themes: love, ambition, power, and the price of fame
- Synopsis: Evelyn Hugo spent years building her legacy as an iconic Hollywood actress. In the present day, Evelyn is an elderly recluse who surprises the world by giving a tell-all interview to an unknown journalist named Monique Grant. The book alternates between Monique’s present-day perspective and Evelyn’s recollections of her rise to fame in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, as well as her seven marriages to various Hollywood power players. As Evelyn reveals her darkest secrets and scandals to Monique, the journalist must confront her own personal demons and learn the truth about why Evelyn chose her for the interview.
One Italian Summer
Rebecca Serle
- Genre: Contemporary Romance
- Goodreads rating: 3.62
- Story themes: sisterhood, family, love, and self-discovery
- Synopsis: Three sisters, three summers, and the one villa in Italy that changes their lives forever. Maria, Violet, and Celia, are sent to spend the summer in their family’s villa in Italy. Maria is the responsible older sister who has always taken care of her younger siblings. Violet is the wild child, who is determined to make the most of her summer in Italy. Celia is the baby of the family, who is struggling to find her place in the world. As the sisters navigate the challenges of love, family, and growing up, they discover secrets about their family’s past that threaten to tear them apart.
Lessons in Chemistry
Bonnie Garmus
- Genre: Satire, Historical Fiction
- Goodreads rating: 4.35
- Story themes: motherhood, gender roles, career aspirations, and the intersection of science and creativity
- Synopsis: In the 1960s, Della dreams of becoming a scientist but finds herself limited by societal expectations. When she becomes pregnant and is forced to drop out of graduate school, Della takes a job as a television cooking show host, using her scientific knowledge to create innovative recipes. As she navigates the challenges of being a single mother and a woman in a male-dominated field, Della learns to find fulfillment in unexpected places and fights to achieve her dreams.
The Last Thing he Told Me
Laura Dave
- Genre: Mystery-thriller Novel
- Goodreads rating: 3.86
- Story themes: family, love, and the lengths a mother will go to protect her child
- Synopsis: Hannah Hall’s life is upended when her husband disappears, leaving behind a cryptic note telling her to protect their daughter, Bailey. As Hannah investigates her husband’s past and uncovers long-buried secrets, she and Bailey must learn to trust each other and navigate a dangerous web of lies and deception.
The Giver of Stars
Jojo Moyes
- Genre: Romance, Historical Fiction
- Goodreads rating: 4.28
- Story themes: Friendship, love, independence, and the power of books to transform lives
- Synopsis: A group of women in rural Kentucky who become the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky, delivering books to families in remote areas during the Great Depression. As the women face challenges from both the harsh wilderness and the townspeople who are suspicious of their work, they form a close bond and fight for their right to education and literacy.
One True Loves
Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Genre: Romance Fiction, ChickLit
- Goodreads rating: 4.09
- Story themes: love, loss, grief, and the idea of soulmates
- Synopsis: Emma Blair must choose between her high school sweetheart, Jesse, who she thought died in a helicopter crash, and her new fiancé, Sam, whom she met and fell in love with while Jesse was gone. As Emma grapples with the heart-wrenching decision of choosing between her two great loves, she must confront her own identity and what truly matters to her in life.
Daisy Jones & The Six
Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Genre: Historical Fiction
- Goodreads rating: 4.24
- Story themes: love, passion, addiction, and the cost of fame
- Synopsis: 1970s rock band, Daisy Jones & The Six, has a thrilling journey on their rise to fame. The novel is written in an oral history format, with each chapter being a transcription of interviews with the band members, their friends, and family, and other people in the music industry. As the band navigates their complex relationships and personal struggles, they create iconic music that captures the essence of the era.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
Gabrielle Zevin
- Genre: Literary fiction, Romance
- Goodreads rating: 4.25
- Story themes: mortality, identity, relationships, and the intersection of science and ethics
- Synopsis: Lenny is diagnosed with a rare terminal disease and given only a few months to live. As Lenny grapples with her mortality and the regrets and joys of her life, she is given the opportunity to participate in a radical medical experiment that allows her to live for longer than expected. As she navigates this new lease on life, Lenny must confront the ethical and personal implications of extending life beyond its natural limits.
The Silent Patient
Alex Michaelides
- Genre: Psychological thriller
- Goodreads rating: 4.18
- Story themes: trauma, obsession, and the blurred lines between reality and perception.
- Synopsis: A famous artist named Alicia Berenson murders her husband and never speaks again. Following many years being in a psychiatric ward, a psychotherapist named Theo Faber becomes obsessed with her case and sets out to unravel the mystery of why Alicia killed her husband and what drove her to stop speaking.
I’m Glad My Mom Died
Jeanette McCurdy
- Genre: Memoir
- Goodreads rating: 4.52
- Story themes: self-discovery, healing, and the power of forgiveness
- Synopsis: In this emotional memoir, Jeanette pens her complicated relationship with her mother, who struggled with addiction and mental health issues. After her mother’s sudden death, McCurdy reflects on their difficult past and comes to terms with her complicated feelings of grief, relief, and guilt.
The Perfect Marriage
Jeneva Rose
- Genre: Thriller
- Goodreads rating: 4.01
- Story themes: trust, deception, and the dark underbelly of seemingly perfect relationships
- Synopsis: James and Jessica who seem to have the perfect marriage, but their seemingly idyllic life is shattered when Jessica goes missing. As James becomes the prime suspect in her disappearance, he must navigate a web of lies, secrets, and betrayals to uncover the truth about what happened to his wife.
Which binge-worthy books will you be adding to your summer reading lineup?! If you’re looking for even more inspiration to grow your personal library, check out more of our articles here!