9 Summer Reading Must-Reads for Every Genre Fan
Summer is in full force! Whether you’re vacationing at some beachy destination with a paper umbrella in your drink (lucky you!), or dealing with record high temperatures and ungodly humidity, a book is always a good idea! Here are some great reads published this summer that should entertain you whether you’re enjoying vacation time or trying to survive the heat. Stay inside where it’s cool and check out some of these entertaining summer page-turners.
Darkness Calls by Michael Katz Krefeld (May 16, 2023)
If you would like to dip your toes into a new series this summer, we can’t recommend Michael Katz Krefeld’s Darkness Calls enough. Krefeld is a bestselling and award-winning Danish author whose books hit the bestseller lists for months at a time. Darkness Calls, the first in his popular thriller series is perfect for fans of Nordic Noir and Scandinavian thrillers.
GRACELAND by Nancy Crochiere (May 30, 2023)
You’ll love this generational novel about a road trip that centers around three women. Hope must stop her eccentric soap-star mother Olivia and her daughter Dylan as they set off for a road-trip adventure to Graceland. If she doesn’t reach them in time, the secret she’s been keeping is going to be discovered, which will expose Hope and her lies. Along the way, can they find forgiveness and grace for one another? An irresistible, fun and heartwarming novel that will delight readers!
A Killer’s Game by Isabella Maldonado (June 1, 2023)
From Wall Street Journal bestselling author Isabella Maldonado, whose works include The Cipher, which is being developed for a feature film by Netflix starring Jennifer Lopez, comes an ingenious new thriller, A Killer’s Game.
Described as Squid Game meets Criminal Minds, A KILLER’S GAME is a high-octane thriller set in an escape room filled with lethal puzzles. The story, featuring a strong Latina main character, will have readers trying to crack codes and solve clues while on the edge of their seats.
NIGHT’S EDGE by Liz Kerin (June 20, 2023)
Prefer a darker summer read? Liz Kerin’s adult debut novel, NIGHT’S EDGE, is the perfect choice. Chosen as a Best book of the month by Library Journal, Night’s Edge promises to be one of the most powerful, emotional, and unique takes on vampires ever written. Many of the vampire stories we know and love are really allegories about sex, but Kerin turns this trope on its head, using vampires to explore codependency in families to create a story about the darkest secrets we hide and how monstrous we can be to the ones we love most. Night’s Edge will appeal to readers not only of great vampire novels such as A Dowry of Blood by ST Gibson and Fledgling by Octavia Butler, but also literary novels such as The Round House by Louise Erdrich and emotionally resonant memoirs such as I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy.
THE BETTER HALF by Alli Frank and Asha Youmans
(July 1, 2023)
Alli Frank and Asha Youmans found literary soulmates in each other while working in education, and combined their shared experiences to write novels. And their third collaboration does not disappoint! In The Better Half, Nina finally feels as if she’s coming into her own at the age of 43. Her teen daughter is thriving at boarding school, her ex-husband has relocated across the country, and she’s about to start her dream job as the first Black female headmaster of an elite school. But when an unexpected summer romance blossoms and she discovers she’s pregnant, Nina will have some heavy decisions to make that will affect not only those she loves, but her professional and personal goals as well. After you’ve read The Better Half, check out Alli and Asha’s other novels!
FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke (July 11, 2023)
Fans of messy and complicated family novels will adore Forever Hold Your Peace, which is described as Father of the Bride meets Bride Wars! June and Amy have been ex-best friends for twenty-five years, due to an explosive falling out that completely severed their friendship and sent them separate ways. So you can imagine their shock when they discover that their children had a whirlwind romance, are newly engaged, and are getting married. Told in past and present time, readers will enjoy the perfect mix of humor and drama in the latest book from writing duo Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke, who are actual real-life best friends! And check out their previous books after you read Forever Hold Your Peace!
THE HUNT by Kelly J. Ford (July 25, 2023)
This is the third thriller from Kelly J. Ford, a master of queer Southern noir fiction. A serial murderer is on the loose, using the Presley, Arkansas Annual Hunt for the Golden Egg to find victims for the last seventeen years. The town’s devoted “Eggheads,” relish the tradition and think the deaths are just unfortunate accidents that happen to coincide with the annual tradition. For Nell Holcomb, the Hunt dredges up the trauma of her brother’s death, long believed to be the result of the Hunter’s first kill. To protect herself from the emotional pain, she’s determined to avoid this year’s Hunt — despite her best friend’s obsession with winning the big prize. As Easter draws near and the town’s frenzy escalates, Nell must confront how the past is weighing her down and why it’s holding her back.
BROADWAY BUTTERFLY by Sara DiVello (August 1, 2023)
If you’re into historical thrillers you’ll definitely want to pick up Broadway Butterfly. Based on one of the most notorious unsolved murders in the 1920s, this true-crime novel centers around the real-life flapper Dorothy (Dot) King, who was found dead in her Midtown apartment, a bottle of chloroform at the scene and a fortune of jewels missing. Facts blend with fiction as crime reporter Julia Harpman chases the story, searching for the answer of who murdered Dot, and why? Julia will embark on a quest for justice in a corrupt city where everyone has secrets of their own. After you read Sara DiVello’s Broadway Butterfly, spend some time googling ‘Dorothy King’ and ‘Who killed the Broadway Butterfly’ to learn more about this mystery still unsolved a century later.
GONE TONIGHT by Sarah Pekkanen (August 1, 2023)
Sarah Pekkanen is an auto-buy author for me and this book has suspense on every page! Gone Tonight is the story about Ruth and her daughter Catherine, who have always been a team — just the two of them. While Ruth lives for her daughter, Catherine is ready to move to Baltimore to start her new job in nursing. But Ruth will do anything to keep Catherine home, knowing that her daughter would never question her. But, deception is the name of the game, and when cracks begin to form in Ruth’s carefully constructed world, it’s anyone’s guess as to what will happen in this fast-paced intense mother-daughter story.
