Summer Reading List 2024: 10 Books For Your TBR

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  FUNNY STORY 

  by Emily Henry | Rom-Com | Read Now | Read My Review

  In short: Embittered roommates pretend date (and fall in love) in retaliation against their respective exes.

  A delightful story of two opposites, who find love with each other, after being dumped by their exes. Wonderful balance of emotion and humor, with a real feel of ease and relatability.

  Fact: Any Emily Henry novel is perfect for summer, so browse her list with confidence.

  

  

  

• 

  THE ROM-COMMERS 

  by Katherine Center | Rom-Com |  Read Now | Read My Review

  In short: A struggling screenwriter heads to LA for a one-shot chance of writing a rom-com with her hero.

  A fun-to-read enemies-to-lovers romance about second chances, overcoming trauma, and finding love where/when you least expect. Perfect to devour poolside.

  Note: THE BODYGUARD is a close-second must-read recco.

  

• 

  THE PARADISE PROBLEM

  by Christina Lauren | Rom-Com | Read Now | Read My Review

  In short: Two ex-roommates fake a relationship to land a massive inheritance in this new marriage-of-convenience rom-com from writer duo, Christina Lauren.

  Two once-roommates pretend to be married and travel to paradise for a wedding, in this irresistible opposites-attract rom-com. Teeming with pop-culture references and touting fantastic banter, this one strikes the right balance of spiciness and emotion.

  Want more? Try THE UNHONEYMOONERS too!

  

• 

  ONE PERFECT COUPLE

  by Ruth Ware | Thriller | Read Now | Read My Review

  In short: Stranded on a storm-swept island, five couples battle the elements—and each other—as they struggle to survive in this paradise-turned-nightmare thriller.

  This story in paradise is not quite like the one before—Love Island turns Survivor in this story where couples travel to a remote Indonesian island for a reality show, but what they endure is a nightmare. It’s a fresh take on a locked-room mystery as someone among them starts to kill them off after they are left stranded. Intense and propulsive.

• 

  CARRIE SOTO IS BACK

  by Taylor Jenkins Reid | Women’s Fiction | Read Now | Read My Review

  In short: A retired tennis player returns to reclaim her record and cement her legacy as the GOAT.

  Probing the scrutiny around women’s ambition, this story examines the unfeminity of it, the unlikability of it, the sexism of it, especially when levied against how the media treats men of similar ambition. So well done and impossible to put down.

• 

  I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU

  by Rebecca Makkai | Thriller | Read Now | Read My Review

  In short: A podcaster plunges into her past to re-examine who may have killed her roommate in this provocative ‘whodunit.’

  An ambitious undertaking with the author probing into femicide and other powder-keg topics ranging from fetishizing and cancel culture, to class and gender implications, to misogyny and #MeToo. If you loved listening to the 2014 Serial podcast on Adnan Syed, you’ll love this one too.

• 

  LISTEN FOR THE LIE

  by Amy Tintera | Thriller | Read Now | Read My Review

  In short: A woman accused of murdering her best friend teams up with a podcaster to uncover who was really behind the mysterious death.

  Such an addictive and layered story. Fun, fast-paced and sharply written, this ‘whodunit’ propulsive thriller was excellent.

• 

  NONE OF THIS IS TRUE

  by Lisa Jewell | Thriller | Read Now | Read My Review

  In short: The lives of two women inexorably intersect in this deeply dark and unsettling new thriller from Lisa Jewell.

  This is a twisted, unflinchingly dark and provocative thriller full of surprises. It’s a story about families, friendships, identity, and the secrets we hide behind closed doors. I’ve been reading Lisa Jewell for years, and this is arguably my favorite. Bonus—this seems to be coming to Netflix, so it’s the perfect time to read it!

• 

  THE AU PAIR

  by Emma Rous | Suspense |  Read Now

  In short: A photograph spurs a woman to question her identity and investigate long-held family secrets.

  Within hours of our protagonist’s birth, her mother threw herself from the cliffs of her family’s estate. Now an adult, and mourning the death of her father, an old photo sends her on a deep spiral into the past. This is a spellbinding gothic suspense teeming with twists and red herrings. So so good.

• 

  ADVENTURES OF AMINA AL-SIRAFI

  by Shannon Chakraborty | Read Now

  In short: A once-pirate captain abandons the quiet life with her daughter and is forced to return to ship and crew, to confront the monsters, mysteries, and the magic of the high seas.

  I loved this book. It doesn’t get talked about enough. The heroine is a middle-aged (badass) woman who embarks on an exhilarating, swashbuckling adventure. It’s a funny, transportive, propulsive, seafaring fantasy I can’t recommend enough.