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Oh no, you've got that summertime sadness? Don't worry, we're here to help.
As the sunny season is officially underway, there is no shortage of beach reads to devour, with July serving up a bounty of options for book lovers. Two queens of the thriller, Ruth Ware and Megan Miranda, are back with their latest twist-filled murder mysteries that will keep you up at night muttering "one more chapter." Plus, there are several rom-coms from new authors that might make you blush over that sunburn while reading at the beach.
So we've got your covered, whether you're in the mood for a lighter read about a dating expert being forced to be in a fake relationship or craving some meatier fare, like a retelling of one of Edgar Allan Poe's most famous poems. Hey, a beach read is whatever you want it to be!
So, before you head to the beach or your couch (no judgments here!), you should definitely start stocking up by buying physical copies of our picks or—because, you know, technology—pulling them up on Kindle Unlimited or through a free trial of Audible.
Here are 14 books worth adding to your beach bag this month:
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Two friends, who are often in love, but never lovers, must contend with the fame, joy and tragedy that comes with success after they enter the world of video game design. Spanning three decades and multiple locations, this love story by The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry author, is anything but predictable. . (July 5)
Fellowship Point</> by Alice Elliott Dark
In another riveting story centering on lifelong pals, Dark explores the complexity, intimacy and intensity of female friendship through two very different women who must confront their shared history and buried secrets. Their reckoning comes in the form of one of the friends, a celebrated children's author, deciding to write her memoirs, unaware of the repercussions that will follow. (July 5)
Honey and Spice by Bolu Babalola
"Sweet like plantain, hot like pepper. They taste the best when together..." Like its title implies, this debut novel is sweet and spicy, serving up an irresistible rom-com that goes down smooth. Kiki Banjo is the radio host dishing out dating advice at Whitewell University, making sure the women of the African-Caribbean Society avoid players and games. So, when she ends up kissing the campus' resident f--kboy, she must enter a fake relationship to save her reputation. Yes, you know where this is going, and yes, you will love every sexy minute of it. (July 5)
The It Girl by Ruth Ware
Prepare for a final twist more delicious than an Auntie Anne's pretzel. The bestselling author's latest thriller centers on the murder of the most popular girl at Oxford which became fodder for countless true crime podcasts. Now, a decade later, her best friend Hannah must confront the past and uncover the ugly truth after a journalist presents new evidence that the man she helped send to jail for the crime might be innocent. (July 12)
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
If the creepy yet compelling cover doesn't convince you to dig into Kingfisher's new novel, perhaps this summary will: In this atmospheric retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's classic "The Fall of the House of Usher," a retired soldier must team up with redoubtable British mycologist and a baffled American doctor to save his childhood best friend and the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruritania. Sure, the tale might make your skin crawl, but it will also get your pulse racing, with the powerful prose staying with you long after you finish. (July 12)
Any Other Family by Eleanor Brown
The author's latest offering takes the idea of a modern family to a whole new level, focusing on three sets of parents who are forever intertwined after adopting four biological siblings, having committed to keeping the children as connected as possible. As the three women struggle to adapt to their new roles as mothers, their plan to go on a group vacation is thrown for a loop when they receive a call from their children's birth mother announcing she is pregnant again. (July 12)
Upgrade by Blake Crouch
In the follow-up to his 2019 hit Recursion, Crouch is back with another mind-bending mystery that is at once an epic adventure and an intimate character study after one man's genome has been hacked and seriously leveled up. The problem? He doesn't know why he's been targeted to serve as the test subject for the next step in human evolution. As sci-fi thriller that is also beach-friendly? Upgrade has the range! (July 12)
Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier
You would think being charged with the gruesome murder of your celebrity husband would be the worst thing that could happen to you. But for Paris Peralta, it's the least of her concerns as the media attention surrounding the case could cause secrets from her long-hidden past to destroy her new life and potential future in this propulsive thriller. (July 19)
The Retreat by Sarah Pearse
In the second installment of the Detective Elin Warner series, Pearse takes fans to idyllic wellness retreat has opened on an island off the English coast. Of course, the isle was once the home of a notorious serial killer, so when a woman who wasn't even a guest at the getaway is found dead in the yoga pavilion and then another person drowns in a diving incident, Warner finds herself checking in to stop history from repeating itself. It's as if they made Clue in 2022... (July 19)
Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey
Fans of Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House will want to add Gailey's gothic suspenser to their reading list. Every time Vera Crowder is called home by her estranged mother, she obeys, even though she's returning to the place where her serial killer father buried all the bodies he killed. But this time, Vera returns to find a parasitic author living in the guest house, just as notes from her dad begin appearing around the home. Did anyone else just get chills? (July 19)
The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda
It's just not summer until we are laying on the beach, lost in the pages of one of Miranda's unputdownable thrillers. This time, she takes readers to a cozy inn in the remote resort town of Cutter's Pass, where a string of travelers have gone missing over the years. We will give you exactly one guess as to whether or not their decades-spanning disappearances are connected. But the way Miranda weaves together the story will take your breath away. (July 26)
For Butter or Worse by Erin La Rosa
First, we must acknowledge the pure delight that is the punny title. Secondly, it's the perfect amuse-bouche to tease what to expect from this charming debut that has a reality cooking competition show as its setting. The co-hosts of The Next Cooking Champ—aspiring chef Nina Lyon and arrogant restaurateur Leo O'Donnell—are like oil and water, so much so that his antics cause her to quit on live TV. But when fans suspect they are in a secret romance, the two begrudgingly agree to go along with the farce to save their respective careers. Think The Great British Bake-Off meets The Hating Game, with banter that is more delicious than chocolate cake. Yeah, you are going to want to make a reservation ASAP. (July 26)
Booked On a Feeling by Jayci Lee
Prepare to get hooked on the delightful love story about an overachieving, aspiring lawyer who, after suffering a panick attack, retreats to the small California town where she spent her childhood summers with her best friend. Of course, her childhood BFF just so happens to have undergone a glow-up and when they team up to save the local bookstore...well, let's just say there's no need to stock any science books because they are already providing enough chemistry. (July 26)
Need even more reads? Check out our June picks here.