Upon exploring the Giveaways category on Goodreads, I was excited to find out that a lot of the authors I enjoy reading for guilty pleasure are coming out with new books. Whenever I do not read for class anymore, I indulge in romance, mystery, horror, and any type of reading that I find to be more cinematic and less academic. A lot of these books I am now going to be adding to my summer TBR list are coming out just in time for getting out of school and having more free time for myself. I also cannot wait to get these books in my hands by supporting one of my favorite small business bookstores, RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT!
Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez
Just for the Summer was my perfect summer romance read last year, so I cannot wait to get my hands on another Jimenez classic book club beach read. The book came out on April 1, which I did not realize. My summer is coming early! The plot surrounds the idea of a picture-perfect date, with a “right person, wrong time” trope where protagonist Samantha has way too much going on to be in a relationship at the moment. However, the synopsis continues, the perfect moment was way too amazing to forget, and the characters must figure out how to make it work. It has a current 4.4 stars out of five on Goodreads, so the early reviews are pretty promising, though I feel her previous works have had more interesting premises.
One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune
One of my favorite things about Carley Fortune is that most, if not all, of her books are set at a lake with the Barry’s Bay concept. It’s nostalgic. It’s the “Summer I Turned Pretty” similar concept of characters growing up with their summers. Alice is a photographer taking care of her grandmother after she breaks her hip when a boy from her past comes back into her life. Charlie charms her grandmother and brings out the nostalgia of Alice’s youth… How might this end up, I wonder? Will she fall for him? Probably 100% yes, but the fun of the read is in seeing just how they get there and what tropes cause choppy conditions on the smooth lake waters. The novel releases May 6th.
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
Set to release on April 22, Emily Henry always nails an enemies-to-lovers plot (or any trope for that matter), and last year’s Funny Story was my favorite. In this one, two writers are looking to write a biography of a mysterious woman who has not been seen in years. It would be a HUGE story, to say the least, given her background as a member of a very scandalous family. The gossip is juicy here. The writer guy, Hayden, who is competing against protagonist Alice (popular name this summer, huh?), is already pretty popular, so she really wants and needs this publication to jump-start her career. Of course, they are pulled to each other by an attraction, but in their meetings with the celebrity woman, they are receiving very different stories that do not form any cohesion for a solid story. I am hooked!
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
On a more serious note, Backman is one of my favorite authors, as much as he writes heavy books. He is an amazing writer, but we aren’t playing around with lighthearted fun summer beach reads as much. Also coming out May 6th, Backman looks at humans through the lens of an artist digging into a famous painting with three young boys sitting at the edge of a pier. It looks like we will get a flashback 25 years, where we look into the troubling lives of these three boys. Louisa, the protagonist who is looking into the painting, is determined to learn the stories and the truth, but might discover that things are not always what they seem with “happy endings.” I am always compelled to read Backman to tap into my more insightful side, and the author has a talent for writing humans mentally.
Other, not new books on my TBR
While new reads are always so fun, I want to stay true (and economical) to tackling my current book pile. Other books I am hoping to read this summer include:
- The Plague by Albert Camus – Another human nature-based read that looks at a plague ravaging a town in North Africa and how it changes those in the town (Sound familiar, anyone? It was written in 1947, though).
- The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah – This book has been on my TBR forever! It is dense and long, taking place in France during WWII. It looks like a love story but feels like a betrayal that motivates the protagonist to save lives.
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley – After being reminded of this book in one of my classes, I want to read up on the dystopian world that feels similar to ours right now: Where the world is dominated by technology, social indoctrination, and genetic breeding…
I am manifesting a book per week, summer, and I think a lot of us girls should strive to read more because it is such a relaxing beach activity. Reading can allow us to transport to a different world, to be different people and have different experiences. Even with the cheesiest summer reads, I find that I learn something about myself as a person, a reader, and the world around me. And it is so much fun!