The Most Anticipated Books of Summer 2025
Hi, my bookish friend! What makes summer reading the best?
Maybe it’s the nostalgia of remembering school being out and reading whatever your heart desired. Or, perhaps, it’s because we suddenly have more time to read during long car rides, plane trips, and getaways.
Of course, the weather is just right for lounging outside with a book, covered in sunscreen, or under the shade of an umbrella or a tree … unless the heat and the bugs drive us inside!
This week, I’m helping to inspire your summer reading with:
The most anticipated books of summer!
A fun list of books with “Summer” in the title
Is Sarah Jessica Parker really reading *two* books a day?
And an inside scoop on the Bookish AF summer lineup of topics
The summer reading season is just getting started! So, instead of reading an AI-generated list with made-up and out-of-date titles (Sigh, that actually happened.), stick with the always-to-be-trusted, written by a real human, book recs and lists here on Bookish AF!
Happy Reading!
Your friend,
Audry
P.S. Hello and welcome to my new subscribers! I’m so happy you’ve chosen to join our wondrous bookish community. ☺️📖
P.P.S. Bonus for paid subscribers: Get your super-fun Summer-Reading Bingo Card Printable! Scroll to the footnotes to find the link to download it! Psst, NEW paid subscribers get the bonus, too!
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Created on Canva by Audry FryerBookish Recs: Most Anticipated Books for the Summer of 2025!Here’s just a brief roundup of the books readers are most looking forward to this summer. I’ve done the scrolling for you and selected a few standout books already released or coming out soon from the top genres:
FictionWhile My Friends by Fredrik Backman, which I described here, is topping nearly every bestseller list and getting stellar reviews, here are three more fiction new releases that are also getting a lot of attention:
Songs of Summer by Jane L. Rosen, the third book of the Fire Island Trilogy, follows thirty-year-old Maggie, who discovers so much more than she expected when she crashes a wedding on Fire Island in search of her birth mother.
What Will People Think? by Sara Hamdan looks like a fun yet heartwarming read! Mia is living a life in secret because her Palestinian-American family would never approve. So, what happens when everyone eventually finds out?
Atmosphere: A Love Story by Taylor Jenkins Reid, which releases on June 3rd, is getting soooo much hype! Set in the 1980s, Joan is a professor at Rice University who is about to live her dream of going to space by joining NASA’s space shuttle program.
ThrillersThe Ghostwriter by Julie Clark, available on June 3rd, tells the story of a ghostwriter who thinks she’s helping out her Dad with his latest horror novel. Only this time, the story isn’t fiction. It’s his real-life horror story from June 1975.
Also, watch for the gripping psychological thriller about three women who have one man with a dark side in common in Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell on June 24th.
The Woman in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware is available on July 8th and features a pulse-racing escape across Europe. It’s the follow-up novel to The Woman in Cabin 10, which is coming this fall as a Netflix adaptation starring Kiera Knightley.
RomanceOne Golden Summer by Carley Fortune offers the perfect summer escape to a picturesque lake, along with a heartwarming love story that leaves readers swooning for more.
Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood is likely going to be no problem to read and enjoy! Set in Italy, Maya and Conor have far too many reasons not to be together. And yet …
RomantasySilver Elite by Dani Francis is a dystopian romance about a young woman’s quest to hide her forbidden psychic abilities while training with the very people who’d want her dead if they knew, including the man she’s trying hard not to fall for.
Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry features extraordinary monsters and the slow burn of an unlikely romance. It’s already filming to become a feature film.
FantasyAftertaste by Daria Lavelle follows a chef who dines with ghosts. Although his paranormal abilities to taste each ghost’s favorite foods may seem quirky, it’s also a deeply moving story of love and loss.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab, with a release date of June 10th, looks intriguing. It weaves together the desperate stories of three women from three different time periods.
Sci-FiThe Memory Collectors by Dete Meserve has a fascinating premise of four characters who time travel separately to the past, become trapped together, and realize there’s a fifth menacing presence.
HorrorNever Flinch by Stephen King features the return of a favorite character and a frightening storyline of two killers whose stories converge.
Also, watch for The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, which comes out July 15th and promises a page-turning story of an encounter with a witch that ripples through generations.
NonfictionMark Twain by Ron Chernow is the perfect non-fiction complement if you read James by Percival Everett. This biography details the writer’s lesser-known life.
Erased: What American Patriarchy Has Hidden from Us by Anna Malaika Tubbs is an eye-opening account and most likely to be banned.
Share this booklist with someone who loves piña coladas and getting caught … with their nose in a book! 🍹 📖
Bookish Thoughts on “Summer” Reading
Designed on Canva by Audry Fryer | Book covers from Bookshop.orgCheck out this list of books with “summer” in their title, such as the incredibly popular Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez, as a fun way to enjoy summer reading even more!
Bookish Quote of the Week“I never understood the concept of a fluffy summer read. For me, summer reading means beaches, long train rides and layovers in foreign airports. All of which call for escaping into really long books.”
— Maria Semple
Bookish Entertainment News: 2 Books a Day for SJPThere’s a fascinating debate happening among book readers in response to Sarah Jessica Parker’s revelation that she’s currently reading two books a day. (Is that even humanly possible?)
Now, for reference, she’s judging the Booker Prize, which requires reading all the books being judged (around 165!) in seven months. So, doing the math, yeah, she has to read quickly and barely skip a day!
Read about the debate here, and share your thoughts about it:
Bookish Update: The Bookish AF Summer Reading LineupAll summer long, Bookish AF will feature a different genre and highlight the best newly released books. For a sneak peek, here’s a rundown of what’s coming after I cover “Books for Grads” next week and “Dads who Love to Read” the following week.
The Bookish AF Summer Reading Lineup:
June 18th Chill with a Thriller
June 25th Page-turners to Pack on a Trip
July 2nd New Beach Reads & Best Beach-y Authors
July 9th Books Based on Summertime Destinations
July 16th Romance Books: Sweet Rom-Coms to Spicy Hot Recs
July 23rd Escape into a Romantasy
July 30th Murder Mystery Books to Murder Your Reading Rut
August 6th Best New Historical Fiction
August 13th Hottest Celebrity Biography and Memoir Books
(These booklists can give you inspo if you’re working on the Summer Reading Bingo Card printable for paid subscribers! 😉)
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