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17 books everyone will be talking about this summer

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: we’re about to kick off summer reading season.

Here’s a peek at the big summer books everyone will be talking about all summer long.

Does that mean they belong on your reading list? Well … maybe. Just because a book is a bestseller doesn’t mean it will be to your taste.

Readers, take note: I’ve only read a handful of these titles so far (and if I loved it, I tell you so), so while I’m hopeful they’ll be good, that’s all I am—hopeful. (The books listed below are NOT in the Summer Reading Guide, but I will share them in Quick Lit throughout the season as I finish them.)

Today we’re sharing buzzworthy summer books, but on Wednesday the Summer Reading Guide is landing on the blog. This year’s guide has 30 new titles—that’s 6 categories with 5 books each—and I’ve read every word of every one. I’ll tell you what you need to know so you can decide if a book is right for YOU. (This year we have a one-page guide, free for all, with a very cool “shopping list” feature that I think you’re gonna love! Newsletter and blog subscribers get it a day early—if you want to be on that list, sign up here.)

In the meantime, let’s take a look at this year’s hot summer reads. I can’t wait to hear what’s on YOUR reading list for the summer!

P.S. On tomorrow’s new episode of What Should I Read Next we’re talking all about the books we can’t wait to read this summer. Happy listening!

Some links (including all Amazon links) are affiliate links. More details here.

Books Everyone Will Be Talking About This Summer
Into the Water

Into the Water

Author:
The much-anticipated second novel from the author of the runaway bestseller The Girl on the Train. In a small British town, women have been dying after jumping (or being pushed?) from the cliffs above The Drowning Pool since 1679. After the latest in a long line of tragedies, the town is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. Publication date: May 2, 2017. More info →
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Young Jane Young

Young Jane Young

Author:
Finally, a new novel from the author of the bestseller The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry! Aviva Grossman, smart, young, and beautiful, lands a prize internship working in a Florida congressman's office. When she has an affair with her boss—and then blogs about it. He emerges unscathed, and she takes the fall. Life as she knew it is over, so she changes her name and moves to Maine. But when she decides to run for public office herself, those long-buried secrets become today's news again. Publication date: August 22, 2017. More info →
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Saints for All Occasions

Saints for All Occasions

The author of The Engagements is back, this time with a family drama following two Catholic sisters who haven't spoken in more than fifty years. When a family member dies, the family is drawn together again, and long-unspoken secrets take center stage for the first time in decades. Publication date: May 9, 2017. More info →
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The Address

The Address

Author:
From the author of The Dollhouse. Davis's new historical novel revolves around The Dakota, the most famous address in Manhattan, and tells two intertwining stories about the characters (and such characters!) who live there, set a hundred years apart. Publication date: August 1. More info →
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Every Last Lie

Every Last Lie

Author:
The Good Girl author Mary Kubica is back with a new twisty psychological thriller. Clara's husband is killed in a terrible car wreck; their daughter, in the backseat, was remarkably unharmed. But after the accident she develops night terrors, that soon bleed into the daytime—a "bad man" was chasing her and her daddy, and she's afraid he's coming to get her. Clara soon feels unsafe in her own home, and begins to wonder just what her husband was up to before he died—who would have wanted him dead, and why? Publication date: June 27, 2017 More info →
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American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land

American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land

Author:
Imagine a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde, torching houses in rural Accomack County, Virginia instead of shooting up banks, and you've got this true-crime nonfiction release about right. Hesse chronicles the hows and whys of the couple's unprecedented 5-month crime spree, in which they set fire to 67 houses. In the process, she examines their odd-couple relationship, local economics, volunteer fire departments, stakeout mechanics, and impotence. Publication date: July 11, 2017. More info →
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Always and Forever, Lara Jean

Always and Forever, Lara Jean

Author:
The long-awaited final installment to the trilogy Han kicked off with To All the Boys I've Loved Before. Lara Jean is living the senior year of her dreams, but it's time to make big decisions about what comes next, and contemplate what it might mean to leave her friends and family behind. Publication date: May 2, 2017 More info →
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The Whole Way Home

The Whole Way Home

Author:
Country music singer Jo Lover is on the brink of making it big on her own strengths—but when her label acquires J. D. Gunn's Top-40 band, the two are pressed into a musical partnership because it's good business, but it's also really complicated: Jo and J. D. share the same poor Virginia town, and a history as both musical and romantic partners. When a steamy duet they sing goes viral, the collaboration deepens, and things get complicated, as Jo struggles with her feelings and with preserving devastating secrets from the past. I blew through this in an afternoon; it would make a perfect beach read for Nashville fans. (Heads up—it's a little steamy in places.) Publication date: June 6, 2017. More info →
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The Sunshine Sisters

The Sunshine Sisters

Author:
Old Hollywood star Ronni Sunshine was a small success in her acting days, but a major failure as a mother. For reasons she's not ready to explain, she summons her three estranged adult daughters home to tend to carry out her eyebrow-raising wishes, and in the process, discover maybe they're not ready to give up on each other after all. Jojo Moyes says, "I raced through this." Publication date: June 6, 2017 More info →
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Glass Houses: A Novel (Chief Inspector Gamache Novel)

Glass Houses: A Novel (Chief Inspector Gamache Novel)

Author:
A new Louise Penny! This is book 13 in the series; you don't have to read these novels in order, but I recommend it: you'll miss the richness of her plot lines and characters if you jump in midstream. Penny's whodunit plot lines are an excuse to explore human nature, granting them a depth and psychological astuteness not often found in this genre. We're back in fictional Three Pines for this one: imagine the cozy feel and quirky characters of Stars Hollow, with fewer teenagers, more murder, and a smidge less levity. Publication date: August 29, 2017 More info →
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Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone

Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone

Author:
From the author of The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, a new novel about a jeweler on a quest to win back his wife with the help of his plucky 16-year-old niece. Publication Date: May 16, 2017 More info →
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Fitness Junkie

Fitness Junkie

Authors: ,
I adored The Knockoff and am so excited Sykes and Piazza are teaming up again! Janey Sweet is the successful CEO of a couture wedding dress company, but when she's photographed stuffing her face on the front row of a fashion show, her business partner gives her an ultimatum: lose 30 pounds, or lose your job. The Knockoff fired shots at our collective social media obsession; Fitness Junkie tackles the wellness craze. If this new novel enjoys half the success of their first team effort, everyone will be reading this at the pool this summer. Publication date: July 11, 2017 More info →
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The Best of Adam Sharp

The Best of Adam Sharp

Author:
From the author of The Rosie Project, a new novel about soul mates, nostalgia, and music. When IT consultant Adam Sharp receives a one-word email from the love of his life, who he hasn't heard from in more than twenty years, that one "hi" changes everything. Publication date: May 2, 2017 More info →
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Where the Light Falls: A Novel of the French Revolution

Where the Light Falls: A Novel of the French Revolution

Best-known for The Traitor's Wife, Pataki has a reputation for writing excellent historical fiction. In her newest, she tackles the French Revolution with the help of her brother Owen Pataki. Tracing the effects of the Revolution and Terror on the lives of two linked Frenchman, Pataki explores courage, democracy, and love, while emphasizing why the Revolution's lessons remain important today. Featuring cameos from pillars of history such as Louis XVI, Robespierre, and Thomas-Alexandre Dumas. Publication date: July 11, 2017 More info →
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The Shark Club

The Shark Club

Author:
When Maeve was twelve years old, two life-changing things happened on the same day: Daniel kissed her, and she was bitten by a shark. On that day she knew two things: she would marry Daniel, and she would dedicate her career to studying sharks. Only one of those dreams came true. Maeve thought she was content with her choices, until she and Daniel, both unmarried, cross paths after many years, and his winning 6-year-old daughter Hazel invites Maeve to join her Shark Club. An easy-reading novel about the big loves in our lives. Publication date: June 6, 2017. More info →
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The Good Widow

The Good Widow

The authors of previous Summer Reading Guide pick The Year We Turned Forty are back with their suspense debut. Jacks's marriage had grown lukewarm, but it was stable—at least she thought so. Her husband was on a business trip to Kansas—or so she thought— when the cops show up to deliver the blow: her husband was killed in a car wreck. In Hawaii. And so was the young blonde with him. Soon Jacks is on a plane to Hawaii for answers, and the more she discovers, the less she understands. Publication date: June 1. More info →
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Men Without Women: Stories

Men Without Women: Stories

Author:
A new Murakami is always big news. In his new short story collection, he examines the lives of seven middle-aged men who, for various reasons, have found themselves living alone. The title is a nod to Hemingway; two chapter titles are borrowed from The Beatles. Publication date: May 9, 2017 More info →
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popular summer books

What’s on YOUR summer reading list? Is there a new release you’re especially looking forward to? Tell us in comments. 

50 comments

Leave A Comment
    • Jennifer N. says:

      I just started this year and I’ve really enjoyed them – I just finished Book 3. Somehow, Louise Penny writes a comfort-food version of a mystery novel. (Plus, there are delicious descriptions of actual food throughout!).

    • Carol says:

      I did that 2 summers ago…..read all of them! #2 & #3 were my least favorite…..her most recent was great…..read in order for greatest satisfaction:)

  1. Kate says:

    I put American Fire on hold at the library. I’m fascinated by the psychology behind arson and there aren’t too many books that talk about it.

  2. Nanette says:

    Sue Grafton’s Y is for Yesterday. Comes out late August. I can’t believe she’s stuck with this series through 25 letters!

  3. Dianne Frothingham says:

    Please check out MOSHI, MOSHI by Banana Yoshimoto. Checked out at the library. Ordered my own copy.

  4. Corby says:

    I’m reading “Awkward: The Science of Why We’re Socially Awkward and Why that’s Awesome.” By Ty Tashiro, PhD. Nice for introverts and those that are just socially uncomfortable sometimes.

  5. Heather says:

    I am excitedly waiting to read the last Jenny Han book. I have it at home, but I have some book club books and library books that I have to get through before that one. I’m also kind of wanting to reread the first two. My husband went through a Murakami phase this year and he’s read all of his books. This one is waiting for me at the library to pick up today for him :).

    • Diana says:

      I just finished reread the first two “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” books in anticipation of reading #3 (which is sitting in my stack!

  6. Jennifer N. says:

    I’m really looking forward to “We Are Never Meeting in Real Life: Essays” by Samantha Irby. I really need to pick up some Murukami… any of them, really. Many of his books sound like they are squarely in my wheelhouse and I have somehow not gotten there yet.

    I’m also really looking forward to seeing your summer reading guide :-).

  7. Hannah Beth Reid says:

    Wow, I’m really looking forward to new books by authors I’ve already enjoyed: “Fitness Junkie,” “Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone,” and “The Best of Adam Sharp.” Thank you for compiling this list!

  8. Rv says:

    Thanks, Anne! I always appreciate the time and effort you put into your posts, reviews, podcasts, and lists! You do the legwork and I get to save time and enjoy the benefits.

    With much gratitude,
    A reader in GA

  9. Donna says:

    I am sooooo excited about Fitness Junkie. I absolutely LOVED The Knockoff. I read it twice!
    The Shark Club sounds like my kinda read.
    Also looking forward to The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand and Hello, Sunshine by Laura Dave!

  10. Anna says:

    I just added 7 more books to my wish list. The new Louise Penny book was already on there, and I’m really looking forward to that. 🙂

  11. HillyBee says:

    Having recently jumped into Mistress of the Revolution, I’m on a French Revolution bender. I was going to try my eyes at Alexander Dumas’ intimidating multivolume series but I might lean in to Where the Light Falls first. Thanks for the list!

  12. Diana says:

    Well this just made my TBR blow-up…I read a lot of beachy/chick-lit type books in the summer just because…it’s summer! And we’re at the lake and by the pool and just feels appropriate!

  13. Lisa Roe says:

    I can’t wait for The Salt House by Lisa Duffy! It’s set in Maine & about a family working their way back from a devasting loss. Looks great!

  14. Kelly says:

    Definitely will read “Into the Water”, “The Good Widow”, “The Address”, all sound awesome to me – love a good thriller! Never read Louise Penny but just downloaded her first in the series “Still Life” after hearing about her books on your podcasts for some time. I also have “Since We Fell” and “Woman No. 17” on my summer reading list along with a few classics I’ve never read before! May the reading begin!!

  15. I loved The Storied Life of AJ Fikry and am so looking forward to Young Jane Young! It’s sitting on my Kindle as we speak and I’m pretty sure I won’t be waiting until late August to read it!

  16. I read The Forever Summer and The Sunshine Girls and really liked them both! I am reading Into The Water know and it’s so so good! My recommendation for EVERYONE is The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid that comes on in June. It’s SO good!

  17. Kari Curtis says:

    I read Adam Sharp this weekend after listening to the very charming and delightful Graeme Simsion speak at Book People in Austin. Sadly, this book is no Rosie Project. In his talk, he warned readers that there is quite a lot of adult content in this one. And he wasn’t kidding. Too bad I had him sign a copy for my little sister…yikes!

  18. Laureen P says:

    I’m also adding “Will’s Red Coat” by Tom Ryan. I loved his last book “Following Atticus” and find his writing so rich, reflective and relatable.

  19. Andrea says:

    I recently got the ARC for Young Jane Young and I’m trying to hold off reading it until closer to it’s release date, but I doubt I’ll wait that long. AJ Fikry was one of my all time favorites ?

  20. Cheryl Paine says:

    I love The Sea Sprite Inn by Lynnette Adair.
    A fantastic beach read. This innkeeper will hold your attention with her intriguing guests and empowering personality! Love reading and feeling like you are living in the story! I recommend this
    great highly!

  21. Heather V says:

    Want a great book that will transport you into a world of intrigue, romance and adventure? This is one that will be the talk of the town very soon.
    Under the Veil by West Michell. This is her first novel and it is a good one. Check it out. Available on kindle and directly from her website.

    http://Www.westmichell.com

  22. Michelle says:

    I just read Robin Sloan’s new book Sourdough (9/5 release). I loved Mr Penumbra and was thrilled Sourdough has that same quirky sensibility, loveably flawed characters, and simply a darn good story.
    Young Jane Young by another writer I might pass but Gabrielle Zevin stole my heart with AJ Fikry so I’ll read anything she writes, ever. So many great books coming out, my TBR list is overflowing!

  23. Tonni says:

    Coming out just in time for summer, do not miss Lisa Wingate’s new novel:
    Before We Were Yours
    It will be released June 6th, and a must read.
    Lisa Wingate is renowned for her storytelling. You will not be disappointed. Be ready to ha e all your emotions stripped bare and put back. Heartwrenching and heartwarming tale that will teach some not so pleasant bits of American history, while sucking you into the lives of the characters.

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