The Best New Books to Read in Summer 2024
And, importantly, where to vacation with them.
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Summer 2024 is a time for romance novels. But also fantasy books. And literary fiction. And thrillers. Really, there should be no strict parameters around what makes the best “summer book,” or even what qualifies as a “beach read.” The last time I was on a beach, my friends and I read a Jane Austen classic, a gloomy London murder mystery, a trendy romantasy, and a literary family drama between us. When it comes to vacation reading, there are no rules.
Still, there’s an undeniable je ne sais quoi that can make an otherwise good summer read into a great summer read. (A vibe, if you will.) And sometimes that vibe has as much to do with where you read the book as the book itself. With that in mind, ELLE.com has compiled 39 of the best new books coming out this summer—with specific tips for where and how you should enjoy them. Can’t take a vacation? Don’t fret. We have recommendations for you, too.
The books ahead are far from the only great titles coming out this year, or even this summer. For more recommendations, you can always check our other book lists. Either way, HAGS.
The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
Out now.
Where to read it: Sunbathing on a tropical island.
What it’s about: Writer duo Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings (a.k.a. Christina Lauren) return this year with the splendid The Paradise Problem, about a grocery-chain heir and a struggling artist who fake their relationship to cash in on the heir’s sweet, sweet inheritance. But being rich isn’t the same as being loved, and soon, Liam and Anna have to reckon with just what the money means to them—and how much they mean to each other.
I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue
Out now.
Where to read it: In the blasting A.C. of your office job, during your one wild and precious lunch break.
What it’s about: An amusing, accessible debut that’s no less warm for its depressing setting, I Hope This Finds You Well is something of a workplace sitcom transformed into a romantic comedy novel. Protagonist Jolene has a bit of a nasty habit: At the end of her emails to co-workers at Supershops, Inc., she adds spiteful postscripts she knows they’ll never see. But when HR does, in fact, see a postscript she forgets to render in invisible white text, Jolene is sent straight to sensitivity training. Her only reprieve is in the private correspondence to which IT accidentally grants her access, allowing her an unfettered view of her coworkers’ thoughts and feelings. With a corporate maelstrom headed for Supershops, Jolene has two options: use her newfound intel for her own benefit, or choose to see her colleagues as humans, as allies, and perhaps even as friends.
This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune
Out now.
Where to read it: On a beach somewhere, anywhere, with a glass of white wine (or, at least, a sand-coated Gatorade).
What it’s about: Promises, promises. Every year, Lucy and Bridget enjoy a vacation to Prince Edward Island, and every year Lucy and Felix (a PEI local) wind up tangled in a summertime fling. It’s casual, of course—or so they swear. But when a personal crisis of Bridget’s draws Lucy back to the island, Lucy swears she’ll focus solely on her best friend. But something about Felix has changed, and she’s not sure she can settle for a situationship this time around. This Summer Will Be Different is a blissful romance novel, the kind you want to visit and never leave.
Swift River by Essie Chambers
Out now.
Where to read it: Under the shade of a tree along a riverbank.
What it’s about: An intimate family tale full of grace, beauty and humor, Essie Chambers’ Swift River introduces readers to Diamond Newberry, who—in the summer of 1987—is the only Black person in all of Swift River, her small Northeastern mill town. She roams the landscape with her white single mother for seven years after her Pop’s disappearance, only to receive a mysterious letter from Newberry relatives she’s never met before. Soon, her history begins to come together, teaching her how, as Chambers writes, “My body is a map of the world.”
Fire Exit by Morgan Talty
Out now.
Where to read it: In a forest along the East Coast—specifically Maine, if you can swing it.
What it’s about: “You are who you are, even if you don’t know it,” writes Morgan Talty in the neatly and powerfully crafted Fire Exit. Here, the acclaimed Night of the Living Rez author introduces us to Charles, who watches his daughter, Elizabeth, roam the Penobscot Reservation from his position on the other side of the riverbank. But Elizabeth does not know Charles is her father—nor does Charles know what has become of Elizabeth when she inexplicably disappears.
Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan
Out now.
Where to read it: On a picnic blanket somewhere along the Long Island Sound.
What it’s about: Annabel Monaghan is known for her breezy but substantive novels about marriage, divorce, motherhood, grief, and newfound love in the midst of it all. Summer Romance is no different—a witty, earnest tale about professional organizer Ali Morris, a recently single mother who swears her new romance is just for the summer. But Ethan sees something in her she’d almost forgotten existed, and now Ali’s unsure she can stop the latest shake-up in her already upside-down life.
Out now.
Where to read it: Under the blazing Texas sun.
What it’s about: Marcela Fuentes’ remarkable debut is as vibrant and complicated as its focus, a family on the Texas-Mexico border and the intergenerational curse that looms over their loved ones. Jumping between the ’50s and the ’90s to illustrate the unexpected ties between 20-something mother Pilar Aguirre and 14-year-old punk enthusiast Lulu Muñoz, Fuentes immerses readers in the music and romance and frustration of these Tejano women as they discover just what they’re meant to provide for each other.
Out now.
Where to read it: On your alma mater’s freshly mowed lawn.
What it’s about: A quintessentially millennial take on the return-to-campus novel, told with equal parts sensitivity and self-deprecation, But How Are You, Really picks at the scabs of protagonist Charlotte Thorne’s college experience. Her media career post-grad is far from what she’d wished for herself, and worst of all, she’s disconnected from the queer found family she developed at Hein University. When she’s forced to return to Hein for her five-year reunion, Charlotte is confronted with her old classmates— including an old flame who might introduce her to a new understanding of herself.
The Coast Road by Alan Murrin
Out now.
Where to read it: In an Irish pub, Guinness in hand.
What it’s about: Rich and carefully realized, Alan Murrin’s The Coast Road takes place in a seaside Irish town in the ’90s, when divorce was not yet legal. The story, told in multiple POVs, mainly concerns three women: Izzy, discontent in her marriage to a local politician; Colette, returning to town after having left her husband and kids for another man in Dublin; and Dolores, attempting to disregard her husband’s infidelity as she rents out a cottage to Colette. With a referendum on divorce on the horizon, but the option itself not yet a possibility, these women must confront the expectations loaded upon them—and the limits of their own forbearance. A painful, gorgeous debut.
The Bulgarian Training Manual by Ruth Bonapace
Out now.
Where to read it: In the jacuzzi tub after a good workout, but definitely not during an acid trip.
What it’s about: The Bulgarian Training Manual is perhaps the strangest #gymspo you’ll ever read. Pitched to me by the author, Ruth Bonapace, as her “‘Barbie on steroids’ novel,” I’ll admit the technicolor cover first caught my eye, and soon I was paging through the equally zany first chapter. Far from your typical summer read, but no less entertaining for its quirks, the book pulls readers into a world of magic and bodybuilding as workout enthusiast Tina picks up The Bulgarian Training Manual and is pulled into an inexplicable, kaleidoscopic world. Bonapace tells this yarn with glee, careening between genres and pop culture references, swinging at fitness culture and self-improvement all the way.
Out June 11.
Where to read it: On the moon. Barring that, try a camping trip.
What it’s about: Expansive and incomprehensible—but in a fun way!—Robin Sloan’s Moonbound takes place many thousands of years in the future, after humanity (known as “the Anth”) is destroyed by its own AI creations (known as “dragons”). But that’s merely the post-apocalyptic jumping-off point for Sloan’s ambitions, which include talking animals, a colonized moon, a wizard tyrant, an AI assistant as narrator, and a boy the AI allies itself with for a sprawling Arthurian quest. This is the type of weird, wonderful science fiction Sloan’s admirers count on him to deliver.
Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe
Out June 11.
Where to read it: In the comfort of your own bedroom, windows open to let the breeze in.
What it’s about: Rufi Thorpe’s latest protagonist does indeed have money troubles, as one might expect from a single mother who, at 20 years old, has lost her job and is about to lose her apartment. But a stroke of brilliance saves her and her infant from eviction: She’ll start an OnlyFans, earning money with some of the self-branding advice gleaned from her ex-pro wrestler father. Soon, Margot’s not on OnlyFans; she’s a hit on OnlyFans. But then her baby daddy—who just so happens to be her former English professor—shows up demanding custody of their son. Endearingly chaotic, this coming-of-age tale is certain to score a passionate fanbase...especially with an Apple TV+ adaptation already on the way.
The Memo by Rachel Dodes and Lauren Mechling
Out June 18.
Where to read it: At your local campus bar—preferably one with a good rooftop view.
What it’s about: What if the reason your life doesn’t measure up to your expectations is because you...simply missed the memo? Author duo Rachel Dodes and Lauren Mechling take that concept literally in the breezy, clever The Memo, in which Jenny Green finally gets her Memo from a strange organization on her alma mater’s campus. With it, she has the chance to create a new life, one where she made the “right” choices that her classmates did. But any science fiction fan would warn Jenny that tampering in alternate realities is rarely straightforward, and she soon discovers what a perfect life will cost her. This is a friendship-focused midlife-crisis novel told with a wink and a grin.
Out June 18.
Where to read it: In the airport terminal on your way to a friend’s wedding.
What it’s about: Like most writers, Natalie cares deeply about her writing. Rob, on the other hand, does not care about her writing—or, anyway, it sure seems that way when he gives her book a one-star review. At Natalie’s best friend’s wedding, maid-of-honor Nat is forced to walk down the aisle with best-man Rob, both of them sweating through the awkwardness of Rob’s criticism. But over the next ten years, both realize their feelings for one another are much more complicated than one review could possibly convey. Laura Hankin has written a deftly tender love story about growing up, getting better, and finally learning to see each other clearly. A joyful read.
The Myth of Making It: A Workplace Reckoning by Samhita Mukhopadhyay
Out June 18.
Where to read it: Underneath your desk at your cubicle, contemplating quitting so you can “focus on summer.”
What it’s about: Everyone knows the girlboss is dead, but have we really stopped worshipping her? Samhita Mukhopadhyay, former executive editor of Teen Vogue, argues that the girlboss still reigns from beyond the grave, but in subtler and more entrenched ways than we’ve been taught to believe. One of a series of recent books to ask what, exactly, ambition is for, The Myth of Making It is a thought-provoking, stirring summary of how capitalism convinces us to work until we drop.
Out June 25.
Where to read it: Between sets at the your favorite outdoor music venue.
What it’s about: With echoes of Daisy Jones and the Six, but transplanted to the pop craze of the ’90s and 2000s, Isabel Banta’s Honey follows Amber Young through the turn of the millennium as she rises from girl group member to solo sensation. But like similar icons of the era—Britney Spears comes most frequently to mind throughout Honey—Amber soon realizes just how little control she wields over her own persona. This is a delicious, enthralling debut, one that treats its complex subject matter with the humanity such stars are only occasionally offered in reality.
Children of Anguish and Anarchy by Tomi Adeyemi
Out June 25.
Where to read it: At your favorite local bookstore, the moment you get the book in your hands.
What it’s about: The thrilling conclusion to Tomi Adeyemi’s beloved Legacy of Orïsha series, Children of Anguish and Anarchy brings Zélie before King Baldyr as she and her allies seek salvation against the encroaching Skulls. Adeyemi’s West African-inspired fantasy is a treasure. And as it’s been five years since the last Legacy of Orïsha book, expect fireworks when this one finally hits shelves.
Out June 25.
Where to read it: Somewhere deep in Louisiana, awaiting a dinner of fresh oysters.
What it’s about: A family drama wrapped in eco-fiction, Pearce Oysters processes the impact of the 2010 BP oil spill on the oyster industry—and the people who depended on a healthy Gulf Coast for survival. Joselyn Takacs’ debut manages to be both dreamy and urgent: It does not flinch from the devastation of the Deepwater Horizon disaster—nor the fallout of Hurricane Katrina—but neither does it ignore the extraordinary beauty of Louisiana itself, and the people who unite to care for it.
Out June 25.
Where to read it: In the passenger seat on a drive along the Pacific Northwest coastline.
What it’s about: Sam and Elena were born on an island off the coast of Washington, and it’s there they’ve remained, perpetually trying to save money from their respective jobs on the local ferry and golf club. There are worse fates than carrying clubs and brewing coffees for loaded vacationers, but Sam and Elena yearn for more: for stability, maybe even success. When a bear inexplicably appears in the surrounding waters, and later marches right up to Sam and Elena’s home, their conflicting reactions to the strange creature threaten their familial bond—and the future they’ve set out for themselves. Engrossing and intimate, Bear is an unorthodox sort of fairy tale, and a book audiences will remember well after the seasons have changed.
A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston
Out June 25.
Where to read it: In a sleepy small town where tourists come for saltwater taffy and fudge.
What it’s about: I love a romance with a touch of magical realism, and Ashley Poston’s latest fulfills every reader’s dream: actually getting to live in the world of a book. When Eileen Merriweather initially sets out for her annual book club retreat, she instead winds up stranded somewhere strange but familiar: Eloraton, setting of her favorite author’s Quixotic Falls series. As she catches the eye of the Eloraton bookstore owner, she soon realizes her actions have impact on the locals’ stories—and she might be able to help them find their happily ever afters. This is a grumpy-meets-sunshine tale with plenty of book-lover tropes sure to delight.
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