We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we love. Promise.
Air-conditioning be damned, the best way to escape the heat sometimes is to escape into a good story. Which books will you be stuffing into carry-on bags and pulling out at the beach, pool, and/or lake house in 2024? I swear, summer reads get the most abuse. But that means they're the most loved! Here are some of the novels we're looking forward to in the summer of 2024. We've got some new titles from established authors we're obsessed with, the thrilling conclusions of a handful of series, as well as some debuts and hidden gems to dig into!
While I'm sure there will be some exciting memoirs and nonfiction reads that have people talking in 2024, I'm working off of the assumption that most of us want to go to a fictional place when we pick up a book in the warmer months. Maybe you don't have the time to get away from the grind. Maybe you don't even get Summer Fridays to hit up happy hour. (Yes, Summer Fridays is not just a brand Sephora kids are fighting you for ...the 9-5 ladies know what I'm talking about.) That's where a nice romantic comedy novel, fantasy adventure, or chilling mystery can really come in clutch. You can always count on the written word to take you away, and reading is a great excuse to stay inside where there's air conditioning or under a tree, out of the sun, to catch the best breeze in an Adirondack chair.
Get an early start on your summer reading with this fake dating romantic comedy. It's bad enough that Emily Hung's mother wants to set her up with a family friend's son who's more accomplished than she is but not that interesting. What's worse is that she ends up falling for him after they start spending time together to get the 'rents off their backs. Moms aren't supposed to be right about these things!
Release date: May 7
You devoured Roth's Divergent series back in the day, and this summer she has a new novel set not in the world of Divergent but, similar to Divergent, in a fictionalized version of Chicago. When Among Crows is a magical take on Slavic folklore–specifically the Baba Yaga. Remember that scary fairy tale from your childhood?
Release date: May 14
Do you love stories about stand-up comedians like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Hacks? This novel will provide the LOLs and feels for you this summer. It's about a comic who's forced to return to her childhood home, hopefully temporarily–a staple of romantic comedies everywhere.
Release date: May 21
Thomas and Grace fall in love with other people but keep finding their way back to each other. It's fitting, perhaps, because of the presence of astronomy in their academic and personal lives. Are they proof that some things are just meant to be?
Release date: June 4
Hazelwood's whole thing is Women in STEM who are also Women in LOVE. The latest one seems to have a Succession-y angle. It's not only set in the lab. It's set in the boardroom. Love in a time of hostile takeovers? Pull up a beach chair. I'm sat.
Release date: June 11
The latest beach read from the popular author is the last of her novels set on Nantucket in Rhode Island. Superfans might recognize recurring characters. But everyone can get into the drama that unfolds.
Release date: June 11
The third and final book in this thrilling series came out this summer, and it's causing such a stir that the other books in the series are climbing the Amazon charts as well. Everyone wants to catch up!
Release date: June 11
Names like "Borgia" and "Machiavelli" probably mean something to you. If I told you this was a story about manipulation and palace intrigue you'd be like... why yes! Right?? It's also about the complicated relationship between a biographer and their subject, something kinda meta that historical fiction rarely delves into.
Release date: June 11
Two women's stories unfold, decades apart, in the same seaside home. Family is lost and found all over again. It may or may not be a kissing book. This is a beach read in the truest sense of the phrase.
Release date: June 25
The third book in the Legacy of Orisha series finds Zélie Adebola in a new bind after seemingly defeating the monarchy and bringing magic back to her kingdom. It's final battle time, and with the help of her friends, she'll have to use everything she's learned to prevail for real this time.
Release date: June 25
Looking for a new fantasy series? This is the second in what will ultimately be a trilogy, but already has a spin-off novel. A little bit Hunger Games a and a lttle bit Game of Thrones, the kingdom of Ilya could be your next destination.
Release date: July 2
The stakes could not be higher in this romantic comedies. Delphie, the heroine, meets her soulmate after she dies and connecting with him could be the difference between a fresh start and a literal new lease on life or staying dead (and alone) forever.
Release date: July 2
With a title so good you know exactly what you're getting into, this novel is about a romance writer who thinks she's one step ahead of the reality dating show she's cast on and sees it as a way to fast-track her career comeback... but think again! The show's producers have something else in store for Jaqueline Matthis.
Release date: July 2
This historical fiction novel is set at an all-female boardinghouse in the 1950s smack dab in the middle of the Red Scare. Will female friendship prevail at a time when everyone was made to by suspicious of everyone else? You'll have to read to find out.
Release date: July 9
Speaking of female friendship, the latest novel from the author of Meant to Be is back with a book about three college friends who all need support at the exact same time and heal themselves while tending to each other. Even a "time out" is better shared with friends, sometimes.
Release date: July 9
Lev Grossman's Magicians trilogy offered an alternate, edgy take on the "wizard school" subgenre in fantasy literature. (He also wrote The Map of Tiny Perfect Things, JSYK.) This time he's offering his take on Arthurian legend with a story about a group of Round Table misfits going on a quest together.
Release date: July 16
If you weren't already following the All Souls series (this is Book 5 btw), they started with A Discovery of Witches, which was adapted into a popular television series. While the television series only lasted three seasons, the books go on! Fans will finally get to know how it really ends.
Release date: July 16
When it's hot as you-know-what outside, a gothic mystery as glistening as you are hits the spot. Fram's thriller is about a single father whose young young son becomes a person of interest in the murder of his televangelist father-in-law.
Release date: July 23
Rainbow Rowell has an incredible ability to hide an emotional wallop in the middle of a light and romantic story. I expect nothing less from her summer release, about old childhood friends reconnecting at a mutual's wedding after their lives diverged drastically from the ones they used to dream about. Unless you're too in the weeds this wedding season to find someone else's nuptial-adjacent drama escapist, this sounds nostalgic and juicy AF!
Release date: July 23
The premise of this book is really intriguing to me: a woman named Phoebe shows up for her solo vacation and keeps getting lumped in with a group of "wedding people" (hence the title) who have taken over their hotel. If you've ever people watched or day-dreamed about getting adopted by someone else's group of friends and family, this could be the summer read for you.
Release date: July 30
Readers Also Read
40 Rules ‘Survivor’ Contestants Have to Follow
Taylor Frankie Paul Dropped a Huge Spoiler
15 New Christmas Movies to Watch in 2025
Here's When You Can Expect More 'Stranger Things'
