By Lília

Even if the summer was being a bit slow in presenting itself this year – so many grey days! – we couldn’t be happier than when the sun and the warmth decide to show their faces. Fortunately we’re seeing more sunny days lately, so let’s enjoy! Summer – as all the seasons of the year, really – is a great time to read in the sun or in the shade, appreciating the warmth around us and enjoying the beach or a park bench. To help you find that perfect summery book we asked our colleagues and they came up with great suggestions.

We hope you find some interesting titles among our suggestions. Read on!

Jilles

I am reading an old spiritual classic that will be in the store again after a gap of four years: Love Without Conditions, which is basically about the teachings of Jesus from a new perspective. Don’t let the religious overtones throw you off. This is as good as Eckhardt Tolle and Michael Singer, it just has a different form of communication and uses different words, but the messages in these pages are timeless. This is the kind of book you can read again and again because whenever you have grown a bit, you see new truths in this text you’ve missed the time before. So enjoy while reading, be happy, and take care of your fellow human brothers and sisters.

Sophie

For chick-lit-with-more-depth-than-you’d-expect vibes: The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji. About 3 generations of Iranian women of the same family, mostly settled in the USA at the start of the novel. Expect crazy rich shenanigans but also flashbacks to the revolution in the 1970s in Iran as well as musings on immigrant life and scars.

For total-escapist-fantasy vibes: This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews . My colleagues Naomi, Damla, and Lília have already written about this at length, and I loved it as much as they did.

For I-want-to-crack-my-brain-on-new-ideas vibes: There Is No Antimemetics Divison by Qntm. Will test your limits on the nature of ideas, memory, and how we store our knowledge. Also, The Republic of Memory by Mahmud El Sayed. Will test your language skills as well as make you think about how people organize.

Simone

This is my selection of books I’ve already read and think are great as summer reads:

Tayler Jenkins Reid – One True Loves (lovestory)
Kathleen MacMahon – The Home Scar (summer setting)
Anita Shreve – Sea Glass (beach)
Joanna Trollope – A Village Affair (“warm story” says Goodreads)
David Nicholls  – Us (family goes on a holiday)

Damla

Here is my 2026 Summer Reading List that I am very hyped about:

Murder At The Grand Alpine Hotel by Agatha Christie and Lucy Foley (What is a summer reading list without a solid crime novel?)

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid (I love a sweeping fiction book full of drama and a bit of romance for the summer, and Taylor Jenkins Reid delivers it every time)

Donkeys on My Doorstep: Hoofing It in the Mallorcan Hills by Anna Nicholas (A gift from a friend, this one will be my nonfiction read for the beach. A comical memoir about rural life in Mallorca is just the ticket to bring a bit of that sunshine home. Unfortunately not available to order at the moment)

And here are a few I’d recommend:

For an escape from reality (coincidentally, this is also my autumn, winter, and spring read recommendation): This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me

For a chilling whodunit in the summer heat (although it is more of a why-hasn’t-anyone-done-it-before-this-moment in my opinion): The Guest List by Lucy Foley

For some gripping drama with lots of heart: The Wedding People by Alison Espach

For some nonfiction to give you inspiring wanderlust: The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton

Yannis

Hooked by Asako Yuzuki
Loved Butter and can’t wait to get started on her latest release.

The Right to Oblivion: Privacy and the Good Life by Lowry Pressly
Why does privacy matter? Is it true that privacy only matters for those “who have something to hide”?
A brilliant exploration of why the concept of oblivion is critical for a healthy and dignified life.

Lady Joker Vol. 1 by Kaoru Takamura
Inspired by a true story (which seems absolutely wild to me).
Disaffected Post War Japanese citizens decide to take their rage out on corporate overlords with the kidnapping of a beer CEO.

MariaS

I have a couple of books I’ve already read and enjoyed, and others that are on my list to be read this summer:

The Rose Fields by Philip Pullman
Starside by Alex Aster
The Possession of Alba Diaz by Isabel Canas
Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri
Summer Dragon by Todd Lockwood

Naomi

I am actually going on vacation soon, and I am planning on doing a lot (a lot) of reading!

I have a bunch of ARCs that I can’t wait to dive in to:

The Villain Edit by Rosie Danan – I loved the author’s previous release, Fan Service, so I have high hopes for this one.
Swipe Bite by Alexandra Vasti – Another book featuring vampires in the modern world, this one has a mystery aspect.

Summer is also the perfect season for hot, swoony romance novels (as if I don’t read those all year ’round), and I have these on my list:
The Final Score by Lana Ferguson
Two Can Play That Game by Zakiya N. Jamal
Good at Being Alive by Elizabeth O’Roark
Love Interest by Chloe Liese (not yet known exact publication date, but it will be 2027)

I am currently reading Dead & Breakfast, and its sequel, Summer Coven, also sounds like a perfect summer read.

Most days will be beach days, but I am saving Vera Stein is Fine for a pool day. Look at that gorgeous cover!

This might also be the summer I finally read Alchemised. I’ve had a copy since forever, and it’s a chunky book so it should keep me busy for a while.

Lastly, I really want to read the Peaches & Honey duology (These Immortal Truths and These Godly Lies), some thrillers/historical mystery (Murder at Pellhurst Pond, A Daughter’s Guide to Mothers and Murder, Vanishing Hour) and some fantasy (Samantha Spük: Paranormal Wedding Planner, The Farewitch of Foxe Holler, and The Hocus Pocus Handbook).

I don’t think I’ll run out of books to read anytime soon ;)

Lília

I’ve been totally immersed in The Apothecary Diaries light novels and will be continuing the saga during summer. The stories are fun and full of mystery and intrigue, the romance is VERY light – so much (veiled) yearning! – and Maomao is the most interesting character ever. Really worth the reading.

I’m waiting for Heartstopper 6 to be released beginning of July. Also because I want to read it before I see the movie. Nick and Charlie are the best!

I have a couple of ARCs to read as well:
Close to You by Nissa Renzo
A Study in Sparkling by Jodi McAlister
Cold Redemption by Nalini Singh

And I intend to use the summer to make some clothes from Ahead of the Curve. After all, we can also use the time to make something summery, right?

Sigrid

There are many books I think are good Summery Reads.

Fiction:
Kin by Tayari Jones
Story about two friends in 50s America that you can dive into during Summer.
Jones’ last novel American Marriage was 8 years ago and fans have been awaiting a new read eagerly.
Whistler by Ann Patchett
No doubt this is already on your list, as are:
Land by Maggie O’ Farrell
John of John by Douglas Stuart
The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
Loved One by Aisha Muharrar
A wild story about a woman who after her friends dies, visits his friends to recover his possessions. Lighthearted book on grief by one of the writers of the hit series Hacks.
Hello, Limerence by Momo Yamaguchi
Mika is 24 years old, working a boring corporate job. One hot summer in Tokyo her love life becomes interesting. Very funny!

Queer fiction
Fruit Fly by Josh Silver
A washed-up author will stop at nothing to claw her way back to relevancy—even if it means appropriating a young gay man’s tragic story.
Jean by Madeleine Dunnigan
Coming-of-age love story in 1970s London.
The Summer Boy by Philippe Besson
In the summer of 1985, on a scruffy resort island off the coast of France, six teenagers—five boys and one girl—band together for a final golden season before adulthood.
Nymph by Sofia Montrone
We meet Leo, who stays at her family’s agriturismo when she is ten years old. And again the summer she falls in love for the first time with an American tourist.
Almost Life by Kiran Milwood Hargrave
Follows the relationship between two young women who meet in Paris throughout their lives.

Historical fiction
A Perfect Hand by Ayelet Waldamn
A lady’s maid falls in love with a visiting valet. For them to be together they have to arrange a marriage between their employers, who hate each other.
May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry
A present day curator is looking into the life of a king who didn’t want to be one.

Other suggestions:
Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer
Wimmy Road Boyz by Sufiyaan Salam
People in Love by Claire Daverley
This Way Up by Map Men