Whether you’re into YA romance or self-help essays, here are some of the best summer reads awaiting your discovery
It may be August already, but there are still so many good books waiting to be cracked open before the dog days end. From immersive YA fantasy to heart-wrenching memoirs, these books are the perfect accessory to round out your summer. So the next time you’re headed to the beach, be sure to pack your sunscreen, a cozy towel and one of these hot-off-the-press books to help you soak up plenty of summer sun.
1. Anyway The Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell
Anyone familiar with Rainbow Rowell’s Simon Snow series has likely been craving more Simon and Baz in their life. And fortunately, the wait is over! As the third and final book of the trilogy, Anyway The Wind Blows sees wizarding friends Simon, Baz, Penelope and Agatha returning back to England and the Watford world of mages after their thrilling—and unavoidably magical—trip across America.
Once in their homeland, the gang has some serious dilemmas to work through. For Simon, it’s deciding whether he wants any ‘magick’ in his life. Baz, on the other hand, is trying to come to terms with the newfound knowledge of his hated kind—vampires. Penelope is facing the gruelling aftermath of smuggling a normal American teen into the U.K. And Agatha, well, she’s so over the realm of magicks.
2. The comfort book by matt haig
Matt Haig is no stranger to the literary world. With a New York Times bestselling title under his belt (The Midnight Library), Haig’s latest book was undeniably a highly-anticipated read. As a collection of short personal stories, philosophical thoughts and self-reminders, The Comfort Book is just that—a book that comforts its readers like a warm hug or the soothing words of a dear friend. It’s the perfect hope-filled read to remind us that life may be messy, but it’s always worth living.
3. It Happened one summer by Tessa Bailey
If you’re a fan of the hit show Schitt’s Creek, this spunky rom-com will be right up your alley. Much like the show’s main characters, the Roses, the novel’s protagonist Piper Bellinger is forced to leave her glamorous L.A. life behind and head north to a small town in Washington. Living in a rundown apartment and attempting to run her late father’s dive bar, the experience is quite the culture shock for humbled Piper.
Her detachment from reality is only heightened by the harsh judgments of a snarky yet very hunky sea captain who is quick to share his distaste for Piper’s once lavish lifestyle. While the two constantly butt heads, there is undeniable chemistry between these polar opposites. Soon, Piper begins to grow a liking to the simplicities of small-town living and questions whether returning back to her cold Californian life is what she even wants anymore.
4. She who became the sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
Marketed as a cross between Mulan and The Song of Achilles, She Who Became The Sun tells the story of a young Chinese woman who stops at nothing to fulfill her self-made destiny—even taking the identity of her slain twin brother. In doing so, she is able to avoid her birth-given female fate of nothingness and infiltrate a monastery as a young male novice.
Under the disguise of a man, the female monk rebels against the harsh Monogul rule she lives under, marries empress Ma Xiuying and assumes her brother’s great destiny. This gripping historical fantasy is a beautiful reimagination of the 14th Century Ming Dynasty intertwined with a queer love story that eloquently challenges gender norms.
5. Such a quiet Place by Megan Miranda
Searching for the next thriller to add to your bookshelf that hooks you from start to finish? Look no further than the captivating tale of Such A Quiet Place. Megan Miranda has long mastered the art of psychological suspense and she does it again with this frightening story of Hollow’s Edge—the private, idyllic neighbourhood plagued by the murder of a married couple in their own home.
The pair’s next-door neighbour, Ruby Fletcher, was convicted of the heinous crime. Or at least she was until her conviction was overturned and Ruby finds her way back to the small neighbourhood. Within days of her controversial return, tension builds in the subdivision, suspicious activity is on the rise and it soon becomes clear that not everyone in Hollow’s Edge was truthful about what really happened on the night of the murder.
6. The Ugly cry by danielle henderson
Danielle Henderson rose to notoriety in 2011 when she created a Tumblr blog called Feminist Ryan Gosling that saw photos of the hunky actor paired perfectly with feminist theories Henderson was learning in her gender studies graduate degree program. The hit site was turned into a book of the same name a year later. Already a published author, Henderson takes a leap into the literary world again with the release of her witty and deeply insightful memoir.
The Ugly Cry details Henderson’s experience growing up “Black and weird” in a predominantly white neighbourhood in upstate New York. She unapologetically shares what it was like being raised by her spunky, brusque grandmother after she was abandoned by her mother at the age of 10. Henderson’s story is eloquent and profound in a way that truly redefines love and family.
7. Call me indian by Fred Sasakamoose
As the first Treaty Indigenous NHL player, Fred Sasakamoose made history in 1954 when he stepped onto the ice with the Chicago Black Hawks and was broadcasted across the nation on Hockey Night In Canada. But Call Me Indian isn’t a story about hockey, it’s so much more than that. In Sasakamoose’s honest and harrowing memoir, he details the horrors of spending his childhood in a residential school and the journey he took as he got older to reclaim his heritage that was once weaponized against him.
More important now than ever, Sasakamoose’s story of having his Indigenous culture stripped away from him is a difficult yet indispensable read. His insightful book is part of a vital conversation that is long overdue in Canada’s past, present and future.
8. Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon
If you’ve read any of Nicola Yoon’s previous young adult romance novels, you know that you’re in for an epic love story that tugs at the heartstrings. Instructions For Dancing promises just the same. The story follows Evie, a girl who doesn’t believe in love. Especially since she has quite the tragic talent: she can look at couples and suddenly see visions of how their romance began and will eventually end.
For Evie, love isn’t worth the risk of pain and heartbreak. Or at least it wasn’t until meeting a boy named X at a dance studio. Although polar opposites, the pair tenderly waltz towards each other and Evie begins to question everything she knew about life and love.
9. A fiance’s guide to first wives and murder by Dianne Freeman
With period tales like Bridgerton and Outlander taking the world by storm, it’s a no-brainer why the genre of historical romance is on the rise. And if you’re hoping to add another captivating novel to your historical fiction collection, Dianne Freeman’s A Fiance’s Guide To First Wives And Murder is just the read for you. As the fourth book in the A Countess of Harleigh Mystery series, Freeman’s latest novel is saturated with romance, mystery and of course, murder.
Set in the Victorian Era, protagonist Francess Wynn Harleigh and her fiancé George Hazleton find themselves in a troubling situation as a young French woman who claimed to be Hazleton’s wife is found strangled to death in Harleigh’s garden. To clear their own names, Harleigh and Hazleton must work together to uncover the truths woven within the woman’s statements and consequently expose the real killer who may be a little too close to home.
10. Everyone in this room will someday de dead by Emily Austin
Gilda, the gay, atheist protagonist of Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead, simply wanted to check out the free therapy being offered at a local Catholic church. What she got instead was an immediate job meant to replace the church’s recently deceased receptionist, Grace. Instead of declining this mistaken offer, Gilda accepts the position and soon begins trying to learn Catholic masses while hiding her sexuality and assuming the identity of Grace.
Yup, you read that right. Gilda begins impersonating her predecessor while striking up an email correspondence with an old friend of Grace who doesn’t know that Grace is actually dead. While morally concerning, Gilda’s charade doesn’t reach felonious territory until police uncover suspicious circumstances surrounding Grace’s death. As investigations begin, Gilda may have no choice but to unmask her accumulating secrets.
Feature Image Courtesy of Karolina Grabowska on Pexels
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