See our picks for the hottest new fiction releases to pack in your beach bag this summer
Credit: Grand Central Publishing; G.P. Putnam’s Sons; Pamela Dorman Books
From romance to magical realism to thrilling mysteries, PEOPLE has you covered on the splashiest books to dive into this summer. See our picks below.
01 of 16
Score by Kennedy Ryan
Credit: Forever
The heartbreak of first love holds unimaginable weight after a Hollywood composer and a screenwriter make a scorching connection. This stunning story of devotion that addresses mental health and sexuality with care may be Ryan’s best work yet. — McKenzie Jean-Philippe
02 of 16
Cece Downing's Start Over Summer by Soon Wiley
Credit: Dutton
After losing both her desk job and her fiancé, 32-year-old Cece escapes to coastal Connecticut, taking a summer job on an oyster boat while living in a run-down cottage. A fling with her neighbor and deepening ties to the community reshape her perspective on ambition and success. — Lisa Greissinger
03 of 16
Romantic Hero by Kirsty Greenwood
Credit: Berkley
When a heartbroken romance author tries to manifest a reunion with her ex, she wakes up to a shirtless cowboy on her couch — her stalled novel’s villain come to life. With a deadline looming, Gertie has to send him back to Bedlam Creek before he rewrites her happily ever after. Flirty and enchanting. — Lisa Greissinger
04 of 16
The Missed Connection by Tia Williams
Credit: Grand Central Publishing
Williams’s wit jumps off the page in this delightful read about an anxiety-riddled casting agent who believes she shared a flight with her soulmate. Naturally, she enlists a sexy PI from her past to find the elusive “Seat F.” — McKenzie Jean-Philippe
05 of 16
The Great Wherever by Shannon Sanders
Credit: Henry Holt and Co.
Living members of the Lamb family and the ghosts of their dead convene at their Tennessee farm after a lucrative sales offer. Aubrey, 32, wants to sell — but she has a lot to learn about her family’s history. A gripping saga of Black legacy. — Marion Winik
06 of 16
Voyagers by Meg Charlton
Credit: Harper
As a panicked Earth braces for extraterrestrial first contact, two previously estranged childhood best friends reconnect to uncover the truth about their past, when they were supposedly abducted by aliens as children. A stunner about memory, connection and belief. — Caroline Leavitt
07 of 16
Muñeca by Cynthia Gómez
Credit: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
In this wholly original and wildly romantic novella set in 1968 California, Nati, a Latine woman with secret witchcraft skills, returns to the mansion where her mother worked, intent on getting rich by freeing a spellbound heiress named Violeta. — Mary Pols
08 of 16
Destination Funeral by Paige Harbison
Credit: St. Martin’s Press
New York chef Didion returns to coastal Georgia for her mother’s funeral and ends up trapped in the family home with three people who have grown apart for complicated reasons. Magical forces soon force them to work out their issues in this fun, sexy Groundhog Day-inspired tale. — Mary Pols
09 of 16
Everything to the Sea by Alicia Upano
Credit: William Morrow
This deeply emotional epic of undying love follows Hawaiian lovers Jane and Kenji in the aftermath of a devastating tsunami. A grieving Jane vows never to return as Kenji works to rebuild their hometown. — Caroline Leavitt
10 of 16
The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson
Credit: Pamela Dorman Books
In this juicy send-up of privilege in all its rowdy dysfunction, a writing fellowship brings nepo baby Caroline Lash to small-town New England. There, she falls for a local environmentalist with a cliquey friend group that will soon regret freezing her out. — Claire Martin
11 of 16
Give Me Everything You've Got by Imogen Crimp
Credit: Henry Holt and Co.
When filmmaker Ruby is invited to spend a week at her mentor’s English country mansion, she finds herself ensnared in twisted mind games enacted by the famed feminist director and her seductive daughter. A psychologically rich and delectably dark look at the price of women’s artistic ambition. — Louisa Ermelino
12 of 16
Meet Me In the Garden by Nina LaCour
Credit: Flatiron Books
The Honore sisters are pillars of their 1944 New Orleans community, but Odette is secretly in love with a woman. Five years later, she’s a widowed mother in Los Angeles. Her cousin Delphine is at a breaking point, and Odette has to make a terrible choice to save her family. Sweeping and profound.
13 of 16
Someone Else's Husband by Kimberly McCreight
Credit: Knopf
Her financier husband is under arrest, but Gretchen Falk knows he couldn’t have murdered the gorgeous artist he and his pals met climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Right? McCreight’s delicious character-driven thriller will keep you guessing to the end. — Kim Hubbard
14 of 16
Cool Machine by Colson Whitehead
Credit: Doubleday
Ray Carney, owner of a furniture business, risks his family’s safety by returning to the criminal underworld in economically depressed 1980s Harlem. With New York as a character, this novel is gritty, propulsive and vivid. — Wadzanai Mhute
15 of 16
Valley of the Moms by Hannah Selinger
Credit: Little, Brown and Company
This frighteningly realistic and deeply unhinged thriller is based on a true story. Anna Plummer is found dead in an affluent Massachusetts town, and her husband, Denny, searches for answers. When he learns Anna was embroiled in a Parent Teacher Organization feud before her death, Denny discovers the group’s dark side. — Rennie Dyball
16 of 16
Last Night Was Killer by Mary Pauline Lowry
Credit: William Morrow
Hungover after a rare night out, single twin mom and failed comedian Tilly pops the trunk of her car to find a corpse. It’s the creep from last night — and she can’t remember how she got home. Tilly suspects she offed him. An inventive mystery loaded with humor, heart and found family. — Mary Pols
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