20 Breezy Books We're Taking on Vacation This Summer

Hi, Caroline here 👋. When I’m not Senior Commerce Editor-ing here at theSkimm, I’m moonlighting as my alter ego Caroline Wolff and writing books. "The Wayside" is my debut novel, and even though I might be biased, I genuinely think you’ll love it. This domestic drama/dark academia/psychological thriller mashup follows Kate Cleary, a mother grieving the tragic loss of her son, Jake, who died under mysterious circumstances at his elite liberal arts college. Although the police want her to believe Jake died by suicide, Kate’s convinced that something more sinister is afoot, and she’s determined to learn the truth about his final days. This is twisty-turny but deeply rooted in character, so I think it’ll appeal to both thriller fans and lit fic lovers. Enjoy!

We didn’t know we needed an influencer thriller until we picked this up. Meredith taught Aspen everything she needed to know about being a mom-fluencer. But as soon as Aspen hits it big, she moves on, leaving Meredith feeling used. After finding one of Aspen’s kid’s iPads, Meredith retaliates and uses it to access everything from Aspen’s family calendar to her social media accounts, where she edits Aspen’s posts just enough to make her lose sponsors, followers, and friends. Oh, and Meredith has also seemingly disappeared. Equally enthralling and ridiculous, we could not put this one down.

This one goes out to all of the magical realism lovers out there. If you aren’t familiar with Ashley Poston, you should be. She’s known for sprinkling magical elements into her romance novels (which means they’re perfect for vacation). Eileen Merriweather is a literature professor who takes a break once a year to go on her beloved book club retreat. On the way, her car breaks down and she finds herself stranded in the exact town from her favorite romance series. She realizes that she’s trapped in the late author’s unfinished work and it’s up to her to finish the story.

Emma’s been a full-time caretaker for her dad, so her life (and dreams of becoming a screenwriter) have been on hold. So when she gets the opportunity to rewrite a script for famous-yet-broody screenwriter, Charlie Yates, she jumps at the chance. The catch? The screenplay is supposed to be a rom-com, which Charlie hates with a passion and Emma loves. If you’re into Katherine Center’s rich character development and a juicy enemies-to-lovers romance, read this.

What would you do if you won the lottery? In this comedy set on the Jersey Shore, one family grapples with just that. The Jacobson siblings are navigating stalled careers, struggling relationships, and the recent loss of their mother. So when they win the Powerball, this middle-class family is thrown a whole new set of problems while trying to keep their family together.

FYI: Abby Jimenez’s third book in the “Part of Your World” trilogy is *the* BookTok pick of the summer. When Justin realizes he’s stuck with the curse that any woman he dates will find the love of their life after dating him, he posts about it on Reddit. Emma, a travel nurse, reads his post and is shocked to discover that someone else deals with the exact same thing. So she messages him and the two decide to “fake date” in hopes that by dating each other, they can cancel their curse out and break the pattern.

If you’re looking for something short and snappy, read this. “Sandwich” is a pure delight, following a family’s beach vacation in Cape Cod from the humorous perspective of Rocky, their menopausal matriarch. Chapters flash back to past vacations in which she reminisces on motherhood, marriage, and her children growing up.

What's a trust fund baby to do when he discovers that his money is depleted after decades of extravagant spending? In the eyes of his overbearing mother, the solution is to find a wealthy wife….at the luxury resort where his sister's wedding is taking place. There, he's presented with three contenders — a hotel heiress, a venture capitalist, and the daughter of a doctor — and pressed to make the age-old choice: marry for money or love? Oh, and did we mention there’s also a murder? If you’ve missed the twists, laughs, and jetsetting of Kevin Kwan's glamorous novels, check this one out immediately. IOHO, it isn’t summer without him.

Stop what you’re doing. The queen of rom-coms is back (and just in time for reading-in-the-park season). This time, you’ll be transported to a cozy Michigan town, where Daphne, a children’s librarian, is putting the pieces back together after her fiancé called off their engagement for his childhood best friend. The solution? Move in with that childhood friend’s ex-fiancé, Miles, and fake date him for jealousy’s sake. While we loved “Happy Place” for its rich character development, Henry’s latest feels like the classic feel-good rom-com we need right now.

When this novel opens, Sara Marsala’s marriage is falling apart and her restaurant is on the brink of bankruptcy. Then her beloved Aunt Rosie dies and leaves behind a request: that Sara travel to Sicily and claim land that belonged to her great-grandmother, Serafina. As Sara makes the trip and starts to investigate her great-grandmother's life (and mysterious death), her story becomes intertwined with Serafina’s — a young mother with few choices and plenty of rage. This one’s got great characters and wonderful twists. And if it makes you book a trip to Italy? Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Cross “My Best Friend’s Wedding” with “Indian Matchmaking” and you’d get this swoon-worthy debut novel. When Meghna’s ex-boyfriend, best friend, and unrequited love gets engaged — and worse, asks her to be his best man — she realizes he’ll never feel the same. Determined to have a plus-one for the big day, she agrees to meet a potential match picked by her parents: Karthik, a handsome engineer whose mom is committed to finding him a wife, even though he has no intentions of getting married. A fake engagement seems like the perfect solution to both their problems — until it becomes hard to separate what’s real from what’s not. Psst…read our full interview with the author here.

The latest from Annabel Monaghan follows Ali Morris, a professional organizer whose life is decidedly…unorganized. She’s the mother of three young kids, undergoing a messy divorce, and grieving the death of her beloved mother two years prior. Early in the summer, she unexpectedly meets a charming, floppy-haired lawyer-slash-skateboarder and intends to embark on a summer fling. In a turn of events that will be deeply satisfying for romance readers, their connection turns out to be a lot more than just a fling. Easy, breezy, and big-hearted, “Summer Romance” is quintessential poolside reading.

Add this to your list if your favorite niche romance subgenre is modern retellings of Jane Austen novels. This one centers on sisters Nora and Yanne Dash, who find themselves in possession of a ramshackle inn in Maine, left to them by their late father. There, the sisters are confronted with Bear Freeman, who’s been running unofficial eco-tours on the property. Enemies-to-lovers romantic tension ensues. You’ll enjoy this even if you never got around to reading the original “Sense and Sensibility,” and it has *a lot* more spice than the OG. Even though this came out back in February, we think it makes for the perfect summertime read.

In this follow-up to Rowley’s beloved “The Guncle,” Patrick O’Hara reports for duty (again) as his niece and nephew’s caretaker when the kids’ father, his brother Greg, announces that he’ll be remarrying years after his wife’s death. Patrick is charged with getting the preteens across Europe to their dad’s glam Italian nuptials, and helping them come to terms with their new circumstances along the way. Throw in a nemesis sister and a high jinks-inflected rehearsal dinner, and you have the ideal entertaining and heart-warming summer read.

Another banger from Ali Hazelwood. (Pun not not intended.) The latest in Hazelwood’s oeuvre of steamy STEMinist romances centers on Rue Siebert, a biotech engineer at a food science startup, and Eli Kilgore, whose investment company intends to take over the company. This one checks so many good romance-trope boxes, like enemies to lovers and rival office romance, and Hazelwood’s signature humor and snark keep things fresh. It’s also Hazelwood’s spiciest book yet. 7/5 🌶️.

Fake dating, office romance, grumpy sunshine, witty banter…this 👏 book 👏 has 👏 everything. When Bhanu goes on vacation in Hawaii with her sister, the last person she expects to run into is Sunny, her office rival. He’s at the resort for a friend’s wedding, and when Bhanu watches Sunny’s ex-girlfriend publicly humiliate him, Bhanu helps him save face by pretending to be his girlfriend. Will their forced proximity push them toward a genuine connection? You’ll find out pretty quickly when you binge this in a single sitting.

The third installment of Frieda McFadden’s cult-favorite “The Housemaid” series is just as sneakily terrifying as the first two. This one continues with Millie’s story about a decade after the second one left off. Millie and her husband Enzo now have two kids and have just moved into a new home on Long Island. Despite its idealistic appearances, Millie isn’t the only person in the neighborhood harboring a secret, especially when it seems that the maid next door knows about her dark past…and someone ends up murdered.

Caitlin Levy leaves her successful-but-boring position as a TV producer to step in as head of events at an illustrious tech firm — which comes with a $3 million paycheck. Her inaugural event, a high-profile team-building session in Miami Beach, quickly goes haywire when an executive turns up dead…and puts the company’s merger in jeopardy. Corporate intrigue 🤝 murder mystery.

If you’re looking for a summer read with substance that doesn’t skimp on entertainment value, this is the perfect pick for you. Just when 57-year-old Julia has settled into middle life, she’s confronted with a series of events that threaten to upend her newfound peace. That includes reconnecting with her former friend Helen, with whom she had a serious falling out after a shocking betrayal. Masterfully constructed and thoughtfully observed, this clinches Claire Lombardo’s status as one of the best domestic drama writers on the scene.

All hail the queen of beach reads. In her third book, Carley Fortune follows Lucy, who vacations on Prince Edward Island every summer, and Felix, the local with whom she shares a steamy connection — and who turns out to be the younger brother of her best friend. The two can’t help but find their way back to each other summer after summer, despite their best efforts not to. You’ll swoon over their romantic chemistry and relish in the charming coastal setting.