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As an avid reader and natural-born bookworm, summertime is my absolute favorite time of the year for books. And it’s not just because summer’s my favorite season, it’s also because this time of year seems to be when the gems really start dropping in the book world. It’s unsurprising, really—after all, this time of year is all about sand, sun, and beach reads.
There’s no denying that books offer the perfect escape, and nothing’s more relaxing than soaking up a summer day with a good book in hand. And now the ways you can read a book are endless—whether it be through a traditional hardcover or paperback, an e-book, or audiobook—everyone can enjoy a good book however they prefer.
Below are 22 of the best beach reads for summer 2022—22 for 2022! Keep on reading to find the perfect book for your next beach day—whether it be a thriller or mystery novel, sci-fi or fantasy, romance or young adult, there’s something for everyone on this list.
Beach Reads for Summer 2022:
Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, and Horror
If you love mind-bending twists, defying genres, playing detective, or getting in on the action: These books are for you.
BY: RILEY SAGER
The House Across the Lake
Casey Fletcher is a recently widowed actress who flees the spotlight and heads to her family’s lake house in Vermont after a streak of bad press. While she’s there, she passes the time watching the couple across the lake: Tom and Katherine. When Casey saves Katherine from drowning one day, the two strike up a friendship, so when Katherine suddenly vanishes, Casey becomes consumed with finding out what happened to her.
BY: JENNIFER MCMAHON
The Children on the Hill
Helen Hildreth is a renowned psychologist, but at home, she’s simply “Gran” to her grandchildren, Vi and Eric. When Gran brings home a new girl, Iris, to stay with them, Vi and Eric are thrilled and invite her to join their Monster Club despite the fact that Iris does not behave like a normal girl.
41 years later, Lizzy Shelley is headed to Vermont to hunt a monster down after a recent sighting and abduction has the town in an uproar. After all, Lizzy knows better than anyone that monsters are real, because one of them is her very own sister.
BY: JANELLE BROWN
I’ll Be You
Although Sam and Elli are identical twins on the outside, they couldn’t be anymore different on the inside. It’s been over a year since they’ve last spoken to each other, so when Sam receives a call from her father out of the blue and is told that Elli has disappeared off the grid completely after claiming she was going on a spa trip, Sam can’t help but wonder if something more sinister is at play. What’s really going on with Elli, and where has she disappeared to?
BY: KATE KHAVARI
A botanist’s guide to parties and poisons
Newly minted research assistant Saffron Everleigh is attending a dinner party for the University College of London when one of the professors’ wives drops to the floor, poisoned by an unknown toxin. What’s more: The victim is the wife of her mentor, Dr. Maxwell, and he just became the prime suspect. Now, Saffron must race against the clock as she tries to prove her mentor’s innocence before it’s too late.
BY: SULARI GENTILL
The Woman in the Library
The tranquility of the reading room at the Boston Public Library is shattered by woman’s terrified scream. Security Guards take charge immediately, and everyone is forced to wait until the threat is identified. Four strangers who’d happened to sit at the same table strike up conversation to pass the time. Of course, they all have their own reasons for being there that morning, and it just so happens that one of them is a murderer.
BY: JENEVA ROSE
One of Us Is Dead
Shannon, Crystal, Olivia, and Jenny are the women of Buckhead—a place filled with expensive cars, huge houses, and competitive friendships. Who amongst them will survive this opulent world, and who will wind up dead? Friendships may be complex, but in Buckhead, they can be deadly.
BY: JULIE CLARK
the lies i tell
Meg Williams. Maggie Littleton. Melody Wilde. Different names for the same person—she’s a con artist who will become whoever you need her to be, and by the time she’s done and left town, you’ve likely lost everything. But Kat Roberts is onto her—she’s been waiting 10 years for the women who upended her life to return—and now that she has, it’s time to get her revenge.
BY: KATIE GUTIERREZ
more than you’ll ever know
Lore Rivera kept up two marriages in secret, until one husband found out and murdered the other. Struggling true-crime writer Cassie Bowman stumbles across this story and sees an opportunity: She tracks down Lore to find out what really happened. But the more time she spends with Lore, the more Cassie questions the facts surrounding the murder itself.
Young Adult
Although the young adult genre is written for ages 12-18, approximately half of this genres’ readers are adults. This genre is expansive, and most topics covered are ones you typically see in adult fiction novels.
BY: AMELIA KAHANEY
All the Best Liars
Syd, Rain, and Brie grew up on the wrong side of tracks underneath the unrelenting sun in the stifling California desert. All three long for a way out, and they’ll get it, but not in the way they hoped. One will do it by dying, another by lying, and a third by taking the fall.
BY: HEATHER WALTER
Misrule
In the sequel to Malice—the dark, LGBTQ+ retelling of “Sleeping Beauty”—the dark sorceress reclaims her story. Princess Aurora saw through Alyce’s thorny facade, but their love came with a heavy price: Aurora now sleeps under a curse that even Alyce’s vast power cannot seem to break. Alyce vows to do anything to wake the woman she loves, even if it means turning into the monster Briar believes her to be.
BY: CASEY MCQUISTON
I Kissed Shara Wheeler
When Chloe Green kisses her high school rival Shara Wheeler a month before graduation, Shara vanishes without a trace. Furious, Chloe goes on a hunt for answers and is thrown into an unlikely alliance chasing a ghost through parties, puzzles, and monogrammed stationery.
BY: MARIT WEISENBERG
This Golden State
The Winslow family lives by five principles:
- No one can know your real name.
- Don’t stay in one place too long.
- If you sense anything is wrong, go to the meeting spot.
- Keeping our family together is everything.
- We wish we could tell you who we are, but we can’t. Please—do not ask.
Romance
There’s nothing quite like summer love. Tap into your romantic side with one of these reads.
BY: SHIRLENE OBUOBI
On Rotation
Ghanaian-American Angela Appiah has checked off all the boxes for the “Perfect Immigrant Daughter.” But when it all falls apart, Angela faces a quarter life crisis of epic proportions.
BY: AVA WILDER
How to Fake It in Hollywood
A talented Hollywood starlet and reclusive A-lister enter into a fake relationship . . . and discover that their feelings might be more than a PR stunt.
BY: ELIN HILDERBRAND
The Hotel Nantucket
When billionaire Xavier Darling purchases the run-down Hotel Nantucket, purchases the hotel, he hires Nantucket sweetheart Lizbet Keaton as his general manager. Together, they must try to get along, overcome the hotel’s bad reputation, and survive the shenanigans of the hotel’s ghosts.
Science Fiction and Fantasy
Whether you want to dive into what is possible with a good sci-fi novel, or what isn’t possible with a fantasy read, these beach reads will take you to a world of your own.
BY: NGHI VO
Siren Queen
Luli Wei is desperate to become a star, despite knowing how dangerous the movie business is and how limited the roles are for a Chinese American Girl from Hungarian Hill. The studios want to own everything from her face to her name to the women she loves, and they run on a system of bargains made in blood and ancient magic, powered by the endless sacrifice of unlucky starlets like her. Success may come at steep price, but Luli is willing to do whatever it takes—even if that means becoming the monster herself.
BY: EDDIE ROBSON
Drunk on All Your Strange New Words
Lydia works as translator for the Logi cultural attaché to Earth. It’s not her favorite job, but what else is she going to do without qualifications and no discernible talent? When tragedy strikes and Lydia finds herself at the heart of an intergalactic incident, her future employment prospects look dire—that is, if she can keep herself out of jail.
BY: LIDIA YUKNAVITCH
Thrust
Laisve is a motherless girl from the late 21st century who is learning her power as a carrier—a person who can harness the power of meaningful objects to carry her through time. Now, as rising waters and an encroaching police state endanger her life and family, Laisve must travel through water and time to rescue vulnerable figures from the margins of history.
BY: J.M. MIRO
Ordinary Monsters
England, 1882. In Victorian London, two children with mysterious powers are hunted by a figure of darkness—a man made of smoke.
BY: ALEX JENNINGS
The Ballad of Perilous Graves
Failed magician Perilous Graves loves the city of Nola, so when the magical piano that maintains the city’s beat fails, Perry and his sister Brendy are tasked with saving the city. But a storm is brewing and the Haint of All Haints is awake. Even if they capture the songs, Nola’s time might be coming to an end.
BY: NIKKI ERLICK
The Measure
It seems like any other day: You wake up, pour a cup of coffee, and head out. But today when you open your front door, waiting for you is a small wooden box. This box holds your fate inside: the answer to the exact number of years you will live.
BY: SAMIT BASU
The City Inside
Joey is a Reality Controller in near-future Delhi. Her job is to supervise the multimedia multi-reality livestreams of Indi, one of South Asia’s fastest rising online celebrities—who also happens to be her college ex.
Rudra is a recluse estranged from his wealthy and powerful family, now living in an impoverished immigrant neighborhood. When his father’s death pulls him back into his family’s orbit, an impulsive job offer from Joey becomes his only escape from the life he never wanted. But as Joey and Rudra become enmeshed in multiple conspiracies, their lives start to spin out of control.
