Top 30 Most Anticipated Summer Reads of 2025
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Ready to refresh your summer reading list? From swoony romances and magical realms to dark thrillers and rich historical escapes, these new releases have something for every mood.
Summer is our favorite season for many reasons, but nothing beats the joy of curating a fresh summer reading list. Whether you’re stretching out on a beach chair, lounging in a hammock, or sneaking in pages between errands, this is the perfect time to dive into the best books of the season. From compelling historical fiction to sparkling new romances, cozy mysteries to page-turning thrillers, these 30 titles promise unforgettable stories and incredible main characters you’ll want to root for.
So if you’re looking for good books to add to your book club, explore with your local library, or simply enjoy under the sun, here are our most anticipated books of summer 2025.
Happy Reading!
If you’re looking for all the upcoming books, take a look at
Most Anticipated Summer Romances 2025
The Love Haters
by Katherine Center
Publication Date: May 20, 2025
Katie Vaughn never expected her dream job would involve sunshine, saltwater, and a secret. Sent to Key West to profile a heroic Coast Guard rescue swimmer, she hides one critical truth: she can’t swim. But as she’s pulled into the lives of two feuding brothers and the emotional currents of a long-buried family rift, Katie must summon the courage to confront her fears—both in the water and in her heart.
It’s a Love Story
by Annabel Monaghan
Publication Date: May 27, 2025
Jane Jackson is done being the punchline. Once mocked on a hit sitcom, she’s now climbing the ladder in Hollywood, set on proving she belongs. But when her plan to sign a celebrity singer leads her back to Dan Finnegan—her childhood crush turned adult temptation—Jane discovers that the real story might just be a second chance at love.
One Golden Summer
by Carley Fortune
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
When Alice returns to Barry’s Bay to help her ailing grandmother, she expects a quiet summer behind the camera lens—not a rekindled spark with Charlie Florek, the boy who once broke her heart. As old memories blur with present emotions, Alice must decide if the past can offer her a future she never imagined.
Sounds Like Love
by Ashley Poston
Publication Date: June 17, 2025
Joni Lark has penned chart-topping hits, but her inspiration has dried up. Returning home to North Carolina, she finds her family’s music venue on the brink and her own memories fading. Then she meets Sam, a brooding musician tied to a haunting melody that won’t leave her mind—or heart. Together, they must face the music of their pasts to write a new future.
Slow Burn Summer
by Josie Silver
Publication Date: June 10, 2025
Charlie’s career needs a miracle, and Kate’s looking for a fresh start. When they team up to fake an author persona for a viral romance novel, it seems like the perfect arrangement—until make-believe chemistry becomes something real. As sparks fly on a summer book tour, they’ll have to decide if love is worth rewriting the rules.
Save for Later
Problematic Summer Romance
by Ali Hazelwood
Publication Date: May 27, 2025
Maya knows falling for her brother’s best friend is off-limits—but when they’re thrown together in a sun-soaked Sicilian villa for a wedding, temptation proves impossible to ignore. Conor is guarded, distant, and completely irresistible. As long-buried feelings surface and boundaries blur, Maya must decide whether a summer fling is worth risking her heart… and everything else.
Summer Thrillers & Suspense
Parents Weekend
by Alex Finlay
The Tenant
by Freida McFadden
King of Ashes
by S.A. Cosby
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
Roman’s return to Jefferson Run sets off a chain reaction. His brother, Dante, is deep in debt, his sister Neveah is barely hanging on, and their past is anything but buried. As Roman cuts risky deals to protect them, Neveah digs into their mother’s disappearance—unearthing truths that could destroy them or finally set them free.
With A Vengeance
by Riley Sager
Publication Date: June 17, 2025
Anna Matheson lost everything twelve years ago. Now, she boards a luxury train with a deadly agenda: to expose those responsible. But when a fellow passenger is murdered, Anna’s plan veers into dangerous new territory. Surrounded by enemies and secrets, she must outwit a killer while protecting the very people she came to destroy.
The Ghostwriter
by Julie Clark
Publication Date: June 3, 2025
Olivia’s writing career is floundering—until she’s hired to ghostwrite a book for her estranged father, horror legend Vincent Taylor. But this story isn’t fiction. It’s the truth about a long-unsolved family tragedy: the night his siblings were murdered in 1975. As Olivia digs into the past, she uncovers chilling secrets and a version of herself she never saw coming.
Never Flinch
by Stephen King
Publication Date: May 27, 2025
A cryptic letter warns of a deadly vendetta targeting fourteen people. Detective Izzy Jaynes races to unravel the mystery, while Holly Gibney takes on her own chilling mission—protecting a feminist icon from a relentless stalker. As their paths converge, King delivers a bone-chilling showdown that will leave readers breathless.
Not Quite Dead Yet
by Holly Jackson
Publication Date: July 22, 2025
After a brutal Halloween attack leaves her with just seven days to live, Jet Mason sets out to solve her own murder. With only her childhood friend by her side and a trail of secrets pointing to those closest to her, Jet races against time to unmask the killer before death catches up.
Don’t Let Him In
by Lisa Jewell
Publication Date: June 24, 2025
When Nina reconnects with a charismatic friend of her late husband, her daughter Ash suspects he’s hiding something sinister. Meanwhile, Martha, a florist nearby, begins questioning her husband’s strange behavior. Their paths collide as secrets unravel, and each woman faces the chilling truth: danger may already be inside their lives.
Must-Read Fantasy & Sci-Fi Escapes
Silver Elite
by Dani Francis
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
Wren Darlington lives a dangerous lie—hiding her powers in a society that executes those like her. But when she’s forced into the ranks of an elite enemy unit, her world flips. A simmering romance, secrets wrapped in power, and a mission that could change everything—Wren must decide if she’s ready to stop running and rise.
Save for Later
Shield of Sparrows
by Devney Perry
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
A princess bound by treaty. A monster hunter bound by hatred. Thrust into a marriage neither chose, they must navigate treachery, mythic beasts, and the quiet pull of unexpected attraction. As secrets unravel and loyalties shift, she must decide what kind of queen—and woman—she truly wants to be.
Arcana Academy
by Elise Kova
Publication Date: July 22, 2025
Clara Graysword, a thief with outlawed magic, faces a lifetime behind bars—until a mysterious prince offers her freedom in exchange for an impossible heist. Posing as his fiancée at a magical academy, Clara must survive politics, power plays, and a dangerously tempting partner. The price of success? Everything.
The Bewitching
by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Publication Date: July 15, 2025
As Minerva, a grad student researching horror literature, investigates a forgotten author, she uncovers chilling secrets. The writer’s 1930s manuscript echoes her great-grandmother’s childhood tales of witches in Mexico. When strange events on campus mirror those in the manuscript, Minerva suspects a dark force still lingers.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil
by V. E. Schwab
Publication Date: June 10, 2025
Spanning centuries and continents, three women rise from the same enchanted soil—each one touched by immortality, each one burning with purpose. One dreams of flight, another hunts secrets, and the third dances with the wild. Their destinies intertwine across lifetimes in this dark, lyrical tale of power, pain, and the haunting legacy of survival.
Historical Escapes for Summer 2025
My Name is Emilia Del Valle
by Isabel Allende
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
In 1866 San Francisco, a fearless young writer defies expectations to build a life of independence through fiction and journalism. Her journey to war-torn Chile uncovers buried family truths, unexpected love, and a deeper understanding of who she was meant to be.
The Listeners
by Maggie Stiefvater
Publication Date: June 3, 2025
In 1942 West Virginia, a hotel manager is forced to host Axis diplomats under the watchful eye of the U.S. government. With war tightening its grip and loyalty under constant scrutiny, she must protect more than just her staff—she must guard her past. In a world where every whisper is a risk, even the land itself can’t keep secrets forever.
The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club
by Martha Hall Kelly
Publication Date: May 27, 2025
A grieving artist uncovers her family’s hidden past on Martha’s Vineyard, where a reclusive painter reveals the story of two sisters facing love, loss, and danger during World War II. As Mari learns about a wartime book club that grew into something far greater, she begins to understand the courage and secrets that shaped her own legacy.
Under the Stars
by Beatriz Williams
Publication Date: July 29, 2025
On Winthrop Island, three women across centuries are connected by a shipwreck, a hidden chest, and haunting secrets. In the present, Audrey Fisher uncovers mysterious paintings while her mother, Meredith, seeks one last chance at redemption. In 1846, Providence Dare flees into history. Their lives converge in a sweeping tale of love, identity, and legacy.
Unforgettable Literary & Contemporary Fiction
The Original Daughter
by Jemimah Wei
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
Genevieve’s life is upended when Arin—an unexpected sister born from a long-buried family secret—enters her world. As they navigate the crushing expectations of a society obsessed with perfection, their bond is tested by betrayal, forcing Genevieve to reckon with where her true loyalty lies: with her relentless ambition or the sister who once shared her dreams.
Atmosphere
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Publication Date: June 3, 2025
Joan Goodwin has always been captivated by the stars, but when she’s chosen to join NASA’s shuttle program, her world shifts into something far larger. Among a diverse crew, she discovers love, belonging, and the bittersweet thrill of chasing dreams. But in 1984, a single mission changes everything, forcing Joan to grapple with the fragile line between ambition and sacrifice.
My Friends
by Fredrik Backman
Publication Date: May 20, 2025
One summer, three teenagers—Louisa, Eva, and Max—form a deep bond on a seaside pier, finding comfort in friendship as they escape their troubled home lives. Years later, a haunting painting resurfaces, dragging Louisa back into that golden, painful past. As she pieces together what was lost, she’s reminded that some friendships shape us forever—even when we grow apart.
What Kind of Paradise
by Janelle Brown
Publication Date: June 10, 2025
Jane was raised in isolation, nestled deep in the Montana wilderness, far from modern life and steeped in her father’s rigid beliefs. But when a horrifying truth links him to a dark crime, Jane’s world unravels. Fleeing to San Francisco during the tech boom, she’s thrust into chaos, contradiction, and a past that won’t stay buried. To find peace, she must uncover the truth and redefine who she really is.
The Names
by Florence Knapp
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
When Cora names her newborn son against her husband’s wishes, a single act sparks three diverging lifelines. Spanning decades, The Names is a sweeping, emotionally resonant novel that explores identity, agency, and how one decision can shape a lifetime of consequences—for better or worse.
The Emperor of Gladness
by Ocean Vuong
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
Nineteen-year-old Hai is ready to end it all when a stranger’s voice pulls him back. That voice belongs to Grazina, a widow battling dementia, who offers Hai an unexpected role in her final days. As he becomes her caregiver, a fragile but powerful bond forms—one that transforms both their lives with unexpected hope.
Spectacular Things
by Beck Dorey-Stein
Publication Date: July 1, 2025
Grad student Minerva is researching a forgotten 1930s horror writer when she uncovers chilling links to her own family’s tales of witchcraft in old Mexico. As eerie events ripple through her university, fiction and reality blur. Something ancient is watching—and it’s far from finished with her.
Which of these summer reads is calling your name? Whether you’re chasing romance, mystery, or magic, there’s a story here waiting to sweep you away. Drop your favorites in the comments, share with a fellow book lover, and don’t forget to add these titles to your TBR—your next great read starts now.
Read already:
The Original Daughter
Reading in June:
The Emperor of Gladness (Today, as a matter of fact, LOL)
King of Ashes
On hold at library:
My Friends
The Names
Waiting for release:
Don’t Let Him In
Not Quite Dead Yet
Might get to in the fall:
Parents Weekend
The Ghostwriter
My Name is Emilia Del Valle
The Listeners
What Kind of Paradise
Hi, thanks for sharing your list! I’m especially curious to hear what you think about The Emperor of Gladness since you’re diving into it today. 😊 That one’s been on my radar for a while!
Also, I’m excited for Don’t Let Him In—that release can’t come soon enough. Happy reading, and feel free to pop back in with your thoughts when you finish The Emperor of Gladness!