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Best 2020 Summer Books For Women

The 28 Best New Books to Dive Into This Summer

May 19 2020

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Summer is looking a little different this year, but the important things remain the same: the sun is shining, hammocks still rock, and the season is stacked with must-read new releases. The best books of the summer will transport you from Paris to Forks, Washington, and everywhere in between. Books have always been just as good as a holiday, so if you feel like you need an escape, then just crack open one (or 10) of the 30 titles on this list. Whether you want to swoon in the sunshine or stay up all night reading an intense thriller, summer 2020's new releases are here to make all of your reading dreams come true.

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1. Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan

Set in Hong Kong with an Irish expat protagonist, Naoise Dolan's Exciting Times is the story of an unconventional love triangle. At the centre of the story is Ava, who works in Hong Kong as an English teacher and is in a relationship with a banker who won't say he loves her. Enter Edith, an exciting lawyer who woos Ava with flowers and her endless ambition, leaving Ava to wonder who she should really be with.

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2. The Guest List by Lucy Foley

A wedding goes horribly awry in Lucy Foley's clever The Guest List. The Agatha Christie-style mystery is set on a remote island where a group of wedding guests quickly become murder suspects after a dead body turns up.

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3. He Started It by Samantha Downing

He Started It by Samantha Downing is a whip-smart thriller with a hellish road trip at its centre. A trio of adult siblings reluctantly reunite for a cross-country trip in order to secure their inheritance after their grandfather's death. But this trio's problems go far deeper than simple family squabbles: their secrets are deadly, and there's already a body in the trunk.

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4. All My Mother's Lovers by Ilana Masad

In Ilana Masad's debut All My Mother's Lovers, Maggie Krause is in a hard-won happy relationship with her girlfriend Iris when her mother dies unexpectedly. Upon returning home, she realises her mother left behind five letters in sealed envelopes addressed to men that Maggie and her family have never heard of. Now Maggie must go on a journey that will challenge everything she thought she knew about her mom and their strained relationship.

Out May 26

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5. Sorry I Missed You by Suzy Krause

If you're looking for something a little bit different this summer, then you need Suzy Krause's Sorry I Missed You in your life. The unconventional story follows a trio of women who live in the same rental house and have all been ghosted by someone close to them. When a letter with an illegible address lands in their mailbox, they all want it to be for them, but they have bigger problems than the letter to contend with, including ghostly sounds around their shared property.

Out June 1

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6. The View from Here by Hannah McKinnon

Hannah McKinnon crafts a juicy family drama in The View from Here. Taking place over the course of one Connecticut summer, the Goodwin siblings return home to celebrate their grandmother turning 97. However, their own messy personal lives and secrets soon bubble over, revealing the strained relationships that exist among the adult siblings.

Out June 2

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7. Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier

Pizza Girl by Jenny Kyoung Frazier is an unconventional coming-of-age story that will break hearts in the best way. The story follows a pregnant 18-year-old pizza delivery woman who forms a friendship with a middle-age single mom as she does everything she can to avoid thinking about her future.

Out June 9

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8. The Mall by Megan McCafferty

Megan McCafferty, the bestselling author of the Jessica Darling series, is returning to her YA roots this summer with The Mall. This technicolor ode to 1991 is the story of Cassie, a teen who plans to work at her local mall during the summer before college and then leave her small town behind. What Cassie doesn't expect is for her time at the Parkway Centre Mall to be a transformative experience that leaves her wondering if her life plan needs to be tweaked.

Out June 9

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9. Weird But Normal by Mia Mercado

Mia Mercado's hilarious collection of essays Weird But Normal is here to make you feel a little less self-conscious about just being yourself. Whether she's tackling universal topics like the joy of shopping at Target or zeroing in on discussing racial identity, each one of her essays is insightful, funny, and a joy to read.

Out June 11

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10. Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho

There are definite shades of Bridget Jones's Diary in Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho, but Andrea Tang's life is far more enviable than her rom-com predecessor. In fact, the 33-year-old lawyer has an amazing job, a cool Singapore condo, and wonderful friends. What she doesn't have is a boyfriend, so she tries dating a wealthy businessman who her family would adore only to find herself drawn to the coworker they would never approve of.

Out June 11

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11. The Marriage Game by Sara Desai

A well-meaning but meddling father kicks off a hate-to-love romance in Sara Desai's The Marriage Game. Layla Patel moves back home after her life falls to pieces. In hopes of making his daughter feel better, Layla's dad gives her the office above his restaurant . . . and makes a dating profile in her name to find her the perfect husband. Meanwhile, CEO Sam Mehta is under the impression that the office is his until Layla and her parade of suitors disrupt his peaceful workplace.

Out June 11

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12. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Fans of classic novels like Jane Eyre and Rebecca are in for a suspenseful treat courtesy of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic. Set in 1950s Mexico, this haunting novel follows a beautiful debutante named Noemí as she ventures to the secluded High Place in the countryside at the behest of her cousin. What she finds there is an ancient house and a family with plenty of secrets to hide.

Out June 30

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13. It Is Wood, It Is Stone by Gabriella Burnham

It Is Wood, It Is Stone by Gabriella Burnham examines the uneasy relationship between an American woman, Linda, living in São Paulo and her maid, Marta. At first the two women find each other frustrating and impenetrable, but when Linda runs off with an artist, the repercussions bind them together.

Out June 30

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14. The Girl from Widow Hills by Megan Miranda

The Last House Guest author Megan Miranda is back with another thriller, The Girl from Widow Hills. When she was a child, Arden Maynor was swept away during a storm while sleepwalking only to be found days later. Her story made her famous, but as an adult, she wants nothing more than to live a normal life. But as the 20th anniversary of her rescue approaches, Arden begins sleepwalking again — only this time, she wakes up with a dead body at her feet.

Out July 2

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15. Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager is set to deliver major goose bumps. Maggie Holt's family fled from Baneberry Hall 25 years ago after seemingly experiencing supernatural events. Maggie's father went on to write a nonfiction book about their harrowing experience, but Maggie has her doubts about what truly happened in the house. After her father's passing, she returns to Baneberry Hall to fix up the house in order to sell it, but she soon realises that there truly is something dark lurking inside those walls — and the danger could be all too human.

Out July 7

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16. Gatecrasher by Ben Widdicombe

Ben Widdicombe has chronicled the lives of celebrities for Page Six, TMZ, and The New York Times. Now he's spilling a whole lot of tea in Gatecrasher, where he takes readers along for the ride as he crashes Hollywood's biggest parties and shares the scoop on everyone from the Kardashians to Donald Trump. Gossip-lovers, this is one title that you shouldn't miss out on.

Out July 7

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17. A Woman Alone by Nina Laurin

After a home invasion, Cecelia Holmes gets a smart house in Nina Laurin's A Woman Alone. The extra security is meant to make her feel better, but instead, she begins to feel like someone is watching her. Unfortunately for Cecelia, no one, not even her husband, believes her.

Out July 9

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18. Age of Consent by Amanda Brainerd

The New York of the 1980s comes to life in Amanda Brainerd's coming of age tale Age of Consent. The novel follows three female friends as they explore their sexuality, navigate their first jobs, and deal with the ramifications of relationships with older men.

Out July 14

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19. How to Save a Life by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke's How to Save a Life puts a man in a tragic Groundhog Day scenario. Dom is elated when he bumps into his ex-fiancée Mia and quickly asks her out on a date. While it at first seems that their reunion was fated, Mia dies on their date, leaving a devastated Dom to make a wish to get a second chance at saving her life. (Definitely keep the tissues nearby for this tearjerker.)

Out July 14

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20. Wonderland by Zoje Stage

As if her previous book Baby Teeth wasn't unsettling enough, Zoje Stage has penned Wonderland, a novel that's sure to leave you sleeping with the lights on. Orla and Shaw Bennett trade their city life for a remote farmhouse in the country where their children can breathe the fresh air. Unfortunately for them, there's something sinister lurking in the woods, and Orla may be the only person who can save her family from the unseen horror.

Out July 16

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21. Paris Is Always a Good Idea by Jenn McKinlay

Paris Is Always a Good Idea by Jenn McKinlay is the story of one woman's quest to kick-start her life by revisiting the past. Seven years after her glorious gap year in Europe, Chelsea Martin realises she stopped living after she lost her mom to cancer. Now she's ready to find love, and she plans to do so by revisiting the three European men who stole her heart so many years ago.

Out July 23

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22. Afterland by Lauren Beukes

Lauren Beukes's Afterland is a timely postapocalyptic tale set after a pandemic wipes out most of the world's male population. Cole's 12-year-old son Miles is one of the last men left on the planet, and she'll stop at nothing to protect him from the varying factions of people who want to get their hands on her little boy.

Out July 28

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23. Luster by Raven Leilani

Raven Leilani's Luster is the story of a struggling artist who finds herself invited into an open marriage. Soon, Edie is trying to make sense of her role in this family as she becomes a role model to the couple's adopted daughter and continues to search for ways to make her art.

Out August 4

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24. Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

Twihards, your day has finally come. This August, Stephanie Meyer is at long last releasing Midnight Sun, the Twilight companion novel that retells the first book in the beloved series from Edward's point of view.

Out August 4

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25. Death in Her Hands by Ottessa Moshfegh

In the unnerving Death in Her Hands, Ottessa Moshfegh weaves a dark tale of mystery and paranoia. During a walk in the woods, a widow discovers a shocking message that reads: "Her name was Magda. Nobody will ever know who killed her. It wasn't me. Here is her dead body." But there's no body with the note, leaving the woman to mount her own twisty investigation into a crime that may or may not be real.

Out August 11

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26. What You Wish For by Katherine Centre

Katherine Centre excels at writing gentle, beautifully crafted romances, and What You Wish For seems poised to continue her streak. School librarian Samantha loves her job and her school family, but there was a time when she felt invisible. When the new school principal ends up being a face from her past, Samantha must overcome her youthful insecurities to help him save her beloved school.

Out August 26

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27. Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles

Where Dreams Descend is the first book in Janella Angeles's Kingdom of Cards duology, and it's the perfect summer fantasy read. In a city covered in ice, magicians come together to compete to see which one of them is good enough to become the Conquering Circus's headliner. But it soon seems that something nefarious is going on as the magicians begin disappearing and the tricks become more daring than ever before.

Out September 1

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