Get Excited! Here Are The Most Anticipated Books Of Summer 2021

If you’re looking for a straight-up feel-good love story, this is a great place to start. It’s sweet and breezy to read, but it also has a really cool premise: Piper Parrish’s husband dies in an accident, but she (and her entire community) pretend like he’s still alive so that she can deal with her grief. Who knows what could possibly happen when a stranger comes to town (okay, we probably know what will happen) but we want to read about it anyway!  We love that this one is happy and light-hearted while still exploring ideas of community, grief, and if there are things more important than the truth.  Release Date: May 25 2021

Warm and funny without being just plain fluff, The Guncle by Steven Rowley follows a man named Patrick through a really big life change: when his niece and nephew suffer a tragedy and are left without caregivers, he has to step up. And while he’s an amazing uncle, it turns out that he’s a pretty green parent.  The author of Lily and the Octopus and The Editor continues bringing the hits with this feel-good read that still has depth and meaning. Release Date: May 25 2021

From the best-selling author of Red, White and Royal Blue Casey McQuiston comes her second LGBTQ romance that is fun, hot, and, honestly, a bit weird! The protagonist is August, a young New Yorker who can’t quite find her place in the world. During her commute she falls for a woman on the train, but there’s a slight issue: her crush is not only trapped in the Subway system, she’s also trapped in the 1970s.  Put aside a really lovely summer day to enjoy this in a couple of big chunks—it’s tender, funny, and queer as heck.  Release Date: June 1 2021

How about a literary romance that is steamy as all get-out but also laugh-out-loud funny?  Seven Days in June follows two best-selling authors who reconnect 15 years after an intense one-week love affair to find that their love is still unstoppable, even though things are pretty complicated. From the author of The Perfect Find and The Accidental Diva, we love that this book is a rom-com with some added depth.  Release Date: June 1 2021

Two friends go on vacation each year—but it seems like every time they go somewhere, things get kind of… murdery. One friend, Emily, is starting to get suspicious of her friend Kristen, and that’s when things get really exciting. From Andrea Bartz, author of The Herd and The Lost Night, comes another psychological thriller that focuses on friendship, trust, and identity.  Release Date: June 22 2021

While you’re out of the office, how about a corporate spy novel that makes you thankful you don’t have to deal with intrigue and danger from 9 to 5? Imposter Syndrome, Kathy Wang’s sophomore effort following Family Trust, is a complex, twisty story of what happens when just trying to get along in Silicon Valley’s tech world collides with Russian espionage and company politics. At the center of the story are Julie, the COO with a secret, and Alice, a first-generation Chinese American who stumbles into much more than she bargained for. It’s a page-turner that also has something to say about women in tech, capitalism, and feminism.  Release Date: May 25 2021

What if you stole something from someone only to find out that it wasn’t the first time it was stolen? This idea is central to The Plot, the newest thriller from Jean Hanff Korlitz. It’s a book about books: a down-and-out novelist Jacob Finch Bonner, thinks his career is over. But when he has the opportunity to steal an amazing plot from a former student, he takes it and re-enters the limelight. He thinks he’s gotten away with a little intellectual theft—up until someone sends him an email letting him know the jig is up.  This highly anticipated literary thriller is getting rave reviews, and it’s book-within-a-book format will please even the nerdiest nerds.  Release Date: May 11 2021

In Revival Season, Miriam Horton is the teenaged daughter of a Baptist preacher famed for his healing powers, and each summer they tour the South offering mass services to all. But everything changes when Miriam learns a shocking truth about her dad at the same time that she discovers she might have the power to heal. In this riveting debut coming-of-age novel, Monica West explores faith and family.  Release Date: May 25 2021