26 of the Hottest New Books You'll Want to Read This Summer

Love stories make the best Summer reads, and we've got 26 romantic beach reads you won't be able to put down. Contemporary romance writer Brenda Janowitz, author of the Brooke Miller series, is sharing her picks for the best new Summer books of 2015.

01
Hugo & Rose by Bridget Foley

Hugo & Rose by Bridget Foley

Rose is a married woman. A married woman who has dreams of the same man every night. Harmless, right? That is, until she meets him in real life. Hugo & Rose is a surrealist dark fairy tale that will make you think about the nature of soulmates.

02
How to Start a Fire by Lisa Lutz

How to Start a Fire by Lisa Lutz

Lisa Lutz, who wrote the fabulous Spellman Files books, is back with a story of unexpected friendship. How to Start a Fire tells the story of three very different women, twenty years of friendship, and the one night that formed who they are.

03
Love and Miss Communication by Elyssa Friedland

Love and Miss Communication by Elyssa Friedland

Ever get overwhelmed by your smartphone and just wish you could toss it into the reservoir? In this debut novel by former attorney Elyssa Friedland, lawyer Evie Rosen puts down the smartphone for good and discovers what happens when you stop living online and start living in real life.

04
The Scarlet Letter Society by Mary McCarthy

The Scarlet Letter Society by Mary McCarthy

Looking to steam things up this Summer? Look no further than the sexy debut novel The Scarlet Letter Society by Mary McCarthy. Three women gather each month to discuss love, life, and literarture. So named for the classic Nathaniel Hawthorne story, these women refuse to be shamed for their various infidelities. A provacative look at what happens after the "I do."

05
Beach Town by Mary Kay Andrews

Beach Town by Mary Kay Andrews

It wouldn't be Summer without another page turner from Mary Kay Andrews. In Beach Town, a movie scout looks for the perfect beach for a big budget movie — her last chance at redemption after film crews utterly destroyed her last location. She finds a hidden Florida beach, but the mayor isn't too keen on a movie crew descending on his sleepy unspoilt town. But can love change his mind?

06
Things You Won't Say by Sarah Pekkanen

Things You Won't Say by Sarah Pekkanen

"How far would you go to save your family?" That's the question Sarah Pekkanen asks in her latest novel, a provocative look at the aftermath of a police station shooting. Things You Won't Say is the story of a family in crisis, a marriage in crisis, and how these pieces all connect and affect other families.

07
The Bolingbroke Chit by Lynn Messina

The Bolingbroke Chit by Lynn Messina

Do you like your love stories to be old fashioned regency romances? Lynn Messina returns with the fourth regency romance in her wildly popular Love Takes Root series, The Bolingbroke Chit. Lady Agatha, nicknamed Lady Agony because she is so disagreeable to her male suitors, wants only to paint, even though her mother would prefer she be a social butterfly. When she gets into a predicament involving the Viscount Addleson, she begins to see him in another light. And she suddenly finds it very difficult to be disagreeable . . .

08
Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave

Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave

The fabulous Laura Dave is back with another tale of love, marriage, and family, Eight Hundred Grapes. Just a week before her wedding, Georgia finds out her fiance was hiding a secret. One that would change everything. She flees to her childhood home, the family vineyard, where she discovers that her fiance wasn't the only one with secrets.

09
The Status of All Things by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

The Status of All Things by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

What if you could change your Facebook status and change your life? When 35 year-old Kate suffers a huge heartbreak, she realizes that her real life mirrors whatever she writes on Facebook. She tries to rewrite her romantic history, but soon learns that it might not be possible to change your fate. Another page turner from Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke, who are best friends in real life (and not just on Facebook).

10
It's You by Jane Porter

It's You by Jane Porter

Jane Porter never fails to deliver when it comes to writing great romance. After a heartbreaking personal tragedy, Dr. Alison McAdams is called to Napa to care for her ailing father. While there, she is moved by stories she hears from the World War II survivors she befriends, and sets off on a quest to discover the truth about one woman's lost love. Along the way, she is able to put the pieces of her own heart back together.

11
Sweet Forgiveness by Lori Nelson Spielman

Sweet Forgiveness by Lori Nelson Spielman

Sweet Forgiveness is a story about love and forgiveness by the author of The Life List. When talk show host Hannah Farr is publicly goaded into a public journey of forgiveness, her dark past is revealed, and she must find the courage to right old wrongs.

12
In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume

In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume

The incomparable Judy Blume is back. Her books shaped your childhood, and now she's writing her first adult novel since Summer Sisters. Judy Blume weaves a tale of three generations of families whose lives are forever changed by unexpected events. But who are we kidding? You pre-ordered it the second I said Judy Blume, didn't you?!

13
Royal Wedding by Meg Cabot

Royal Wedding by Meg Cabot

The Princess Diaries has come a long way. In this 11th novel in the series by Meg Cabot, Princess Mia and her very own Prince Charming plan a fairy tale wedding. But will this royal wedding turn into a royal nightmare? This is the first adult novel in the series, so even if you haven't kept up with Princess Mia for all these years, you can still dive back in.

14
Blueprints by Barbara Delinsky

Blueprints by Barbara Delinsky

In Blueprints, the day after her 56th birthday, Caroline MacAfee is told that she is too old to be the public face of her family-based home construction show, Gut It! And who will be replacing her? Her 29-year-old daughter, Jamie. The resulting fallout happens when these two women need each other more than ever. Will they be able to mend their broken relationship?

15
The Rumor by Elin Hilderbrand

The Rumor by Elin Hilderbrand

What's worse: the truth or the rumor? Friends Madeline and Grace learn which is worse as they scramble to set the record straight in this 15th novel by Elin Hilderbrand. She has been called the Queen of the Summer novel, and her latest shows us exactly why.

16
The Santangelos by Jackie Collins

The Santangelos by Jackie Collins

Who can resist a Jackie Collins novel? And a Jackie Collins novel featuring the notorious Santangelo family? Pull up a chaise lounge, pour yourself a frosty drink, and get ready for a wild ride.

17
China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan

China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan

In the Summer of 2013, it was all about Crazy Rich Asians, and now Kevin Kwan is back with a sequel. China Rich Girlfriend is another tale of social climbing, scandal, and lovesick billionaires.

18
Summer Secrets by Jane Green

Summer Secrets by Jane Green

I fell in love with Jane Green back when Jemma J came out, and I've been reading her ever since. Her latest novel introduces us to party girl Cat, who lives the life in London. Everything changes when she learns that the father she never knew was living in Nantucket. And the terrible mistake she makes one night.

19
Killing Monica by Candace Bushnell

Killing Monica by Candace Bushnell

Killing Monica is the book that Sex and the City, Lipstick Jungle, and The Carrie Diaries fans have been waiting for. Pandy "PJ" Wallis is a writer whose Monica novels have spawned a series of blockbuster films. But PJ wants to write something different, even if her publishers, audience, and greedy husband don't want her to. But can she re-write her life?

20
The Idea of Love by Patti Callahan Henry

The Idea of Love by Patti Callahan Henry

"Can two people come together for all the wrong reasons and still make it right?" That's the question Patti Callahan Henry asks in her latest novel, The Idea of Love, a story of two strangers who are telling little white lies. Will their deceptions pull them apart? Or is something stronger keeping them together?

21
The Woman Who Stole My Life by Marian Keyes

The Woman Who Stole My Life by Marian Keyes

Marian Keyes is back with a hilarious new novel that is filled with surprises and romance. Flashing back from past to present, the book tells the story of beautician Stella Sweeney, an accidental self-help writer who develops Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease. Keyes delivers a story of karma, love, and optimism.

22
Naked by Eliza Redgold

Naked by Eliza Redgold

You think you may know the story of Lady Godiva and her famous ride, but here's the story you don't know. Naked is an epic love story of courage, passion and the determination of one woman to save her land and her people.

23
If I Could Turn Back Time by Beth Harbison

If I Could Turn Back Time by Beth Harbison

Do you ever wish you could turn back time? In Beth Harbison's latest, If I Could Turn Back Time, 37-year-old Ramie Phillips finds herself back in her high school body, on the eve of her 18th birthday. Will she do things differently this time around?

24
What's Never Said by Susan Shapiro

What's Never Said by Susan Shapiro

Revisiting an old flame can be a dangerous thing. But what if you do, and he doesn't remember you? Acclaimed essayist Susan Shapiro makes a return to fiction with this novel that questions whether or not we should ever try to reclaim past passion.

25
The Best of Enemies by Jen Lancaster

The Best of Enemies by Jen Lancaster

Sure, we love Jen Lancaster's laugh-out-loud hilarious memoirs, but her fiction totally rocks, too. In a novel told in alternating perspectives, The Best of Enemies is the story two former college friends who have turned into mortal "frenemies."

26
Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner

Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner

I've been a huge fan of Jennifer Weiner since I first read Good in Bed back in 2001. This Summer, she delivers a love story about first love and fate. Rachel and Andy first meet in a hospital when they're only 8 years old. They don't think they'll ever see each other again, but over the years their paths collide over and over, through high school and college, marriage and divorces, until they finally get the chance to decide if they've been moving towards each other all along.