Every year before Memorial Day weekend, I put together a giant summer reading guide filled with the books I’m most excited to recommend and this year’s guide might be my biggest one yet.

This guide is divided into four categories:

• cozy mysteries
• romance
• thrillers
• beach reads

…and each section includes both recommendation picks and books currently sitting on my summer TBR.

I wanted this year’s guide to feel like a mix of everything I personally crave during summer reading season: fun escapist stories, bingeable thrillers, emotional romances, cozy comfort reads, and books that feel perfect to toss into a beach bag or bring along on vacation.

Whether you’re looking for:

• a messy popcorn thriller
• a charming small town romance
• a cozy mystery series to binge
• or a layered beach read full of family drama and summer nostalgia

…there’s a little bit of everything here.

💘 ROMANCE RECS + TBR

Summer and romance books just belong together. This section includes a mix of beachy small town romances, emotional second chances, destination settings, funny rom coms, and addictive contemporary romance picks. Some are light and playful, while others bring a little more emotional depth—but all of them feel perfect for summer reading season.

🏖️ BEACH READ RECS + TBR

This category is always the hardest for me because I read so many summer/beachy books every year, but it’s also one of my favorite sections to curate. I tend to gravitate toward ensemble casts, family drama, emotional storylines, travel settings, and books with strong summer atmosphere—not necessarily just straightforward romance.

This year’s mix includes nostalgic summer stories, escapist vacation reads, emotional contemporary fiction, and a few hidden gems I’m especially excited about.

🔪 THRILLER RECS + TBR

For the thriller section, I focused mostly on fast paced, popcorn style suspense and domestic thrillers, the kind of books you can absolutely devour in a day by the pool. Think vacation disasters, messy relationships, simmering secrets, and books that make summer feel just a little dangerous.

🔍 COZY MYSTERY RECS + TBR

This was my newest category addition this year and honestly one of the most fun to put together. Cozy mysteries are perfect summer reads because they’re quick, entertaining, comforting, and incredibly bingeable. I leaned heavily into foodie mysteries, small town settings, and charming amateur sleuth energy for this section.

Summer reading season is officially underway, and I’m so excited to spend the next few months diving into all of these stories. I’d love to know what books are on your own summer TBR—or which category from this guide you’re most excited about.

Happy summer reading ☀️📚🌊