Best 2016 Summer Books For Women

From the author of The Good House comes The Children, the story of a wealthy, if not unconventional, New England family. When the youngest (and favorite) of the children, Spin, comes home with his fiancée, the family is intrigued and welcomes her with open arms. But as the wedding gets closer, secrets in this blended family are revealed, leading to shocking consequences. A fast-paced, darkly funny novel.

Tess comes to Manhattan full of hope and soon finds herself working as a “backwaiter” in a famous downtown restaurant. She gets an education in fine dining, even finer wines, and she gets drawn into a seductive love triangle: drugs, friendship, loyalty, lust, and love. Sweetbitter is a lush, un-put-down-able novel that will seduce you and draw you completely into its world. Not to be missed.

Told in alternating timelines of past and present, June tells the story of 25-year-old Cassie, mourning the death of her beloved grandmother, June. When Cassie finds out that she’s the sole heir to legendary matinee idol Jack Montgomery’s enormous fortune, Cassie has no idea why. Did his path ever cross that of her beautiful grandmother? From the author of Bittersweet comes a sweeping novel about small-town secrets and Hollywood drama.

Saving Abby presents an impossible choice: a woman’s life or the life of her child? When Claire finds out she is pregnant after unsucessfully trying to conceive for six years, she and her husband think they finally have the miracle they’d been hoping for. But when Claire falls ill and treatment could put her baby’s life at risk, she must make an unthinkable choice.

From the author of The Vacationers comes another made-for-Summer read, Modern Lovers. College friends and former bandmates Elizabeth, Andrew, and Zoe all live in the same gentrified Brooklyn neighborhood where they have bought houses, opened businesses, and started families. Now, with their own kids getting ready to go to college, they must confront truths about themselves, their kids, and the famous fourth band member who went on to massive fame without them. A smart, thoughtful novel about growing up and getting older.

Rich and Pretty follows two childhood best friends, Sarah and Lauren, who have been through everything together. But now they’re on separate paths, with Sarah planning her wedding and Lauren trying to figure out her life and career. Can women who were once inseparable but now leading drastically different lives still call themselves best friends? An impressive debut novel by an author to watch.

Turn-of-the-century Coney Island, a society girl, and a band of freaks. In Magruder’s Curiosity Cabinet, debut novelist H.P. Wood brings these elements to life in a story where nothing is as it seems and “normal” isn’t the norm. Be transported into another place and time in this magical debut novel.

The families that share a London communal garden square think that their children are safe. But when Pip discovers her 13-year-old sister lying unconscious in the rose garden of their common space, everything will be questioned. The Girls in the Garden is a thrilling page-turner that will make you think about family, community, and who you can trust.

In One True Loves, we meet Emma, whose high-school-sweetheart husband, Jesse, is tragically killed on their one-year wedding anniversary. She doesn’t know how she’ll go on or if she’ll ever find happiness again. Emma picks up the pieces, eventually finding love with her old friend Sam. But then, the unthinkable happens: Jesse is found. Can you have more than one true love?

Emily thinks she’s lost everything — her job, her beloved grandmother — when a painting is mysteriously sent to her. It features a woman who looks like her grandmother, and it sends Emily on a journey to discover the meaning of the painting and her family’s history, while she confronts her own secrets. When We Meet Again introduces readers to a fascinating era in American history, the POW internment camps of Florida, and is a beautifully written story about love and forgiveness.

Elin Hilderbrand is the undisputed queen of the Summer novel. This Summer, she brings us Here’s to Us, the story of a celebrity chef Deacon Thorpe, whose death brings together three very different women from his life, all bitter rivals. As they gather in Deacon’s ramshackle Nantucket Summer cottage, good times are remembered, secrets are revealed, and bonds are formed as this unlikely family says goodbye to the man they all loved. The must read that will be in everyone’s beach bag this Summer.

Three sisters, three weddings, all to high-profile men, all in one calendar year . . . what’s a mother who wants to give her daughters everything to do? In The Wedding Sisters, Meryl comes up with the perfect solution: a triple wedding! But dealing with in-laws, massive media attention, and an aging mother won’t make it easy. A smart, fun, sexy read that will make you want to say “yes.”

When lonely teenager Evie Boyd sees a group of girls in the park, she’s immediately taken by their charms — their sense of freedom, their sense of abandon. She catches the attention of one of the older girls and soon finds herself drawn into a cult and the lure of its seductive leader. The Girls is a thrilling debut novel about the power and danger of girlhood.

Radio Girls is novel about the early days of the BBC and the women behind its brilliant programming. In 1926 London, Maisie Musgrave has just landed a job as a secretary at the newly created British Broadcasting Corporation, and she loves her new job — the excitement, the proximity to famous writers, scientists, and politicians. But when she discovers a shocking conspiracy, how will she make her voice heard?

Two former lovers who hadn’t seen each other in 21 years see each other through the crowd on a Manhattan street. Will they connect? Will they see each other again? If I Forget You is a beautiful, quiet novel about love and the paths we take and the ones that are forged for us.

Divorced actuary Penny Sinclair is ready to move on. As soon as she hosts her daughter’s backyard wedding, she’s ready to sell her house and move into a downtown condo. But then her children, her parents, and her ex all come back to the nest, needing Penny more than ever. Perfectly capturing the challenges of the sandwich generation, By the Numbers delivers all the laughs and cynicism we expect from a Jen Lancaster novel and also some sweetness, too. A must read for the beach this Summer, but one warning: the people on the beach chairs next to you will want to know why you’re laughing so hard.

When Maggie’s life gets thrown out of focus, she goes home to Mystic, CT, where she hopes to find clarity. But a chance run-in with an old boyfriend changes everything. Mystic Summer is a heartfelt novel about looking back, moving forward, and deciding who you want to be.

In First Comes Love, we meet two sisters who could not be more different. The only thing they share is a family tragedy, something that happened 15 years ago, which changed their lives forever. When the anniversary comes near, each sister finds herself at a crossroads and must come to terms with the past, and the choices they have made. Fans of Emily Giffin know that she never goes for the easy answers — First Comes Love is an un-put-down-able, smart, and thoughtful novel that will make you think about the nature of family and how our past informs our present.

Prepare to be beguiled by A Certain Age, a Jazz Age story of romance and scandal. A reinterpretation of Richard Strauss’s opera Der Rosenkavalier, it’s the story of a forbidden love triangle with a murder trial looming in the background. Told in alternating viewpoints of the two women, A Certain Age is a charming story full of wit, romance, and surprising twists.

When five Penn students return to the house they shared nearly 20 years prior, old grudges return, unrequited feelings bubble to the surface, and long-buried secrets are exposed. In Twenty Years is a novel about the dreams we had when we were younger, how our lives change over time, and what we choose to do with our futures.

The Light of Paris introduces us to Madeline, who flees an unhappy marriage. While in her childhood home, she discovers an old trunk in her mother’s attic and she learns about a part of her grandmother’s life that she never knew. Inspired by her grandmother’s trip to Paris years ago, Madeline embraces her old self, her old artistic ambitions. A charming novel about living life on your own terms that will make you long for the streets of Paris.

Did you love Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians? Well, then get ready for Sarong Party Girls, a modern retelling of Emma set in the glitzy, moneyed world of Singapore. Told in Singlish, colorful Singaporean English with its own cadence and slang, you’ll fall for Jazzy and her friends as they plan to snag rich ang moh — Western expat — husbands.

This Summer, the incomparable Jane Green delivers a beautiful love story, Falling. When Emma leaves her upper-crust British family, she thinks she’ll be happy in Manhattan, conquering the financial world. But when she feels the need to slow down from the frenetic pace, she moves to Westport, CT, where she rents a house from Dominic, a local bartender and handyman, who lives in the house next door with his 6-year-old son. Emma soon finds herself falling, but will Dominic’s son approve? Green delivers another must-read story about love, finding a home, and finding a family.

In the new novel by the author of The Devil Wears Prada, America’s sweetheart, Charlotte “Charlie” Silver is changing her image. Gone is “good girl” Charlie, in is the new “Warrior Princess.” Hey, no one ever won big by playing nice. But as Charlie’s star rises, it comes at a cost. The Singles Game is a sexy and fun novel that asks the question: what would you do to win it all?

People have sex all the time, don’t they? Twenty-six-year-old Julia does not. Has not. Ever. In Losing It, Julia spends the Summer with her eccentric aunt, aiming to lose her virginity and figure out what she’s doing with her life. A poignant novel by frequent New Yorker contributor Emma Rathbone about trying to find yourself.

A new Liane Moriarty? Sign us up! This eagerly anticipated novel is worth the hype. Truly Madly Guilty serves up everything we’ve come to expect from the author of Big Little Lies: characters so real you’d swear you knew them, juicy secrets that are revealed bit by bit, and one huge, giant reveal that the book revolves around. Here, you’ll be clamoring to know what happened at that fateful barbecue, and how did it impact the friendship of Clementine and Erika? And you’ll be thinking about this book long after finishing it.

Megan Abbott knows about the desires of teenage girls. In You Will Know Me, she tackles the world of competitive gymnastics in the story of Devon, an Olympic hopeful. When a tragic accident occurs weeks before an important competition, it threatens to upend all that Devon has worked for, all her parents have sacrificed to get her there. A smart, tense thriller about how far people will go to achieve a dream.

What if you had the chance to take an exilir and become beautiful? Not just pretty, we’re talking supermodel-ridiculous-gorgeous. Three 20-something best friends are offered the chance and discover that being pretty opens doors . . . but it comes at a cost. The Regulars is a smart, fun, and completely original novel that asks the question: what would you give to be pretty?

Everything is falling into place for Manhattan socialite Brigit Palmer — she’s about to marry Hollywood hearthrob Blake Crawford, and their families are all on the Greek island of Santorini to celebrate. Only problem? Her ex-husband is there, too, covering the wedding for a gossip mag. Santorini Sunsets will whisk you away to the beach with a charming story of love and family.

When Ava’s 25-year marriage falls apart, she’s desperate for companionship, so she joins a book club where each member presents the book that matters most to them. Ava rediscovers a book from her childhood, a book that helped her recover from the trauma of losing her mother and sister. Can finding this book heal her now? A novel about friendship, loss, and the redemptive power of books.

Lucy hates Joshua Templeton, her uptight nemesis who sits across from her at work all day. When a promotion is up for grabs, the games begin in full force in this fun, sexy rom-com. The Hating Game is a debut novel about the thin line between love and hate.