Now that Memorial Day weekend has come and gone, most of us are in summer mode. Pool days, road trips, staycations, flights, and just lounging around the house are great times to enjoy a good read. Something you may not know about me is that I was a librarian in a former life. No, not the bun wearing shusher of your childhood, but a self-proclaimed “cool” young adult librarian working primarily with students aged 12-18.

I love to read and I love sharing books that I’ve read with others. I usually read anywhere between 50-75 books in a calendar year. So, I put together a list of titles, both adult and YA (and if you haven’t read YA then trust me, you should) that I think are perfect for summer reading. In addition to my own brief commentary, each is linked to the full summary on Goodreads. Happy reading!

The After Party by Anton DiSclafani

Set in the world of 1950’s Houston, a group of young socialites’ lifelong friendship is strained by the woman at their beautiful center, Joan Fortier. Money flows as easily as the oil, but in a world of diamonds and debutantes, Joan’s single-girl escapades leave her childhood friend, Cece, playing the role of accomplice or parental figure. Joan’s indelicate appetites have no place in a world where a woman’s freedom and power are out of reach. The book is full of glitz, glamour, grit, darkness, and mystery. A page-turning quick read.

Goodreads.com summary

 

 All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Marie-Laure lives in Paris with her father, where he works at the Museum of Natural History. Blind since the age of six, Marie-Laure depends on the feel of a miniature model of their neighborhood made by her father to understand her surroundings. The Nazis arrive when she is twelve and they must flee to a walled citadel, Saint-Malo, where they seek refuge with her uncle, carrying with them what might be one of the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewels. At the same time a German orphan named Werner learns to rebuild radios, a talent that earns him rank in the Hitler Youth and eventually leads him to Saint-Malo, where his story collides with Marie-Laure’s. Riveting and beautiful.

Goodreads.com summary

 Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

Did you read The Girl on the Train? Then don’t miss this thriller. Young women and girls are disappearing into the river. Most say it’s suicide, but when a young investigator starts asking questions, long-held secrets begin to bubble up to the water’s surface. Who or what is to blame for the deaths of these “troublesome” women? Mysterious and eery, the twists and turns Hawkins delivers have you guessing to the very end. Told from multiple character’s perspectives as you follow the investigation, Hawkins does a tremendous job of illustrating the serpentine deceptiveness of memory.

Goodreads.com summary

 

 Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson

Nearly a year into WWI, the Lusitania set sail from New York to Liverpool. It was one of the most luxurious ocean liners of the day and it carried numerous children and infants aboard. For months prior German U-boats had been torpedoing ships in the North Atlantic, but the Lusitania was thought to be too fast and its captain held faith that a civilian ship would not be subject to warfare, at least that is how it had been for the last century. Germany, however, did not agree. Lusitania was on course to be one of the greatest disasters of history. Immensely detailed and emotionally dramatic, this is yet another of Larson’s greatest works. Nonfiction that reads like fiction.

Goodreads.com summary

 Blood Red Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick (YA)

English writer Arthur Ransome works in Russia as a journalist. The British want him to report back on Bolshevik activity, even as he becomes romantically involved with Trotsky’s secretary. As a revolution looms, both sides take advantage of Arthur for their own purposes, and all he wants is to escape and elope with his beloved. He must make some of the most difficult and dangerous decisions of his life. Thriller, romance, fairytale…an adventure story based on Ransome’s own experiences in war-ravaged Russia.

Goodreads.com summary

 

 We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (YA)

I don’t want to give anything away with this one. Let’s just say, I feel like this one is the “Unusual Suspects” of the book world. Once you read it, you know and then you can’t un-know, you know? LOL Ok, this is one of the best YA books I’ve ever read. It’s sophisticated and loaded with secrecy and mystery. The suspense surrounding a distinguished family leading up to an accident, will not only keep you guessing but leave you white-knuckling the pages rapidly towards the end. Definitely a summer thriller.

Goodreads.com summary

 

What are some of your favorite summer reads? I am always looking for great book recommendations. I also really love comfy oversized sweatshirts to curl up in with my book. I have a drawer full of them. This Latte and Love sweatshirt is from H&M’s summer sale and was only $5. My husband actually spotted it randomly and said, “You need this.” He knows me pretty well. 😉

Thank you so much for stopping by. Feel free to leave a book recommendation in the comments!

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Summer Reads: 6 Best Books for the Season appeared first on Cathedrals and Cafes.