The dreaded reading slump. That feeling when you want to read but just can’t find the right book. We’ve all been there. And, luckily, we’ve got the cure:
11 great books that will help snap you out of your slump.
Flying Solo: A Novel by Linda Holmes
Opening Lines:
She could have missed the duck entirely. It was at the very bottom of the cedar chest, and in the manner of the princess and the pea the stack of mattresses, Laurie might have ignored it if she hadn’t pulled all the blankets out to see whether any of them seemed special.
A woman returns to her small Maine hometown, uncovering family secrets that take her on a journey of self-discovery and new love, in this warm and charming novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Evvie Drake Starts Over.
“Flying Solo is a testament to the truth that love comes in all shapes, sizes, and situations; that being alone does not mean being lonely. And Linda Holmes creates characters and conversations so real that sometimes I wonder if she is hiding in my closet, eavesdropping.”—Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author ofWish You Were Here
“Linda Holmes has crafted another moving and tender novel full of bighearted characters, smalltown charm, and deep truths about life. Flying Solo is a perfect book for anyone who feels a little separate from the flock.”—Rebecca Serle, New York Times bestselling author of In Five Years
Available June 14th in Hardcover, eBook, Audio, and Large Print Editions.
Click to Read the Full Excerpt.
Listen to a Clip from the Audiobook.
Click to Watch Our “Relationship Fiction” Author Panel—Featuring Linda Holmes.
Hurricane Girl: A Novel by Marcy Dermansky
Opening Lines:
Allison Brody bought a beach house.
She was thirty-two years old.
Sick of everybody and everything.
All she wanted to do, more than anything, really, was swim.
A propulsive and daring new novel by the author of Very Nice about a woman on the run from catastrophe, searching for love, home, a swimming pool, and for someone who can perhaps stop the bleeding from her head.
“Just a little comedy about the loss of all worldly possessions, near-deadly assault, brain surgery, and violent revenge . . . Small comic gems sparkle in their deadpan settings on every page . . . The only bad thing about this book is that you will likely finish it in one sitting.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Available June 14th in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
Click to Read the Full Excerpt.
Listen to a Clip from the Audiobook.
Our Last Days in Barcelona: A Novel by Chanel Cleeton
Opening Lines:
Isabel
1964
Palm Beach
It’s a crowded party, a veritable who’s who of Palm Beach society ready to close out the social season, but I don’t care about any of that. I cut through the crowd with a single purpose: To find Senator Nicholas Preston.
When Isabel Perez travels to Barcelona to save her sister Beatriz, she discovers a shocking family secret in New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton’s new novel.
“Cleeton is a master at weaving together stories across dual timelines, and this is no exception. The novel pulses with her signature blend of intrigue, betrayal, and the redemptive power of unleashing family secrets.”—Entertainment Weekly
“There’s no one better than Cleeton at intertwining tales of mothers and daughters with war and revolution . . . a riveting tale.”—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye
Available in Hardcover, Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
Click to Read the Full Excerpt.
Click for a Discussion Guide.
Listen to a Clip from the Audiobook.
What Do We Do in the Dark: A Novel by Michelle Hart
Opening Lines:
When Mallory was in college, she had an affair with a woman twice her age. When the woman was seventeen, she herself had had an affair with a man in his forties.
A novel about a young woman’s life-altering affair with a much older, married woman.
“Hart’s novel does something exceptional that few pieces of fiction have done successfully . . . [H]as flashes of Sally Rooney’s Conversations With Friends.”—The New York Times
“Moving and memorable.”—Meg Wolitzer, author of The Female Persuasion
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
Click to Read the Full Excerpt.
Click for a Discussion Guide.
Listen to a Clip from the Audiobook.
The Catch: A Novel by Alison Fairbrother
Opening Lines:
My father, a minor poet, celebrated holidays out of season. He couldn’t get custody of all four of his children at once, so he moved the fall, spring, and winter holidays to the heat of summer.
A young woman searches for the truth about her father—and the secrets of her family—in this electric debut novel.
“This big-hearted debut absolutely crackles with smarts. The Catch is a delightful read about love, loss, and the vulnerability of growing up.”—Emma Straub, author of All Adults Here
Available June 21st in Hardcover, eBook, Audio, and Large Print Editions.
Click to Read the Full Excerpt.
Click for Audiobook Information.
Click to Watch Our “Debuts of Note” Author Panel—Featuring Alison Fairbrother.
Search: A Novel by Michelle Huneven
Opening Line:
I hadn’t been to church for close to three months when Charlotte Beck called at eight o’clock on a Monday night and asked if she and Belinda Bauer could stop by.
From critically acclaimed, award-winning author Michelle Huneven, a sharp and funny novel of a congregational search committee, told as a memoir with recipes.
“Delectable . . . Huneven treats us to a savory plot that blends spiritual yearnings with earthly pleasures. Forks out!”—Oprah Daily
“Huneven’s comic novel is a delicious, recipe-laden, must-read . . . hilarious.”—Maureen Corrigan, NPR
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
Click to Read the Full Excerpt.
Click for a Discussion Guide.
Listen to a Clip from the Audiobook.
The House Across the Lake: A Novel by Riley Sager
Opening Line:
I stare at the detective on the other side of the table, an untouched mug of coffee in front of me.
The New York Times bestselling author of Final Girls and Survive the Night and “a master of the twist and the turn” (Rolling Stone) is back with his most unexpected thriller yet.
“The House Across the Lake reads like a psychological thriller version of The Great Gatsby, featuring binoculars for more accurate across-the-lake spying, smaller gatherings for a shorter list of suspects, and a truly bat**** twist for more satisfying consumption. So basically The Great Gatsby, but better. I know, them’s fightin words.”—CrimeReads
Available June 21st in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
Click to Read the Full Excerpt.
Click for Audiobook Information.
Happy for You: A Novel by Claire Stanford
Opening Line:
When I went to my interview at the third-most-popular internet company, I tried to make myself look like a real person.
A whip-smart, funny, affecting novel about a young woman who takes a job at a tech company looking to break into the “happiness market”—even as her own happiness feels more unknowable than ever.
“Engrossing and clever . . . Stanford captures the allure, absurdity and menace of corporate spaces with wit and levity . . . Anyone who has resisted fitting neatly into an algorithm will find a companion in Evelyn, and in this book.”—The New York Times Book Review
“The optimal novel for the strange times we find ourselves in.”—Rachel Khong, author of Goodbye, Vitamin
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
Click to Read the Full Excerpt.
Listen to a Clip from the Audiobook.
Ashton Hall: A Novel by Lauren Belfer
Opening Lines:
On a Sunday morning in late June, I waited with my son at the side entrance of a stately home near Cambridge, England. We stood on a stone bridge that spanned what was once a moat, the water drained, a grassy pathway beckoning at the bottom, the moat’s walls overgrown with greenery.
An American woman and her son stumble upon the dark history of a rambling English manor house in this “masterful, riveting, and atmospheric” (Alka Joshi, author of The Henna Artist) novel from New York Times bestselling author Lauren Belfer.
“With vibrant prose, Lauren Belfer shepherds us through a centuries-old mystery and into a modern-day introspection on motherhood, marriage, and love.”—Georgia Hunter, New York Times bestselling author of We Were the Lucky Ones
Available June 7th in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
Click to Read the Full Excerpt.
Click for Audiobook Information.
The Murder of Mr. Wickham: A Novel by Claudia Gray
Opening Lines:
June 1820
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Knightly of Donwell Abbey had been a surprise to those who knew them best and not in the least surprising to those who knew them hardly at all.
A summer house party turns into a thrilling whodunit when Jane Austen’s Mr. Wickham—one of literature’s most notorious villains—meets a sudden and suspicious end in this brilliantly imagined mystery featuring Austen’s leading literary characters.
“Had Jane Austen sat down to write a country house murder mystery, this is exactly the book she would have written. Devotees of Austen’s timeless novels will get the greatest possible pleasure from this wonderful book. Immense fun and beautifully observed. Delicious!”—Alexander McCall Smith
“A well-done pastiche that balances menace with wit, recrimination with reconciliation, sin with redemption and justice with mercy.”—The Wall Street Journal
Available in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
Click to Read the Full Excerpt.
Click for a Discussion Guide.
Listen to a Clip from the Audiobook.
Try an Absorbing Listen:
Family of Liars: The Prequel to We Were Liars by E. Lockhart; Read by Kimberly Farr
Opening Lines:
My son Johnny is dead.
Jonathan Sinclair Dennis, that was his name. He died at age fifteen.
The thrilling prequel to the TikTok phenomenon and New York Times bestseller We Were Liars takes readers back to the story of another summer, another generation, and the secrets that will haunt them for decades to come.
“Farr captures the tense tone of a story in which events build dramatically, unexpected happenings add darkness, and surprises lurk around every corner . . . a gripping listen.”—AudioFile
“Besides superb character development, there is a dark, supernatural angle that makes this an interesting novel with unexpected twists . . . An atmospheric story that will welcome new and seasoned readers to the Sinclair family.” —NPR
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
Listen to a Clip from the Audiobook.
Click to Read the Full Excerpt.
Step 1:
Denial.
Step 2:
Acceptance.
Step 3:
Action.
Take our quiz to find your perfect summer read!
Take the Quiz.
