The Books You Need To Read This Summer

Food writer Adam Roberts’ debut novel follows the journey of aspiring cookbook author Isabella Pasternack. When she’s fired from her job at a digital food magazine, she accepts a thankless job for the paycheck: ghostwrite the cookbook for a once-beloved, 30-something actress, Molly Babcock. Molly, trying to repair her reputation after a serious downward spiral, meets Isabella’s earnest attempts to connect with inconsistency and cruelty. But, for the first time in her life, Isabella is determined to dig her heels in and figure out if Molly knows how to cook (or even likes to eat). The unlikely duo gets to work, before the lingering heat between them quite literally reaches a boiling point.
 

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The Midnight Feast unfolds at the grand opening of The Manor, a luxurious wellness retreat on the Dorset coast. Owner Francesca Meadows has transformed her inherited estate into a high-end resort, drawing both admiration and resentment from the local community. As guests gather for a lavish summer solstice celebration, old tensions resurface, secrets emerge, and a body is discovered. The haunting grip of the past is about to rear its ugly head. 

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A year after releasing her first adult novel, Jacqueline Wilson once again revisits old characters from one of her beloved children’s books. Picture Imperfect is the sequel to The Illustrated Mum. Dolphin Westward spent her childhood as the supporting character in the story of her beautiful, wild, volatile mother Marigold. Now 33, she’s painfully aware that not much has changed. She lives in a tiny bedsit, works in a tattoo shop by day, and collects her mum from police stations by night. Stuck in a rut, Dol must choose between the promise of a wholesome life with gentle gardener Lee, the thrill of a fling with charming actor Joel, or a fresh start in Scotland with her sister’s family. 

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In this electric horror, Thea suspects something is deeply wrong with her newborn daughter – and she’s right. Born with a full set of teeth and an insatiable appetite, baby Lucia is no ordinary child. When she points to her brother and says, “I eat,” Thea isn’t sure whether to be horrified or proud. As Lucia grows rapidly and her hunger intensifies, Thea begins to experience disturbing flashbacks from her own childhood. With a devilish glint in her eye, Lucia seems set on devouring the world – and Thea, worn down and mesmerised, might just be willing to let her do it. 

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Korean fiction is having a moment in the UK, and the latest translation to hit the shelves is this gritty love story by Choi Jin-young. Perfect for readers who loved Butter by Asako Yuzuki, the story begins in medias res, when a woman finds her partner murdered on the street. She cradles his corpse to her chest and carries it home, where she disinfects every inch of skin before seating herself to begin. What follows reverberates from this realm into the next, where the man is witnessing his own funeral. It’s a twisted yet poetic exploration of love, death and grief. 

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 A woman walks into a restaurant expecting samosas and ends the night discovering her husband’s affair – with someone named Maggie. Soon after, she’s diagnosed with breast cancer and names the tumour… Maggie. Told in sharp, lyrical fragments, this debut charts her journey through heartbreak and healing. She writes a guidebook for her husband’s mistress, speaks to her tumour, and weaves Chinese folktales into bedtime stories – reclaiming her identity, culture and sense of self along the way. 

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 When family members fight over the legacy of their inherited country estate, all hell breaks loose in this Succession-meets-Saltburn novel from British writer Anna Hope. The Brookes gather in their ancestral home to bury Philip, the head of the family. Frannie, who will inherit the land, dreams of rewilding it to combat climate change, while Milo envisions a luxury retreat for the wealthy under the influence of psychedelics. Both believe their father gave them his blessing to carry out their ambition plans, setting them on a collision course. Isa has long suspected that her father thought only of himself, and only hopes to seek out her childhood love, who still lives on the estate, to discover what her marriage is lacking. Then there’s Claram who arrives in their midst from America, shrouded in secrets, and bearing a truth that will shatter all their hopes and dreams.  

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Esther Freud’s latest work is a moving novel about sisterhood, secrets, betrayal and love. It’s centred on Lucy, who’s been caught between loyalty to her rootless, idealistic mother and devotion to her fierce and exacting sister, Bea. From her unsettled childhood to her turbulent teenage years, she's been forced to make a choice. But as the sisters come of age and embark on their own experiments – in love, drugs, work and motherhood – they find their lives, and their relationships, increasingly in turmoil. Can the love they have for each other transcend the damage of the past? Or is the past too dangerous to examine? 

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In this gripping coming-of-age thriller, Jane grows up isolated in a Montana cabin, raised by her enigmatic father after her mother’s mysterious death. When a dark secret forces Jane to flee, she heads to San Francisco – a city on the brink of the internet revolution – in search of answers. As she unravels the truth about her past, Jane confronts family secrets, the clash between nature and technology, and the fragile line between innocence and knowledge in a twisty, unforgettable story. 

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This is a powerful debut about love, identity and the weight of family. When Sommy leaves Nigeria for grad school in the US – just weeks after her brother’s suicide attempt – guilt, loneliness and desire collide. Torn between two men and two countries, a trip back to Lagos promises healing, but an unexpected twist shatters everything. Emotionally rich and deeply human, this is a bold, beautifully told story about belonging, betrayal and the lengths we go to for those we love. 

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