With finals season coming to an end and Summer fast approaching, what better way to fill your time then to read some fun, comfy, maybe dramatic, but ultimately amazing books! I plan on reading as many books as I can so my brain can take some much needed rest. With that in mind I have compiled a list of some fan favorite, popular, and anticipated reads from varying genres that you can add to your TBR this summer.
- Six crimson Cranes
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Elizabeth lim
Six Crimson Cranes, published in 2021, is the first book in Elizabeth Lim’s duology, compiling elements from Cinderella, the legend of Cheng E., and the tale of the Bamboo Cutter. It focuses on the protagonist Shiori’anma, a princess with hidden magic flowing through her veins who gets banished from her home, and is left reeling when her brothers are turned into cranes. Forbidden from revealing her identity, alone, and without a voice, she has to find her way to her brothers and save her kingdom with the help of friends she’s made along the way, while learning to embrace the power within her.
Six Crimson Cranes is in my opinion a wonderfully crafted fantasy retelling, weaving in aspects of mythology, romance, and twists that will keep you turning the pages.
- Better than the movies
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Lynn Painter
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Better than the Movies is a popular YA rom-com that was published in 2021 by Lynn Painter. It follows a hopeless romantic and daydreamer, Liz, who is trying to win over her longstanding crush by acquiring the help of her annoyingly attractive and longtime next-door neighbor, Wes. With a semi-fake dating scheme in place to get her crush’s attention, Liz and Wes gradually spend more and more time together and discover there might be more of a connection between them than they thought. When lines blur, Liz has to re-evaluate her thoughts on love, how her happily ever after might end, and with whom.
Better than the Movies is a fun, fan favorite book featuring both cheesy, sappy, and nostalgic elements, making it a cute YA rom com, and a great book to add to your summer TBR if you’re looking for a lighthearted yet heartfelt romance.
- Legendborn
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Tracy Deonn
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Legendborn is the first novel in Tracy Deonn’s popular book series The Legendborn Cycle, published in 2020. The book focuses on the life of its main protagonist, Bree Matthews, a 16-year-old girl who leaves her hometown after her mother passes in a tragic accident, to attend a residential program for high school students at UNC-Bunker Hill. However, her first night there, she sees some things she can’t explain- a magical attack, demons, and a secret society called the Legendborn who hunt them down. After a mage fails to wipe her memories, inadvertently unlocks her unique magic, and recovers a buried memory from the night her mom died, Bree decides to do some investigating on her own.
With the help of Nick, a self exiled member of the Legendborn she infiltrates the secret society and learns that they are descendants of King Arthurs nights and that a magical war is coming. However, the deeper Bree gets to the societies secrets, the closer her and Nick become, and the crazier it gets. Bree must decide how far she is willing to go for the truth and whether or not she will take the society down or join the fight.
Legendborn is the perfect book to add to your TBR if you’re a fan of retellings, magic, an intriguing romance, complex themes such as grief, trauma, and identity, compelling characters, and a fast paced plot that will keep you engaged.
- Ninth HOuse
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Leigh bardugo
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Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House, published in 2019, is a dark academia novel set in the world of Ivy League universities, blending the worlds of fantasy and reality in its compelling tale. The novel follows Alex Stern, a girl whose life has been anything but easy- she dropped out of school, had some shady drug-dealing boyfriends, and some dead-end jobs, yet she was also the sole survivor in an unsolved multiple homicide. When she was offered a chance to attend Yale University on a full ride in her hospital bed, she couldn’t help but be confused, wonder why, and what the catch was. Searching for answers in New Haven, Alex is tasked by her ominous benefactors to monitor the activities at various secret societies present at Yale. While doing so, she witnesses some of the rather ominous, extraordinary, and sinister activities practiced by some future rich and powerful players.
Ninth House is the perfect book for readers who enjoy urban fantasy, mystery, secret societies, occult rituals, and ghosts.
- Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
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Gabrielle zevin
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Published in 2022, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow follows Sam and Sadie, childhood friends reunited in their junior year of college at Harvard University. The pair become partners and manage to publish a blockbuster film before graduating college, setting them up virtually overnight. They are rich, brilliant, successful, and not even 25 years old yet, plagued by their ambitions and betrayals of the heart. Its story spans decades of friendship, exploring the dynamic between fame, friendship, love, and loss.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a great book for readers who enjoy coming to age stories, contemporary books, friendship, and overall thought provoking reads.
- Sunrise on the Reaping
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Suzanne collins
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Published in March of 2025, Sunrise on the Reaping is the newest prequel in the Hunger Games universe and perfect for fans of the original trilogy and first prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The book follows the events of the 50th annual Hunger Games, and the Quarter Quell in which Haymitch Abernathy’s name is called from District 12. Torn away from his family and the woman he loves, he is shuttled to the capital with three other tributes, including a close friend who is like a sister to him. When the games begin, Haymitch realizes that he is set up to fail, yet there’s some part of him that is willing or wanting to fight.
Sunrise on the Reaping is a great book for readers who enjoy dystopian, science fiction, the Hunger Games, themes such as the use of propaganda and political manipulation, suspense, and emotional storylines.
- The naturals
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Jennifer lynn barnes
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The Naturals is the first book in Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ series The Naturals, published in 2013. It follows the main character 17 year 17-year-old Cassie Hobbes, a natural at reading people, piecing together details that can tell you who you are and what you want. When the FBI comes knocking and asks her to join a classified program for exceptional teenagers to help crack some infamous cold cases, she reluctantly accepts. The program isn’t what she expects; there is more at risk than just some unsolved homicides, especially when she meets the fellow members of the program with unusual gifts like her own. With a killer on the loose, a mystery to solve, and danger looming, the naturals have to use all their gifts to survive.
The Naturals is the perfect book for readers who enjoyed books like A Good Girls Guide to Murder, Criminal Minds, thrillers, mystery, romance, crime, and suspense.
- A very large expanse of sea
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Tahereh Mafi
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Published in 2018, A Very Large Expanse of Sea is a heartfelt contemporary novel about fear, love, and the impact of racial prejudice. The book is set in 2002 after the events of 911, following the life of a 16-year-old Muslim girl, Shirin, who is tired of being stereotyped. She is tired of the degrading comments, stares, and physical violence that she faces due to race, religion, and the hijab that she wears. When she meets Ocean James, the first and only person who wants to get to know Shirin, she’s terrified; they come from different worlds, and she isn’t sure if she can bring down the guard she has built to protect herself.
A Very Large Expanse of Sea is a great book for readers who are looking for a contemporary novel that touches on themes of prejudice, discrimination, coming of age, or an overall thought provoking novel.
- Never whistle at night
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Shane hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst jr, Stephen Graham jones
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Never Whistle at Night is a dark fiction anthology featuring 26 short stories by indigenous authors centering around the belief that you should never whistle at night. The tales introduce readers to various ghosts, curses, hauntings, creatures, family legacies, and acts of revenge. The stories introduced were in celebration of indigenous peoples’ imagination, survival, and fascination with all things that a whistle might summon.
Never whistle At Night is the perfect choice for readers who are interested in horror, short stories, indigenous culture/traditions, and folklore.
- THis is how you lose the time war
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Amal el-mohtar, Max Gladstone
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Published in 2019, This is How You Lose the Time War features a dying world in which an agent of the Commandment finds a letter instructing them to burn it after reading. Following the unlikely correspondence of two rival agents of warring factions, what began as a tense exchange eventually grew into something more, epic, romantic and maybe even something that could change the past and future.
This is How You Lose the Time War is perfect for readers who enjoy sci-fi, forbidden romance, time travel, poetic prose, and short yet fast paced gut wrenching reads.