This past summer was a rough one for me. With my “summer” job ending in June and no internship in sight, it was a sort of wayward summer with not much to do. Sure, I tried channeling my energy into eating healthier, working out more, and attempting to broaden my horizons, yet I was so bored. Watching hours of Netflix (or one of the many other streaming services I’ve been roped into buying) or scrolling through TikTok is mind-numbing. I had to find something, anything, else to do.
Now, I used to be an avid reader when I was younger (i.e. elementary school). I would read dozens of books during the summer. Towards the end of June, as I was on another TikTok binge, I happened to stumble upon what is known as BookTok. BookTok is a side of TikTok where creators share reviews and thoughts on their favorite books. I was trapped and immediately bought three that sounded interesting.
So if you aren’t on BookTok yet, here are my top recs to catch you up to speed!
Beach Read
Emily Henry’s Beach Read was the first on my reading journey. The main characters January and Gus are everything. The polar opposite college rivals are both writers and just happen to be living in adjacent beach houses for three months. With writer’s block stopping them from completing their respective novels, January and Gus strike a deal to trade genres and get themselves out of their rut. Gus is to write a happy romance novel and January is to write the next Great American Novel. This enemy-to-lovers adult contemporary romance novel hits all the boxes and more.
People We Meet on Vacation
As soon as I finished Beach Read, I picked up Henry’s second adult contemporary romance novel, People We Meet on Vacation. Best friends Poppy and Alex, who have nothing in common, have gone on ten vacations together until two summers ago when everything was ruined by a kiss. Poppy misses Alex and invites him on a trip for one last ditch effort to fix everything. This friends-to-lovers romance made my heart so happy.
Writers and Lovers
Lily King’s Writers and Lovers is an introspective and intimately funny novel about grief that is in some ways romantic. The novel revolves around 31-year-old Casey Peabody who is determined to live a creative life, even if it means waitressing and walking her landlord’s dog for money off her rent in between penning her novel and navigating her mother’s death. Writers and Lovers is dark and twisty but oh so good.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
This was one of the BookTok books of the summer. Taylor Jenkins Reid’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a phenomenal novel. Evelyn Hugo is a movie icon who climbed the ladder to the top of Hollywood fame in the 60s. Finally ready to tell the world about her life, exploits, and of course her seven husbands, Hugo handpicks the unknown journalist Monique Grant to write the piece. Why? Well, you’ll have to read it to find out. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a captivating novel with a ton of twists and turns that you will be sure to love!
It Ends with Us
When I picked up It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover, I was caught off guard. BookTok glossed over a lot of the triggers in the book, but nonetheless, it was a powerful and beyond impactful novel. When Lily meets Ryle Kincaid, a very handsome but arrogant neurosurgeon with a soft spot for Lily, her life becomes almost too good to be true. Their relationship becomes complicated and twisted, and when her first love Atlas arrives on the scene, things go south. It Ends with Us is based around the author’s own mother’s experience, a woman doing the hardest thing: escaping domestic violence. I highly highly recommend this novel.
The Honorable Mentions
I thought I’d throw in some honorable mentions that also deserve the love! I am a big Sally Rooney fan. Her novels Normal People and Conversations with Friends were big on BookTok for a while. They are phenomenal and maybe some of my favorite books. Her new novel Beautiful World, Where are You just came out and I am so excited to read it. Some other honorable mentions include Where the Crawdads Sings by Delia Owens and the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas.
If you are not on BookTok and are interested in getting into reading, check it out! There are always new books circulating and they are often so good. Not to flex, but this summer I read 17 books, all thanks to BookTok and my hoard of Amazon gift cards.
If you want more recommendations, be sure to check out my Goodreads account!
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