Now that the semester is over, it’s finally time to get back into the leisurely spirit. No more required readings, no more lectures playing at 1.5x speed. It’s time to relax, take a much-needed breath, and get excited for this year’s summer reads.
2022 is bringing us a goldmine of new book releases in every genre. A number of familiar authors are coming back to bookshelves near you, and if you’re not already excited, you should be. We’ve selected one perfect beach-day read for every month of your summer break — and all from #BookTok’s favourite authors.
June: My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey
The devil works hard, but Tessa Bailey works harder. Only a short three months after the release of her It Happened One Summer sequel, Hook, Line and Sinker, Bailey is gracing the world with what has been described as a “spicy murder mystery.” My Killer Vacation is looking like it’ll be the perfect beach read for these coming summer months—the story itself is set in the bright and beautiful Cape Cod. Our second-grade-teaching heroine is looking forward to spending the summer relaxing, but her plans are quickly derailed when she finds a body in their summer rental. Soon after, a rude, motorcycle-riding bounty hunter comes into town looking to solve the case. My Killer Vacation promises drama, intrigue, and just a dash of danger to keep things interesting.
July: The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
Now, Katherine Center might not be as well-known in #BookTok circles as the other two authors on this list, but her upcoming release is being praised by some authors that definitely are. The New York Times Bestselling author of Book Lovers, Emily Henry, called it her “perfect 10 of a book”, and Helen Hoang — bestselling author of The Heart Principle — referred to it as “like a spoonful of sugar, or better yet, pure sunshine. A perfect feel-good rom-com.”
The Bodyguard takes a classic romance trope — literally the bodyguard trope — and puts an even more classic twist on it: in this book, it’s the heroine who’s doing the guarding. Hannah Brooks, an executive protection agent, has just signed on to be the bodyguard to international superstar Jack Stapleton. The catch? Jack’s going home to see his family, and not wanting them to know he’s in danger, he has Hannah pretend to be his girlfriend instead of his bodyguard.
August: Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
Last year, Ali Hazelwood’s debut novel The Love Hypothesis took the internet by storm. It was so popular that Hazelwood’s fans actually crashed her website server when she released a bonus chapter back in October. This year, she’s graced her fans with not one, not two, but three short stories, all leading up to the release of her second full-length romance, Love on the Brain, in late August.
Yet another STEMinist rom-com, Love on the Brain is being praised by advanced-copy readers as “an addictive, adorable, and swoon-worthy read.” It follows neuroscientist Bee Königswasser, who should be jumping with joy as she’s offered her dream job at NASA — but there’s one major downside: she has to work alongside her self-declared arch-nemesis, Levi Ward. Knowing how much the internet seems to love enemies-to-lovers, I think it’s pretty safe to say that Love on the Brain is likely to be just as big of a hit as Hazelwood’s debut.
There’s just something about feel-good romcoms that make them perfect for the summer, and this year’s selection is nothing short of top-tier. So pack up your favourite beach bag, lather on some sunscreen, and hit your local bookstore on the way to the sand.