Summer is the perfect time to slow down and get lost in a great story.

Whether you’re listening to the waves at the beach, travelling to a new city or simply carving out a quiet moment at home, a great book is the perfect companion.

From sweeping family sagas to laugh-out-loud romcoms and moving tales of second chances, we've rounded up five standout reads to add to your summer reading list...

It’s a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan

The ideal beach read, It's a Love Story is a romantic comedy about a former sitcom star-turned-Hollywood exec. Jane Jackson is forced to confront her past, and her old crush, after a career-saving lie spirals out of control. To secure a music deal with her childhood first kiss, popstar Jack Quinlan, Jane must team up with infuriatingly charming cinematographer Dan Finnegan. Set over one chaotic week on Long Island, the story explores love, identity, and second chances.

The Names by Florence Knapp

In The Names, a single moment, a mother hesitating at her newborn’s naming, unfolds into three alternate versions of a life shaped by choice, identity, and survival. Spanning 35 years, the novel traces Cora and her son’s diverging paths in the shadow of an abusive marriage. With lyrical prose and emotional force, it explores the long echoes of trauma, the complexities of motherhood, and the fragile hope of transformation.

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

On Little Crescent Island, aspiring writer Alice and Pulitzer-winning Hayden are rivals who are both trying to write Margaret Ives’ biography. The former heiress offers them a one-month trial, each receiving only hearing parts of her story. Bound by NDAs and a growing mutual attraction, Alice and Hayden must navigate secrets and ambition. What unfolds is part mystery, part romance, and entirely dependent on who gets to tell the story first.

Flashlight by Susan Choi 

In Flashlight, a haunting family mystery begins the night ten-year-old Louisa is found alone on the beach, her father gone without a trace. As Louisa and her mother Anne struggle with grief, fractured identities, and buried histories, the novel unravels across decades and continents. With shifting perspectives and emotional depth, Susan Choi explores loss, memory, and the forces that shape one family’s fate across generations.

The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong 

In The Emperor of Gladness, 19 year old Hai is saved from the brink by Grazina, an elderly widow with dementia. As Hai becomes her caretaker, an unexpected bond forms, one rooted in tenderness, survival, and redemption. Set in a Connecticut town, Ocean Vuong’s novel explores grief and the hope of second chances.