For the Willoughby Book Club, summer is the ultimate reading season! For some of us (cough, Alisha, cough), we have read even more than we normally do, with the sun-speckled days of June and July providing the perfect opportunity for after-work reading sessions in the grass.
It’s a wonderful time to discover new things, to give yourself over to the stretched-out days and lose yourself in the bleached pages of a paperback. Maybe you want something completely immersive for the sun lounger, with a riveting plot and relatable characters. Perhaps you would prefer something as light and fizzy as a glass of rosé. We’ve been looking at all the latest book releases to compile a list of things that will cover a few bases when it comes to your prospective holiday reading. Read on for some interesting suggestions and also a few books that we plan on taking away with us ourselves!
I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue
This is a hilarious, heartwarming office-based comedy of errors that’ll have you cackling and cringing in equal measure. Expect mishaps and chaos when admin worker Jolene is accidentally granted permission to see her colleagues’ private emails. Vowing to use this information to her own advantage, her double life soon catches up with her.
You’ll cackle at how relatable this book is! If you liked Jen Beagin’s Big Swiss, you’ll definitely want to pick this one up.
Passiontide by Monique Roffey
Monique Roffey, the Trinidadian-British writer best known for her Costa Prize-winning novel, The Mermaid of Black Conch, is back with a powerful novel of feminist reckoning on a Caribbean novel. Like all Roffey’s books, you can expect to find vivid descriptions of life in the Caribbean, the music, food, people and complex history of an area still feelings the aftershocks of colonisation. It’s better to approach this novel with zero expectations, but you can be confident that it’s one of the best books of the summer.
The Sicilian Inheritance by Jo Piazza
If you like your mystery novels with a European flair, Jo Piazza’s new book would be a great title to pick up at the airport. This book stands out for its use of the author’s own family history in its central story. When Sara Marsala’s aunt dies, she returns to her family roots, where a long-held secret concerning the possible murder of Sara’s great-grandmother finally reveals itself. Alternating between the present day and the early 1900s, you can expect romance, intrigue, delicious descriptions of Sicilian food, and even mafia!
If you like historical fiction, family sagas, travel, or all of the above, this is a perfect choice for your next beach read.
Evenings and Weekends by Oisin McKenna
Arguably one of the buzziest books of the year, Evenings and Weekends has been receiving comparisons to the equally lauded and loved Sally Rooney and Torrey Peters, with a story of one friendship group set over the course of a single weekend in London in 2019. Expect an intricately woven cast of characters, plenty of humour, and solid queer representation. The palpable energy of the city radiates off every page and would be an ideal selection for someone who loves well-written, contemporary fiction with its feet firmly in the now.
Scrap by Calla Henkel
I read and loved Henkel’s debut Other People’s Clothes a couple of years ago and her follow-up, Scrap, looks as equally enticing. True crime-obsessed artist Esther Ray is hired by an excessively wealthy woman to create a scrapbook from masses of historical material for her husband’s birthday. With an NDA signed, Esther spends her days wading through years of photographs, documents and the detritus of a family over the years. She is only permitted to contact the wife on a secret burner phone, so when the wife who hired Esther dies, she immediately suspects foul play and suddenly propels herself into the position of amateur detective. Inserting herself in the mysterious death, Esther is soon confronted with her own somewhat shady past actions…
Henkel is by no means a run-of-the-mill thriller writer. Her prose is witty and incisive and Esther’s protagonist is an intriguing, morally dubious figure who you will struggle to dislike. You’ll be reading frantically to figure out what is going on. There’s art, power, truth, lies and revenge!
The Willoughby Book Club team’s summer reading plans:
Alisha
Later this summer, I’m going to Amsterdam with a few family members. I’ve never been there before and I’m really looking forward to having a wander and exploring the city. Between the museum visits, food and bicycle rides, I’ll be reading Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni as I know it’ll be something I can dip in and out of during my holiday.
Sorry, Bro is all about Nar as she starts to feel comfortable with who she is, accepting her Armenian roots and coming to terms with her sexuality. All helped by the intriguing Erubuni, who Nar can’t help but think might be the girl of her dreams.
Chloe
I have three holidays booked over the summer for Anglesey, the Lake District and somewhere in Lincolnshire, so I will get plenty of time to sit & read!
I recently found ‘American Dirt’ by Jeannie Cummins in a charity shop, and I’ve heard so many good things about it. It gives me similar vibes to The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah, with a woman uprooting her life and child to make a desperate and perilous journey across the country in a fight for survival. As The Four Winds is one of my favourite books, I’m hoping I enjoy this just as much, if not more so. I’ve been looking at it on my bookshelf since I got it and have been tempted so many times to start reading it, but I wanted to save it for a time when I can really sit and get absorbed in it. I can’t wait!
I’ve also just bought ‘Love Letters to a Serial Killer’ by Tash Coryell which my friend recommended to me. I’m really enjoying the dark humour similar to the authors Bella Mackie and Katy Brent. I’m saving this one. to read after Jeannie Cummins, as I feel like I’ll need something a bit lighter after the hard-hitting story of American Dirt.
Liv
The Offing and The Perfect Golden Circle by Benjamin Myers are two of my favourite reads and are ideal summer reading. This summer however, I plan on throwing myself headfirst into Myers’ new novel, Rare Singles, a love letter to Northern Soul. Myers seems to have an uncanny ability to write books that feel written exclusively for me and this one is no exception! I will wear my Fred Perry polo shirt for the occasion.
Following on from reading some really great Italian fiction in June, I plan on lingering for longer on the boot-shaped isle by reading We Will Be Forest by Ilaria Bernardini. I have been craving stories of friendship and I always find Italian novels translated into English are some of the most interesting to pick up! This one looks like it will be just what I want: an exploration of vibrant, complicated relationships, an Italian setting, and lyrical writing.
Aishah
Summer reading for me is always a great time to try out ‘new-to-me’ romantic comedy writers- something light and easy to read on my holidays, but definitely entertaining. This year I want to try out Abby Jiminez. Part of Your World has been on my TBR for far too long now. I have heard rave reviews across the board for this book and also for her writing in general. The only thing better than a romance book is a hilarious and well written romance.
Who knows? Maybe I’ll get through the entire trilogy while I’m camping in Norway in a couple of weeks. Or more likely, while I’m recovering afterwards!
Marianne
There’s nothing worse than being stuck without a book when you finally have time to relax and read, so I will be lining up plenty of titles for my time off to ensure I’m never caught out.
I am looking forward to reading All Fours by Miranda July, which looks as though it’ll be very funny, and very Mirada July-ish. I also can’t wait to get my hands on the new Donal Ryan book, Heart, Be At Peace which is published at the beginning of August. I have loved everything he’s written so far and I have high hopes for this. One can’t always cart hardbacks about, so I’ll also treat myself to a few paperbacks: I’d like to read Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfield, and I want to devote proper time and attention to Cuddy by Benjamin Myers which has been waiting on my TBR pile for the right moment to be savoured.