Summer is still the best excuse to read. The pace shifts, the days stretch, and suddenly there’s time — at the airport, by the pool, on long train journeys, or just in that particular silence that comes with being away.
Sadly but perhaps unsurprisingly, only 50% of UK adults now read regularly — down from 58% in 2015. However, summer holidays usually offer a much-needed reset. Paperback fiction sales consistently peak in July and August, and audiobook downloads rose 17% in the last year (with J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring topping the UK audiobook charts).
If you’re looking for summer books that make the most of that rare free time in 2025—this list has you covered. From gripping fiction to insightful memoirs, these are the summer books that stay with you long after the holiday ends.
1. You Are Here by David Nicholls
David Nicholls has a talent for writing about people who are stuck. In You Are Here, it’s two strangers in their 40s — a recently divorced geography teacher and a travel writer with anxiety — who end up on a walking trip across the north of England. What starts as reluctant companionship becomes something more tender. There’s loneliness, humour, slow-build connection — all told with Nicholls’ usual warmth and restraint. The setting (coastal paths, village pubs, sideways rain) adds texture without stealing focus. Quietly brilliant, and ideal for reading in long, uninterrupted stretches.
Goodreads stars: 4.0
2. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Set in the 1960s, this debut novel follows Elizabeth Zott, a brilliant scientist navigating a male-dominated world with wit and resilience. When she unexpectedly becomes the star of a cooking show, her unconventional approach challenges societal norms and inspires a generation. Sharp, funny, and uplifting, Lessons in Chemistry balances humour with heartfelt moments — perfect for readers looking for something both entertaining and thought-provoking.
Goodreads stars: 4.3
3. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Michelle Zauner, best known as the musician behind Japanese Breakfast, writes about grief, identity, and Korean food in this clear-eyed memoir. After losing her mother to cancer, Zauner unpacks their complex relationship and her own cultural disconnection growing up mixed-race in Oregon. Food — preparing it, eating it, remembering it — becomes both a tether and a language. It’s an exploration of mother-daughter dynamics and cultural memory that never veers into sentimentality. Bring tissues, but don’t expect clichés — it’s far more precise than that. Honest, sensory, and beautifully paced.
Goodreads stars: 4.2
4. Book Lovers by Emily Henry
If you want something light that doesn’t insult your intelligence, Emily Henry remains the best in class. Book Lovers takes all the expected tropes — big city girl in small town, rival-turned-love-interest — and executes them sharply. Nora is a literary agent who’s self-aware, ambitious, and refreshingly not pretending to hate her job. The dialogue is fast and funny, the romantic tension builds naturally, and there’s a surprising amount of emotional depth under the banter. It’s smartly structured, quick to read, and self-aware enough to be fun without being grating.
Goodreads stars: 4.1
5. Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
One of the most talked-about novels of the past year, and with good reason. Yellowface is a literary satire that reads like a thriller — exposing the hypocrisies of the publishing industry through the story of a white author who steals an Asian writer’s manuscript and publishes it under a vaguely ambiguous pen name. It’s bold in its commentary on race, authorship, and social media, but also compulsively readable. Kuang isn’t subtle — that’s the point — and the result is fast-paced, biting, and impossible not to react to. You’ll want to discuss it as soon as you finish.
Goodreads stars: 3.7
6. Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors
This debut novel follows the messy marriage between Cleo, a 24-year-old artist from London, and Frank, a 44-year-old ad exec in New York. It opens with a whirlwind romance and quickly unravels into a portrait of two people clinging to an idea of each other. Mellors moves through their lives and the people orbiting them — friends, exes, colleagues — with a sort of hazy elegance. There are echoes of Sally Rooney in the emotional texture, but Mellors leans more maximalist. Stylish, sometimes overstated, but compulsively readable. One for fans of character-led fiction that leans into chaos.
Goodreads stars: 3.7
7. Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
Darkly funny and genuinely strange, Big Swiss is the story of Greta, who transcribes sex therapy sessions and becomes fixated on a client she nicknames “Big Swiss.” When they meet in real life, things spiral. The writing is razor-sharp and often filthy, with a queasy sense of momentum and humour that veers from absurd to bleak. There’s a lot beneath the surface: trauma, dissociation, isolation — but it never becomes heavy. If you want something off-centre, fast-moving, and hard to summarise at a dinner party, this is it.
Goodreads stars: 3.7
8. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
Ignore the title if you must — this is one of the best celebrity memoirs in years. McCurdy, a former Nickelodeon star, writes with precision about emotional abuse, control, disordered eating, and recovery. Her relationship with her mother is harrowing, and the book doesn’t flinch. But McCurdy’s voice is blunt, unsentimental, and often bleakly funny. The pacing is tight, the scenes vivid, and the emotional arc carefully managed. It’s not a holiday book in the conventional sense, but it’s gripping, and you’ll finish it quickly — likely in one sitting.
Goodreads stars: 4.4
9. Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
Martha is clever, brittle, and quietly falling apart. Her marriage, her career, her family — everything feels slightly off. Sorrow and Bliss doesn’t name her mental illness, but that choice makes the novel stronger. Mason writes in short, clipped scenes that balance sadness with dry humour. The voice is distinctive, the characters sharply drawn, and the emotional insight disarming. Even at its most devastating, it’s readable — partly because Mason avoids melodrama and partly because the humour undercuts the heaviness. A smart, funny portrait of internal collapse that’s never self-indulgent.
Goodreads stars: 4.1
10. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Told as a fictional oral history, this is the rise-and-fall story of a 1970s rock band — all drama, ego, and late-night heartbreak. Each chapter is a series of interviews, stitched together to create a sense of real-time memory and clashing perspective. The result is immersive and fast, with the pace of a good documentary. Reid captures the era without overdoing the nostalgia, and the female characters (especially Daisy and Karen) are more than just muses. If you’ve seen the series, the book is sharper, faster, and more emotionally nuanced.
Goodreads stars: 4.2
So, have you made your decision on which summer book to take with you yet? These are ten books that hold your attention, wherever you are. Smart, well-paced, and easy to commit to — exactly what you want when you’ve actually got time to read. If you need a few extra summer books suggestions, see our reviews of: