It’s that time of year, folks! By which we mean the month publishers unleash their big-hitting beach reads, ready for us to stretch out with through those upcoming long, hot days and sultry summer evenings (fingers crossed on that front!)

So, if you’re looking for books that deliver big on the beach-read front, we have plenty of ice-cream-sweet treats for you to pick and mix from. Browse our Summer Reading Collection for dozens and dozens of delights, or take this quiz to help you narrow down your options. 

You might also want to discover the answer to a scorching hot question — what makes a book a beach read?  

In the meantime, read on to find your next favourite summer sizzler of a novel! 

Pick your ideal trip 

a) Going mad for it on a Thai island with new-found friends

b) Staying with family in a cute Martha's Vineyard cottage

c) Travelling solo and living local on a Bali beach 

d) Living the high life in a couples-only tropical resort

e) Going to a Greek island villa with best mates from work

Pick a story scenario 

a) Partying, diving and deaths in paradise 

b) Introverted hot male librarian meets extroverted female chef 

c) Life-changing choices and cute romance 

d) Murder in paradise and domestic darkness 

e) Female-centred thriller with real-life resonance  

Pick some sustenance 

a) Coconut curry

b) Fresh sea food 

c) Old Fashioned cocktail

d) Pina colada 

e) Fresh feta and olive salad 

Pick your perfect summer holiday activity

a) Full-on full moon parties and adventure sports

b) Enjoying fine food in local eateries 

c) Stretching out on a sun-lounger with a good book

d) Romantic candlelit dinners and moonlit walks

e) Sipping champers in luxurious lodge

Mostly As - The Dive by Sarah Ochs

Loved The Beach? Then you’ll want to add The Dive to the top of your summer reading wish-list. Set on an idyllic Thai island that’s known for its diving and crazy full moon beach parties, this tingles with murder-in-paradise tension as the body count rises higher than said full moon! Think betrayal, blackmail and plot twists aplenty.

Mostly Bs - Summer Reading by Jenn McKinlay

With its fun opposites attract storyline, and sunny Martha’s Vineyard setting, Summer Reading will entertain readers who love meet-cute stories as a “hot librarian” love interest is lined up for its female chef protagonist. Alongside all the love, sweet, love, this is also great at portraying dyslexia, and features dyslexic-friendly design.

Mostly Cs - Beach Rivals by Georgie Tilney

In short, this is the ideal summer reading romance sizzler for book-lovers! With its Bali bookshop setting and enemies-to-lovers narrative, Beach Rivals is a feast of will-they-won’t-they fun in the sun that’ll have fans of romantic fiction demanding refills of tropical cocktails from the comfort of their sun-loungers.

Mostly Ds - The Honeymoon by Kate Gray

From an idyllic Bali honeymoon, to trouble back home in Blighty, The Honeymoon is a highly readable thriller that reels with the ricocheting aftermath of a fatal last-night-in-paradise event. Chilling and twisty, witnessing the unravelling of two couple’s lives is an addictive, edge-of-your-seat experience. 

Mostly Es – The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop

If you like your thrillers to have meaty, thought-provoking, real-world resonance, The Girls of Summer has an abundance of exactly that. It sees a woman return to the Greek island she worked on as a teenager, gradually confronting traumatic truths about her past, and realising bitterly painful realities about coercion and consent.