18 2024 summer releases I can’t wait to get my hands on

For me, there are two seasons for Big Reading: autumn because cosy, and summer because long, long days, so both of those seasons get hefty TBRs for me. They’re also big seasons for lots of releases, too.

For the sakes of this list (I needed to narrow it down because the summer releases this year are on fire), I’ve taken summer as releases in the UK from 20 June - the official start of summer here - and 31 August. I know summer technically includes September, but that’s garbage - it’s clearly the beginning of spooky season on 01 September.

I mainly lean towards romance and contemporary fiction in the summer, but there are some fantasy, horror and sci-fi novels that I’m salivating for.

I’m honestly a little bit stressed looking at how many of these I want to read in the next two months… Wish me luck.

June

‘Freakslaw’ by Jane Flett (20 June, Doubleday)

A travelling funfair of seductive troublemakers arrive in a repressed Scottish town. What could possibly go wrong? It’s the summer of ’97 and the Scottish town of Pitlaw is itching for change.

‘I Love You, I Love You, I Love You’ by Laura Dockrill (20 June, HQ)

Ella and Lowe are teenagers when they first meet in summer 2000. For her, it’s love at first sight. But it’s safest to love from afar, where the friendship zone is her safety net and she can’t get hurt.

‘A Novel Love Story’ by Ashley Poston (25 June, HQ)

Eileen Merriweather loves a good love story. That’s why she’s so excited for her annual book club retreat – instead, when her car breaks down en route, Eileen finds herself in Eloraton. It feels too good to be true … because Eloraton is the setting of her favourite romance series. And Eileen is sure she must be here to bring the town its storybook ending.

July

‘Hiding Him’ by Adam Hattan (2 July, self-published)

Let's get one thing straight: Cameron Hawkins isn't. What he is, is hopelessly single and longing to escape his village in the arse-end-of-nowhere. That is until a newcomer arrives: Finn. He's tall, dark, obscenely handsome and somewhat of an enigma...

‘The End Crowns All’ by Bea Fitzgerald (18 July, Penguin)

When Cassandra’s patron god, Apollo, offers her the gift of prophecy – and all the power that comes with it – she seizes the opportunity. But how do you change your future when the gods themselves are dictating your demise?

‘Long Live Evil’ by Sarah Reen Brennan (30 July, Orbit)

When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favourite fantasy series. She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor.

‘Queen B’ by Juno Dawson (18 July, HarperVoyager)

BOW DOWN WITCHES. It’s 1536 and the Queen has been beheaded. Lady Grace Fairfax, witch, knows that something foul is at play – that someone had betrayed Anne Boleyn and her coven. Wild with the loss of their leader – and her lover, a secret that if spilled could spell Grace’s own end – she will do anything in her power to track down the traitor.

‘Little Rot’ by Akwaeke Emezi (4 July, Faber & Faber)

Akwaeke Emezi's exhilarating new novel follows five people over the course of a weekend which will brutally upend all of their lives. As Kalu drops Aima at the airport, it marks the end of their four-year relationship. Shattered and broken open, he thinks that's the last he will see of his ex-girlfriend. But, reeling from the breakup, both Aima and Kalu find themselves drawn back to Lagos: to separate nights of decadence.

‘Reckless’ by Lauren Roberts (4 July, S&S Children’s UK)

The kingdom of Ilya is in turmoil… After surviving the Purging Trials, Ordinary-born Paedyn Gray has killed the King, and kickstarted a Resistance throughout the land. Now she’s running from the one person she had wanted to run to.

August

‘Death at Morning House’ by Maureen Johnson (6 August, HarperTeen)

From the bestselling author of the Truly Devious books, Maureen Johnson, comes a new stand-alone YA about a teen who uncovers a mystery while working as a tour guide on an island and must solve it before history repeats itself.

The fire wasn’t Marlowe Wexler’s fault. Dates should be hot, but not hot enough to warrant literal firefighters. Akilah, the girl Marlowe has been in love with for years, will never go out with her again. No one dates an accidental arsonist.

‘A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire’ by Sarah Hawley (15 August, Gollancz)

Werewolf Ben Rosewood is happy with his life. One hundred percent. Everything is fine. His business, Ben's Plant Emporium, is thriving, and he's even expanding the shop. His anxiety disorder is...well, it's been better, but that comes with the territory of running a business and having beastly urges every full moon, right? As for romance-who has the time? But after drunkenly bidding on and winning a supposedly-possessed crystal on eBay one night, he finds himself face-to-face with a beautiful yet angry vampire.

‘Apprentice to the Villain’ by Hannah Nicole Maehrer (8 August, Penguin)

Evie Sage has never been happier to be the assistant to The Villain. Who would have thought that working for an outrageously handsome (shhh, bad for his brand) evil overlord would be so rewarding? Still, the business of being bad is demanding, the forces of good are annoyingly persistent, and said forbidding boss is somewhat…er, out-of-evil-office.

‘Slow Dance’ by Rainbow Rowell (1 August, Michael Joseph)

Everybody thought Shiloh and Cary would end up together – everybody but Shiloh and Cary. ‘Slow Dance’ follows these star-crossed best friends from their inseparable teen years on the wrong side of the tracks to their far-flung adulthoods – through her marriage and motherhood and his time in the Navy – as they try to work out what they’re actually supposed to be to each other.

‘The Pairing’ by Casey McQuiston (6 August, Macmillan)

Theo and Kit have been childhood best friends, crushes, lovers and, after a brutal breakup four years ago, estranged exes. It’s not until Theo and Kit are trapped on board a tour bus that they discover that they’ve each had the same idea: to take their dream European food and wine tour – alone. And now they’re stuck with each other for three weeks of the most romantic sights and sensuous flavours of France, Spain, and Italy. But it’ll be fine. They’re absolutely over each other.

‘Holding the Reins’ by Paisley Hope (15 August, Penguin)

CeCe Ashby is looking for a fresh start after escaping the toxic relationship that has consumed her adult life. Unsure of what the future holds, she returns to the small town of Laurel Creek and her family’s ranch.

Nash Carter is the recently retired hockey superstar of the Dallas Stars, Laurel Creek’s hometown hero, and notorious bachelor. He may look good in a cowboy hat, but he is also CeCe's brother’s best friend… and therefore off limits.

‘The Mercy of Gods’ by James SA Corey (6 August, Orbit)

The Carryx - part empire, part hive - has waged wars of conquest for centuries, destroying or enslaving species across the galaxy in its conflict with an ancient and deathless enemy. When they descend on the isolated world of Anjiin, the human population is abased, slaughtered and put in chains. The best and brightest are abducted, taken to the Carryx world-palace to join prisoners from a thousand other species. Dafyd Alkhor, assistant to a prestigious scientist, is captured along with his team. Even he doesn't suspect that his peculiar insight and skills will be the key to seeing past their captors' terrifying agenda.

‘Lady Macbeth’ by Ava Reid (13 August, Penguin)

The Lady knows the stories: that her eyes induce madness in men. The Lady knows she will be wed to the Scottish brute, who does not leave his warrior ways behind when he comes to the marriage bed. The Lady knows his hostile, suspicious court will be a game of survival, requiring all of her wiles and hidden witchcraft to survive.

But the Lady does not know her husband has occult secrets of his own. She does not know that prophecy girds him like armour. She does not know that her magic is greater, and more dangerous, and that it will threaten the order of the world. She does not know this yet. But she will.

‘Wisteria’ by Adalyn Grace (20 August, Hodderscape)

Blythe Hawthorn has never let anyone tell her what to do . . . and she's not about to start now. Headstrong and passionate, she won't be ruled by society, or by her overprotective father, and certainly not by the man she's bound herself to, no matter how insufferable he is. She's determined to be a thorn in his side for the rest of her days, even as he ensues that her life in his palace is anything but the decadent fairytale she imagined.

Are any of these on your summer reading lists? I’d love to know what you’re getting stuck into this season!

Written in Sophie