summer recommendations // seasonal reads // Top Ten Tuesday
Summer has well and truly arrived here in Australia. At least where I live. We've already had multiple days of 35°C+ weather and it's only the start of December. All I can say is thank goodness for air conditioning!
During the warmer months, I tend to read a lot more contemporaries. I couldn't tell you why, but they're just not something I reach for in winter. As a result, I have a bit of a backlog of contemporaries on my TBR at the moment (more on that in a few weeks!). And today I thought it would be a great idea to add EVEN MORE to that list! So for this post about the perfect summery books, I'll be discussing five that I've read and loved, and five that I've yet to read but think would be ideal for this season!
Spoiler alert: Despite only last week raving about how much I like platonic relationships in books, I can't look past a cute summer romance!
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a new topic to respond to every week.
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"Four very different friends. One pair of magical pants. And a summer apart..."
Featuring beautiful and complex friendships (and maybe a romance or two!), The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a realistic coming-of-age story that literally everyone can relate to.
This book gives me all the classic American-summer-camp vibes! It also sounds like it has some good disability rep* and I think it could be a really sweet story!
*I really hope it's good rep. I haven't seen any reviews that actually discuss it, so if anyone has read the book and/or can speak to the accuracy of the rep, please let me know! If it's problematic, I don't want to read it.
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Along for the Ride is a story about a summer of beach parties, food fights, boys and fun – and getting to know oneself in the process!
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Ever since If I Stay, I've wanted to read more of Gayle Forman's work. And this one seems like it'd be a perfect summer read!
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This one, shockingly, is NOT a contemporary romance! We Were Liars is a twisty mystery-thriller but set against the backdrop of a private island (and with all the barbeques and swimming), it's the perfect non-contemporary for the season!
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A summer of European travel. Check. A secret identity. Check. And a cute holiday romance. Check. THIS NOVEL HAS IT ALL.
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The Unexpected Everything is the ultimate summer contemporary! IT FEATURES DOGS!!!
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A diverse (!) hate-to-love romance set against the backdrop of a college summer program. A little nerdy but hella adorable! I can't wait to read There's Something About Sweetie as well!
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9. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (unread)
I've been wanting to read this one for so long! A swoony romance with a gorgeous French boy? SIGN ME UP!
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10. Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch (unread)
Two words: love and gelato. Need I say more?
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At some point, this list turned into a list of European travel novels but I'm not apologising. I LOVE travelling and obviously reading about other people's adventures is the best way to travel without actually leaving the house! But for some reason, my travels never feature romances with cute boys... sigh.
What books do you think make the perfect summer reads? Have you read any of the ones on my list? Do you want to? Let me know in the comments below!
Niamh, xo.
I love contemporaries for the summer months! I feel like, in general, those are sort of the "rule" for many readers. I haven't read Jenna's novel (looks adorable!) or anything by Sarah Dessen (though why I don't know), but I did really enjoy "Anna and the French Kiss." Happy summer TBR-ing!
ReplyDeleteYes, I have noticed that! I've read a few Sarah Dessen books now and I've really enjoyed all of them! They're light and easy reads and they always make me smile. I hope I can get to Anna this summer! Thank you!
DeleteI liked Love and Gelato but it may make you want to go to Italy! I still have to read her sequel set in Ireland. Wanderlost is another one I remember thinking sounded really good. And I liked We Were Liars- I thought that whole private island setting, with all the dysfunctional adults, was so well done!
ReplyDeleteHaha I'm okay with that! Italy is already top of my list of places I want to go! I completely agree about We Were Liars, and I thought the twist was excellent as well!
DeleteThis list is like a breath of fresh air (or summer breeze?) for someone stuck in the cold and damp December. You make me miss summer even more, but in a good way.
ReplyDeleteAw, I'm glad you enjoyed it! There might even be a few more summer-themed posts in the near future...
DeleteI agree with Dinara. Summer sounds lovely right about now. If it already feels like 35C or more, how hot does it get later on in your summers?
ReplyDeleteHere is our Top Ten Tuesday.
Where I live, the average summer temperature is only about 30°C, although 35°C+ days are not unusual. But we also have very high humidity levels, so on a still day 35°C actually feels more like 45°C. Basically, it's pretty hot!
DeleteWow, that's warm! I hope you get to go swimming a lot on those days. :)
DeleteSometimes it's too hot even for that! Aircon really is the best invention!
DeleteApparently I don't read a lot of contemporary YA because I've only read one of these -- SISTERS OF THE TRAVELING PANTS -- and that was a long time ago. I have a bunch of these on my TBR list, though. I'll get to them one of these days ...
ReplyDeleteHappy TTT!
Susan
www.blogginboutbooks.com
Sisterhood is a bit of a modern-day classic! I hope you find the time to read the YA contemporaries on your TBR soon :)
DeleteI haven't read any of these yet. Some of these books look really sweet though. Maybe with Love and Gelato, quite literally!
ReplyDeleteYes! I'm going to be seriously disappointed if gelato is basically not its own character in Love & Gelato!
DeleteOhhh, these are definitely great for summer (and spring!) and I really loved so many of these. They were just so cozy and sweet and soft (I'm rambling but you get the idea) and all kinds of yes. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is such a nostalgia favourite for me. I think it was one of my very first YA reads.
ReplyDeleteIt's always good hearing good things about the books on your TBR – makes you even more excited to read them! I think Sisterhood might have been one of my first YA reads as well! At least in the contemporary genre!
DeleteIt is so weird to think how the seasons are different across the globe. Here we are, waiting for winters and you are experiencing summer :) I too love contemporaries, that is my favourite genre :) I have only read When Dimple Met RIshi from this list and enjoyed it. Many others are on my TBR too.
ReplyDeleteI know, it's kind of crazy, right?! Have you read From Twinkle, With Love by Sandhya Menon as well?
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