Whether you’re lounging by the pool, escaping the Florida heat indoors, traveling this summer, or finally tackling that ever-growing TBR pile, there’s no better time to get lost in a great book. From swoon-worthy beach reads and addictive thrillers to epic fantasy adventures, thought-provoking literary fiction, and inspiring memoirs, our Jacksonville Mom team has rounded up the books we’re recommending this summer.
As always, we encourage readers to support local by browsing one of the many independent bookstores in and around Jax or checking out titles through the Jacksonville Public Library. However you choose to read, we hope this list helps you discover your next favorite book.
* Jacksonville Mom team picks.
Romance & Beach Reads
Funny Story by Emily Henry: This 2024 romance novel centers on Daphne, a children’s librarian whose fiancé leaves her for his childhood best friend, Petra, in their lakeside Michigan town.
* Carley Fortune’s Summer Collection: Carley Fortune has not written a connected book series but rather a collection of five standalone, interconnected contemporary romance novels — Every Summer After, One Golden Summer, This Summer Will Be Different, Our Perfect Storm, and Meet Me at the Lake — that share themes of summer settings, second chances, and emotional journeys.
What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown: This 2025 coming-of-age novel follows a teenage girl raised in isolation in Montana who escapes to 1990s San Francisco to uncover the truth about her past, confronting family secrets and the dawn of the internet age.
* The Honey Bus by Meredith May: This 2019 memoir is about Meredith’s childhood after her parents’ divorce, when she was sent to live with her beekeeper grandfather in Big Sur, California.
The Favorites by Layne Fargo: This sports romance novel is about Olympic ice dancers Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha, whose intense partnership ends in scandal at the Olympics.
The Heir Apparent by Rebecca Armitage: This contemporary royal romance centers on Lexi Villiers, a British princess living in Australia who becomes the unexpected heir to the throne after her father and brother die in a skiing accident, forcing her to choose between her duty to the crown and her life with the man she loves.
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams: This bestselling romance novel is about two writers, Eva Mercy and Shane Hall, who reconnect at a literary event after a passionate week-long affair in their teens, exploring themes of love, trauma, single motherhood, and the Black literary world.
American Fantasy by Emma Straub: This joyful, poignant novel is about Annie, a recently divorced 50-year-old empty nester. After her sister breaks a leg and cannot attend, Annie boards a four-day cruise dedicated to ’90s boyband “Boy Talk,” discovering the freedom of fandom and middle-aged self-reinvention.
Fantasy, Romantasy & Escapist Reads
* Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros: This is the first book in Rebecca Yarros’s Empyrean series, a popular new adult fantasy romance about Violet Sorrengail, who is forced to join a brutal war college for dragon riders despite her fragile health, facing deadly challenges, political intrigue, and a complicated relationship with a powerful wingleader, Xaden Riorson, as she uncovers dark secrets about her kingdom.
* A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) by Sarah J. Maas: Meet the bestselling fantasy romance series that follows huntress Feyre Archeron as she is pulled into the dangerous, magical world of the Fae after killing a wolf, leading to romance, adventure, and a fight against an ancient evil.
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman: This popular LitRPG (literary role-playing game) book series is about a man, Carl, and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, who are forced to survive a deadly, televised dungeon crawl for an alien audience after Earth is turned into a game show.
Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett: This 2024 fantasy murder mystery novel, the first in the Ana and Din Mysteries series, is praised for its unique world-building, compelling characters, and clever plot.
Thrillers & Mysteries
Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston: This suspenseful thriller is about two women, Camille Bayliss and Aubrey Price, who swap identities for 12 hours to uncover secrets, only for Camille’s husband to be murdered, leaving both needing an alibi.
* Dear Debbie by Freida McFadden: This 2026 psychological thriller — by the same author as The Housemaid series — follows Debbie Mullen, an advice columnist who, after losing her job and discovering her husband’s infidelity, decides to take revenge on those who have wronged her, using her own advice in a dark and twisted way.
Stone Cold Fox by Rachel Koller Croft: This debut thriller follows Bea, a con artist who targets a wealthy heir to escape her past, but her plan is complicated by the man’s childhood friend, leading to a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with high stakes.
* Verity by Colleen Hoover: This 2018 psychological thriller is about a struggling writer, Lowen Ashleigh, who is hired to ghostwrite the remaining books in a successful series for the injured author Verity Crawford.
Literary Fiction & Book Club Favorites
* Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke: This satirical novel is about a “tradwife” social media influencer who wakes up to find herself in 1855, forced to live the harsh, traditional farm life she only pretends to portray online, leading to a dark and humorous exploration of fame, motherhood, and faith as she navigates a nightmarish reality.
“I’m 27 pages into this on a recommendation from a wonderful neighbor friend who works at a bookstore, so you know, she knows books. The inner monologue of the main character is amazingly brilliant. Can I #fivestar something I’m only 1/10th of the way through?” –Jacksonville Mom contributor Meg S. (follow her recos on @megscarlibrary)
Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall: This historical fiction novel set in rural England follows a love triangle between a woman (Beth), her husband (Frank), and her teenage sweetheart (Gabriel), whose return stirs up past secrets and grief, particularly after the death of Beth and Frank’s son.
The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff: This debut, multi-generational family saga is about a Texas family dealing with secrets, addiction, and loss, told from the perspectives of Ryan, Lillian, and their daughter Georgette (Jet).
* The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah: This novel centers on the Allbright family’s move to the Alaskan wilderness in the 1970s, seeking a fresh start after the father’s return from Vietnam, but they face harsh survival challenges and the father’s deteriorating mental state, forcing his wife and teenage daughter, Leni, to confront their own resilience and the wildness within their family.
“It’s a story that both broke my heart and put it back together in a beautiful way.” –Jacksonville Mom contributor Olivia S.
* Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens: This bestselling 2018 debut novel blends a coming-of-age story, a murder mystery, and a celebration of nature, set in the marshes of North Carolina.
Annie Knows Everything by Rachel Wood: This contemporary romantic comedy is about Annie, a New Yorker who thinks she has life figured out but finds her own life in chaos after losing her job and discovering her sister is engaged to a man she dislikes.
Into the Blue by Emma Brodie: This epic, decade-spanning love story moves between a small Massachusetts town and the worlds of acting and comedy.
Buckeye by Patrick Ryan: This historical fiction novel follows two couples, the Jenkinses and the Salts, in the fictional town of Bonhomie, Ohio, from World War II through the late 20th century, exploring their interconnected lives, secrets, and the ripple effects of their choices across generations.
Canon by Paige Lewis: This debut novel reimagines the epic hero’s journey through the parallel quests of two unlikely protagonists, Yara and Adrena, who are both tasked with slaying the same enemy leader, Dominic, in a world divided into “Good Guys” and “Bad Guys.”
A Founding Mother by Laura Kaye and Stephanie Dray: This historical fiction novel focuses on Abigail Adams’s life as she managed her farm, raised her children, and influenced the birth of the nation while her husband, John Adams, was away.
Memoirs & Personal Growth
Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden: This memoir traces the sudden collapse of Belle’s 20-year marriage, recounting her husband’s unexpected departure during the pandemic, triggered by the discovery of his affair.
Future Rich Person by Haley Sacks: This modern personal finance guide for Gen Z and millennials offers judgment-free, actionable strategies to build wealth despite economic challenges like student debt and inflation.
Atomic Habits by James Clear: This bestselling self-help book explains how tiny, incremental changes (atomic habits) compound over time to create remarkable results, focusing on building systems for continuous improvement rather than just setting goals.
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: Take an odyssey through Africa and Asia to meet the extraordinary women struggling there, among them a Cambodian teenager sold into sex slavery and an Ethiopian woman who suffered devastating injuries in childbirth.
What books are you recommending this summer? Sound off in the comments!
