Holiday reading: The best books to pack for summer 2023
Wherever you're spending summer this year, delve into these new reads by established and up-and-coming authors
At long last, it’s officially holiday season. You’ve booked the flights and hotel, your out-of-office wardrobe is ready to go and travel miniatures are packed. Now there’s just one thing to take care of before you depart: what you’ll be reading as you bask under the hot sun of some faraway locale. And thankfully there are plenty of books to keep you occupied as you work on that tan. From thrilling debut novels to highly-anticipated releases by award-winning authors, these are the best books to read in summer 2023.
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
From the acclaimed author of Babel comes a gripping new thriller focusing on ambition, greed and white privilege. It follows protagonists Athena Liu – an established author – and June Hayward, a lazy but aspiring writer. When Liu dies in a freak accident, her most recent and stellar manuscript lands in the hands of Hayward who decides to publish it under her own name. But as the truth threatens her success, Hayward realises how far she will go to protect her newfound life and buried lies.
A Death in the Parish: Canon Clement Mystery by Reverend Richard Coles
The sequel to the number one Sunday Times bestseller, Murder Before Evensong, is finally released this month. Canon Daniel Clement returns in this new Richard Osman-esque thriller and we are transported back to the parish of Champton, just a few months after murder tore the community apart. Unsurprisingly, church politics soon rear their head but Clement is preoccupied with his mother Audrey; she’s up to something, and she’s determined to keep it from him. And then, just like that, murder returns to sleepy Champton in a shocking ritualistic killing…
Trespasses by Louise Kennedy
Set during The Troubles in Belfast in the 1970s, Trespasses follows schoolteacher Cushla as she manages love and loss while her community crumbles around her. Cushla meets Michael, a married man from Belfast, and although they don’t know it, this encounter will change both of their lives forever. Every day, Cushla witnesses another car bomb explode, another man killed and her seven-year-old children learn phrases like ‘petrol bomb’ in class. A raw depiction of Ireland during its most tumultuous period, this novel is tender, shocking and, above all, impossibly hard to put down.
Isaac and The Egg by Bobby Palmer
Already garnering rave reviews, Isaac and The Egg is Palmer’s debut novel and tells the moving story of a broken man’s transformative journey. On the worst morning of his life, this young man walks into the woods and finds something that will change life as he knows it. But, it isn’t all doom and gloom. The message of the book is hopeful and uplifting, simply stating ‘sometimes, to get out of the woods, you have to go into them’. Trust us, you’ll love this powerful but digestible novel.
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka
Winner of the Booker Prize 2022, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida is a unique depiction of the murderous mayhem of Sri Lanka due to the civil war in Colombo during 1990. When Maali Almeida – war photographer, gambler and closet gay – wakes up, he discovers he’s dead (quite graphically) but he has no idea who killed him. However, his murderer isn’t his biggest problem (it could’ve been any of the death squads or suicide bombers which were consuming the city) because even in the afterlife, time seems to be running out for Maali. He has seven moons to contact those he loves the most and try and lead them to a hidden cache of photos that will rock Sri Lanka. Ten years after his prizewinning novel Chinaman, which established him as one of Sri Lanka’s literary greats, Karunatilaka returns with an epic which will have you on the edge of your sun lounger.
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
Sally Milz is pretty successful. As a rich TV writer for a legendary late-night TV comedy show, every section of her life seems to be on track apart from her quest for love. Then Sally meets Noah, a pop star with a reputation for dating models. But would someone like him ever date someone like her? Tipping all expectations of romance on its head, Romantic Comedy is a witty and thoughtful tale of how the heart will follow what it wants. This is Sittenfeld at her best.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garfield
Lessons in Chemistry may have been published last summer but it remains a bestseller – and one I highly recommend you read. Set in the 1960s, it follows Elizabeth Zott, a talented chemist who’s on a mission to break glass ceilings while she works alongside her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute, who all take a very unscientific view of equality. Except for Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel-prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with her mind. Tragedy strikes and life is unpredictable, so when Zott finds herself a single mother a few years later, she becomes the reluctant star of a cooking show teaching women at home how to be a lot more than just a good housewife. Warming and funny, Lessons in Chemistry is an emotional rollercoaster we’re sure you will love.
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors
If you loved Sally Rooney’s Conversation with Friends, you will love Cleopatra and Frankenstein; a humorous but poignant depiction of an impulsive, toxic marriage. When Cleo and Frank meet by chance at a New Year’s Eve party, they embark on a love story which will change their lives, for better or worse. This astounding debut highlights how spontaneous decisions can shape our entire lives and is a unique take on a classic romance novel.
Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
If you’re looking for a beach read you can really sink your teeth into, they don’t get much better than pretty much anything written by Taylor Jenkins Reid. The acclaimed author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and recent Amazon Prime series Daisy Jones and The Six, Carrie Soto Is Back is actually based on characters off the back of Malibu Rising (haven’t read it yet? Chop chop). Carrie Soto is a fierce tennis player, shattering every record and claiming 20 Grand Slam titles. Six years after her retirement, Carrie finds herself sitting in the stands of the 1994 US Open, watching her record be taken from her by a brutal, stunning, British player named Nicki Chan. So, at 37-years-old, she comes back from retirement to reclaim her record. Can she do it? We recommend you find out.
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