The Best Summer Books Our Editors Can’t Wait to Read on Vacation

In this “stunningly cool and stylish debut,” Emilia, a young artist, travels to Rome—on what was supposed to be a romantic getaway—to heal her broken heart. As she wanders the city’s narrow streets and wide piazzas, the music, art and beauty of Rome colour her dreamlike experience. But when she unexpectedly meets John, an American expat, she’s soon navigating an intriguing connection and finding herself transformed in ways she never expected. While this novel is a meditation on self-discovery, it’s also a visceral celebration of the Eternal City.

This riveting thriller will linger long after the surprising final page. Ariel wakes up in Lisbon to find her husband gone—there’s no note, and he’s not picking up his phone. As she inquires with hotel security, the police and the American embassy, she starts to wonder why he dragged her along on this business trip—and why she knows so little about her new, and much younger, husband. But Ariel also has her secrets, and perhaps the only person who can help her is the last person she wants to turn to. It will be hard to put down this well-plotted, breakneck thriller, set in one of Europe’s most charismatic cities.

It’s long been a Canadian tradition to head to the cottage for holidays—whether a ski chalet in the snow-covered mountains, a boathouse on a pine-ringed lake or a remote getaway in a secluded forest. With a carefully curated selection of contemporary cottage and cabin designs, this beautifully illustrated coffee table book provides an insight into the Canadian love affair with holiday homes—such as Grand-Pic Chalet in Quebec, Go Home Bay Cabin in Ontario and Bowen Island House in B.C.—guaranteed to make you want to head to the cottage.

In the latest from Emily Henry—star of the summer beach read—comes the story of one summer, two rivals and a plot twist they didn’t see coming. Nora Stephens is a cutthroat literary agent in New York City whose ‘leading man’ leaves her for greener pastures. So when her pregnant sister Libby suggests a girls’ getaway in Sunshine Falls, a picture-perfect town in North Carolina, she agrees. But Nora keeps bumping into her rival—a bookish brooding editor from back in the city—and it starts to unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve both written about themselves. This is a tale, both heartfelt and hilarious, about writing your own love story.

From the New York Times best-selling author comes a new ‘locked room’ mystery set in a Paris apartment building, where every resident has something to hide. Jess is broke and alone, but surely everything will come up roses in Paris? Her half-brother Ben, a British journalist, agrees to let her crash at his apartment—though he doesn’t sound too thrilled about it. When she arrives at his posh, but rundown apartment, he’s nowhere to be found. As Jess starts to look for answers, she meets an eclectic bunch of neighbours: the socialite, the nice guy, the alcoholic, the girl on the verge. In this whodunnit mystery, every neighbour is a suspect.

A love story of a different type, this novel explores the transformational love between mothers and daughters, set against the backdrop of Italy’s magical Amalfi Coast. Carol wasn’t just Katy’s mom, but her best friend. So when Carol dies, right before their planned mother-daughter trip of a lifetime to Positano, Katy is left reeling. But when Katy arrives at the Amalfi Coast, Carol appears—as a 30-year-old version of herself. Over one Italian summer, Katy gets to know Carol, not as her mother but as the young woman she once was—and learns how the people we love never truly leave us.