27 summery romance novels

When you're in the mood for something summery and (mostly) fun

May 08, 2024

As you may have seen on Notes last week, I was working on my All Things Summer Reading Guide issue, which will be coming out later this month (I'm so excited to share it!).

At the same time, I plowed through Emily Henry's newest novel, and reading a fizzy, summery romance while deep in the mindset of curating great summer reading recommendations was delightful.

Suffice it to say it put me in the mood for more fun, summery romance novels—you know the ones. The protagonist finds themself escaping their busy life, usually in a small town near the ocean or a lake. There is always a cast of great characters, an intriguing stranger or person from the past that the protagonist ends up spending time with, and a lot of summer vibes that make you want to ditch your responsibilities and jet off for the beach for two months with your favorite breezy dresses and a stack of books.

So I immediately started thinking about this specific genre of summer reading and, obviously, put together a list. I shared a little on Instagram stories last week, but I thought it’d be fun to share here (plus the covers together 😍). So, here's a roundup of summery romance novels I've read and loved and a list of the ones on my TBR this summer.

If you have recommendations to add, I'd love to hear them in the comments!

Now, onto the recommendations…

Some Summery Romance Recommendations

Romance is so personal, so I hesitate to give a blanket recommendation for all of these since I believe that you should read what you’re most interested in. I personally love witty, funny banter, great writing, emotionally astute characters, quirky side characters, and New England settings.

Many of these books fit those parameters in some way. I encourage you to Google what catches your eye to find titles that fit with what you’re looking for. If you’ve been around for a while and know we have similar tastes, then I can wholeheartedly recommend all of these. But if you have specific questions, leave a comment, and I’m happy to give more info about a title I read!