Books
Summer may be sweet, it may be sizzling, it certainly is extremely sweaty. In an ideal world, you're outdoors enjoying 70 degree temperatures and glistening not sweating. But in reality, you're probably drenched in sweat and eager to get inside so you can enjoy an amazing new book while parked in front of your air conditioner.
I'm from Texas, where summer temperatures are usually above 100 degrees and frequently as high as 110 degrees. It's the kind of heat where just the walk from your front door will make you reconsider your plans for the day. Summers when I was growing up meant doing everything you could to stay indoors where you weren't in danger of heat stroke.
Which, honestly, is fine by me, because what better excuse to crack open a good book? So, if you're hiding from the scorching sun, here are some books that will keep you reading all day long. I'm talking un-put-downable thrillers, immersive literary fiction, and books that have delicious drama spilling out of the pages.
This summer sure is bringing the heat, so you definitely need some great books to get you through. Plant yourself directly in front of the air conditioner and cool off with these spectacular reads.
'The Last Time I Lied' by Riley Sager
At her first summer at Camp Nightingale, Emma played two truths and a lie nearly every night with her fellow campers. That is, until the other girls in her cabin snuck out and were never seen again. Now, as an adult, Emma is asked to return to the camp as a painting instructor. It's an opportunity to find out what really happened to her friends — one she can't refuse.
'A Place for Us' by Fatima Farheen Mirza
The first book from Sarah Jessica Parker's new imprint, A Place For Us centers on an Indian-American Muslim family after a rift forces siblings Hadia, Amar, and Huda to create new lives for themselves.
'The Book of M' by Peng Shepherd
This book begins when a man's shadow mysteriously disappears. Then, a plague called the Forgetting sweeps the planet, and all those affected gain strange powers while simultaneously losing their all memories. Ory and Max have managed to escape the Forgetting so far, but when Max loses her shadow and runs away, Ory must find her before she forgets everything.
'Playing with Matches' by Hannah Orenstein
This sizzling new rom-com is the story of Sasha, a recent grad who unexpectedly finds herself working for NYC's premiere matchmaking service. Sasha puts everything she has into this new job — but things get a little topsy-turvy when she accidentally falls for a man she's matched with one of her clients.
Disclosure: Hannah Orenstein is an editor at Bustle Digital Group.
'The Romanov Empress' by C.W. Gortner
Based on the real life of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna, this book takes you right into the heart of the Russian Revolution, telling the history of the conflict from a perspective you may not have heard before.
'The Book of Essie' by Meghan MacLean Weir
Seventeen-year-old Essie had her entire childhood chronicled on Six for Hicks, a reality TV show that centers on her fire-and-brimstone evangelical family. But when Essie becomes pregnant, her mother conspires with show's producers to figure out a plan, and Essie begins to question what she knows about her own family.
'Starless' by Jacqueline Carey
If you want an adventure, you obviously need to pick up this new book from the author of the fantasy classic, Kushiel's Dart. Khai has been destined from birth to be the protector of the princess, Zariya. As Khai grows up, he is trained in the warrior arts. When he finally meets Zariya, he has to learn how to navigate the twists and turns of the royal court. And trouble looms when the fallen god Miasmus re-emerges.
'An Ocean of Minutes' by Thea Lim
America is in the middle of a deadly flu epidemic. When her boyfriend falls ill, Polly decides upon an unconventional solution: Time travel. She signs up for a one-way-trip into the future to work as a bonded laborer, under the agreement that the company will pay for her boyfriend's life-saving treatment. But when she's rerouted five years later than expected, her boyfriend is nowhere to be found and Polly must make a new life for herself — all the while, trying to figure out what happened.
'The Captives' by Debra Jo Immergut
Inmate psychologist Frank Lundquist has the shock of his life when convict Miranda Greene, the woman he had a crush on in high school, walks into his office. Miranda has been accused of a brutal crime, and as she grapples with the choices that led to her downfall, Frank helps her gain some control over her fate.
'The Map of Salt and Stars' by Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar
The Map of Salt and Stars tells the story of two Syrian girls at different points in history. In 2011, Nour's family flees Syria after a bomb destroys their home. More than 800 years earlier, Rawiya disguises herself as a boy and becomes the apprentice to a cartographer so she can see the world.
'Mem' by Bethany C. Morrow
In this version of the early twentieth century, scientists have developed a way for memories to be extracted and exist as zombie-like, mirror images of their source known as Mems. But everything changes when a Mem named Dolores Extract #1 begins to form her own memories. This thriller novel will have you turning pages all afternoon long.
