While this summer will look a lot different than usual, we’re fortunate to have a LOT of great book releases to look forward to. I’ve put together a summer reading list for 2020, so you don’t miss out on any of them!
In this list, I’m focusing on fiction books only. (Sorry non-fiction lovers!)
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Summer Reading List 2020
Summer Book Releases: June
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
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From the bestselling author of The Mothers comes a new novel about twin sisters growing up in the South who ultimately choose two different paths: one as a black woman, and one as a white woman.
Release date: June 2nd
The Last Flight by Julie Clark
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Two women, both running from something, meet by chance in an airport bar. They decide to switch flights, hoping it will help them disappear. But when one woman’s plane goes down, the remaining woman is forced to make some tough choices. And does this mean she’s safe, or will things get worse for her?
Release date: June 23rd
All Things Left Wild by James Wade
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All Things Left Wild is a coming-of-age story and odyssey of two brothers on the run from the law across the American West during the early 1900s.
Release date: June 16th
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
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From Goodreads: “In the latest thriller from New York Times bestseller Riley Sager, a woman returns to the house made famous by her father’s bestselling horror memoir. Is the place really haunted by evil forces, as her father claimed? Or are there more earthbound—and dangerous—secrets hidden within its walls?”
I loved Riley Sager’s books Final Girls and The Last Time I Lied, so I have high expectations for this one!
Release date: June 30th
Mexican Gothic by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia
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Set in 1950s Mexico, Mexican Gothic is a unique take on Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. A debutante receives a letter from her newly-married cousin – who believes she’s in danger – asking for help. She arrives at the mysterious gothic mansion, only to be greeted by even more dark secrets.
Release date: June 30th
The Second Home by Christina Clancy
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This novel centers around a summer home in Cape Cod, where the lives of three siblings are changed forever. Fifteen years later, the house brings them back together, and they are forced to figure out if they can ever be a family again.
Release date: June 2nd
Summer Book Releases: July
Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay
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This new take on the “zombie” novel focuses on a pediatrician and her friend – who’s eight months pregnant – as they fight for survival in a world ravaged by a new virus.
Release date: July 7th
Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell
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If you know me, you know that David Mitchell is one of my favorite authors. I loved his novel The Bone Clocks – it was so different than anything I had ever read. So of course I’m excited for his new novel, which focuses on a fictional British band in the 60’s that rises to fame amidst all the free love and turbulence of the decade.
Release date: July 14th
Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby
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Now a family man and honest mechanic, Bug Montage was once known as the best getaway driver on the East Coast. But when one final heist to help him go straight once and for all goes wrong, he’s pulled into a crime underworld that threatens everything he cares about.
Release date: July 14th
What You Wish For by Katherine Center
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An elementary school librarian goes up against her school’s rigid new principal – who happens to be her former crush – when his security standards threaten everything she loves about the school. (A new romance by the author of How to Walk Away).
Release date: July 14th
His & Hers by Alice Feeney
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Anna Andrews almost has her dream job: as the main TV presenter for the BBC’s lunchtime news. But when she’s asked to cover a murder in her hometown, it becomes clear she’s in deeper than she realized.
DCI Jack Cooper is investigating the murder, but doesn’t tell anyone that he knows the victim – until he realizes he could be a suspect himself. Both share their side of the story, but which one of them is lying?
Release date: July 28th
Summer Book Releases: August
The Comeback by Ella Berman
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Full of deeply-flawed characters and tumultuous relationships, The Comeback – about a young movie star who grows up in the limelight – sheds light on so many issues that plague society today (like toxic masculinity, power abuse, and fame).
Release date: August 4th
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
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From Goodreads: “An outsider who can travel between worlds discovers a secret that threatens her new home and her fragile place in it, in a stunning sci-fi debut that’s both a cross-dimensional adventure and a powerful examination of identity, privilege, and belonging.”
Release date: August 4th
Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
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This debut novel is about a woman who is determined to follow a flock of birds as they attempt their annual migration, in a near-future version of Earth where most animals have gone extinct.
Release date: August 4th
Somewhere in the Dark by R.J. Jacobs
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Somewhere in the Dark follows a young woman trying to rebuild her life after a childhood of neglect – until she becomes a suspect in a famous singer’s murder.
Release date: August 11th
The Heatwave by Kate Riordan
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After an accidental fire occurs, a woman and her daughter return to their family home in the south of France after years of living in London. But from the moment they arrive, a sense of dread begins to take hold.
The cottage holds secrets from the past – like what happened to their family, including the woman’s older daughter, before they left. And those secrets won’t stay hidden for long.
Release date: August 18th
I hope this summer reading list for 2020 has helped you narrow down which new releases you’re most excited about! Stay safe and keep on reading, friends.
If you’re looking for more awesome books to read, check out my list of the best thriller books of 2020 (so far)!