The summer fling is one of the few unambiguous delights of life on planet Earth. Romance novels published in the sunnier months don’t necessarily depict the phenomenon of the summer fling, but it is the time of year you’re most likely to find one.
As part of our big
Summer Reading package, we’ve gathered your fellow readers' 48 most anticipated new romance novels publishing between June and the end of August. These books were selected by monitoring early reader reviews and crunching the numbers on which titles are on the Read or Want to Read shelves of Goodreads members. We’ve divvied the books into subgenre stacks: Contemporary, Historical, Fantasy & Paranormal. Click on each title for the publication date and for more information.
Veteran romance readers will note that fan favorites like
Ali Hazelwood and
Casey McQuiston are back on shelves this summer. Mystery author
Rachel Howzell Hall has infiltrated the fantasy romance aisle with
The Last One, which is being billed as
The Witcher meets
N.K. Jemisin, and that sounds frankly awesome.
Also, look for cross-genre specimens like historical fantasy romance (
The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love) and lightly paranormal contemporary romance (
The Love of My Afterlife), as well as the continued strong showing of sports romances. Hey, is that Formula One racing added to the mix?
It is! For the punniest book titles in the biz, turn to the ever-dependable historical romance section for knee-slappers such as
Ne'er Duke Well, featuring a Regency-era female erotica library, or
A Shore Thing, a seaside Victorian love story.
As always, if anything tickles your fancy—or any other applicable area—you can add individual books to your
Want to Read shelf.