The Best Summer Books of 2018

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Summer is here! And while that *probably* no longer means you have three months of time off to enjoy, some of the principles of your childhood break can still thrive in adulthood—namely: summer reading!

You’re never too old to enjoy a weekend spent basking in the sun with a juicy page-turner, right? The only issue is narrowing down the laundry list of titles on your Goodreads to find the perfect novel.

Well, fear not, overwhelmed reader—we’ve compiled a list of the best books coming out this summer so you don’t have to put in the extra legwork.

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Scroll down below for a preview of the best books of summer 2018.

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Clock Dance by Anne Taylor (July 10)

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$22 available at Amazon Opens a new window SHOP IT Opens a new window

The latest from Pullitzer Prize-winning novelist Anne Tyler journeys through decades of Willa Drake's life, leading to the present-day, in which a spontaneous decision to travel across the country to care for a family she's never met re-routes her narrative.

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Number One Chinese Restaurant by Lillian Li (Out Now)

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$21 available at Amazon Opens a new window SHOP IT Opens a new window

Li's buzzy debut novel chronicles the personal dramas (big and small) of those who work at Maryland's family-owned Beijing Duck House.

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The Third Hotel by Laura Van Den Berg (August 7)

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A mysterious meditation on grief, The Third Hotel (literally) follows Clare through the streets of Havana, Cuba, after she spots her dead husband standing outside a museum.

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The Incendiaries by R.O. Kwon (July 31)

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An unlikely romance anchored in an act of extremist violence, The Incendiaries examines the transformative powers of love and loss.

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No One Tells You This: A Memoir by Glynnis Macnicol (July 10)

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$23 available at Amazon Opens a new window SHOP IT Opens a new window

In this long overdue memoir, single and child-free N.Y.C. writer and editor Glynnis MacNicol reflects on her life at age 40—reckoning (Eat, Pray, Love style) with a future that women "of a certain age" aren't expected to lead.

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The Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams (July 10)

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Ricocheting between time periods, The Summer Wives tells the juicy generation-spanning tale of the elite summer hideaway Winthrop Island from the perspectives of both wealthy vacations and the working class set who've done their bidding for decades.

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The Subway Girls by Susie Orman Schnall (July 10)

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Shifting between the wide-eyed excitement of a young girl swept into 1949's Miss Subways beauty pageant and the high-pressure environment of a present-day N.Y.C. advertising agency, The Subway Girls intertwines two distinct narratives in a tale highlighting the unexpected commonalities between us all.

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Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott (July 17)

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$22 available at Amazon Opens a new window SHOP IT Opens a new window

From the author of the captivating psychological thriller Dare Me comes the tale of former high school friends whose dark past overshadows the present when they're reunited later in life—this time as rivals.

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Believe Me by JP Delaney (July 24)

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This twisty novel by the author of bestseller The Girl Before follows a struggling actress-turned-divorce-firm-decoy who's ensnared in a murder case. Think The Girlfriend Experience meets Girl on the Train.

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Small Animals: Parenthood In the Age of Fear by Kim Brooks (August 21)

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$24 available at Amazon Opens a new window SHOP IT Opens a new window

Inspired by Brooks's own experiences as a mother, Parenthood In the Age of Fear offers an incisive, relatable, in-depth examination of how anxiety and parenting go hand-in-hand.

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Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter (August 21)

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In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, Slaughter's protagonist has her world turned upside down when she learns that her mother (whom she thought she knew best) has a dangerous past and former identity threatening to eclipse all hope of a future.

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