6 Summer Reads You Might Not Have Read Yet

Something impossible to ignore: summer is fast approaching and for many it’s already here.

I officially finished college (forever!) and what’s on my mind? Books. Ironic I’m sure but I know many of you can relate. There are few things as relaxing as reading a book while soaked in sunshine; whether it’s in your back garden or by the pool on holiday.

As a book fanatic, I’ve compiled my list of the ultimate summer-reads for 2025 that you’ve probably never heard of or may have overlooked.

The Girls by Emma Cline

“I looked up because of the laughter, and kept looking because of the girls.”

The Girls is summer personified; it transports the reader to the cultural landscape of Southern California in 1967. It follows 14-year-old Evie Boyd who meets the mystifying Suzanne and is soon swept into a ranch-living cult. Cline bases the cult loosely on the Manson family, so if you’re interested in true crime but not a fan of anything gruesome, this is the perfect read for you.

The beauty of Emma Cline’s prose is the highlight of the book, an example of which is evident in her introduction of Suzanne: “That was the first time I ever saw Suzanne – her black hair marking her, even at a distance, as different, her smile at me direct and assessing. I couldn’t explain it to myself, the wrench I got from looking at her.”

The book does a great job at capturing the unsure feelings that come with being a teenager trying to navigate new people and situations. It made me reflect on how easy it can be to fall into something wrong when you don’t really know who you are yet.

A Spy in the House of Love by Anais Nin

“She had lost herself somewhere along the frontier between her inventions, her stories, her fantasies and her true self.”

Anais Nin is regarded as one of the pioneers of erotic fiction, but I think that as a novelist she’s very overlooked. I don’t know anyone who has read A Spy in the House of Love and so I wanted to recommend it. The book is set in 1950s New York City and follows the romantic and sexual affairs of the main character Sabina.

Being a married woman, Sabina must navigate her acting career along with the personal conflicts she experiences between desire and responsibility. The book’s prose can be described as warm: there are many descriptions of sunsets, beaches and dancing the tango on a hot summer night. It’s one of my favourite books and it is best enjoyed in the summertime.

Slow days, fast company by Eve Babitz

“I wonder if I’ll ever be able to have what I like or if my tastes are too various to be sustained by one of anything.”

Eve Babitz is one of my favourite writers. She is immensely entertaining, and her writing has the power to transport and transform you infinitely. Slow days, fast company follows Eve through a myriad of people and locations across Los Angeles and is dedicated to her boyfriend at the time.

It finds her on a grape farm with a fan, a bar with Janis Joplin and a weekend getaway to Palm Springs but certain factors remain throughout: her idle style, sharp tongue and quick wit that act as the motions that guide you seamlessly through her world.

Eve is a daughter of Hollywood and grew up in the high society of musicians and filmmakers. Thus, she is unfazed by the celebrities she encounters throughout the book, from Jim Morrison to Janis Joplin. It is her status as a true it girl that allows her to remain unfazed and maintain her cool. Eve never takes herself too seriously and to me that is truly aspirational. Slow days, fast company is a fantastic read and one that is best enjoyed during summertime.

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

“They kind of felt like dolls, with Ali arranging their every move.”

I know, I know: Pretty Little Liars is in no way niche; it’s a highly popular television series from the 2010s. However, I believe that the book series is highly underrated. Shepard’s writing is incredibly funny, and the characters and plot-points are somehow more outrageous than they are in the show.

The flashback scenes take place in the summer Alison DiLaurentis went missing. If you want something easy and nostalgic to read this summer, Pretty Little Liars is a fantastic choice. And once you get hooked on the first book, there are seven more to enjoy!

Sex and Rage by Eve Babitz

“She figured that any day now she was going to start feeling the simple composure of normalcy that Jane Austen’s heroines also sought to maintain, the state described in those days as ‘countenance,’ and later as ‘being cool’.”

Sex and Rage is Babitz’s foray into writing fiction, although it’s still largely autobiographical. It follows Jacaranda (the fictional Babitz) as she navigates the glamorous society of her lovers and friends Max and Etienne.

Split between Los Angeles and New York, it follows these charming yet cruel characters and their tumultuous affairs with one another. The story is highly entertaining and full of escapism which makes it the perfect read for summer.

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue.”

Letters to a Young Poet is full of Rilke’s advice to his contemporaries: throughout the letters he advises them on topics such as art, love and death. He urges them, and therefore us as readers, to adopt a different perspective on loneliness and solitude: “Your solitude will be a support and a home for you, even in the midst of very unfamiliar circumstances, and from it you will find all your paths.”

Although Rilke is writing in the context of a secluded poet, we can all benefit from this sentiment. Summer is a time of parties, gatherings and celebrations; but it can also be a time of great solitude. It’s important to cherish these moments spent alone and not to dwell on the periodic loneliness but to learn to make use of it.

These gems are a must-have for your summer reading list. Thank me later!

Words by Sarah Hanrahan