Summer Reading Recommendations

With summer approaching and studies coming to an end for the year, it’s the perfect time to put all your academic reading aside and settle in with a book that you can just enjoy at your leisure!

This article is going to highlight some of my personal summer reading recommendations, with a mix of classics and more modern reads!

The Spanish Love Deception

This hot romance by Elena Armas is such a perfect read for the summer season! Follow Catalina Martín as she suddenly finds herself needing a date for her sister’s wedding after her lies about having an American boyfriend spiral out of proportion. What soon unfurls is a fake-dating scheme between Catalina and her aggravating colleague Aaron, who is truly the most irritating and condescending man to walk the earth… or is he? Be warned, this book brings its fair share of spicy content!

A Room With A View

This short classic by E. M. Forster brings a group of classic English men and women to Italy, where cultures, opinions and perspectives meld together amidst the warmth and splendour. Tensions and connections are formed, and when people reunite back in England – relationships are tested, and people’s true characters are revealed. It’s a slow-moving narrative that is perfect to sink into as you enjoy the summer, being able to read of characters enjoying similar experiences in the warmer months of England and Europe. It’s the one I highly recommend!

The Secret Garden

This great classic by Frances Hodgson Burnett is, in my view, a wonderfully pure story. It is considered a classic of children’s literature, following the young girl Mary Lennox as she ends up living with her uncle on the Yorkshire Moors, after the deaths of her parents in British India. Her spoilt attitude diminishes as the story continues, she makes acquaintances and eventually discovers the secret garden. Overall it is a great tale of rejuvenation and recovery in all its forms, making it a great read for summertime!

Alone On A Wide, Wide Sea

This poignant book by Michael Morpurgo follows a young boy in his evacuation to Australia during World War II, and the great suffering he and his companions experience. He escapes with his best friend, and we follow his life as he grows up with trouble after trouble, until he finally finds peace and happiness as he creates a family of his own. Then the story turns to his daughter, who sets off on a nautical journey to try and find her father’s sister, who he never saw again after he was evacuated. This book shows the purest perseverance and love of family, and it’s a great read for the summer.

I have personally enjoyed all of these books over the years, but they all definitely hit the best when read during the summer months! So go ahead and give them a try, but if you’re unsure you can always go browsing on Amazon, Goodreads, or the National Bookstore to see what they recommend. Or you even go to your local bookshop or charity shop and see what they have on their shelves!

See what books are out there, and happy reading!