The Best Beach Read Books of 2025

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid (3 June 2025)

The bestselling author of Daisy Jones & the Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo returns with a book set in 1980 about a physics and astronomy professor, Joan Goodwin, who responds to an advertisement for the first women scientists to join NASA’s Space Shuttle program. Thoughtful and reserved, she finds that training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside her fellow astronauts and their subsequent mission in 1984, proves life-transforming.

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

When a reclusive heiress invites two writers to tell her life story, little do they know that once they arrive at the island where she lives, they will have to pass a test: they each have a month to find the truth about one of the most scandalous families of the 20th century. After which, the heiress will choose which writer will be the author of her book. With an enemies-to-lovers trope, witty banter and all set in a paradise setting, this is classic beach read territory.

Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton

A debut memoir about a workaholic political advisor who leaves London during the COVID lockdown to spend time in the country. When out for a walk one day, she comes across a tiny baby hare (a leverett) no bigger than the palm of her hand, which against all advice, she adopts and rears, preparing it for its return to the wild. A gentle, inspiring and enchanting book.

Tart: Misadventures of an Anonymous Chef by Slutty Chef (17 July)

This highly anticipated debut has the author slated as a young female Anthony Bourdain with the wit and honesty of Lena Dunham. Having quit her job in corporate marketing to become a chef, she finds herself working 60-hour weeks in windowless kitchens and falling in love with other chefs. It’s a visceral, eye-opening book about sex and food, capturing the emotional chaos and buzz of working in London’s top restaurants.

Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez

When Samantha goes on a date with Xavier Rush, it turns out to be the perfect night together, but sadly, it’s the worst timing. Can they ever get their happy ending? Jimenez is the master of funny, poignant romances and this will have you swept off your feet from the first page.

Silver Elite by Dani Francis

Think Fourth Wing with a Divergent setting, this fast-paced dystopian romance is about a girl called Wren. One of the most powerful ‘Mods’, she lives in a world where the ‘Primes’ – those immune to the biotoxin that nearly wiped out the population 150 years ago – want to wipe out the Mods, who were enhanced by the toxin and developed psychic powers. When Wren is forced to join the Primes’ most elite training programmes, she has to decide which side of the war she is really on.

Katabasis by R F Kuang (26 August 2025)

If you enjoyed Babel and Yellowface, Kuang’s previous bestsellers, check out Katabasis which blurs the boundaries of fantasy, satire, and philosophy. Alice Law is an ambitious graduate student specialising in Magick at Cambridge. When the revered Professor Jacob Grimes unexpectedly dies, Alice joins forces with a rival academic on a rescue mission into the underworld.

Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry

For fans of Sarah J Maas, this romance is about a princess who unexpectedly gets chosen to seal an ancient treaty by marrying a foreign prince. Taken by sea to his kingdom with a hidden capital, she is tasked by her father to spy on her husband and to kill the infamous warrior who stands at her husband’s side. With monsters on both land and sea, a mysterious curse and slow-burning yearning, this is an action-packed page-turner.

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst

Readers who enjoyed The Spell Shop, a gentle love story about a librarian and her magical talking houseplant assistant Caz, won’t want to miss this follow-up book. Telling the story of how Terlu Pernu broke the law by creating Caz, this is a cosy, cottage core fantasy about how to find happiness.

Consider Yourself Kissed by Jessica Stanley

Australian Coralie arrives in London feeling lost but everything falls into place when she meets Adam with whom she falls in love after rescuing his daughter from an accident. Ten years on, however, Coralie feels lost again, even though she has everything she thought she wanted. Set against the background of Brexit and COVID, this romantic comedy is fresh and funny.

Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson (17 July)

When Jet Mason, daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Vermont, is attacked and suffers a brain injury, she is told by her doctor that within a week, she will suffer a deadly aneurysm. With 7 days left to live, Jet decides to solve her own murder along with the help of her childhood friend Billy. Clever, funny and gripping, this thriller is full of plot twists and surprises.