Your bookshelf needs some thrillers, glow ups, and romance (duh!) 

Whether you're lounging by the pool or dreaming of an escape from the daily grind, these books promise to keep your summer lit, one page at a time.

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry 

Why not start your summer with a magical exhale that transports you into Emily Henry’s fantastical world of romances? Like her yearly bullseye, she is set the stage for another fleeting summer romance whose plot is plotting! A slow burn that’s going to make you want to forget that glass of Martini till you hit the end.

Solo by Indrajeet More

What would you do if you were offered to host a travel show across India as a 19-year-old? Teen dreams much? This debut novel documents surreal experiences of a barely-intocollege Maharashtrian boy who explores different landscapes while navigating the boredom of solo travel. A must-read for those who, like us, are stuck in the cities these coming holidays.

The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins 

A two-word solution (nonalcoholic) that assures your sanity. Popular claims are that this book is the best relationship advice you’ll ever receive. This one by the global sensation Mel Robbins teaches the foundational value of deprioritising the source of your problems, breaking free from the exhausting cycle of judgement, and focusing on controlling only what you can.

Anywhere You Go by Bridget Morrissey 

What are your rewatch runtimes looking like this summer? Psst... we’ve got the plot and more. This contemporary queer romance is a take on The Holiday (2006), somewhat. A small town waitress and a big city press agent swap homes to escape their personal lives at the cost of a complicated family reunion. Author Bridget Morrissey writes a well-beaded story of self-discovery and how finding love can be inspiring.

We Do Not Part by Han Kang 

Yes it’s summer, but if you’d like to change the channel to the haunting jolts of a long winter night, this one may be the only one that deserves it. Han Kang is back with yet another visionary novel after his Nobel Prizewinning release, The Vegetarian, letting us into a friendship shared between two women and their encounter of South Korea’s painful, buried history.

I Bet You’d Look Good In A Coffin by Katy Brent 

Our favourite anti-heroine is back—and may be giving into another of her flesh-fetch murderous itches. The author of How to Kill Men and Get Away With It and The Murder After the Night Before adds another feather to her cap, or well, an incredibly messy murder wall. Sure, the intentions might be grey (at best), but we love a girl with a good work ethic, right?

This piece originally appeared in the March-April 2025 print issue of Cosmopolitan India.

Lead image: IMDb

Image credits: Harper Collins, Penguin Random House

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