There will obviously be a lot more than five must-reads this summer, but these are the ones at the top of our lists right now!
Just like movies and TV and music and everything else, the sheer amount of new stuff that needs to be consumed at all times can be overwhelming.
As always, your pals at Lovin are here to help, this time whittling down the list of great summer reads to just five. Of course, there will be plenty more, but these are at the top of our to-read lists right now…
FALLING by T.J. Newman
Official synopsis: “You just boarded a flight to New York. There are one hundred and forty-three other passengers onboard. What you don’t know is that thirty minutes before the flight your pilot’s family was kidnapped. For his family to live, everyone on your plane must die. The only way the family will survive is if the pilot follows his orders and crashes the plane. Enjoy the flight.”
Why you should read it: It has been described as ‘Jaws at 30,000 feet’, and pretty much every early review has said it is one of the best thrillers of recent years. So if you’re looking for an exciting read, then this is the one for you.
HUMMINGBIRD SALAMANDER by Jeff VanderMeer
Official synopsis: “Security consultant Jane Smith receives an envelope with a key to a storage unit that holds a taxidermied hummingbird and clues leading her to a taxidermied salamander. Silvina, the dead woman who left the note, is a reputed ecoterrorist and the daughter of an Argentine industrialist. By taking the hummingbird from the storage unit, Jane sets in motion a series of events that quickly spin beyond her control. Soon, Jane and her family are in danger, with few allies to help her make sense of the true scope of the peril. Is the only way to safety to follow in Silvina’s footsteps? Is it too late to stop? As she desperately seeks answers about why Silvina contacted her, time is running out—for her and possibly for the world.”
Why you should read it: VanderMeer is the guy behind Annihilation, one of the best and scariest books of the last decade or so. This time around, he’s mixing those thrills in with the very real fears of the slow destruction of our world by our own hands. So… an environmentally-friendly thriller? Sounds great to us!
PRESS RESET by Jason Schreier
Official synopsis: “The business of videogames is both a prestige industry and an opaque one. Based on dozens of first-hand interviews that cover the development of landmark game – Bioshock Infinite, Epic Mickey, Dead Space, and more – on to the shocking closures of the studios that made them, Press Reset tells the stories of how real people are affected by game studio shutdowns, and how they recover, move on, or escape the industry entirely.”
Why you should read it: If you’ve even a passing interest in videogames, then chances are you’ll already know of Schreier’s work, as he is one of the very best gaming journalists in the world right now. For his new book, he does a deep and sometimes shocking dive on the the darker side of the industry that millions of people might have no idea about.
THE BONE CODE by Kathy Reichs
Official synopsis: “On the way to Isle of Palms, a barrier island off the South Carolina coast, forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan receives a call from the Charleston coroner. During a heavy storm, a medical waste container has washed up on the beach. Inside are two decomposed bodies wrapped in plastic sheeting and bound with electrical wire. Chillingly, Tempe recognises many details as identical to those of an unsolved case she handled in Quebec fifteen years earlier. Meanwhile, the citizens of Charleston are struck by a bacterium that, at its worst, can eat human flesh. Thousands panic and test themselves for a rare genetic mutation that may have rendered them vulnerable.”
Why you should read it: Because we all love a murder mystery, and this one tied to a scary pandemic outbreak will definitely give it that extra chill level.
WHITE CITY by Kevin Power
Official synopsis: “Here is rehab, where Ben – the only son of a rich South Dublin banker – is piecing together the shattered remains of his life. Abruptly cut off, at the age of 27, from a life of heedless privilege, Ben flounders through a world of drugs and dead-end jobs, his self-esteem at rock bottom. Even his once-adoring girlfriend, Clio, is at the end of her tether. Then Ben runs into an old school friend who wants to cut him in on a scam: a shady property deal in the Balkans. The deal will make Ben rich and, at one fell swoop, will deliver him from all his troubles: his addictions, his father’s very public disgrace, and his own self-loathing and regret. Problems solved. But something is amiss. For one thing, the Serbian partners don’t exactly look like fools. (In fact they look like gangsters.) And, for another, Ben is being followed everywhere he goes. Someone is being taken for a ride. But who?”
Why you should read it: Power’s previous book – Bad Day in Blackrock – was the inspiration behind the hit Irish movie What Richard Did, but here he is turning to dark comedy and dark drama. Likely to be one of the most talked about Irish books of 2021.
READ NEXT: WATCH: The new Gossip Girl trailer has landed and it’s everything we dreamed of
