A definitive list of the books everyone will be reading this summer.

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As we're leaning into the warmer seasons, we're also leaning into the three-month period where our collective delusion kicks in.

We imagine ourselves on a beach towel, skin glistening (with SPF, not sweat), Aperol Spritz in one hand, and a towering stack of intellectual-yet-accessible fiction in the other. We're going to read all the books.

We'll be smarter, more well-rounded, and finally have something to talk about at post-holiday drinks other than how much our bank accounts hate us.

In reality, we'll read three pages of a 600-page tome, get sand in the binding, fall asleep in 38-degree heat, and then spend the rest of the afternoon doom-scrolling TikToks of other people pretending to be on holiday.

But this year, I promise, it's different. (Narrator: It was not different).

Although, to be fair, I have been forced to think about my To-Be-Read pile more than usual. Hosting the new Mamamia Out Loud Book Club bonus podcast series with Royal Caribbean, has meant I've been diving deep into the books that should be on your list (and mine, apparently). So I'm slightly more prepared than usual.

The 2025 book releases are, quite frankly, too good. Which makes them super rude because they're so compelling that they might actually force us to put our phones down.

This is the definitive, non-negotiable list of the books that will be on every beach towel, in every carry-on, and all over your feed this summer.

If you read nothing else, at least read this list. Then, you'll be the most admired person at your next family BBQ. I won't tell.

The suspense novels you'll inhale in one sitting.

Mad Mabel, Sally Hepworth.

Image: Amazon.

Sally Hepworth, the undisputed queen of Aussie thrillers, is back. We're in dual-timeline heaven (1950s and 2025). 81-year-old Elsie Fitzpatrick is keeping a low profile until her neighbour dies, and the whispers start. Turns out, Elsie's old nickname was 'Mad Mabel', and back in 1959, at 15, she was convicted of murder. Did she… strike again?

Why you'll read it: This is your "one-sitting" beach read. Hepworth describes her writing as "dysfunctional relationships with a side of murder." What more do you need?

He Would Never, Holly Wainwright.

Image: Amazon.

This one feels like Big Little Lies went camping. It follows five families on their annual summer trip, a tradition held together by 14 years of mothers' group bonds. But this year, there are some shocking accusations surrounding one (narcissistic) husband — and the history of this group begins to unravel.

Why you'll read it: This is the pacy, compelling domestic thriller you'll tear through while judging your own friends' husbands over the rim of a lukewarm rosé (or better known for it's other name… b*tch diesel).

Read the first chapter of 'He Would Never' here.

The Worst Thing I've Ever Done, Clare Stephens.

Image: Amazon.

This debut novel follows Ruby Williams, who finds herself at the centre of a brutal public shaming (read: cancel culture) after an interview goes viral, all thanks to a journalist who has built a career policing what women can and can't say. The online pile-on, however, cracks open a much darker, visceral shame from her past.

Why you'll read it: It's the ultimate "spill the tea" book about online life, cancel culture, and the difference between our public-facing selves and the absolute chaos we are in private.

Read the first chapter of 'The Worst Thing I've Ever Done' here.

The International Romance Overlords.

Great Big Beautiful Life, Emily Henry.

Image: Amazon.

Look, it wouldn't be a summer reading list without the reigning champion of romance. This time, Em Hen is giving us rom-com-with-a-side-of-historical-fiction. Two rival journalists, Alice and Hayden, are competing to land the gig of a lifetime: writing the biography of a famously reclusive and scandalous heiress.

The problem? NDAs, inconvenient yearning, and the fact they might just be falling for each other (of course).

Why you'll read it: This is a non-negotiable. It's the book that is the summer holiday. You'll buy it at the airport and be finished before the plane has even taken off.

First-Time Caller, B.K. Borison.

Image: Amazon.

If Emily Henry is the main course, this is the dessert. It's a Sleepless in Seattle–inspired cosy romance. Aiden Valentine is the jaded, grumpy host of a romance radio hotline who has secretly fallen out of love with love. Then, a little girl calls in asking for dating advice for her single mum, Lucie, and it goes viral.

Why you'll read it: It's fluffy, adorable and a low-stakes palate cleanser that you'll need after Sally Hepworth makes you suspect your nana of murder.

Atmosphere, Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Image: Amazon.

TJR is back to ruin our lives in the best way. It's the 1980s and Joan has just been accepted into NASA's space training program as one of the first female candidates. Amid the sexism and immense pressure, she finds herself falling for someone else in the program. It's a high-stakes, forbidden love story where the professional risk is as massive as the literal, life-or-death-in-space one.

Why you'll read it: Hot astronauts in the 80s written by TJR. I'm sorry, what more information do you need? This is the one you'll be sobbing over a glass of wine.

The ones we've all been waiting for.

Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins.

Image: Amazon.

Stop what you're doing. We're going back to Panem. This is the Hunger Games prequel that's had fans in a chokehold: the 50th Games. And with the film coming to our screens soon, you're going to want to get on this ASAP.

It tells the story of Haymitch Abernathy's games. It's a Quarter Quell, which means twice the number of tributes, and we finally get the full, tragic backstory of the man who became District 12's drunken mentor.

Why you'll read it: This is for pure, unadulterated millennial angst and nostalgia. You'll read it to feel 16 again, and then spend an hour trying to get up off the couch because your back hurts.

Read about the movie prequel here.

One Of Us, Elizabeth Day.

Image: Amazon.

One of our favourite podcast hosts is delivering a compulsive, juicy story of betrayal and buried scandals within a British establishment family. Think Succession or Saltburn. It's the sequel to her previous suspense novel The Party, but you need not have read it to understand this one (although I highly recommend you do). It's all about the consequences of extreme privilege and the true cost of power.

Why you'll read it: You'll inhale it because you're deeply nosy and love watching rich, entitled people get their comeuppance.

@mamamiaaus From memoirs to dark academia, these are the books we’ll recommend forever. #booktok #bookrecommendations #bookseveryoneshouldread #dollyalderton #tbr ♬ original sound - Mamamia

The "I'm Smart and Dark" Reads.

Katabasis, R.F. Kuang.

Image: Amazon.

For everyone who read Yellowface and needed a shower, R.F. Kuang is back with a dark fantasy. Two rival graduate students must literally venture into hell to save their thesis advisor. Why? Because they need his letters of recommendation. It's a scathing, terrifying, and brilliant look at academia, ambition, and... well, vengeance (you'll find out why).

Why you'll read it: This is the book you read to feel intellectually superior to everyone at the New Year's Eve party.

Alchemised, SenLinYu.

Image: Amazon.

This is the one your friends are reading on their Kindles with the "don't look at me" filter on. A woman with missing memories is a prisoner of war in a dark world of necromancy and alchemy. She's handed over to a ruthless, powerful necromancer (the High Reeve) who is tasked with, ahem, unearthing the secrets in her mind.

Why you'll read it: It's dark, it's spicy, and it's the perfect fantasy-romance to read while pointedly ignoring your extended family at the Christmas lunch.

The Names, Florence Knapp.

Image: Amazon.

Get ready for an existential crisis. A woman named Cora, who is in a terrifyingly controlling marriage, goes to register her son's birth. She hesitates on the name. The novel then splits into three alternate timelines showing her life, and her son's, based on the one tiny choice she made in that moment.

Why you'll read it: It's Sliding Doors for literary girlies. This is the one that will make you spiral about every single life choice you've ever made. Happy holidays!

Gunk, Saba Sams.

Image: Amazon.

And finally, the "cool girl" read. Jules is divorced but still works at a grotty student nightclub (called Gunk, amazing) with her ex-husband. He hires 18-year-old Nim, and when Nim discovers she's pregnant, an intense, perplexing and intimate relationship forms between the two women.

Why you'll read it: It's raw, visceral and about messy, complicated female friendships. You'll read it and instantly feel 10 per cent cooler and more interesting.

So there you have it. My ambitious, completely unrealistic list of books I'm telling myself I'll read. I'll probably get through three of them and then just re-watch The Holiday. But future me doesn't need to know that.

If you want more from Emily Vernem, you can follow her on Instagram @emilyvernem.

Feature image: Amazon / Canva.