Cut the lights, settle in, and cue the Game of Thrones intro music…because summer is coming, and with it so is a list of books to read while the sun still shines and the sky is clear.

ROMANTIC COMEDIES

Sunny, refreshing, and hilarious romantic comedies radiate summer energy, so here is a list of some unputdownable rom-coms that will not disappoint.

If you like hopeful romantic main characters, cute next door neighbor romances, and fake dating with dislike-to-lovers sprinkled in, Better Than The Movies is the book for you. Written as a love letter to Taylor Swift’s music, this book has everything that makes a rom-com a rom-com. The entire 384 pages are filled with humor, heartbreak, cuteness, and most importantly, love. Objectively, this one is not for the cynical, but it is for those that cherish a good dose of rose colored happiness.

Powerfully written and raw at its core, Tokyo Ever After is so much more than a romance. It is the story of a young Japanese-American girl who stands up for what she believes in and fights to find herself in a world of prejudice and unfairness; all while finding her father, figuring out her own story, and developing a life for herself in Japan. There is so much beauty packed into this book, so much heartache, so much love–and not only the romantic one—that it makes for not only a diverting read, but also one that will pull at your heartstrings in all the right ways.

Childhood best friend? Check. Sports romance? Check. Adorable main character and even more adorable male main character? Check, check, check! This book is like one of those soft, fuzzy blankets that can make anyone fall into the most comfortable spot on their bed and achieve a never-before-seen level of unproductivity. The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams, as explained by the author herself, is written for anyone that needs a breather—a moment of peace amongst so much stress. It is definitely a chill, go with the flow and enjoy the lovey-dovey ride kind of book. Which makes it a perfect read for a much needed restful summer!

Nothing can go wrong when two competitive geniuses meet, right? Well…

Bel and Teo are both incredibly intelligent, and when Bel enters the robotics team for their school, they clash over everything–who can build the better robot, who finds the best solution to a problem the quickest, and (even though they don’t want to admit it) who will succumb last to the feelings they have for each other. Witty, swoony, and sassy this book will make you laugh and giggle all while leaving you wonderstruck with just how smart these kids are.

MYSTERY

Looking for a book that will make you question your IQ and leave you awed with just how smart these authors and characters are? Then here are two mystery books that you should read this summer.

What happens when you suddenly receive a letter from an old money family’s legal firm telling you to attend a will hearing? You become the richest teenager in the world, that’s what happens (only in books, though, don’t get excited). Avery Grambs, an incredibly smart girl from Connecticut, lives with her half-sister and sleeps in her car to avoid her sister’s rude boyfriend. However, her entire life flips around when she finds out that one of the richest philanthropists, Tobias Hawthorne, left her his entire fortune after he died. But why? Was there a connection between the two? Avery has to find this out as she struggles with the media, the Hawthorne family…and people that want to kill her.

Audrey Rose Wadsworth is an anatomy and forensics student under her uncle’s tutelage, but when dead women start popping up around London she and her obnoxious companion, Thomas Cresswell, go on a hunt to capture the serial killer that is behind it all. However, the closer they get to figuring the mystery out, the more Audrey Rose will get hurt, and the more danger they will be exposed to. In this dazzling murder mystery set in 1888 Victorian London, readers will find a strong female main character that will not give up until she finds the truth, and an amazing plot that will keep the readers hooked from beginning to end.

FANTASY

In the Martial Empire scholars are oppressed and sometimes enslaved, so when Martial soldiers arrive at Laia’s house in the middle of the night she expects something terrible to ensue. However, what she doesn’t expect is to find out her brother harbored illegal information about the Martal empire, so when he gets abducted by the authorities, she pledges herself to a rebel group that swears to help her find him. But what price will she have to pay to do it? Will she be able to pull off what the rebels are asking of her? Can she spy on the most ruthless Martial commandant in the entire empire and survive?

Visceral and crudely honest, Legenborn is a book about personal empowerment, justice, and discovering your heritage.

When Bree Matthews arrives at her new campus, she expects all kinds of weird things to happen to her—well, everything except encountering a secret magical society of descendants of Aurthur and his Round Table Knights known as Legendborn. When she discovers that the Legendborn might have been responsible for her mother’s death, Bree decides to participate in their initiation trials in order to dig for information amongst the ranks and possibly figure out the truth behind her mom’s passing. But what Bree finds is something much, much worse—something that will send her world as she knew it into chaos.

Cleverly crafted and ingeniously written, We Hunt the Flame follows Zafira, a girl that disguises as a hunter to feed her people, and Nasir, the kingdom’s most notorious assassin and crown prince. Sent to kill her, Nasir encounters Zafira and decides to form a delicate alliance when he finds out they both want the same thing, and will need all the help they can get to acquire it. Joining forces to bring together an unlikely crew, both of them set off to find a mythical object in order to restore magic to the kingdom, all while dealing with mysterious Jinn and an even more cryptic villain–one that they know from old stories, but that they thought had been defeated long ago…