What do you have planned this summer? A vacation? A staycation? Time spent at the pool? A camping trip? Or maybe just some time spent enjoying the nice weather?

If any of these things are on your summer agenda, then you may want to grab some good books to read, too. Lots of authors release new novels this time of the year, or you can catch up on a few that might still be on your list from the winter and spring.

Don’t have any books on your reading list yet? There are so many good ones – but here are a few that are popular at the moment.

1. Long Bright River: A Novel by Liz Moore: If you love a good New York Times bestseller, then here’s one to put on your list. The Amazon summary reads as:

• • “In a Philadelphia neighborhood rocked by the opioid crisis, two once-inseparable sisters find themselves at odds. One, Kacey, lives on the streets in the vise of addiction. The other, Mickey, walks those same blocks on her police beat. They don’t speak anymore, but Mickey never stops worrying about her sibling.
  • Then Kacey disappears, suddenly, at the same time that a mysterious string of murders begins in Mickey’s district, and Mickey becomes dangerously obsessed with finding the culprit–and her sister–before it’s too late.”

2. Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel: Do you want a book with some complex characters and a look at family dynamics that have been stressed to the max? Darling Rose Gold is that book! Here’s the summary from Amazon:

• • “For the first eighteen years of her life, Rose Gold Watts believed she was seriously ill. She was allergic to everything, used a wheelchair and practically lived at the hospital. Neighbors did all they could, holding fundraisers and offering shoulders to cry on, but no matter how many doctors, tests, or surgeries, no one could figure out what was wrong with Rose Gold.
  • Turns out her mom, Patty Watts, was just a really good liar.
  • After serving five years in prison, Patty gets out with nowhere to go and begs her daughter to take her in. The entire community is shocked when Rose Gold says yes.
  • Patty insists all she wants is to reconcile their differences. She says she’s forgiven Rose Gold for turning her in and testifying against her. But Rose Gold knows her mother. Patty Watts always settles a score.
  • Unfortunately for Patty, Rose Gold is no longer her weak little darling…
  • And she’s waited such a long time for her mother to come home.”

3. The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James: Love a good mystery? Then take a look at this one from Simone St. James, the author behind The Broken Girls. Amazon says:

• • “Upstate New York, 1982. Viv Delaney wants to move to New York City, and to help pay for it, she takes a job as the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel in Fell, New York. But something isnʼt right at the motel, something haunting and scary.
  • Upstate New York, 2017. Carly Kirk has never been able to let go of the story of her aunt Viv, who mysteriously disappeared from the Sun Down before she was born. She decides to move to Fell and visit the motel, where she quickly learns that nothing has changed since 1982. And she soon finds herself ensnared in the same mysteries that claimed her aunt.”

4. Writers and Lovers: A Novel by Lily King: This book has a little bit of humor and a whole lot of heart, which will make getting to know the main character, Casey Peabody, a pure joy! The Amazon synopsis reads:

• • “Blindsided by her mother’s sudden death and wrecked by a recent love affair, Casey Peabody has arrived in Massachusetts in the summer of 1997 without a plan. Her mail consists of wedding invitations and final notices from debt collectors. A former child golf prodigy, she now waits tables in Harvard Square and rents a tiny, moldy room at the side of a garage where she works on the novel she has been writing for six years. At 31, Casey is still clutching onto something nearly all her old friends have let go of: the determination to live a creative life. When she falls for two very different men at the same time, her world fractures even more. Casey’s fight to fulfill her creative ambitions and balance the conflicting demands of art and life is challenged in ways that push her to the brink.”

5. It’s Not All Downhill From Here: A Novel by Terry McMillan: Terry McMillan has written so many great books and her new one is no exception! You’ve just got to read it. Amazon says:

• • “Loretha Curry’s life is full. A little crowded sometimes, but full indeed. On the eve of her sixty-eighth birthday, she has a booming beauty-supply empire, a gaggle of lifelong friends, and a husband whose moves still surprise. True, she’s carrying a few more pounds than she should be, but Loretha is not one of those women who think her best days are behind her—and she’s determined to prove wrong her mother, her twin sister, and everyone else with that outdated view of aging wrong. It’s not all downhill from here.
  • But when an unexpected loss turns her world upside down, Loretha will have to summon all her strength, resourcefulness, and determination to keep on thriving, pursue joy, heal old wounds, and chart new paths. With a little help from her friends, of course.”

What’s on your summer reading list? One of these books or something else? No matter what’s on your list, sit back and relax with a good book. After all, Stephen King said, “Books are a uniquely portable magic.”