{"id":120306,"date":"2025-05-21T17:03:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T17:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/120306\/"},"modified":"2025-05-21T17:03:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T17:03:09","slug":"10-of-the-biggest-contenders-for-book-of-the-summer-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/120306\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Of The Biggest Contenders For Book Of The Summer 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is there a greater feeling on this earth than lying near-horizontal in the sun \u2013\u00a0ideally on a beach, but a pool will suffice \u2013 with a brand new summer read<\/a> and maybe, like, a very cold cocktail<\/a> or orange juice? It\u2019s the sort of thing that brings to mind the old TikTok adage<\/a>: Almost forgot that this was the whole point. If business bigwigs learned how to replicate and bottle that exact feeling, they could make a killing.<\/p>\n

But what of the actual books<\/a> themselves? It sucks when you take a summer read on holiday and dive in only to discover that it\u2019s boring or a slog or just not what you envisioned (don\u2019t judge a\u2026 etc, etc). Which is why you really ought to do adequate research beforehand. Luckily, we\u2019ve only gone and done it for you. Here are the best summer reads of 2025, from Linea Maja Ernst\u2019s millennial classic-in-the-making Waist Deep<\/a> to John Patrick McHugh\u2019s hotly-tipped Fun and Games.<\/p>\n

Waist Deep by Linea Maja Ernst<\/p>\n

Seven friends from university, one cabin in the forest and a whole load of tension \u2013 mostly the sexual kind, although not always. Linea Maja Ernst\u2019s sun-soaked debut Waist Deep was an instant bestseller upon its release in Denmark and has since been translated into 10 languages. It\u2019s easy to see why \u2013 this is the sort of book you\u2019ll devour in three sittings (which is what I did). If you\u2019ve ever stared down the barrel of \u201creal adulthood\u201d, unsure of what it\u2019s \u201csupposed\u201d\u00a0to look like, then you\u2019ll relate to this one. It\u2019s super horny, too, which is always good.<\/p>\n

Penguin<\/p>\n

Waist Deep by Linea Maja Ernst<\/p>\n

Fun and Games by John Patrick McHugh<\/p>\n

I love books set in the Noughties because there are so few of them, so I was easily sold on McHugh\u2019s Fun and Games, which is set in 2009, before I\u2019d even opened it. As for the plot, it follows 17-year-old John Masterson over one summer on the west of Ireland before his exam results come through. He\u2019s working mind-numbing shifts at a hotel, getting action where he can and trying to keep his head down after his mum\u2019s nude sext to another man was leaked to the whole island. It\u2019s brilliantly written; as evocative as it is funny. Think: the male version of Sally Rooney.<\/p>\n

Fun and Games by John Patrick McHugh<\/p>\n

Hail Mary by Funmi Fetto<\/p>\n

In this era of TikTok brain rot<\/a> and constant notifications, it can be hard to get through a book \u2013\u00a0which is why it\u2019s always fun and stimulating to read a book told from multiple perspectives. Enter: Hail Mary, the richly-written debut short story collection from British Vogue\u2019s very own style editor Funmi Fetto, which follows the lives of nine Nigerian women as they navigate race, class and life\u2019s various ups and downs, from London to Lagos.<\/p>\n

Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth<\/p>\n

10\/10 book name and 10\/10 book cover, both of which should be enough to make you to pick this one up. But if not: Slags is about two 40-something sisters who embark on a road trip through the Scottish highlands in the hopes of rediscovering themselves and each other. Funny, frank and at times heartfelt, Slags is a mixture of Fleabag<\/a> and Bad Sisters<\/a> (without the murdery bits) in book form. Those with sisters will like this one especially, I think.<\/p>\n

Gunk by Saba Sams<\/p>\n

The word \u201cgunk\u201d\u00a0is bold, cheeky and visceral, much like this debut novel from 28-year-old Saba Sams<\/a>. While her short story collection Send Nudes was focused on coming-of-age experiences, Gunk is all about motherhood \u2013\u00a0unsurprising, considering the novel and Saba\u2019s own son arrived just eight weeks apart. Set in Brighton, which is where Saba grew up, the book follows Jules, her ex-husband Leon and 19-year-old Nim, the latter of whom starts working at the sticky-floored student nightclub, Gunk, that the former two own. A very modern novel by a very exciting debut novelist.<\/p>\n

We Are Not Numbers: The Voices of Gaza\u2019s Youth by Ahmed Alnaouq and Pam Bailey<\/p>\n

If you want to read something meaningful and impactful this summer, make it We Are Not Numbers: The Voices of Gaza\u2019s Youth, from Ahmed Alnaoug and Pam Bailey, two journalists who\u2019ve spent the past 10 years collating stories from the young people of Gaza who were born under occupation. Is it an easy read? No. Is it a vital one? Absolutely. Especially during a time in which we\u2019re seeing horrifying scenes in Gaza on the news so often, without hearing from Palestinian people themselves. Oh, and tell all your friends.<\/p>\n

We Are Not Numbers: The Voices of Gaza\u2019s Youth by Ahmed Alnaouq and Pam Bailey<\/p>\n

Sunstruck by William Rayfet Hunter<\/p>\n

Obviously this is a good summer read \u2013\u00a0it\u2019s called Sunstruck! Seriously, though, this one\u2019s exactly the sort of book you\u2019ll want to bring to the beach. Imagine Saltburn if the main protagonist was a mixed-race queer musician from Manchester who gets invited by his mega posh mate Lily to come stay at her parents\u2019 chateau in France. Sticky and pacy with an undercurrent of unease, you won\u2019t want to put it down. And, though fictional, Hunter draws from real life. \u201cI grew up in a mixed-race family in a very white part of Cheshire,\u201d he told Dazed<\/a>, \u201cand so a lot of my life was spent observing and interacting with people who weren\u2019t really like me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sunstruck by William Rayfet Hunter<\/p>\n

Girl On Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves by Sophie Gilbert<\/p>\n

While I\u2019m more of a fiction girl myself, I know a lot of people who prefer a book rooted in real life. Which brings me neatly to Girl On Girl, a very well-researched yet totally compelling non-fiction release from Pulitzer Prize finalist Sophie Gilbert. If you\u2019ve ever found yourself wondering how any of us emerged from the Noughties \u2013\u00a0and the misogyny that ran through Y2K pop culture \u2013\u00a0with our minds in tact, then this one\u2019s for you. Diving into everything from paparazzi upskirt photos to the treatment of Britney Spears<\/a>, this one\u2019s a must-read for anyone fascinated by that point in history, and how it shaped where we\u2019re at today.<\/p>\n

Girl On Girl by Sophie Gilbert<\/p>\n

Disappoint Me by Nicola Dinan<\/p>\n

Disappoint Me might have been released back in January, but if you\u2019ve not read it yet then I think it still counts as a \u201csummer read\u201d. It\u2019s one of my favourites on the list. Set mostly in London and told from the dual perspectives of 30-year-old Max, a trans woman, and her boyfriend Vincent, the second novel from Nicola Dinan (who also wrote Bellies) is smart, funny and razor-sharp throughout. Mostly I was taken by how realistic it is, managing to gather all manner of contradictory, complicated feelings into a miasma of effortless prose. I hated having to finish this one.<\/p>\n

Penguin<\/p>\n

Disappoint Me by Nicola Dinan<\/p>\n

Paradise Logic by Sophie Kemp<\/p>\n

We love a weird as hell book, and this one definitely fits within that remit. Paradise Logic \u2013 an experimental (read: unhinged) novel from Sophie Kemp \u2013 is set in late 2010s Brooklyn and follows Reality Kahn, a 23-year-old waterslide commercial actor and zine-maker who decides that, actually, maybe she could get a boyfriend? Maybe she could be \u201cthe greatest girlfriend of all time\u201d? \u201cIt\u2019s hard to find a partner anywhere, right?\u201d Kempt told Vogue earlier this year<\/a>. \u201cI mean, I have a partner right now, and I live in New York, so it is possible, but the odds definitely feel stacked against you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paradise Logic by Sophie Kemp<\/p>\n