Summer Book Club

Over 50 Reads! As Voted By You...

I think we’re all book lovers in this Seedling community. Whether faithful to paperbacks, listening to audio in the car or on walks, or the kindle on commute or on holiday - there a few better feelings than escaping our busy lives with a good book. Even better reading with toes in the water and sun on your back while on a summer holiday…

I have a stack of books by my bed that I haven’t started or have begun but not yet had the headspace to fully get into. It takes me a few days on holiday to unwind and be able to focus on a good book so the first on my holiday beach read list either need to be utterly un-put-down-able or light and funny. Then I can get into the flow of reading as much as I can.

Here we’ve rounded up a mega list - over 50 titles in fact, brilliant new releases and old faves - and all have been suggested by this community, so thank you! Some older classics, some new releases, from crime to romance, thrillers to fantasy, and so many I can’t wait to read.

For me? I love all sorts of genres - novels, wellness, biographies, crime, romance, the lot but I cannot not mention a recent book discovery that I know some of you may know and for those that don’t, it’s time to get on it! A series of books by global sensation Sarah J. Maas. You can read them separately but for the best experience, read in the order of each series and preferably: Throne of Glass series, A Court of Thorns and Roses series, and then Crescent City series. You’ll be hook, line and sinker into them all I promise. A little steamy, proper escapism and utterly un-put-down-able! I also adored Darling and The Paper Palace from the list below in recent years.

This big bumper summer book club includes novels and fiction plus a couple of-the-moment biographies. We’ll run a separate book club for non-fiction, wellness and self-improvement in September. I can’t wait for your recommends on that!

I hope you enjoy our list below, thank you again for those that offered their recommendations and please, please add in the comments below your recent or all-time favourite reads so we can all keep reading through the summer and beyond.

Happy hols wherever you are.

Love Willow x

PS. This is paid subscriber post. I’m running a Seedling Summer Sale offering 25% off subscriptions until the 31st of July. I hope you’ll join us and spread the word to those who might like to join too. Wx

The Pacy, Breezy, Steamy Beach Reads

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
When Margaret Ives, the famously reclusive heiress, invites eternal optimist Alice Scott to the balmy Little Crescent Island, Alice knows this is it: her big break but the story – just like the tale Margaret’s spinning – could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad … depending on who’s telling it. This is a dazzling new love story and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick from the TikTok sensation and Sunday Times bestselling author of Beach Read and Funny Story.

Hotter in the Hamptons by Tinx
A social media disaster, a fierce rival, and electric chemistry - Is Lola seriously falling for the woman who ruined her life?From New York Times bestselling author and social media star, Tinx; this beach read is packed with sun, sex, and scandal.

Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez
After her half-sister suddenly leaves Vanessa in custody of her baby daughter, life goes from 'daily adventure' to 'hourly nappy change'. The last person Vanessa expects to show up offering help is the hot lawyer next door, Adrian Copeland. After all, she barely knows him. Now she's feeling things she's vowed not to feel. Because the only thing worse than falling for Adrian is finding a little hope for a future she may never see… A heartwarming, heartbreaking and hilarious read.

The Garnett Girls by Georgina Moore
Margo and Richard’s love affair was fiery, forbidden and all-consuming, but ultimately doomed. When it imploded, Margo was left broken. An uplifting, award-winning escapist family drama full of secrets which asks whether children can ever be free of the mistakes of their parents, from the Sunday Times debut bestselling author.

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
August, 1983, it is the day of Nina Riva's annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone who is anyone wants to be around the famous Rivas. Together, the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over - especially as the children of the legendary singer Mick Riva. By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family will all come bubbling to the surface. From the bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, this is pure exhilarating, escapism.

One Night at the Chateau by Victoria Henry
Over the last few months, Connie's whole world has fallen apart. Her husband's run off with an older woman, the magazine she works for has gone bust and she's having to sell the family home. So when her beloved godmother, Lismay, begs her to help run the beautiful Château Villette, it couldn't come at a better time...Escape to Provence with the stunningly feel-good and romantic new story from this bestselling author.

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
After a series of heartbreaks, Sally Milz - successful script writer for a legendary late-night TV comedy show - has long abandoned the search for love. Then Sally meets Noah, a pop idol with a reputation for dating models. But this isn't a romantic comedy - it's real life. Would someone like him ever date someone like her? Skewering all our certainties about why we fall in love, this is a witty and probing tale of how the heart will follow itself, no matter what anyone says. It is Curtis Sittenfeld at her most sharp, daring and compassionate best.

What a Way To Go by Bella Mackie
Meet the Wisterns. Rich. Powerful. Morally bankrupt. A murder with each family member having a motive with a true crime-obsessed outsider ready to explode the killer… The million copy #1 bestselling author of How To Kill Your Family is back with the new page-turning book of the summer.

Way Back by Sara Cox
When her childhood home comes up for sale, Josie realises that there is the chance of a different life altogether. The question is, does she want to take it? And is she willing to risk her heart all over again? For Josie to find the right future, she'll have to go back - way back, to where it all began… The funny and romantic summer read from the bestselling author of Thrown.

Books To Escape & Remember Forever

The Women by Kristin Hannah
Their friendship changed lives. Their bravery changed history. The Women is a novel of epic love and devastating loss. And it is a story of a memorable heroine, and her deep friendships, whose idealism and courage under fire will define an era... The Number One bestselling novel which has captured the hearts of readers across the world.

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
The Blue sisters have always been exceptional – and exceptionally different. The unexpected death of the beloved fourth sister, Nicky, left Avery, Bonnie and Lucky reeling. When, a year later, the three of them must reunite in New York to stop the sale of their childhood home, they find that it's only by returning to each other that they can navigate their grief, addiction and heartbreak and learn to fall in love with life again.

This Book Kills by Raven Guron
When Hugh Henry Van Boren, one of the most popular and richest kids in Jess Choudhary's school, is found dead, the student body is left reeling and wondering who the murderer could be... With time running out, Jess knows if she doesn't solve this mystery she'll finally have something in common with Hugh Henry. She'll be dead too… A great pick for young adults, you could read this alongside your teen.

All The Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
Over a lifetime driven by obsession, Patch and Saint must sacrifice everything for redemption, justice, and, ultimately, love - even if that means losing each other forever... A sweeping coming-of-age tale, an epic love story and a searing thriller, all unfolding on a vast canvas. An instant Sunday Times bestseller.

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
1940, Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire. Three very different women are recruited to the mysterious Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes… A gripping, edge-of-your-seat historical novel from the bestselling author of The Alice Network and The Huntress.

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
As Elle dives beneath the water she relives the passionate encounter she had the night before, against the side of the house that knows all her darkest secrets, while her husband and mother chatted to their guests inside...So begins a story that unfolds over twenty-four hours and fifty years, as Elle's shocking betrayal leads her to a life-changing decision. The No.1 New York Times Bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Bookclub Pick.

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
Alice Wright doesn't love her new American husband. Nor her domineering father-in-law or the judgmental townsfolk of Baileyville, Kentucky. But when her father-in-law and the town turn against them, Alice fears the freedom, friendship and the new love she's found will be lost… The spellbinding story of love, community and the power of reading from the bestselling author of Me Before You.

Darling by India Knight
Marooned in a sprawling farmhouse in Norfolk, teenage Linda Radlett feels herself destined for greater things. She longs for love, but how will she ever find it? Eventually Linda does find her way out from the bosom of her deeply eccentric extended family, and she escapes to London. But this is only the beginning of Linda's pursuit of love, a journey that will be wilder, more surprising and more complicated than she could ever have imagined… A razor-sharp, gloriously funny retelling of Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love by the brilliant India Knight.

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’FArrell
Winter, 1561. Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara, is taken on an unexpected visit to a country villa by her husband, Alfonso. As they sit down to dinner it occurs to Lucrezia that Alfonso has a sinister purpose in bringing her here. He intends to kill her. Lucrezia is sixteen years old, and has led a sheltered life locked away inside Florence's grandest palazzo. Here, in this remote villa, she is entirely at the mercy of her increasingly erratic husband. An unforgettable reimagining of the life of a young woman whose proximity to power places her in mortal danger.

Consider Yourself Kissed by Jessica Stanley
When she first meets Adam, Coralie is new to London and feeling adrift. But Adam is clever, witty, and – he insists – half an inch taller than the average British male. His charming four-year-old daughter, Zora, only adds to his appeal. And yet ten years on, something important is missing from the life Coralie and Adam (though let’s face it, mostly Coralie) have built. Or maybe, having gained everything she dreamed of, Coralie has lost something she once had: herself. This is a captivating portrait of a woman in love which effortlessly balances sweetness with bite, the public with the personal, and humour with heart.

The Glassmaker by Tracey Chevalier
Venice, 1486. In secret, Orsola Rosso learns to craft glass. As a woman, she must flout convention to save her family from ruin. We follow her through hundreds of years of war and plague, tragedy and triumph, love and loss. Skipping like a stone across the centuries, The Glassmaker is a virtuoso portrait of a woman, a family and a city that are as everlasting as glass.Skipping like a stone across the centuries, The Glassmaker is a virtuoso portrait of a woman, a family and a city that are as everlasting as glass from the globally acclaimed author of ‘Girl With A Pearl Earring.’

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne
Cyril Avery is not a real Avery. Adopted as a baby, he feels more and more disconnected with the family that treats him more as a curious pet, rather than a beloved son. So, as a young adult, Cyril decides to embark on a quest to find his place in the world. And in doing so, his story will come across that of Catherine Goggin, a young, pregnant woman finding herself alone and isolated at only sixteen. There is a place in the world for both of them, and Cyril is determined to find it… An unforgettable novel by the bestselling author.

The Eights by Joanna Miller
Oxford, 1920. For the first time in its 1000-year history, the world’s most famous university has admitted female students. Giddy with dreams of equality, education and emancipation, four young women move into neighbouring rooms on Corridor Eight. They have come here from all walks of life, and they are thrown into an unlikely, life-affirming friendship... A captivating debut historical novel following the first women to study at Oxford University.

The Figurine by Victoria Hislop
Sunday Times bestselling author Victoria Hislop's powerful new novel shines a light on the questionable acquisition of antiquities and the price people will pay to possess them.

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell
Celebrating her 45th birthday at her local pub, podcaster Alix Summer crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. A few days later, they bump into each other again. Josie says she thinks she would be an interesting subject for Alix's podcast. Alix agrees to a trial interview and indeed, Josie's life appears to be strange and complicated. Slowly Alix starts to realise that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it Josie has cajoled her way into Alix's life - and into her home.The addictive #1 Sunday Times bestselling psychological thriller, voted Crime Novel of The year 2024.

Albion by Anna Hope
The Brooke family are gathering in their eighteenth-century ancestral home – twenty bedrooms of carved Sussex sandstone – to bury Philip: husband, father and the blinding sun around which they have all orbited for as long as they can remember… The English country house novel reimagined for our times from the bestselling author of Expectation.

All My Mothers by Joanna Glen
Meet Eva Martinez-Green, an only child full of questions about her beginnings. When her parents’ relationship crumbles, Eva begins a journey to find these answers for herself. Her desire to discover where she belongs leads Eva on a journey spanning decades and continents – and, along the way, she meets women who challenge her idea of what a mother should be, and who will change her life forever… A heartbreaking novel with rave reviews.

Heartwood by Amity Gaige
In the heart of the Maine woods, an experienced Appalachian Trail hiker goes missing. She is forty-two-year-old Valerie Gillis, who has vanished 200 miles from her final destination. Alone in the wilderness, Valerie pours her thoughts into fractured, poetic letters to her mother as she battles the elements and struggles to keep hoping. Fast-paced and full of grace, a wilderness thriller like no other.

Still Life by Sarah Winman
1944, Italy. As bombs fall around them, two strangers meet in the ruined wine cellar of a Tuscan villa and share an extraordinary evening. Uplifting, sweeping and full of unforgettable characters, Still Life is a big-hearted story of the families we forge and the friendships that make us and an instant Sunday Times Bestseller.

The Handmade God by Rachel Joyce
There is a heatwave across Europe. Goose and his three sisters gather at the family's house by Lake Orta in Piedmont, Italy. Their father, a famous artist, has recently remarried a much younger woman and decamped to Italy to finish his masterpiece. Now he is dead and there is no sign of a painting…
Extraordinarily compelling, at heart this is a novel about sibling relationships and those hairline cracks that can appear within a family: what what happens when they splinter, and what it would take to mend them.

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
Everyone in the village said nothing good would come of Gabriel's return. And as Beth looks at the man she loves on trial for murder, she can't help thinking they were right. But when Gabriel comes back, all Beth's certainty about who she is and what she wants crumbles. Even after ten years, their connection is instant. She knows it's wrong and she knows people could get hurt. But how can she resist a second chance at first love? A love story with the pulse of a thriller, Broken Country is a heart-pounding novel of impossible choices and devastating consequences.

Dream State by Eric Puchner
Cece is in love. She has arrived early at her in-laws' beautiful lake house in Salish, Montana, to finish planning her wedding to Charlie, a cardiac anesthesiologist with a brilliant future. When Charlie asks Garrett, his best friend from college, to officiate the ceremony, Cece can't imagine anyone less appropriate for the task. After all, Garrett, a depressed baggage handler at the local airport, doesn't believe in marriage. But as she spends time with him and his gruff mask slips, she grows increasingly uncertain about her future, leading to an impulsive decision that will alter the three friends' lives forever - the events of that summer reverberating across fifty years and spanning generations. An Oprah's Book Club Pick and an instant New York Times bestseller, this is a moving, funny and engrossing read.

Rules of Civility by Amor Towels
On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate New York City jazz bar trying to stretch three dollars as far as it will go. But a chance encounter with the handsome banker at the next table changes everything, opening the door to the upper echelons of New York society and a glittering new social circle. Plunged into a dizzy world of cocktail parties, sprawling mansions and glamorous magazine offices, Katey soon learns that there are rules to play by and riches can turn to rags in the trip of a heartbeat…An unforgettable debut novel.

Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O’Farrell
It's July 1976 and London is in the grip of a heatwave. It hasn't rained for months, the gardens are filled with aphids, water comes from a standpipe, and Robert Riordan tells his wife Gretta that he's going round the corner to buy a newspaper. He doesn't come back. The search for Robert brings Gretta's children - two estranged sisters and a brother on the brink of divorce - back home, each with different ideas as to where their father may have gone. None of them suspects that their mother might have an explanation that even now she cannot share. Maggie O’Farrell at her best…

The Magus by John Fowles
On a remote Greek Island, Nicholas Urfe finds himself embroiled in the deceptions of a master trickster. As reality and illusion intertwine, Urfe is caught up in the darkest of psychological games. John Fowles expertly unfolds a tale that is lush with over-powering imagery in a spellbinding exploration of human complexities. By turns disturbing, thrilling and seductive, The Magus is a feast for the mind and the senses.

Fresh Water for Flowers by Valerie Perrin
Violette Toussaint is the caretaker at a cemetery in a small town in Bourgogne. Her daily life is lived to the rhythms of the hilarious and touching confidences of random visitors and her colleagues―three gravediggers, three groundskeepers, and a priest. The funny, moving, intimately told story of a woman who believes obstinately in happiness, Fresh Water for Flowers brings out the exceptional and the poetic in the ordinary. A delightful, atmospheric, absorbing tale.

Theo Of Golden by Allen Levi
Questions linger about Theo, a pleasant but mysterious stranger, after his arrival in the southern city of Golden. He arrives early one spring and by chance — or is it? — he visits a coffee shop where 92 framed pencil portraits are on display. Inspired, Theo sets out on a mission of purchasing all the portraits one at a time and quietly bestowing them on their 'rightful owners.'.. A beautifully crafted story about the power of creative generosity, the importance of wonder to a purposeful life, and the far-reaching possibilities of anonymous kindness.

Biographies of the moment

John & Paul - A Love Story in Songs by Ian Leslie
A majestic biography of two young geniuses who merged their talents to create one of the greatest bodies of music in history. Leslie's wildly enjoyable biography will make us see and hear Lennon and McCartney anew.

When The Going Was Good by Graydon Carter
Carter arrived in New York from Canada with little more than a suitcase, a failed literary magazine in his past and a keen sense of ambition. Graydon Carter's lively recounting of how he made his mark as one of society's most talented editors and shapers of culture is the book du jour.

The Book Sets

Sarah J. Maas Book Series
Throne of Glass Series
A Court of Thorns and Roses Series
Crescent City Series
The hottest fantasy series of books for those that didn’t know they were into fantasy! Fast-paced, addictive and page-turning, you’ll fly through them and want more escapism…

The Cazalet Chronicles - Elizabeth Jane Howard
The Elizabeth Jane Howard books about the Cazalet family set in the Sussex countryside in the 1930’s to 50’s have been much loved for generations. Here we list the Cazalet Chronicles books in order, so you can work your way through the family's tragedies and triumphs.

What have you read, loved or not, from the list above? What would you add? Please share your faves for our summer (and forever) reading pleasure below…