The 7 Best Books to Read This Summer

So the flights are booked and that sun lounger is waiting – but what to read? Don’t worry, Hood has you sorted. From page-turning thrillers to evocative historical fiction and swoon-worthy romance, these are the must-reads that will make your switch-off time the perfect escapism.

Show Don’t Tell – Curtis Sittenfeld

Twelve sharply observed, deliciously acerbic short stories from the author of Romantic Comedy, Prep and American Wife, this collection explores modern womanhood through the lens of fame, friendship, marriage and middle age. From a surprise reunion with Prep’s Lee Fiora to a skewering of corporate spin, Sittenfeld nails the inner monologue we rarely admit out loud.
Best for: the smart, self-aware reader who loves a wry twist.

Careless People – Sarah Wynn-Williams

An explosive memoir from deep inside Facebook, this gripping account by a former executive lifts the lid on power, misogyny and the wild dysfunction behind one of the most influential companies on the planet. From private jets to political chaos, motherhood to media manipulation, it’s a sharp, darkly funny, and often jaw-dropping insight into Big Tech’s broken culture.
Best for: the feminist with a fire for truth and accountability.

All Fours - Miranda July

Expect a midlife reinvention like no other. All Fours is a bold, sexy and surreal novel following a forty-something artist who ditches her LA life for a cross-country road trip… only to get waylaid by a motel and a series of boundary-pushing encounters. Irreverent, intimate and gloriously strange, July's second novel is a brilliant, comic exploration of freedom, identity and female desire.
Best for: the curious, creatively wired feminist unafraid of the unexpected.

Don’t Let Him In - Lisa Jewell

A masterclass in slow-burn suspense, Jewell’s latest unravels the unsettling story of three women drawn into the orbit of the same dangerously charming man. Grieving widow Nina, her watchful daughter Ash, and new mum Martha are all navigating different lives — but a hidden thread binds them, and the consequences are chilling. Expect secrets, suspicion, and a twist you won’t see coming.
Best for: the thriller addict who loves tangled lives and dark reveals.

Only Her, Only Now - Tom Newlands

Fife, 1994. Cora Mowat is skint, smart, and stuck — dreaming of escape from her coastal council estate and the chaos at home. With sharp wit, soaring emotion and a fierce sense of place, this debut is a love letter to misfit teens and forgotten towns. Lyrical, raw and riotously funny, it’s a coming-of-age tale that pulses with hope and heartbreak.
Best for: the nostalgic realist with a soft spot for working-class grit and poetic soul.

The Safekeep – Yael van der Wouden

Two women. One house. And a simmering summer in 1961 where suspicion curdles into obsession. When cool, controlled Isabel is left with her brother’s brash new girlfriend, Eva, their strange cohabitation stirs old trauma and hidden desires. Set in post-war Netherlands, this taut, sensual debut explores memory, queerness, and the lingering shadows of history. Atmospheric and unforgettable.
Best for: the literary voyeur who craves tension, secrets and heat.

Liars – Sarah Manguso

Marriage, motherhood, ambition — and the slow erosion of self. In this scorching portrait of a writer caught between her art and her family, Manguso lays bare the cost of being a woman in love with both a man and her own potential. Spare, smart and simmering with rage, Liars is a quiet storm of a novel that cuts to the bone.
Best for: the feminist who’s tired of holding it all together.