Arts & Culture

Books – June 24

In the great words of High School Musical 2: Summer time is finally here! Inspired by the heat that’s currently suffocating our office, I’ve got some of the best upcoming releases and some downright great books that really bring the summer vibe. It’s the season for a great book, an iced coffee in the garden and slathering on the SPF. Happy Summer!

By Gemma Mathers

Daydream

by Hannah Grace

For anyone who escaped the clutches of Hannah Grace’s debut novel Icebreaker which had the entire internet in a chokehold; congrats I’m here to drag you down with the rest of us. Daydream is the third installment of Hannah Grace’s Maple Hill series, a hilariously romantic interconnected series following members of the Maple Hill hockey team and their respective love interests.

The third novel is set to follow Henry, my favourite of the hockey boys, and his counterpart Halle. The best thing about Hannah Grace’s novels is the accessibility, you don’t need to read the others in the series to understand Daydream but you’ll fall in love with the characters regardless! They’re so alive on the page it feels like they’re right next to you.

Funny Story

by Emily Henry

If you cast your mind back to our Jan/Feb edition I may or may not have already recommended Funny Story by Emily Henry, but when the book finally released in April I got my hands on it and oh my what a book! I’ve never been so encompassed with rage so quickly as Daphne’s fiance forcing her to move out of the first place she’s ever called home so he can move his best friend and new fiance in – on the night of his stag do no less.

This book is more than a romance, it’s a love story to finding oneself, standing up for what you deserve and re-connecting with the things that make you happy. That’s not to say the romance wasn’t incredible because it was – Miles is my new favourite and the connection between him and Daphne was so good! As always the characters Henry writes feel so real, so rich and utterly human.

This Summer Will Be Different

by Carley Fortune

Every summer forces Lucy and Felix back to the shores of Prince Edward Island where their romance blossomed, and quickly wilted when Lucy found out Felix was in fact her best friends brother. Every year the two fight the chemistry ever growing with their friendship and vow never to fall for each other again. But when Lucy’s best friend Bridget flees her wedding in Toronto, Lucy and Felix are bound for Prince Edward Island where this summer everything will be different.

Left alone to pick up the pieces of Bridget’s escape, Lucy and Felix find themselves barrelling towards each other like never before. Carley Fortune is quickly making a name for herself in the romance world as one to be watched and This Summer Will be Different is dominating the romance scene.

Romancing Mr Bridgerton

by Julia Quinn

Penelope Featherington has been in love with Colin Bridgerton for as long as she can remember, but Colin has made it clear he’d never look to this wallflower for such things as love. When Colin returns to London from abroad, he and Penelope’s steadfast friendship quickly resumes. As secrets unfold and passions begin to ignite Penelope realises there’s more to Colin than she knew, and those secrets might just ruin everything.

Now a streaming phenomenon on Netflix, the fourth Bridgerton novel Romancing Mr Bridgerton is coming to our screens starting in May. Julia Quinn really hit the mark with this fan favourite novel and we can’t wait to see this story finally play out on-screen.

Carrie Soto is Back

by Taylor Jenkins Reid

It’s 2024 and Zendaya has just played a tennis powerhouse in Challengers, so we must talk about the iconic tennis player Carrie Soto. In 2022 Taylor Jenkins Reid released Carrie Soto is Back and I’ve made it my mission to re-read it every summer since, (well that’s only two but you get my point). By the time Carrie Soto retires, she is the best player the world has ever seen. The holder of twenty SLAM titles and has broken every record ever set.

So when she’s sitting in the stands watching her record be taken by a brutally stunning tennis player, it’s time to return to the game. Carrie Soto is Back is the tale of family, unwavering determination and the unparalled relationship between a father and daughter.

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