Your 2026 Summer Reading List: Jenna’s Book Club to Liane Moriarty’s Sequel and More

Grab your tote bag, book club friends—the summer 2026 reading lineup is finally here, and it’s the kind of list that’ll have you texting your group chat before you’ve even finished your coffee. Between Liane Moriarty’s long-awaited sequel, Reese Witherspoon’s June pick and Jenna Bush Hager‘s brand-new publishing imprint, there’s so much to add to your nightstand stack that you’ll want to start preordering now.

Here’s what to read, what to discuss and what to look forward to all summer long.

The sequel we’ve been waiting a decade for

If you’ve been holding your breath since you closed the last page of Big Little Lies, go ahead and exhale. Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Truths arrives Aug. 25, picking up more than a decade after the original. Madeline, Celeste, Jane, Renata and Bonnie are back—and now their kids are in high school, which means a whole new layer of drama. When a mysterious man starts asking questions near the school, those old Monterey secrets come bubbling right back to the surface.

Woman’s World executive editor Patty Bontekoe captured the mood perfectly. “If you’re anything like me, you’ve been waiting years for the sequel to Big Little Lies,” she said, according to Woman’s World’s editor picks. Translation: clear your August calendar.

Reese’s June pick is based on a true story

Reese Witherspoon’s June selection for Reese’s Book Club is Pair of Aces by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, and it’s the kind of historical fiction that practically writes its own discussion questions. The novel is inspired by the real story of Eunice Carter, Manhattan’s first Black female prosecutor and her unlikely alliance with madam Polly Adler to take down notorious mob boss Lucky Luciano.

Reese also weighed in on another beloved title heading her way this season. “Into The Blue by Emma Brodie is a story that really stayed with me, [It’s] about love, timing and what happens when the past finds its way back into your life. I was so drawn to the way it explores fate versus choice,” she shared, according to Woman’s World’s roundup of her summer picks.

Jenna’s pick—and her brand-new imprint

Jenna Bush Hager’s Read with Jenna pick is The Children by Melissa Albert, and Jenna isn’t holding back her enthusiasm. “Not since Donna Tartt’s Secret History have I loved a book filled with such magic and mystery as I have with Melissa Albert’s The Children,” she said.

Even bigger news for book club devotees: Jenna’s new publishing imprint, Thousand Voices, just launched its first title—June Baby by Shannon Garvey, a coming-of-age story set on Block Island. It’s the perfect candidate for your beach bag.

And if you’re looking for an all-time-favorite recommendation, Jenna swears by Judy Blume’s Summer Sisters. “This is my all-time favorite summer read. It’s so juicy and fun — it’s candy! But it’s also about female friendship and class and what it means to be a woman. Once you start reading this, you cannot put it down,” she said, according to her Us Weekly interview.

Mysteries and thrillers to keep you up past bedtime

If you love a twist (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t), summer 2026 is delivering. Nora Roberts—yes, the same Nora Roberts who has sold more than 500 million books—returns with The Final Target, about a rising author who flees to Oregon after a fan’s obsession turns dangerous.

Lisa Jewell is back with It Could Have Been Her, in which protagonist Jane stumbles upon a missing teenage girl’s dog and uncovers a haunting connection to her own past. Catherine Steadman’s Nine Lives arrived, too, with a premise that’ll give you chills: a divorcée’s cat returns home wearing a collar scratched with the words “help me.”

For something genuinely buzzy, Stephen King has called Evelyn Clarke’s The Ending Writes Itself—written by V.E. Schwab and Cat Clarke under a joint pseudonym—”in the running for the best mystery of 2026,” per Woman’s World’s mystery roundup. Six writers, a remote Scottish island and 72 hours to finish a dead novelist’s final book. Sign us up.

Round out your mystery stack with Kimberly McCreight’s Someone Else’s Husband and Lina Patton’s debut, The Lake Club.

Swoony romances for the porch swing

Romance is having a moment this summer, and the editors at Woman’s World are very on board. “In the sunny world of 5-star beach reads, Annabel Monaghan pens some of the very best. Her recent hits include It’s a Love Story and Summer Romance—and her new novel, Dolly All The Time, is another picture-perfect rom-com!” said senior editor Melissa D’Agnese. Dolly All The Time is out now and follows a single mom returning to Rhode Island who enters a fake relationship with a wealthy local. Yes, please.

Carley Fortune’s Our Perfect Storm gives us childhood best friends Frankie and George—and what happens when Frankie’s fiancé leaves her at the altar and George offers to go on the honeymoon with her, as friends. (We have questions. We need answers.)

Tia Williams returns with The Missed Connection, about a casting agent searching for an elusive Italian man she met on a flight to Paris. Associate digital editor Carissa Mosness sums it up beautifully: “Few authors write about romance as beautifully as Tia Williams.”

Add Emily Giffin’s second-chance love story Love You More (July 7, set in Wisconsin) and Christina Lauren’s The Romance Revival (July 14), which explores what happens when a husband loses all memory of his wife after an accident. Heartbreaking and hopeful all at once.

Historical fiction for the deeper-dive readers

If your book club loves a sweeping setting, you’ve got options. Chanel Cleeton’s An Infinite Love Story (July 7) launches into the 1960s Space Race. Jillian Laine’s debut Henry Tudor Must Die (July 21) reimagines the wives of Henry VIII on a revenge quest—yes, really. Melanie Benjamin’s The Windsor Affair digs into the rivalry between Queen Elizabeth and Wallis Simpson and Ruta Sepetys takes readers to 1927 Detroit in A Fortune of Sand.

Don’t forget the screen adaptations

Six major book-to-screen adaptations are landing this summer—perfect for “read it first” book club bragging rights. Jennifer Garner stars in The Five-Star Weekend, based on the Elin Hilderbrand novel, premiering July 9 on Peacock. “I loved the sisterhood of making that show,” Garner told Flaunt.

Carley Fortune’s Every Summer After (retitled Every Year After) is new to Prime Video, and Christopher Nolan’s epic take on The Odyssey with Matt Damon hits IMAX theaters July 17.

Your summer reading list just got longer—and so much better. Happy reading!