What to Read this Summer Based on Your Star Sign
Summer reading is here!!! I know it’s not *technically* summer until June 22nd but in my mind if the sun is shining and we are post Memorial Day—it’s summer. With all the recs/new releases I have for you (and in an attempt to not throw my entire TBR at you—its miles long) I figured it is the perfect time to make a list assigning one fabulous read based on your star sign💫 And don’t worry, I am an astrology lover, so no matter your sign you can count on me to give an unbiased recommendation (begrudgingly so for a couple of you… just kiddingggg! I’m a Gemini moon… who am I to judge??)
Now, if you’re anything like me, and one rec simply won’t cut it, might I recommend pulling up your chart and checking out these recs for your big three and beyond! I personally will be adding all of these to my tbr so you really cannot go wrong. Let the stars guide you this summer and happy reading beautiful people!!
ARIES (March 21st-April 19th)
Fearless leader of the zodiac, your bold energy translates perfectly to this fast paced, unputdownable horror thriller!!
It’s 1921, and Mrs. Caroline Reginald Kane, the last surviving descendant of a family of oil barons, has invited four young debutantes to visit her at Greystone Manor. There, they’ll compete for the ultimate prize: to become heir to her unspeakably vast fortune. But only one girl can win. And the manor is watching. Dorothea is a thief, and the best liar in the American Northeast. Her mother vanished at Greystone years ago, and she’s determined to find out why—so long as no one uncovers her secrets first. Vaughn isn’t crazy. She was born for this life—and she won’t let anyone come between her and the fortune she deserves. Birdie doesn’t know why she’s been invited, but she believes everything happens for a reason…and that reason just might be divine. Elspeth is called “pretty as a peach, dim as a doorknob.” But she sees things that the others can’t: whispering birds, shifting doors, and a language that should never be spoken. And there’s something else hidden behind these walls. Something sinister. It doesn’t plan to let them leave alive.
TAURUS (April 20th-May 20th)
Georgiana Darcy has only ever kissed one girl before, and the resulting blackmail almost ruined her reputation. Since then, she’s carefully calibrated her life to be as quiet as possible, focusing on books and music. She certainly isn’t planning on falling in love with another girl. But then she meets Kitty Bennet, and everything is thrown off kilter.
After a moonlit kiss shifts their newfound friendship into something more, Georgiana follows Kitty to the Bennets’ home. The visit proves ill-timed when she encounters the one man who knows her secret and threatened her with it before. Terrified of testing the limits of her family’s love and of putting Kitty in danger, Georgiana doesn’t know if there’s any chance of a happy ending.
Every etiquette guide she’s ever read makes it clear that if she wants to protect her family name, Georgiana must pretend her heart follows society’s accepted rhythm. Unless, with a little help from those who understand how it feels, she can compose the future she and Kitty both deserve.
GEMINI (May 21st-June 21st)
Three years ago, Bella dumped her best friend Kerry to follow her dreams of becoming an influencer. It worked; she is Such a Lucky Girl, famous for her epic manifesting glow-up and dedicated to helping other girls be “lucky,” too. She’s living the dream—success, sponsorships, and fame. She burned her old life to the ground and never looked back.
Leaving Kerry behind. Alone. Angry.
When Kerry picks up a vintage self-help book on shadow work, she’s fascinated by the suggested rituals. Get back at those who have wronged her? Yes, please. She has one person in mind, and that girl is smiling at her millions of followers, having forgotten Kerry long ago. But there’s something attached to the book, something dark and ancient, and Kerry and Bella may not be ready for what is about to be unleashed.
CANCER (June 21st-July 22nd)
All her life, it’s just been sixteen-year-old Skylar and her rockstar dad against the world. But this year, a horrible accident cuts the summer short and upends her life.
As Skylar grieves her dad, she discovers a huge secret: her mother is still alive. Now, Skylar is uprooted from her home and thrust into a family of strangers on the other side of the country. Furious with the mother who deserted her, she seeks comfort in her baking and decides to enter a local competition with a dazzling prize of a trip to a Parisian pastry school. As she gains her footing in the contest and her new town, she befriends a girl who seems just as lost as her, and she also finds more than friendship in the frustratingly irresistible boy next door. But as Skylar bakes her way to a brighter future, she’ll uncover truths about the past in the last place she expected.
Filled with heaps of emotion, a spoonful of hope, and an unexpected twist of fate, this is a powerful story about the true meaning of home.
LEO (July 23rd-August 22nd)
Pretty, popular, and a total witch, Embry Woodcross is queen bee at Raven’s Head School for the Magically Gifted. Entering senior year as head prefect, Embry is a celebrated fashionista and unrivaled solver of problems big, small, and unattractive. (She’s quite generous with her handcrafted magical beauty products.)
When she meets Oakley Riddle, clueless transfer student and ultrarare vampire, Embry’s mission is clear: take the new girl under her wing and make sure she’s not thrown to the (were)wolves. Coven mate Rye Knighton may scoff at Embry’s aggressive benevolence, but Raven’s Head students reward her with love and appreciation…
Until one good deed too many makes Embry the lead suspect in a murder investigation.
Suddenly, the same people who begged Embry for enchanted acne potions are convinced she’s a cold-blooded killer. Apparently, everyone loves a witch until something bad happens, and then it’s all pitchforks and anecdotal evidence. As everything she’s ever done is used against her, Embry teams up with Rye to find the real murderer, clear her name, and maybe fall in love along the way.
Don’t miss more romance from Sarah Henning:
Throw Like a Girl
It’s All in How You Fall
VIRGO (August 23rd-September 22nd)
In the grandest of games, there is everything to win—money, love, power, revenge—and even more to lose. From Texas to Prague to London and beyond, the Hawthorne family, the players from the Grandest Game, and allies old and new are drawn into a web of centuries-old secrets and mind-bending puzzles. Every clue pulls them deeper; every answer demands a price.
To survive, they must unravel the mysteries that bind them together…but some truths are deadly.
Discover danger, riches, romance—and the long-awaited revelations at the heart of Jennifer Lynn Barnes’s most intricate and explosive puzzle yet.
All games must come to an end.
LIBRA (September 23rd-October 22nd)
Penny Emberly didn’t expect to fall head over heels for Alonso De Luca last summer—or to discover that he’s a witch. Together with their friend Corey Barrion, they managed to save her mother from a deadly spell. Now autumn has arrived, and Penny believes they can take on anything.
But darkness is descending on the small town of Idlewood. Corey is desperate to undo the bloody legacy that made his family rich. The price, however, is steep: to unravel the magical bargain made by his grandfather, Corey must take a life.
As Corey wrestles with an impossible choice, Alonso begins to change. The more he pushes the limits of his magic, the more volatile, violent, and possessive he becomes. When tragedy strikes one of their classmates, the trio is forced to confront a terrifying question: is Alonso being consumed by something that’s bent on the destruction of everyone around him—especially Penny and Corey?
As supernatural forces drive them apart, Penny, Corey, and Alonso must decide what they’re willing to sacrifice before more blood is spilled—even if it means losing each other.
SCORPIO (October 23rd-November 21st)
Uyai and Fiyin may be roommates at Blue Waters Secondary School, but they are not friends. Uyai is popular and fierce—she dominates every room she walks into. Fiyin is nerdy and quiet—she’s easy to miss. Anyone who knows them (assuming they know who Fiyin is at all) would argue that, besides that shared dorm room, the two girls have absolutely nothing in common.
But they do.
Because both girls have been hurt. Humiliated. Taken advantage of. And both girls have just one boy to blame for it.
Fiyin thinks Uyai is an irresponsible mean girl. Uyai thinks Fiyin is an uptight loser. They both think the boy that hurt them deserves to suffer. But taking down one of the most popular guys in school isn’t a one-woman task. If they want to get their revenge before graduation, Uyai and Fiyin will need each other’s help—regardless of how they feel about each other.
After all, you don’t need to be friends to be teammates.
SAGITTARIUS (November 22nd- December 21st)
The exclusive Mokani Island is Avery’s happy place. This summer, she’s invited her college roommate, Nora, to hang out in paradise and party with her superrich friends.
But the vibe feels off from the start. Avery’s ex can’t get over their split. Her best friend is acting weird. A hot new staff member can’t keep his eyes off her. And nobody likes Nora, who keeps sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong.
A tropical storm is brewing and everyone on the island seems to be hiding something—but are some secrets worth killing for?
Don’t miss the companion, How the Other Half Kill!
CAPRICORN (December 22nd-January 19th)
Adopted as a newborn, Tessa has always wondered who her biological parents are. After turning eighteen, she takes a DNA test in hopes of finding the answers. With best friend El and lab partner Victor, Tessa uses the results to start building her family tree. But they find more dead ends than answers. Her biological mother, who was raised in a religious cult, has cut all ties with her controlling family. And her biological father remains a complete mystery, at least until the police show up. For fifteen years, they’ve been trying to identify a serial killer known as the Portland Phantom. Tessa may be the link they’ve been waiting for. April Henry delivers a twisty thriller about the families who choose us—and the ones we’re born into. Biology does not have to dictate one’s destiny.
AQUARIUS (January 20th-February 18th)
Fifteen-year-old Blue Collins’s parents own the only Black beach in Santa Monica in 1929. She loves spending time there with her handsome friend Ben Clark. It’s a quiet spot where they can be alone and where Ben’s darker skin won’t be judged by onlookers—or Blue’s own family.
During a sunset rendezvous after a summer parade, the pair discovers the body of Dottie Whitehouse, a white debutante. Blue Beach is already threatened by local white property owners. Now their whole community could be at risk. In their panic, Blue and Ben move Dottie’s body into the waters of a nearby white beach.
Dottie’s body washes ashore, and it isn’t long before all eyes are on Ben. Everyone saw how Dottie teased him and how they shared smiles. And their history goes deeper than Blue ever realized. But to save Ben from the outraged white townspeople, she’ll need to do whatever she can to dig up the truth and prove his innocence. Ben isn’t the only one whose life depends on it.
PISCES (February 19th-March 20th)
High school senior Mayte has never been kissed, but it hardly matters. Her abuelita has cancer, her half sister with special needs has moved in, and college is off the table—family comes first. She keeps her problems to herself; why burden everyone she loves with more?
Meanwhile, fellow senior Auggie is set on attending an elite creative writing program. But as the self-proclaimed most boring person alive, he can’t exactly write the next great American novel when he’s struggling to write a short story for college applications.
After an awful blind date (“disaster” doesn’t even begin to describe it), Mayte and Auggie never want to see each other again. When forced together by their merging social circles, the pair must at least pretend to get along…but soon they develop actual feelings. Then tragedy strikes Mayte’s family. Auggie feels compelled to write her story to help her process and heal—but are his intentions truly selfless? The best story he’s ever written could impact the best friendships he’s ever had.
How to Love You When You’re Gone is equal parts heartbreaking, soul-healing, and absolutely hilarious from the very first page.