20 Best Chick Lit Books To Read This Summer

Looking for something fun to read this summer? Here are the best chick lit books I’ve read and recommend!

Chick Lit Sweatshirt | Kindle Paperwhite

2022 was the year that I got back into reading regularly – and I realized it’s because I stopped trying to get through what I though I “should” be reading and instead picked up books that I WANTED to read.

Who cares if some people make fun of chick lit books?! I realized that I don’t – and literally everything changed after that.

The case for chick lit books:

For a lot of my adult life, I would trudge my way through historical fiction or books that literary snobs and critics approve of.

And then last year, I realized that the true joy of reading for me lies in winding down at the end of the day with something enjoyable.

The real world is stressful and heartbreaking enough! Instead, I want something relatable and easy to read and sweet and fun. And you know who does that really well? Female authors!

Just because “chick lit” sounds silly and rom coms are often looked down on as less important than other genres doesn’t mean that there isn’t a place for these types of books in the world. And sure, there are some really bad ones out there.

But we are living in a time full of smart female authors writing smart books that are also relatable and easy to read and sweet and fun… why wouldn’t I choose to read them?!

So without further ado, let’s chat through my favorite chick lit books that I’ve read recently!

*Also, if you are a kindle reader, you can shop all of these books on my Amazon storefront too!

20 Best Chick Lit Books I’ve Read and Recommend

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Let’s start with the queen of chick lit books for me right now – Emily Henry! Book Lovers is by far my favorite book of hers. I loved it so much, I would reread it – and I never reread books.

It’s playful and self aware, poking fun at common tropes found in Hallmark movies and chick lit books. Yet, it’s somehow still really genuine and sweet.

The story follows Nora Stephens, a cutthroat literary agent who agrees to go to Sunshine Falls for the month of August with her sister Libby. But instead of a calm getaway, Nora keeps running into an editor she knows (and does not like) from the city.

I don’t really want to say any more than that because that’s all I knew before reading it… but just know that it’s adorable and funny and you’ll love it!

Happy Place by Emily Henry

Continuing with Emily Henry books, I just finished Happy Place last night! It wasn’t my favorite of hers, but I still enjoyed it a lot.

This one is about a group of friends who go to Maine every summer. The group includes Harriet and Wyn, who have been together since college… except they are broken up this year, but they still haven’t told any of their friends.

On top of that, the cottage they stay in every year is being sold and their other friends are getting married. In an effort to make their last week in this special place perfect, they decide to fake being together for just a few more days… but can they pull it off, especially when it’s clear they still love each other?

I wasn’t sure about the plot at the beginning but I was fully invested by the end. 

Beach Read by Emily Henry

After reading Book Lovers, I wanted more Emily Henry in my life, so I went back and read her first hit, Beach Read. OMG. I devoured this book. It still doesn’t beat Book Lovers for me, but it stands firmly in 2nd place in my list of favorite Emily Henry books.

Beach Read is about two authors who met in school and went down two different paths. January Andrews writes bestselling romance and Augustus Everett writes acclaimed literary fiction.

But for the next three months, they find themselves living in neighboring beach houses… both with writer’s block.

One night, they decide to make a deal – with the help of each other’s expertise and lessons, Augustus will attempt to write something happy and January will attempt the next Great American Novel. And they may or may not get to know each other better in the process 😉

People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry

This is the last Emily Henry book, I promise! People We Meet On Vacation is about two best friends. They’re an unlikely pair who live in totally different places, but they’ve been going on vacation together every summer for a decade – until 2 years ago.

Despite not speaking, Poppy invites Alex on one last vacation together in hopes of making things right between them. What could go wrong?! Just like all of her books, it’s a great beach read for summer.

Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan

I hesitated on this book based on the description, but after so many people recommended it, I caved. And I’m so glad I did because I loved it.

Nora Goes Off Script is about a romance channel screenwriter and mother of two named Nora. After her husband leaves her, she writes about her marriage collapsing as a way to process it… and it turns out to be the best script she’s ever written.

It gets picked up for the big screen and two huge stars, including a former Sexiest Man Alive, are coming to film a few scenes on location at her old home in a small town.

After shooting wraps, Leo (the very famous star of her movie) offers to pay her to let him stay for another week. With a combination of needing the money and curiosity, she agrees. What happens after that is beyond anything she ever expected.

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

I picked Every Summer After up after hearing @readandwright RAVE about it and now I look to her for recommendations all the time because I loved it so much. I read it for almost our entire flight back home from Italy which is saying something since I’m usually a movie watcher on long haul flights 😂 

The book tells the story of Percy and Sam, from when Percy’s family buys the cottage next to Sam’s, through the 6 summers they spend together as teenagers, all the way to reuniting after not speaking for 12 years.

The way Carley describes their summers by the lake feels so nostalgic and real, that you’ll need to keep reading to figure out how such an inseparable pair could possibly have fallen out of touch and if there’s any way they can repair the hurt and love that still lingers between them.

Love & Other Words by Christina Lauren

I heard that Every Summer After was very similar to Love & Other Words (published back in 2018), but I didn’t realize just HOW much until I read this one too. It’s… very similar.

I still loved both and you can’t go wrong with either, but if I had to choose between the two, I think I’d choose this one. Maybe it’s because I read it more recently or because it was written first, but I mostly think it’s because it made me cry my eyes out at the end. Ugh it’s just so good! It was everything I want out of chick lit books!

Love & Other Words is about Macy and Elliot. It’s told in an alternating timeline, between years ago when they met as teenagers and present day when they reconnect after years of not speaking to each other.

It is both sweet and heartbreaking to learn the story of how they grew from friends into the loves of each others lives, while also watching them navigate seeing each other again after so many years.

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

I’ve heard good things about The Unhoneymooners since it came out but for some reason I resisted – and I have no idea why because I LOVED IT. I think it’s because I thought I had it all figured out from reading the synopsis, but there’s a lot more to it.

Basically Olive (the twin sister of the bride) and Ethan (the brother of the groom) don’t like each other. But after being the only 2 people at the whole reception who didn’t eat the buffet food, they are the only 2 people without horrible food poisoning. And now, there’s a free honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.

While Olive doesn’t love the idea of going WITH Ethan, she hates the idea of him getting to enjoy the trip himself more, so she decides to go with him.

What happens from there is a mixture of unexpected and sweet and frustrating – and I loved the ending. Christina Lauren has a TON of other chick lit books I haven’t read yet, too!

One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle

As soon as I heard that the author of In Five Years wrote a book about Positano, I pressed the preorder button SO FAST. One Italian Summer starts when Katy’s mother, and best friend in the world, dies.

They had planned and booked a trip to Positano before she passed, so Katy makes the trip on her own. As soon as she arrives, she feels her mother’s presence… only to then meet 30 year old Carol, aka her mother before Katy was born.

Obviously Katy doesn’t understand how this is possible, but missing her mother so desperately, she decides to take every opportunity to get to know this version of her better while in Italy.

It’s definitely a very unique concept for a book, but it’s also so heartfelt and makes you feel like you’re in Positano with them. I loved it.

Winter in Paradise Series by Elin Hilderbrand

Elin Hilderbrand is one of the GOAT’s of chick lit books, and I fell in love with her two series’ last year. I read the 4 book Winter Street series around Christmastime in 2021 and then last January, I got sucked into her 3 book Winter in Paradise series.

The first book (Winter in Paradise) starts with Irene Steele, who lives a very normal life in Iowa City, finding out that her husband has been killed in a helicopter crash. In St. John. Irene and her sons travel there to figure out what happened only to find out that he has been living a secret life.

Needless to say, I flew through it and IMMEDIATELY purchased and devoured What Happens in Paradise (Book 2) and Troubles in Paradise (Book 3). They’re fast and juicy and great for getting out of a book rut!

Part Of Your World by Abby Jimenez

I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did! I downloaded it from the library after hearing someone say they liked it… and I couldn’t put it down.

Part Of Your World is about Alexis, a successful woman who has always been expected to carry on her family’s legacy of being a world-renowned surgeon. But one night, her car gets stuck and she meets a handsome younger carpenter in a small town named Daniel.

The chemistry is undeniable and the silly fling starts to feel like more… but their worlds don’t mesh at all. How can she possibly choose between the life she’s built and this man who has changed everything for her? It sounds cheesy, I know, but it’s so good. I absolutely loved it.

One Day In December by Josie Silver

When I tell you I loved this book… I mean I looooved this book. I read it around the holidays, so I tend to think of it as a Christmas read, but you don’t have to save it for that time of year.

One Day In December is about a woman named Laurie who, one day in December, locks eyes with a man through a bus window and feels magic. She spends nearly a year trying to forget about him, only for her best friend to unknowably introduce him to her… as her new boyfriend.

Just writing this makes me want to reread it because this book wrecked me. It’s about friendship and heartbreak and choices. It spans about 10 years so you really get to know the characters and how they grow and change. Ugh, you just have to read it.

I also read One Night On The Island by the same author last year and that book is COZY. It has an enemies to lovers storyline, but it explores the concept of home, friendship, belonging, loss, and so much more. I really enjoyed it.

The Idea Of You by Robinne Lee

Speaking of books that wrecked me – The Idea of You exceeded all of my expectations. It was also the first really steamy book I ever read 😂 It’s not just smut though – it’s thought provoking and well written and I tell everyone I know to read it.

The story revolves around a gorgeous 39 year old divorcee who takes her daughter to see her favorite boy band. When they are able to meet the members of the popular August Moon (think One Direction), the last thing she expected was to have a connection with one of them… but the attraction to Hayes (loosely based off of Harry Styles) is so strong that she gives in to his advances and a relationship begins.

Despite the age difference, and the fact that he’s an international pop star, their relationship grows from physical attraction to genuine love… but can a relationship like that actually work in the real world?

Finlay Donovan Series by Elle Cosimano

I have learned to mostly stay away from books about murder because I’m a huge wimp, but when I saw that Finlay Donovan is Killing It was available to download from my library, I thought I’d give it a shot. A mix between chick lit books and murder mystery? Why not?!

It’s about a struggling single mother of two who is having trouble writing her next book, dealing with her horrible ex husband, and making ends meet. But one day, a woman overhears her talking through a plot idea with her agent at lunch and mistakes her for a contract killer.

Finlay somehow finds herself accepting the offer to dispose of the woman’s husband in order to make ends meet and… chaos ensues. I bought the 2nd book, Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead, right after I finished the first and enjoyed that too. I still haven’t read the 3rd one yet, but it’s on my list!

In A New York Minute by Kate Spencer

As the title would suggest, this book gave me all the NYC feels. In A New York Minute starts with Franny having the worst possible day.

She gets fired from her job, she’s sweating profusely on the way back home to cry about it, and then her favorite dress gets stuck in the subway doors and rips. A handsome man sees her in need and offers her his jacket in what she thinks is a super awkward interaction.

Except someone filmed it and now the internet thinks it was a meet-cute for the ages and these two should be in love. Their next meeting goes almost as disastrously as their first… but then they keep running into each other. And as they learn more about each other and a friendship forms, they realize the people on the internet might have been right all along…

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

I’ve been a fan of Emily Giffin‘s chick lit books for years, and even though I’ve read and loved all of them, I tried to pick a favorite for this post instead of pulling another Emily Henry and listing them all! It’s hard to choose, but I’m going to go with Something Borrowed as my favorite. 

I read Something Borrowed back when I lived in New York and I was obsessed. It’s about Rachel, a hard working rule follower who has always been the sidekick to the star that is her best friend, Darcy.

But on her 30th birthday, she confesses her feelings to Dex, her friend from law school, who admits that they feels the same way. The only problem is that he is engaged to Darcy. Eeeek!

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

I wasn’t sure about this book when I started it… but I loved these characters so much by the end!!!

The Hating Game is about two coworkers who hate each other. Except they’re not just coworkers, they are both executive assistants to the co-CEOs of a publishing company, and they’re both gunning for the same promotion.

They play silly games to get on each others nerves, but maybe they don’t really hate each other at all?! It’s honestly adorable – a great quick beach read. You can also watch the movie version on Hulu!

Lease On Love by Falon Ballard

This was an impulse purchase because it was on major sale and I thought it was so cute!! Lease On Love follows Sadie who flips out after getting passed up for a promotion and ends up fired.

Then after a drunken mix up, she meets Jack Thomas, who is in need for a roommate to live in his gorgeous Brooklyn brownstone with him.

While they start as platonic roommates, these two end up helping each other grow, heal, and believe in themselves. It’s really really sweet.

Who’s That Girl by Mhairi McFarlane

I really need to read more by Mhairi McFarlane because she has written tons of chick lit books and her writing is so funny. I remember this one made me giggle so much.

Who’s That Girl is about Edie after her coworker kisses her… at his wedding… when she’s not the bride. Labelled as a home-wrecker, she takes a sabbatical from her job to go home to Nottingham to get away from everything.

While she’s there, she gets a freelance gig, working to help pen a hot new TV star’s autobiography. An unexpected friendship (and maybe some romantic feelings!) forms as she also navigates her relationship with work, her family, and her own sense of self.

Happy & You Know It by Laura Hankin

I don’t even remember why I picked this book up, but I DO remember loving it. Happy & You Know It is about a woman named Claire who isn’t sure what to do with her life after her former band shot to stardom without her.

She takes a job as a playgroup musician for wealthy Moms and their babies on the Upper East Side and is surprised to find that she actually really likes this group of women. That is until she realizes how many secrets are under their shiny perfect facades.

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Have you read any of these chick lit books? What did you think?

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PS. Bookmark this page to keep up with all of the books I read – I keep it updated after I finish each one! You might also like this post about how to download library books to your kindle.