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Hot Pages & Salty Air: Gen Z's Ultimate 2025 Summer Beach Reads
It’s that time again—flip flops on, sunglasses out, and a beach bag that better include SPF, snacks, and a stack of books that’ll emotionally wreck you in the best way. Whether you’re vibing poolside, chilling on a sandy shore, or fake-sunning on your balcony, summer 2025’s reading lineup is stacked with everything from flirty rom-coms to tropical thrillers.
We’ve curated the ultimate Gen Z-approved beach reads for every kind of vibe. So grab your iced matcha and let’s get into the books you’ll be obsessing over until the tide rolls out.
💕 Rom-Coms That Deliver The Butterflies
Total Dreamboat by Katelyn Doyle
Trope Watch: Forced proximity + unexpected detour = chaos (and chemistry)
Felix and Hope meet cute on a Caribbean cruise, but things spiral when their vacay takes a stranded-on-land detour. It’s sweet, spicy, and has that “this would be a perfect Netflix rom-com” energy.
Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely
Vibes: Childhood friends + wedding season nostalgia
This Oregon coast-set romance will hit right if you’re into dual POVs and the slowest of slow burns. Think Emily Henry meets Christina Lauren with just the right amount of emotional depth.
Funny Story by Emily Henry
Certified Beach Staple
Emily Henry never misses. This one’s about Daphne, dumped and relocated to her ex’s small hometown, who plots romantic revenge with the other ex involved. Funny, flirty, and surprisingly deep—basically summer in book form.
👨👩👧👦 Family Drama, But Make It Juicy
The California Dreamers by Amy Mason Doan
Setting: Golden hour, California beach house, emotional turbulence incoming
Estranged siblings, a dead dad’s secrets, and that nostalgic summer feeling? This one will have you staring at the sea contemplating your own family dynamics.
These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean
Genre Pivot Alert: Romance royalty goes contemporary
Private island. Messy family. Steamy side romance. MacLean nails the transition into character-rich contemporary fiction with a story that’s as sun-soaked as it is stormy.
🔪 Thrillers For That Dark-Under-The-Sun Energy
The Resort by Sarah Ochs
Mood: White sand, murder vibes
You’re on a dream island in Thailand. The drinks are cold, the secrets are hot, and someone ends up dead. It’s like The White Lotus met Gone Girl, and it’s absolutely addicting.
One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware
Plot: Reality show survival + murder mystery = page-turning gold
Set on an island where influencers play house for a reality show—and then start disappearing. If you love Love Island but wished someone got murdered... you're in luck.
Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies by Catherine Mack
Vibe Check: Cozy, funny, chaotic
This Italy-set mystery follows an author on a book tour where bodies drop like beach umbrellas. It’s giving Agatha Christie meets BookTok humor, and we’re here for it.
📚 For The Literary Girlies & Deep Thinkers
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Feels Level: 10/10
Narrated on audiobook by Meryl Streep (iconic), this novel unpacks a mother’s past love story during the summer of 2020. Quiet, poetic, and wildly relatable for anyone romanticizing simpler times.
The Favorites by Layne Fargo
Genre: Literary sports drama but make it spicy
An Olympic ice dancing world collides with a Wuthering Heights retelling? It works—and then some. Obsession, ambition, and a whole lot of intensity. A must for the emotionally chaotic among us.
🏖️ Why These Books Slap for Summer
- They’re easy to get into, hard to put down—you’ll be ignoring texts all day.
- Tropes galore: enemies to lovers, found family, juicy secrets, murder… it’s all here.
- Perfect settings: tropical islands, cozy coastal towns, reality shows, and beach houses with drama built in.
- Zero stress: These reads are meant for sun, sand, and serotonin.
No matter your summer vibe—loved up, stressed out, or ready for a little murder—there’s a beach read on this list ready to match your mood. So load up your Kindle, toss a paperback in your tote, and prepare to mentally check out in the best way possible.
Stay beach-book obsessed with Woke Waves Magazine—your Gen Z guide to the hottest reads under the sun.
#BeachReads2025 #GenZBookshelf #SummerVibesOnly #RomComsAndThrillers #WokeWavesReads
