What a Scorcher! – Summer Reading is Back! In the shade of a parasol or the glare of the sun, with the splashing of the pool or the lapping of the shore, at the bar with a beer or at the end of a day, sun-kissed and sipping a sundowner, nothing beats a good holiday book. But how do you choose what to take with you or to get for your other half? Fear not. Our Summer Reading category is here to help! Relax. Read. Refresh.

Best Before – July Pre-Publication Exclusives

Wouldn’t it be great if you could sneak a peek at new books before they were published? Oh wait. You can. Two top favourites are: The Looking Glass House by Vanessa Tait – From the great-granddaughter of Alice Liddell (yup, THE ‘Alice’) and just before Alice’s Day on 4 July, this is an imaginative and captivating tale of obsession and adventure. And Only We Know by Karen Perry – From the bestselling authors of The Boy That Never Was, a dark, dog-like shadow of childhood secrets blackens every page.

Maxim-ise your summer! – Maxim Jakubowski Recommends

The ‘Ringmaster of Reading’ our very own Literary Godfather, Maxim Jakubowski has singled out his summer stars for you this month. Leading you by the hand on a dark and delicious journey from the underworld of Tel Aviv to the glamour of Las Vegas with blood-curdling stops in South America and Scotland, this is a superb selection for your summer suitcase. See his choices here, or go right to his must reads: The Cartel by Don Winlsow – Revenge, justice, obsession and the blurred lines in between. Can you take down the devil without losing your soul? Or In The Company of Sherlock Holmes edited by Laurie R King and Leslie Klinger – Holmes is where the heart is! A lovingly compiled collection of A-list authors writing newly imagined capers for the Baker Street sleuth.

Love eReading? – June’s eBooks of the Month

As more and more platforms for enjoying great writing come along, we are right there to tell you what’s hot. Check out and download this month’s star picks. We especially love: The Moonstone Legacy Trilogy by Diana De Gunzburg and Tony Wild – Beginning where Wilkie Collins’ classic The Moonstone left off, this is an action-packed adventurous tale with an added magical touch of the mystical dancing across the pages. A treat of three eBooks in one, with short punchy chapters and beautiful descriptive detailing make this extremely readable with a dramatic but fitting end to the adventures of The Moonstone. See the shelf below for more of our fav-e-rites this month …

Liked that? Try THIS! - If you like you’ll love

So, you’ve finished a book you loved and don’t know where to look next. Now you do! A real favourite this month is one that will appeal to any fan of Jo Nesbo. It’s called The Man Who Watched Women by writing duo Michael Hjorth and Hans Rosenfeldt who penned TV scripts for Wallander and The Bridge. The novel is a slow burner of a read, it takes a little while to get used to the writing style, however it gradually catches fire and each page turned fans the flames. Intense, sinister and bleak, this is a captivating and dramatic read.

See more ‘like-for-like’ recommendations below.

If you like Cecelia Ahern or Jojo Moyes you’ll love The Thirty List by Eva Woods		If you like Margaret Atwood you’ll love Find Me by Laura van den Berg		If you like Philippa Gregory you’ll love Watch the Lady by Elizabeth Fremantle

If you like Robert Fabbri you’ll love Blood and Steel by Harry Sidebottom		If you like Lauren Beukes’ The Shining Girls you’ll love Day Four by Sarah Lotz		If you like Veronica Henry or Erica James you’ll love The Island Escape by Kerry Fisher

It would be a crime to miss these …

Three debuts have made the five strong shortlist for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2015. The public vote opens on 1st July and closes on 13th July at the Theakstons website. And you can have your say by public vote by visiting www.theakstons.co.uk between 1 – 13 July. The award ceremony will take place at the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate on 16 July.

Here is the full shortlist ...

Summer Book Festival News

As well as the killer line up at the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival (16-19 July) in Harrogate why not, if you are in and around the New Forest 17 – 19 July, visit The Curious Arts Festival which is certain to be a treat for eye, ear and mind. Alternatively, try new festival Niddfest (24-26 July) dedicated to writing inspired by the great outdoors. And that is June at Lovereading. We’ll be here with more ideas to feed the mind next month. In the meantime, if you have any news, reviews or opinions to share, get in touch via our twitter/facebook communities. We’d love to hear from you. And of course definitely don’t miss any of our brilliant, free to enter, prize draws to win oodles of book goodies.

P.S. Fans of Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Wooster absolutely must find out more about Wake Up, Sir! by Jonathan Ames. This quirky, eccentric reimagining of the brilliant pairing will have you laughing (and we mean really laughing) out loud. P.P.S. 55 years after the publication of seminal and profound novel To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAMB) Harper Lee is releasing Go Set a Watchman that features Scout and Atticus some 20 years on. To celebrate the publication of the new novel on 14 July 2015, we have copies of To Kill a Mockingbird along with an exclusive canvas bag and some postcards to give away to 5 lucky winners.