The Best Beach Read for Every Zodiac Sign
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At this point, we’ve let our zodiac sign dictate what our signature cocktail is, how we should decorate our house and even which sex position we should try. We might as well let it inform our beach read choice this summer. Whether you’re an ambitious, career-driven Capricorn or a sweet and sensitive Pisces, here’s the best beach read for every zodiac sign.
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ARIES (MARCH 21 - APRIL 19): The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager
A gripping thriller is just what the doctor ordered for fearless Aries. In the vein of his best-selling thrillers Final Girls and Survive the Night, Sager’s latest is a suspense novel brimming with twists and turns about a recently widowed actress trying to escape a streak of bad press. At her family's lake house in Vermont, she passes the time watching the glamorous couple living in the house across the lake. But the more she gets to know them—and the longer she watches—the clearer becomes that something is amiss. And then the wife suddenly vanishes…
TAURUS (APRIL 20 – MAY 20): The Lifeguards by Amanda Eyre Ward
Though occasionally—OK, often—stubborn, you’d be hard pressed to find a friend more loyal than a Taurus, which is exactly why Taureans will be enthralled by this novel that centers on the friendship of Whitney, Annette and Liza, who have raised their children together in Austin. Their friendship is as safe and comfortable as the neighborhood where they've raised their sons…or so they think. One night, the three women are having drinks together when their boys, lifeguards for the summer, return from a late-night dip in their favorite swimming hole. The boys share a secret—news that will shatter the perfect world their mothers have so painstakingly created. Combining the three mothers’ points of view, this latest from the author of The Jetsetters and Forgive Me is about complicated friendships, the loss of innocence and the secrets we tell to protect the ones we love.
GEMINI (MAY 21 – JUNE 20): Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen
Geminis are among the most persuasive zodiac signs, making this book about a cunning manipulator feel right up their alley. When Chinese American lawyer Ava reconnects with her college roommate, Winnie, a woman from mainland China, Ava finds her nothing like she used to be. Previously shy and awkward, Winnie is now supremely confident and dripping in luxury goods (impossible-to-get orange Birkin included). The secret to her success? Winnie has developed an ingenious counterfeit luxury handbag scheme and now she needs someone with a U.S. passport to help manage her business—someone like Ava. But when their spectacular success is threatened and Winnie vanishes, Ava is left to face the consequences.
CANCER (JUNE 21 – JULY 22): Meant to Be Mine by Hannah Orenstein
Had a bad day? Dreading a phone call? The crab can read the writing on the wall as clear as day. Intuition is at the center of this sweet new novel that begs the question: If you could find out the exact day you would meet the love of your life, would you? It wasn’t a choice for 29-year-old Edie, whose grandmother has accurately predicted the day every single member of the family has met their match. The morning of the day she’s supposed to meet her person, she boards a plane to her twin sister's surprise engagement when a handsome musician sits beside her. But fate isn’t as straightforward as Edie expected, and she can't fight the feeling that her perfect guy doesn't have perfect timing. After a tragedy and a shocking revelation rock Edie's carefully constructed world, she's forced to consider whether love chooses us or if we choose it ourselves.
LEO (JULY 23 – AUGUST 23): Reservation for Six by Lindsey Palmer
Three couples gather to celebrate each person’s birthday every year. Nathan is the first to turn 40, and when the cake arrives at the celebration, he makes a shocking announcement. (Sound like something a spotlight-loving Leo would do?!) And while we won’t ruin the surprise of what the announcement is, suffice it to say, the birthday ritual and the friend group will never be the same again. Afterwards, confessions are made and secrets are revealed, as the six discuss infidelity, infertility and waning passion.
VIRGO (AUGUST 23 – SEPTEMBER 22): Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman
If you’ve ever met a Virgo, you know that they have pretty unrealistic expectations of perfection (of themselves included). For the Virgo who could use a reminder that life can be messy, allow us to introduce Laura. A move to Los Angeles is just what she thinks will help her escape an overprotective family and the memories of a terrible accident. She promptly finds out, though, that the building where she’s rented an apartment has burned down and she’s without a home. Having been taken under the wing of a rogue bookseller, she’s put up in a lovely but completely illegal boardinghouse with a regretful landlady, a gorgeous housemate and an ex-boyfriend determined to get back into her life. As Laura deals with her past issues while trying to figure out where her future is headed, she discovers that starting over doesn’t have to mean leaving everything behind.
LIBRA (SEPTEMBER 23 – OCTOBER 23): This Might Hurt by Stephanie Wrobel
Always searching for balance, Libras will likely see themselves in this thrilling story of a woman who will stop at nothing to bring peace and harmony back to her relationship with her sister. Natalie and Kit haven’t spoken in months, since Kit discovered Wisewood, a self-help group where guests commit to spending six months off the grid on a private island off the coast of Maine to become their “Maximized Selves.” But when Natalie receives a menacing email from a Wisewood account threatening to reveal the secret she’s been keeping from Kit, she panics and heads to the retreat to come clean and bring Kit home. The issue is, Wisewood won’t let either of them go without a fight.
SCORPIO (OCTOBER 21 – NOVEMBER 21): This Might Be Too Personal by Alyssa Shelasky
Known as the sex symbol of the zodiac, Scorpios might find themselves a bit jealous of Alyssa Shelasky’s job—she’s the editor of New York Magazine’s delightfully juicy Sex Diaries—but they’ll devour her stories nonetheless. In her debut essay collection, she navigates her life as a sex, relationship and celebrity writer in New York City, from running away from the “perfect” future husband and interviewing A-list stars while contemplating an abortion to bypassing men entirely to have a baby with an anonymous sperm donor.
SAGITTARIUS (NOVEMBER 22 – DECEMBER 21): I’ll Show Myself Out by Jessi Klein
As one of the funniest signs in the zodiac, the Sagittarius babe is likely familiar with the work of Jessi Klein (Inside Amy Schumer, Big Mouth). Her 2017 memoir, You’ll Grow Out of It, explored her thoughts on what it meant to be a 21st century woman. In the comedy writer’s new essay collection, she debunks the cultural myths and impossible expectations around motherhood and explores the humiliations, poignancies and possibilities of midlife in essays like "Listening to Beyoncé in the Parking Lot of Party City," "Your Husband Will Remarry Five Minutes After You Die" and "An Open Love Letter to Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent."
CAPRICORN (DECEMBER 22 – JANUARY 19): Book Lovers by Emily Henry
In this latest from beach read queen Emily Henry (People We Meet on Vacation), Nora is a high-powered literary agent who, though we can’t be sure, sounds an awful lot like a career-focused, ambitious Cap. On her pregnant sister’s request, Nora takes a girls’ trip to a picture-perfect North Carolina town, Sunshine Falls. Somehow, Charlie, a handsome book editor who rejected one of Nora’s books years earlier, is also in town. In true rom-com fashion, as Nora and Charlie get to know each other, she learns that there may be more to him than she suspected. At the same time, though, Nora’s concerned about her relationship with her sister—they’ve always been close, but something seems off. Can high-strung Nora get her happily-ever-after and figure out her relationship with her sister?
AQUARIUS (JANUARY 20 – FEBRUARY 18): Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley
Imagine you’re out for dinner with former colleagues in New York City's Chinatown when you step out to buy a pack of cigarettes. (It shouldn’t be too hard for Aquarians, who are known to be both intellectual and abstract thinkers.) On your way back, you run into a former boyfriend. And then another. And…another. That’s what happens to Lola, the protagonist in this latest novel from humor-memoirist Crosley (I Was Told There’d Be Cake). At the same time, recently engaged Lola struggles with the viability of her current relationship and with the fact that both her best friend and her former boss might have an unhealthy investment in the outcome. A masterfully crafted story about love, memory, morality, and mind control, Cult Classic is equal parts page-turner and poignant portrayal of alienation.