Your Ultimate Guide to Summer Romance

The Summer I Turned Pretty

Starting with the newly adapted book series, this show is the perfect start of summer. The series revolves around Isabel Conklin on a summer trip to the beach house her family shares with the Fisher family in Cousins Beach. She has spent every summer here, however this year something has changed. When both of the Fischer brothers begin to show an interest in her, Isabel’s trip turns into a turbulent summer full of romance, heartbreak, and friendship. This series feels like a comforting hug and makes you long for a summer romance filled with firsts. 

Malibu Rising

Malibu Rising introduces readers to the famous Riva family. The story takes place in 1983 in Malibu with everything happening during a crazy 24 hours. Each year, Nina Riva throws a huge party to end the summer, however this year, that one night will change the Riva siblings’ lives forever. Nina, Jay, Hud, and Kit are each going through individual struggles while attempting to overcome family battles at the same time. With their absent rockstar father, Mick Riva, coming to see them, they have to confront their childhood difficulties while navigating their own summers. The characters feel incredibly real, almost as if they are your friends, and their story immediately pulls readers in. This makes for one of my favorite summer reads that is filled with drama, secrets, love, and friendship. It is an incredible work of literary fiction and I believe there is something in this book for everyone. Malibu Rising is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best. 

Letters to Juliet

This 2010 film is a summer go-to. In sunshine filled Verona, Italy, Sophie takes a trip with her fiancé — who appears to have time for everything except for her. One day she comes across a wall full of letters to Shakespear’s Juliet Capulet where she finds one heartbreaking letter from a woman named Claire. Sophie decides to write to Claire and the two come together to look for Claire’s long lost love. She introduces Sophie to her grumpy grandson and they eventually take a liking to each other despite all of their differences and bickering. This film is the ultimate rom-com that is bound to make your heart feel fulfilled. It is impossible not to feel giddy and full of joy when watching. Letters to Juliet has been one of my comfort movies for as long as I can remember, and if there is one film you choose from this list, this should be the one. 

Every Summer After

The debut from Carley Fortune is the perfect summer book. Persephone Fraser and Sam Florek met at Barry’s Bay where both of their families owned a lake house. From the age of thirteen, they spent every single summer together. They were best friends for years and it flourished into a romantic relationship when they got older. They believed they would be together forever, until everything crumbled to pieces. Now it’s been a decade since they last spoke and Percy returns to Barry’s Bay for Sam’s mothers’ funeral. Will they be able to forgive the past and move on or have the mistakes of the past forever maimed their relationship? The book switches between past to present chapters, unraveling the story of Percy and Sam in a beautiful and heart wrenching way. The author is able to write in such a convincing way which feels as if you are right there at the lake house soaking up the sun with the characters. If you are a lover of the childhood-best-friends-to-lovers trope, you will fall in love with this book. 

People We Meet on Vacation

Honestly, any Emily Henry book is perfect for giving you that ultimate summer feeling. People We Meet on Vacation follows Alex Nilsen and Poppy Wright,  who have been best friends since college. While they lived in different places during the rest of the year, summer was always their time,’ every year for a decade until everything changed. Now it’s been two years since they last spoke. Poppy decides that she needs to do everything in her power to fix their friendship, and convince Alex to go on another vacation together. This is the journey of two best friends falling in love and falling apart. Can you truly fix two years of silence and one huge mistake in a week? 

Call Me By Your Name

Call Me By Your Name brings readers along on the journey of seventeen-year-old Elio, and his parents’ summer houseguest Oliver. The story takes place on the beautiful Italian Riviera and makes you feel as if you’re in Italy with them. When Elio and Oliver begin a secret romance full of desire and longing, it leaves lasting impact on their lives and the reader. Whether you choose to read or watch this story, it is a beautiful, intimate, and at times an uncomfortable experience. This might just be one of the most beautifully written books to ever exist. 

The Talented Mister Ripley

If you are in the mood for a psychological thriller mixed with a dash of romance, this film is for you. The film begins when Tom Ripley gets asked to follow rich kid Dicke Greenleaf to Italy by Dickie’s father because he gets mistaken for one of Dicke’s university classmates. While he was supposed to bring Dicke back to the United States, the story takes an intriguing turn when Tom gets completely consumed with the lifestyle of the rich. This film is a personal favorite of mine and I always find myself glued to the screen. Immerse yourself in  the extreme measures Tom Ripley goes to in order to make himself a part of Dicke and his girlfriend’s lives. The Talented Mister Ripley is full of beautiful Italian sights, extravagance, and obsession.