It's finally summer here in Australia! So it's time to pull out the swimwear, grab your oversized hat and sunnies and head to the beach. But I know what you're thinking: 'what will I possibly read as I laze in the sun?!' Well don't you worry, I've taken the time to curate this list of perfect beach reads for you to binge this summer.

For those who like the obvious ...

Beach Read by Emily Henry

Starting off, I just had to include Beach Read. It's been around for a while, but really it's too on the nose not to include! And Emily Henry is the perfect author to read over your summer holidays – check out her other books here.

He doesn’t believe in happy endings. She’s lost her faith that they exist. But could they find one together?

January is a hopeless romantic who narrates her life like she’s the lead in a blockbuster movie. Gus is a serious literary type who thinks true love is a fairytale. But January and Gus have more in common than you’d think. They’re both broke. They’ve got crippling writer’s block. And they need to write bestsellers before summer ends.

The result? A bet to swap genres and see who gets published first. The risk? In telling each other’s stories, their worlds might be changed entirely …

For the crime addicts ...

The Close-up by Pip Drysdale

Okay, I may have included this one based on the cover (like come on! Does it get more beach read-y than that?) but I also do think this creepy, stalkery read is perfect to devour as you laze on the sand.

Things have not been going well for Zoe Ann Weiss. Once a young novelist full of promise, now she has a failed debut under her belt, a mountain of debt, a dead-end job, and an agent who's about to drop her if she doesn't write something new and brilliant soon.

But all that changes one night when she runs into her old flame, Zach Hamilton. It's like no time has passed at all and Zach makes her feel like anything is possible. Like the stars have finally realigned themselves in her favour. Best of all, her writer's block has disappeared.

The only issue is Zach isn't just some hot guy with a dream anymore. Now he's a movie star with billboards and PR people and fans and paparazzi ... and even though they're dating in secret, Zoe soon finds herself splashed all over the press. Now everyone seems to know her name.

But the problem with everyone knowing your name is that everyone knows your name ... including the stalker who's obsessed with Zach. The stalker who's re-enacting violent, creepy plot twists from Zoe's first novel, exactly how she wrote them – except now, she's the victim.

For those who love Summer flings and fake dating ...

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

Of course I couldn't create a beach reads blog without at least one title that includes the word 'Summer'! And this one truly fits into the perfect beach read category: a fling crossed with fake dating ... ooft, sign me up.

To find their soulmates, all they need is four dates, a kiss and a breakup ...

Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soulmate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They'll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other's out, and they'll both go on to find the love of their lives. It's a bonkers idea ... and it just might work.

Emma hadn't planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.

It's supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma's toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they're suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected – including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?

For the novella lovers ...

The Most by Jessica Anthony

Have you been in a pool and just never wanted to get out? Well, The Most takes that to the extreme. With only 144 pages, this is the perfect quick read for your Summer.

A warm Sunday in November 1957. As Sputnik 2 orbits the earth, carrying Laika, the doomed Soviet dog, a couple begin their day.

Virgil Beckett, an insurance salesman, isn't particularly happy in his job but he fulfils the role, playing golf with the partners, drinking in the bar, chasing the women. Kathleen Beckett, once a promising tennis champion, with a key shot up her sleeve called 'The Most', is now a mother and homemaker.

Somehow these two, who have been together since college, have fallen into the roles expected of them – the prescribed suburban dream they have been sold as something to covet, something that will fulfil their lives. But on this unseasonably warm, early November Sunday, Kathleen wakes up and decides that she will not be accompanying her family to church.

No, she feels like a swim. She unearths her old, red bathing suit and descends into the apartment complex pool no other resident uses. And she doesn't want to come out ...

For the escapists ...

 Read review

The Wedding Forecast by Nina Kenwood

If you're looking for a fun read that includes enemies to lovers, 'there's only one bed', a trip to New York City and so much more, then really you can't go past this romp of a romcom by the delightful Nina Kenwood!

Anna was never going to have an easy time at her best friend's wedding. She's the bridesmaid; her ex, Joel, is a groomsman. But she's determined to get through the festivities with a smile on her face. Despite the fact that Joel is bringing his new partner, Bianca. Despite the fact she's stuck sharing a house with the newly in-love couple. And despite the fact Anna has just turned thirty and her life is not exactly where she thought it would be by now. Anna has all her feelings completely under control – right up until the moment Joel drops a bombshell that rocks her to her core.

She needs a distraction, and Patrick, the wedding photographer, just might be the solution. Everyone has decided he is perfect for her. He is perfect for her. But the arrival of Mac, a not-quite-famous actor who has flown in from New York, complicates everything.

For the dog lovers ...

Love Unleashed by Melanie Saward

New York City and dogs? Do I really need to say anything else? This is at the top of my list to devour this summer!

When Bigambul woman Brynn Wallace leaves her Brisbane home to pursue her big dreams in the Big Apple, she imagines herself landing a fabulous career at a New York City publishing house and acquiring a collection of Louboutin shoes, not working in a doggy daycare with a boss from hell and a wardrobe from her nightmares.

Yet good things are always possible in New York, especially when you believe in them hard enough. Bec soon finds herself making meaningful friendships and engaging in some flirty flings. But when she stumbles on a handsome, single dog-dad and a commissioning editor for a big publisher, Brynn decides if she can convince him she's more than just a dog-sitter, all her NYC dreams will come true ...

For fans of satire...

 Read review

Come and Get It by Kiley Reid

This isn't your usual, run of the mill coming of age story. If you're looking for a book to make you both laugh out loud while still reflecting on the world, then this one is for you!

It's 2017 at the University of Arkansas. Millie Cousins, a senior resident assistant, wants to graduate, get a job and buy a house. So when Agatha Paul, a visiting professor and writer, offers Millie an easy yet unusual opportunity, she jumps at the chance. But Millie's starry-eyed hustle becomes jeopardised by odd new friends, vengeful dorm pranks and illicit intrigue.

A fresh and intimate portrait of desire, consumption and reckless abandon, Come and Get It is a tension-filled story about money, indiscretion and bad behavior – and the highly anticipated new novel by acclaimed and award-winning author Kiley Reid.

For those in the Christmas spirit ...

The Christmas Tree Farm by Laurie Gilmore

A woman who hates Christmas and has just bought a Christmas Tree Farm? A man swinging an axe? (In a sexy way! Not in a I'm going to murder you way ... ) Grumpy x Sunshine trope? My goodness, give it to me now!

Kira North hates Christmas. Which is unfortunate since she just bought a Christmas tree farm in a town that’s too cute for its own good. Bennett Ellis is on vacation in Dream Harbor taking a break from his life in California. And most importantly, taking a break from his latest run of disastrous dates.

After a run in with Kira in her fields, Ben has no intention of offering to help the grumpy owner set up her tree farm, despite the fact she’s clearly got no idea what she’s doing. Kira knows she should stop being so stubborn, but her farm is not all cute and cozy like people always show on social media, it’s borderline dangerous with no heating, and she’d rather no one saw it.

But somehow fate finds Ben at Kira’s farm once more, and as Kira watches him swing an axe at the first tree, she finds herself appreciating his strength and questioning why she refused help in the first place …