The Best Literary Fiction Novels to Read in Summer 2025

Despite living scattered across the country, three sisters, Mandy, Emma, and Jill O’Toole, remain close. But when their cherished grandmother passes, she leaves them a surprise that will bring them together like never before. She gives them joint ownership of her home in Nantucket, where the sisters grew up, in addition to Mimi’s Place, one of the island’s most beloved restaurants. But before they can sell the restaurant, the three women must work there for a year. They return to a place that has remained special to them, requiring them to reevaluate their life choices in a heartwarming story.

One night, a priceless Chagall is stolen from a museum. Former child prodigy Benjamin Ziskind turns out to be the unexpected culprit. He is sure that the painting was once in his parent’s living room, and will soon be surprised by the world it opens up to him. From New Jersey to Soviet Russia and Vietnam, the artwork unravels Benjamin’s shocking family history across generations. 

Set in 1930s New York, during the height of the Great Depression, Dr. James Delaney tends to his impoverished and ailing neighbors. But in his own life, James feels nothing. From the mass killings of the Great War to his wife and daughter leaving him, the doctor has become emotionally numb. 

One evening, the doctor’s life will change when he comes home to find his three-year-old grandson at his door. To help with the unexpected arrival, James hires Rose, a stern Sicilian woman who is harboring a secret. Soon, Rose and the child will breathe newfound life into the home—and James in the process.

Inspired by the true story of his great aunt, Brad Watson delves into the life of Miss Jane Chisolm. Born with a genital birth defect that exempts her from the traditional expectations for a woman in early 20th-century rural Mississippi, Jane can do as she pleases. With no gender roles to adhere to, Jane marches to the beat of her own drum and inspires others to follow suit. 

Three years have passed since 17-year-old Unni Chacko fell to his death—and his family have not yet begun to grieve. His father, Ousep, a journalist, smokes too many cigarettes; Mariamma, his mother, imagines killing her husband, and his brother fantasizes over a crush he will never do anything about. 

Until one day, the post office delivers a comic drawn by Unni, stirring Ousep into action. What follows is a mission to make sense of his son and what happened to him in the hopes of putting his family back together again. 

Maggie McElroy’s life is turned upside down when a Chinese paternity claim surfaces against her late husband’s estate. The widowed American food writer must jet off to Beijing right away for answers. When she asks for time off from her job, her editor proposes a writing assignment instead—she must profile the rising culinary star Sam Liang, who made the claim.  

Once in China, Maggie unravels her husband’s complicated past, only revealing more than was expected about him and even herself. At the same time, Sam draws her into the world of culinary arts and his family, a group of passionate cooks and diners. Slowly, she allows herself to be transformed by the experience and eventually Sam himself. 

Richardson, a tormented Revolutionary War veteran, risks losing everything he’s built. Set in early 1800s Tennessee, Richardson grapples with the challenges of Westward expansion and debt. He also forces the young enslaved man he owns, Washington, to reproduce more slaves.

Wash, raised by a shamanic mother, struggles to keep his peace as the first person in his family to be born into slavery. Forced to navigate his subjugation, Wash is led to a healer named Pallas, where a tender union unfolds. She will help him make sense of his history and his path in the present while complicating his struggle for power with Richardson.