Summer reading used to be a chore when we were kids, but as adults, it’s one of the best ways to pass the hot and steamy days. Whether you’re spending your summer vacation at the beach or in your own backyard, a good book is guaranteed to make things even better. Here are two great ones to get you started.

If you liked The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl, you’ll love Megan Miranda’s All the Missing Girls (Simon & Schuster). Even though the story is the ultimate definition of a page-turner, this is not a book you can really breeze through in a day. That’s because Miranda brilliantly unravels the mystery of two missing girls from the same town, 10 years apart, by telling it in reverse. (You might find yourself re-reading past chapters to satisfy your inner detective.) The story starts on Day 15 and traces the events all the way back to Day 1. The reader learns the fate of Corrine – best friend of Nicolette, the narrator – whose disappearance a decade ago affected the lives of everyone in the small town of Cooley Ridge, and Annaleise, the young girl who goes missing the day after Nicolette comes back into town to help her ailing father.

Nicolette, who left Cooley Ridge and made a new life for herself in Philadelphia, dreads facing those she left behind years ago, including her estranged brother and ex-boyfriend. When Annaleise goes missing, Nicolette is forced to confront her past, and her future, as the mystery surrounding Annaleise’s disappearance uncovers secrets that were buried long ago.

If you’ve ever read any of Emily Giffin’s books (she’s behind Something Borrowed; you might have seen the movie starring Kate Hudson), you know she has a knack for character development and storytelling. Her latest release, First Comes Love (Ballantine Books) – which I read in about 24 hours because I couldn’t put it down – might be her best work yet.

The book follows two sisters who are both at a crossroads in their lives, as the 15th anniversary of their brother’s death approaches. Meredith has the perfect life – she is a successful lawyer, wife and mother – whereas Josie, an elementary school teacher, is single and yearns for motherhood. Meredith finds herself restless and unhappy with her life and second guesses the choices she has made, while Josie, desperate for a baby, makes the choice to take her future into her own hands. Meredith and Josie are forced to face the issues that have haunted them for years, including one massive secret that threatens to drive them apart for good.

In this book, Giffin expertly captures the complexity of coping with loss, moving on, and most importantly, the bond of sisterhood. It’s a book anyone with a sister will want to read.

By Kimberly Dunbar