By Andrea Peskind Katz | Contributor

The dog days of summer are upon us when Texas triple digits hit. Ugh!  Either float on a raft in a pool or flee the state and go on vacation.  Either way, these books are the perfect escapes for these dog days.

Fabulous Fiction
The Floating Feldmans by Elyssa Friedland takes us on quite the multi-generational family cruise. The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez is a heartwarming rom com with deeper messages on infertility and family. Phantoms by Christian Kiefer is a family drama spanning World War II to Vietnam and is a masterpiece. Pretty Revenge by Emily Liebert is a thriller-like revenge story.

The Unbreakables by Lisa Barr is a wonderful How Stella Got Her Groove Back-like tale spanning suburban Chicago to the South of France.Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston is THE romance novel of the summer where the First Son of the U.S. falls in love with the Prince of Wales. Thankfully, movie rights have already been sold! 

For the Thriller Lovers
In Girls Like Us by Cristina Alger, worlds collide when an FBI agent investigates a string of murders on Long Island that raises the impossible question: What happens when the primary suspect is your father?  In The Two Lila Bennetts by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke, Lila Bennett’s bad choices have finally caught up with her, and one of those decisions has split her life in two. Literally. 

For the Historical Fiction Crowd
Beatriz Williams’ The Golden Hour creates a dazzling epic of World War II-era Nassau—a hotbed of spies, traitors, and the most infamous couple of the age, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.  In Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis, we find the bright lights of the theater district in 1950s New York, and the wild scene at the iconic Chelsea Hotel.

Editor’s Note: Andrea Peskind Katz has a book review website at Greatthoughts.com and a Book Salon comprised of over 4,000 readers and authors at www.facebook.com/groups/greatthoughtsgreatreaders.