The Hoboken Girl Team 
No trip to the beach, pool, or park is complete without a good book to keep you company. Books in a variety of genres by New Jersey authors, and others that take place in New Jersey, will be published this summer. From thrillers to novels to sweet summer romances, there’s something for every reader. While you’re making your wish list of books, don’t forget to stop by or order from your favorite local indie bookstore. Read on for more about New Jersey summer books.
Books Coming Out From New Jersey-Based Authors
Erin Baldwin, Good Luck, Babe
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Erin Baldwin is a Jersey City native and New Jersey resident whose book Good Luck Babe is a YA romance. The story is set in the superfan world of reality TV. Two besties and superfans, Noelle and Yumi, ruined their 10-year friendship after an ill-fated kiss. They’ve been forced to reunite 10 years later to, what else, compete on a reality TV show.
Francesca Cocchi, Have a Great Summer
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Jersey City-based author Francesca Cocchi’s debut romance is set down the shore and follows Lina Mariano, a wedding columnist whose past comes rushing back when she is assigned to cover the wedding of her former teenage crush, Sebastian. Have a Great Summer centers on summer memories, heartbreak, and the complicated pull of the place that shaped you. It’s filled with Jersey Shore nostalgia, friendship, and second-chance romance. The book is scheduled to be published on May 26, 2026.
Insha Fitzpatrick, The Girl Who Loved Monsters
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New Jersey-based author Insha Fitzpatrick teams up with illustrator Ashley Robin Franklin for a middle-grade graphic novel about Charlotte Bissett, a monster-obsessed kid who discovers a creepy library book called Liber de Monstrum. After reading from it, strange things start happening in Devilfish Bay, including snow, a missing teacher, and a substitute who might be a werewolf. With the help of her friends Molly and Griffin, Charlotte has to figure out whether she accidentally unleashed something monstrous.
Kristina Forest, The Summer Girlfriend
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Kristina Forest’s The Summer Girlfriend is a fake-dating romance set in Heart Beach, New Jersey. After losing her job, Noelle Lewis agrees to pretend to be Jeremiah Smith II’s girlfriend during a family beach trip in exchange for extra cash, but the weekend arrangement quickly turns into something more complicated. What begins as a practical deal becomes a summer-long romance full of chemistry, family expectations, and emotional risk.
Robyn Gigl, All We Hide
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In All We Hide, New Jersey attorney and author Robyn Gigl introduces Lt. Lauren Kelly, a trans detective assigned to a cold-case unit at the county prosecutor’s office. Lauren begins investigating the murder of Sherry Darling, a trans sex worker and former high school classmate, and soon uncovers links to a possible countywide conspiracy. The case also forces Lauren to confront unresolved questions about her own family history.
Katherine Nouri Hughes, While We Were Waiting
Princeton-based author Katherine Nouri Hughes’ While We Were Waiting unfolds inside a high-risk obstetrics unit, where two families wait for life-changing news. Lorraine and Will are facing the emotional stakes of an IVF pregnancy. At the same time, Clement, an Iraqi archaeologist newly arrived in the United States, waits for word about his wife and unborn child. The novel uses the charged atmosphere of a hospital waiting room to explore trauma, motherhood, displacement, and hope.
Fern Michaels, Twin Lights Series: Smuggler’s Cove + The Boat House
These two books from iconic NYT bestselling author Fern Michaels, which was the pen name of Edison-based author Mary Kuczkir, are set at the Jersey Shore. Siblings Madison and Lincoln Wainright are running the marina they inherited in quirky Smuggler’s Cove. When they discover what might be a map to Captain Kidd’s lost treasure, their coastal life turns into an adventure involving family legacy, local legend, and hidden riches. Smuggler’s Cove will be published in August, and The Boat House will be published in September.
M.A. Morris, Take Me Home
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Take Me Home is the debut novel from South Jersey writer M.A. Morris. After a painful public breakup, Charlotte heads to Las Vegas for a cake convention and a fresh start, only for the events of 9/11 to leave her stranded far from home. A forced road trip with her boss and Jax, the stranger she can’t stop thinking about, becomes a romance about grief, detours, and second chances. The novel blends forced proximity, emotional healing, and the unexpected intimacy that can happen when life’s plans fall apart.
Caitlin Mullen, Heather
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Heather is set in the eerie, myth-heavy landscape of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. The mystery begins in 1994, when twin sisters Annabelle and Sabrina Riley disappear after Sabrina becomes involved with an older man. Years later, a new police chief reopens the cold case, forcing the town to revisit buried secrets about violence, memory, and girlhood. Author Caitlin Mullen is a New Jersey resident and is the author of Please See Us, which won the 2021 Edgar Award for Best First Novel and was named a New York Times best crime novel in 2020.
Rob O’Rourke, Beach Dogs
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Hoboken resident Rob O’Rourke will release Beach Dogs this summer. He says it’s a book that takes place DTS in 2016 and is about everything that happens when you get a beach house with friends for the first time.
Riley Sager, The Unknown
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Author Riley Sager returns with The Unknown, a thriller centered on a century-old mystery on a remote Vermont island. In 1926, five women vanished from a commune of spiritual mediums, leaving behind only their dresses hanging from an oak tree. One hundred years later, actress Marin Keane arrives to research a film role based on the case. As eerie symbols, strange sounds, and new disappearances emerge, Marin begins to wonder whether the island’s past is repeating itself. Riley is a Princeton, NJ, resident.
Laura Sims, The Man
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The Man is a suspense novel about Judith Stanley, a 1960s housewife and amateur photographer whose self-portraits begin to reveal the dark silhouette of a mysterious man. Judith believes the figure may be connected to a past attack, but as she continues her photography, the threat seems to move from the shadows into real life. The novel explores obsession, fear, art, and the danger of being watched. Laura is a New Jersey-based author + librarian.
Books That Take Place in New Jersey
Joyce Carol Oates, The Frenzy: Stories
Joyce Carol Oates’ The Frenzy: Stories is a collection of psychologically suspenseful stories about characters pushed into moments of fear, obsession, and crisis. The title story has a New Jersey connection: it follows a married father and his 19- year-old mistress as they drive down the Garden State Parkway toward Cape May for a weekend that takes a disturbing turn. The collection as a whole leans into Oates’ signature tension, dread, and emotional unease.
Tom Perrotta, Ghost Town
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Author Tom Perrotta is a New Jersey native and frequently returns to his home state as a setting for his stories. Ghost Town follows protagonist Jimmy during a pivotal summer in his suburban North Jersey town in the 1970s. Modern, middle-aged Jimmy narrates the story, which sees young Jimmy navigate grief and growing up.
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