And just like that, the Summerween 2026 readathon is over. As always, I had such a great time during this readathon as I got into the fall/spooky vibes. Additionally, I read the most I have ever read during Summerween with four completed novels (and one DNF). So, here is my wrap-up for Summerween 2026.

Read a horror/thriller book: The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager – In keeping with my tradition of reading Riley Sager during Summerween, this year I picked up one of his earlier works. Last Time follows Emma who, fifteen years ago, attended a summer camp that ended up abruptly when all three of Emma’s cabinmates went missing. They were never found, were presumed dead, and the summer camp was subsequently shut down. Emma has tried to move on with her life, beginning a career as an artist, when she is contacted by the camp’s owner. She is reopening the camp and wants Emma to be one of the counselors, teaching painting to the camp goers. Emma reluctantly agrees but as she returns to the camp she decides she must find out, once and for, all what happened to her cabinmates. Featuring flashbacks of the days leading up to the disappearances, this thriller is absolutely perfect for Summerween. It was spooky but also had the summer vibe down to a tea. While I didn’t love as much as last year’s Summerween Riley Sager book, Home Before Dark, I still had a good time with it and will continue with Mr. Sager’s books in the future.

Read a book with pink on the cover: This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum – One of the most talked about books of 2026 is this new release following best friends Benny and Joy who run a podcast, this thriller gets started right away when Joy and her husband, Xander, go missing. Benny is left not to just pick up the pieces but find out what Joy has been hiding. I really liked that we got half of the story told from a male point of view. While not exactly uncommon in mystery books, it does seem as of late a lot of mysteries are told from a woman’s perspective so getting Benny’s story was something different and unique. I do wish we didn’t take a romantic angle between the friends and that their relationship had remained platonic. The mystery itself was fairly basic and by the end I concluded that it was sort of your typical mystery book.

Read a book in the dark: Night Watcher by Daphne Woolsoncroft – Now this one was not just atmospheric but also a great story. A serial killer has returned to a sleepy town and a radio host must discover the truth before the wrong person is arrested. Not only was Night Watcher a very quick read but it also held my attention until the very last page. It didn’t quite reach a five star level because of seemingly how rushed the ending was with the reveal of the killer but I did have a great time.

Read a book that is less than 300 pages: The Grownup by Gillian Flynn – The one prompt I didn’t get to this readathon was this one. Hopefully next year I’ll finally be able to get to it.

Read a book from a new author (either to you or a debut): I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones – This one was my one DNF during the readathon. Instead, I picked up Slasher Summer by E. L. Chen and THIS was the perfect summerween book! Taking place at a secluded cabin where a slasher film was filmed years earlier, a group of friends get together for one last hooray but as night falls they are slowly plucked off one by one. Can they discover the killer before they are all dead?