For me the perfect “beach read” is a light-hearted, feel good story that leaves a smile on my face. For others, it’s a mystery just waiting to be solved or a jump back in time to a place long forgotten. Whatever genre you pack in your tote for a day at the beach take a look at these 10 titles before hitting the road…or heading to the backyard. Happy Summer, Readers!
FOR THE ROMANTICS AT HEART…
“The Unhoneymooners” by Christina Lauren
Olive and her twin sister Ami are polar opposites. Where Ami leads a charmed life full of love and luck, Olive has a black cloud of mishaps following her everywhere she goes. Having recently lost a roommate and her job, Olive is facing another daunting scenario – being Maid of Honor at her bridezilla sister’s wedding. On the big day Olive is given a to-do list with over 70+ items, the worst of which involves being in charge of keeping the Groom’s brother, Ethan, or as Olive refers to him Satan, in line. When a newsworthy catastrophe happens at the reception Olive & Ethan are forced into impersonating their siblings on their honeymoon, a trip (lucky) Ami won. Only one glitch, due to the contest rules if they are caught in their lie all expenses will fall on them. Spending 10 days in Maui doing their own thing would be easy but having to pretend to be a newly-married couple could be mission:impossible for two people who can’t stand one another. The hilarious misadventures that begin after Olive and Ethan land in paradise will make it hard for you to put this one down without a smile on your face. After turning the last page I had one thought: what a perfect rom-com movie this would make! Gina Rodriguez as Olive would be the absolute perfect casting. For me, “The Unhoneymooners”, written by Christina Lauren (a writing duo whose combined names, Christina Hobbs & Lauren Billings, make up the pen name) is THE perfect guilty beach book. Be sure to pick yourself up a copy before summer’s end.
Purchase a copy of “The Unhoneymooners” here.
“By Any Other Name” by Lauren Kate
Lanie loves romance. As a heartbroken young woman she found the words of author Noa Calloway and adopted her theories on love. So when Lanie met her fiancée, Ryan, she knew she’d found “the one” when he checked off all the boxes on her ninety-nine point list. Finally landing her dream role of editor for her favorite author Lanie’s life couldn’t be better except Noa is now months late on her deadline and in order to keep her dream promotion Lanie must get Noa to deliver her next great novel. Though Noa and Lanie have corresponded digitally for years she has never been allowed to meet Noa and when Lanie finds out why she stands to lose everything she has worked for and forces her to question everything she thought she knew about love. Now Lanie must pull Noa out of a writer’s block all while pulling her life together. Romance fans – don’t miss this book. I LOVED Lanie and all that went into her story. I read “By Any Other Name” so quickly and turned the last page wanting more. If you are looking for a new rom-com read be sure to add this one to your TBR list.
Purchase a copy of “By Any Other Name” here.
FOR THE ARMCHAIR DETECTIVES…
“The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides
Artist Alicia Berenson hasn’t said a word in years. Not since the night she murdered her husband. Alicia has been living in a medicated state since then for her own safety as well the employee’s safety at the hospital she’s been living in. Due to the notoriety of the case, the price of Alicia’s artwork skyrockets and she’s the talk of every journalist in London. No one has ever been able to convince Alicia to explain why she decided to commit the crime but Theo Faber thinks he has what it takes to bring Alicia out of her shell. After securing himself a job on the hospital’s psychotherapy team Theo is determined to be the one she speaks to first and he will stop at nothing in order to accomplish his goal even if it risks his own safety or possibly even his life. “The Silent Patient” completely lives up to all the hype that surrounds it. It has everything a thriller lover could possibly want. This book well and truly had me fooled. Bravo to author Alex Michaelides on a knock-out debut novel. Be sure to add this to your TBR list.
Purchase a copy of “The Silent Patient” here.
“The Perfect Couple” by Elin Hilderbrand
The wedding of the year is about to happen on Nantucket. Greer Garrison Winbury has planned the most perfect weekend down to the very last detail for her son Benji’s wedding. His bride, Celeste Otis, has let her take the lead due to her mother’s recent cancer relapse, even moving the wedding date to early July to be sure that Karen Otis would be able to attend. Friday night’s wedding rehearsal had to be canceled due to the Reverend getting stuck but the clam bake rehearsal dinner went on without a hitch. Speeches were said, cocktails were consumed and as the night was coming to a close the wedding party headed into town to keep the party going. The next morning, the wedding planner arrived early to the Winbury estate to supervise a delivery for the Big Day to find Celeste down by the shore, hysterical and trying to pull her maid of honor, Merritt Monaco, out of the water. Merritt is dead. Everyone at the Winbury estate is a suspect and needs to be questioned. The secrets that will be uncovered will tear the “perfect” Winbury family to pieces. “The Perfect Couple” is an intriguing whodunit. The story skips between multiple POVs while transporting the reader between present day and flashing back to the early dating days of Celeste and Benji. Elin Hilderbrand has written yet another “perfect” beach read.
Purchase a copy of “The Perfect Couple” here.
FOR THE TIME TRAVELERS…
“The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle” by Stuart Turton
A man wakes in the forrest at dawn with no memory except for the name, Anna. While still confused and uncertain of where or who he is, he makes his way towards Blackheath Manor. What he doesn’t yet know is that he will be forced to repeat this same day over and over again until he can solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle, the only way out of this game. Each morning he wakes in the body of a different guest staying at Blackheath, bringing pieces of his days inside his other hosts with him. Peter & Helena Hardcastle have invited everyone to the Manor to welcome their daughter, Evelyn back home from Paris after 19 years. The Hardcastle family have been at odds since the death of young Thomas that day by the lake and morbidly this party falls on the anniversary of his murder. Can the man piece together what becomes of Evelyn Hardcastle and escape the endless trap that his Blackheath before someone else beats him to it? This original, creative and clever mystery gave me a Clue meets Groundhog Day meets a sci-fi feels. It was so intriguing to see where author, Stuart Turton, was taking the reader next it made the book hard to put down. There are so many twists, turns and time jumps it will keep you on your toes. “The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle” was really unlike anything I’ve read before, really creative. This is a great read for fans of the mystery/suspense genre. Will definitely be rereading this!
Purchase a copy of “The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle” here.
“Recursion” by Blake Crouch
In 2018, Helena Smith’s mother is living with Alzheimer’s. She is increasingly losing her memories and Helena is working non-stop to find a way to stop this from happening. A brilliant neuroscientist on the verge of an incredible breakthrough, Helena is quickly running out of time and money. Her invention, a memory chair with the ability to map a person’s memory and return them to someone like Helena’s mother is still years away from trials. When Helena is approached by an investor who is willing to give her unlimited funding to create her chair she is desperate to say yes but at what cost will this be to her in the long run? Barry, living in 2007, is a New York City policeman heading towards a call to help talk down woman on top of a building. She is convinced she is suffering from False Memory Syndrome. This “illness” has started to pop up all over the city but no one knows what is causing it, whether or not it’s contagious or how to treat those inflicted. Though it’s not exactly his job to investigate the FMS outbreak, Barry follows a lead not knowing that he will be altering everything he knows to be true as well as those he loves most. Blake Crouch has written an absolutely genius, twisting and complex story involving multiple timelines, memory and a race to undo the end of time.
Purchase a copy of “Recursion” here.
FOR A DIFFERENT LOOK AT LIFE…
“The Overdue Life of Amy Byler” by Kelly Harms
Amy Byler has been a single mother for the past three years to her teenage daughter, Cori and her tween son, Joe. Her husband, John, called from a business trip to China and announced that he wasn’t coming home leaving Amy with no income as a stay-at-home mom. She kicks into supermom mode and finds a job as a librarian at Joe and Cori’s private school, a way for them to stay in their home and keeps her children’s lives moving no thanks to their father’s mid-life crisis. Then, out of the blue, John decides to come back into their lives without warning. He asks if he can have the children for the first week of summer giving Amy some alone time she has rightfully earned. Amy wonders, what does a mom do with an entire week alone with no responsibilities when you have been living in survival mode for three years? She decides to head to New York City for a few days at a Literary Conference and a visit with her college roommate, Talia. Amy plans to do nothing but sit her in yoga pants, eat pizza and read books (who doesn’t want to do that?) but the best plans are meant to be broken. What awaits Amy in the city that never sleeps will open her eyes to what she has been overlooking for so long. I absolutely loved this book. Kelly Harms has created a movement in “momspringa!” that every parent can relate to. What would you do with a solo week off from all responsibilities? (Other than call home a dozen times a day to make sure everything was still standing.)
Purchase a copy of “The Overdue Life of Amy Byler” here.
“The One Hundred Years of Lenni & Margot” by Marianne Cronin
At seventeen, Lenni’s whole world is the Princess Royal Hospital. As a resident of the May Ward, Lenni is facing the reality that she will never leave. Desperate for something more, when a new art room opens for patients, Lenni joins right away despite her doctor’s warnings. Only Lenni doesn’t join the class for her own age; she decides she enjoys the over 80’s class more, forming a fast friendship with Margot. The duo realizes that combined they have lived one hundred years and decide to document their time through art sharing their life stories with each other as they paint. Determined to create one hundred paintings Lenni and Margot both hope that they will be given enough time to see their project through. As Lenni’s days pass she begins to form some unlikely friendships inside Princess Royal that fill her life with love, kindness and strength reminding us that family is not only those we are born to but who we chose along the way. Author Marianne Cronin has written an absolutely beautiful story in “The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot.” It’s the type of book that you could read quickly but found myself putting it down at times just to savor the story just a little bit longer not wanting to reach the end. If you have yet to discover Lenni and Margot I highly recommend adding this to your TBR list…but don’t forget the tissues. (Bonus: Keep an eye out for the movie adaptation of this heartbreaking story.)
Purchase a copy of “The One Hundred Years of Lenni & Margot” here.
FOR A STEP BACK IN TIME…
“The Glittering Hour” by Iona Grey
In 1925, the war is over and the “Bright Young People” rule London. They are the wealthy, fashionable elite that the paparazzi adore and young socialites don’t mind giving them plenty to write about. Selina Lennox is one of their shining stars. The youngest of the Lennox children she has always been the rebel of the family much to her mother and sister’s distain. One evening the “Bright Young People” are racing around the city on one of their treasure hunts when Selina’s friends runs over a cat. When Selina gets out of the car to check on the animal her friends become impatient and decide to leave her there and continue on their hunt. From a nearby apartment a handsome stranger comes to her aid. After her encounter with Lawrence, Selina’s carefree life suddenly is filled with complicated choices. Fast-forward to 1936. Selina’s daughter, Alice is staying with her grandparents at her childhood home while Selina and her husband are away on business. To stay connected to her nine year old daughter Alice while they are apart, Selina has conspired with their maid to create a treasure hunt around the family estate which will lead Alice to little clues and stories about her mother’s past. Iona Grey as written the most beautiful dual-timeline story with rich, authentic characters that will stay with you long after the last page. (I would LOVE to see this made into a movie or tv mini-series so I could selfishly discover this story again!) I absolutely loved this book and would highly recommend adding this to your TBR list. “The Glittering Hour” isn’t one to be missed.
Purchase a copy of “The Glittering Hour” here.
“Daisy Jones & The Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Daisy is a wild child. She’s everywhere that the beautiful people are on the Sunset Strip in the late sixties getting into everything a teenager shouldn’t be but no one cares about Daisy enough to stop her. Daisy dreams of being a star and by the time she reaches her early twenties she’s well on her way to being somebody on the rock and roll scene. The Six are climbing the fame ladder at the same time led by frontman Billy Dunne. The group are making their rounds at clubs and getting air time just as Billy’s life is starting to split into two. The lead singer begins to spiral as the pressures of his responsibilities outside of The Six start to creep in. When the two artist’s producer devises a brilliant plan to have Daisy and The Six join forces instant magic happens, the stuff of legends. Read along through interviews as Daisy Jones, members of The Six and friends and family talk about their rise to fame in the 70s and what really happened to cause their epic breakup at the height of their popularity. I think I may be one of the last people on earth to read “Daisy Jones & the Six”. I think the hype made me hesitant to pick it up, worried that it was just another trend read. I was so wrong. I loved this book and how creatively TJR told this story. If you are like me and have yet to pick this book up, don’t wait any longer. Add this to your TBR list today. (Bonus: Keep an eye out for the TV series adaptation of this book coming soon!)
Purchase a copy of “Daisy Jones & The Six” here.