As we move into the summer months, reading whether at a beach or in your favorite chair in your backyard becomes a way to relax. You enter into the world of romance, intrigue, crime, or mystery, each with the turn of a page. Ms. Hannah Loewentheil gives us a wonderful list of books for our summer reading enjoyment. I have read a few and agreed with the many comments given. The rest I leave for you to explore. Enjoy!!!
“It’s The Kind Of Book You’re Sad To Finish Because The Journey Must Come To An
End”: People Are Sharing Their Absolute Favorite Summer Reads (written by Hannah
Loewentheil of BuzzFeed)
- “The Guest List by Lucy Foley. I love a good ‘who done it’ novel, and this fits the bill. This mystery takes place over a wedding weekend in Ireland. It’s a page turner and you won’t want to put it down.”
2. “This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub. I loved it and even now I can’t stop thinking about it. I scared my husband into thinking something was seriously wrong when I emerged from my reading hole in full hysterical tears. I will read and re-read this book many, many times.”
3. “The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. I happen to think psychological thrillers are the ideal beach read. This one in particular kept me guessing and turning the pages until the very ending. I even got a pretty nasty sunburn while reading because hours passed, and I really couldn’t put the book down.”
4. “The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand. I read this one last year and it’s such a perfect vibe for a summer mystery novel. It was a nice, light reprieve after I read a bunch of darker stories.”
5. “The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy. I personally love reading thrillers on the beach (or at home during the summer, wishing I was at the beach), and this novel is a great page-turner that will keep you guessing until the end! The book is about a group of Brooklyn moms who become connected when one of their babies goes missing during the Fourth of July. Three moms in the group become obsessed with figuring out who would do such a horrible thing, and as secrets are exposed and friendships are tested, the story builds to a dramatic conclusion I never saw coming.”
6. “Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid. It’s the perfect summer beach read. I love all the books by this author, so of course I was so pumped for Malibu Rising. I had high expectations and it did not disappoint. I was sucked in from the beginning and read the entire book in a day. The Malibu setting was both fun and refreshing and I loved how the book shifted between time frames. Overall, it’s a super enjoyable read!”
7. “The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. It’s a murder mystery meets Groundhog Day. The whole book was a wild ride packed with bizarre and unpredictable characters. It was one of the most exciting books to read.”
8. “One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus. I love mysteries, and I love books about teenagers secretly scheming against one another, and this one satisfied both of those itches. Aptly described as Pretty Little Liars meets The Breakfast Club, this book follows a group of teens who go into detention, only for one of them to die in there. Who did it? Who’s lying about what? This YA fiction keeps you guessing — I couldn’t put this book down until I found out who did it.”
9. “Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I read the whole thing in one day because I just had to know how it would end. It follows the protagonist, a girl who basically raised herself in a marsh of the Carolinas. The plot is a coming of age story with romance and even a murder mystery. It’s SO good.”
- “Beach Read by Emily Henry. This is my favorite romance read of the year. This is not beach read. This is glued read. You don’t want to end it and you don’t want to stop reading it so you carry your book everywhere as if it’s one of your internal organs… It’s sarcastic but so smart, entertaining, soul crushing, tear jerking, heart shattering, captivating, and witty.”
11. “Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. If you haven’t watched the TV series it’s based on, the book is a perfect beach read. It flows easily but has an interesting plot line that you can’t help but read more and more of. Plus, it’s set in Australia in a beach-side town. It starts with someone dying, but you don’t know who dies and who kills them until the very end!”
12. “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. It’s loosely based on a composite image of a few starlets from the golden age of Hollywood. This tale is thrilling and surprisingly deep — all of the main characters grow and change over the course of the novel. This book is fantastically written and commands your full attention until the last page. It’s great for a day at the beach!”
13. “Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton. I love memoirs, and this is one of my recent favorite. It’s all about growing up, friendships, falling in love, and experiencing heartbreak and loss. It has that unique power to make you laugh out loud and then tear up, all on the very same page. Plus, it just came out as a TV series on BBC, and I can’t wait to watch.”
14. “Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins. Like all of Hawkins’s books, it’s a great thriller with tons of twists and turns that makes it ideal for reading at the beach.”
15. “Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter. This book is beautifully romantic, and the description of the settings alone make you want to pack up and travel all summer long.”
16. “November 9 by Colleen Hoover. All of her books are addicting, and this one was no exception. This one had plots twists and a mystery aspect that made it so I just couldn’t put it down. I HAD to keep reading to find out what would happen.”
17. “We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. It takes place during the summer on a private island and has love, drama, mystery, and a twist ending. It’s perfect for a beachy read.”
18. “The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley. I’ve loved every thriller Lucy Foley’s ever written, from The Hunting Party to The Guest List, and The Paris Apartment was no different. I struggle a lot of times to find thrillers that aren’t too disturbing. I don’t really like super scary or gruesome thrillers, so these books are the perfect mysteries for me. Foley creates an ideal balance of being enticing and keeping me turning the page with the suspense. But she also diffuses a lot of the tension with quick-witted humor, which I appreciate and enjoy.”
19. “Duma Key by Stephen King. This is one of my all-time favorite books, and it’s a great read for people who don’t like grisly horror. It’s dark and creepy but never gory.”
20. “The People We Keep by Allison Larkin. I really loved this story about a young woman named April who escapes her small town in search of a bigger life. But the book is really all about the people she meets along the way. I felt so attached to many of the characters and felt so many emotions from the relationships April forms along her journey, I was hooked from start to finish.”
21. “The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han. It’s perfect for summer and it’s ideal for anyone who loves a coming-of-age romance. Plus the TV show adaptation just came out on
Prime Video.”
22. “Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Every once in a while, a book comes around that just stuns me. I can’t even put into words how much I loved Lessons in Chemistry. It is refreshingly different, historical, and highlights the struggles of women scientists in the late 1950s. I just loved this story. It was not what I was expecting, and instead, I found quirky characters, a fascinating premise, and a history lesson. If you’re looking for something a little bit different, something that will charm and entice you, this book is the one.”
23. “The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager. This one was my favorite out of all his books, titles that include Home Before Dark and The House Across The Lake. This one takes place in a summer camp. It’s moody, it’s full of twists, and it’s easy to read.”
24. “The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. It’s such a good romance with familiar tropes, but full of engaging characters and witty dialogue. I get sucked in every time I read this story, and there’s no better place to enjoy it than at the beach!”
26. “The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller. I thought this book was the perfect blend between page-turning beach read and beautiful writing with an engrossing plot. It had romance and scandal, interesting characters, and a beautifully depicted backdrop (set on Cape Cod).”
27. “The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker is my personal favorite. The story tore apart my mind and my heart and pieced both back together numerous times, and I loved the journey.”
28. “All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. The plot parallels the lives of a blind French girl and orphaned German boy during WWII. It is the standard by which I now judge all other books. It’s so much more than a war story. It’s the kind of book you’re sad to finish because the journey and magic must come to an end.”
