Summer is finally here and we are hyped. Beach days, cookouts, camping, long afternoons devouring a good book – after the endless days of winter, we can’t wait to get out into the sun. Plus it’s finally time to start planning our summer reading list. For us, summer is all about the beach read: light-hearted romance, books that make us laugh, and a few juicy tell-alls for good measure.
Here are 9 reads we’re more than ready to bring to the beach this summer:
The Identicals, Elin Hilderbrand (Little, Brown and Company, June 13, 2017)
Hilderbrand is the queen of the beach read, which is why we can’t wait to dive into The Identicals, all about twin sisters with a long-standing rivalry. Harper and Tabitha Frost may look alike, but that’s where the similarities end. Harper is easygoing and irresponsible, while Tabitha is sophisticated and worldly – and having a harder time keeping it all together than she’s willing to admit. When the two estranged sisters decide to switch lives and locales for the summer, they quickly realize that it’s not as easy to outrun their responsibilities as they might have hoped.
Wired, Julie Garwood (Berkley, July 4, 2017)
Garwood is our go-to romance novelist for a quick, suspenseful and sexy reads. In her latest Buchanan/FBI novel, we’re following expert hacker Allison Trent and FBI agent Liam Scott as he tries to convince her to help him track down a traitor in the FBI. Only Allison has secrets of her own, and soon the two are fighting a powerful attraction that could derail their entire investigation.
Once and For All, Sarah Dessen (Viking Books for Young Readers, June 6, 2017)
The best-selling young adult novelist returns with Once and For All, a story about loss, love and second chances. After losing her first love, teen Louna is happy to leave it all behind and focus on her summer job helping to plan weddings. But love isn’t necessarily done with her, and it returns in the form of Ambrose, a charming teen who’s determined to make Louna open up her heart again.
I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons, Kevin Hart and Neil Strauss (Atria/37 INK, June 6, 2017)
If you want to laugh out loud this summer (and maybe shed a tear or two), then pick up Kevin Hart’s memoir about life, fame and surviving insurmountable odds. Born to a drug addict father and a strict mother who would beat him often, Hart clawed his way up the ladder to find success in the world of comedy. This book is his journey, peppered with hilarious anecdotes, moving moments and plenty of inspiration.
When Dimple Met Rishi, Sandhya Menon (Simon Pulse, May 30, 2017)
Dimple Shah and Rishi Patel may come from the same cultural background, but both have very different attitudes towards love and life. When the two Indian-American teens attend the same summer program by chance, their parents decide it’s time to set the romantic wheels in motion. But Dimple has no interest in a “suggested arrangement” – she just wants to get a break from her family. Rishi, on the other hand, is more than ready to pursue his possible bride. The two butt heads (and hearts!) in this romantic and fun read.
Beach House for Rent, Mary Alice Monroe (Gallery Books, June 20, 2017)
Another installment in Monroe’s popular Beach House series, Beach House for Rent tells the story of two women as they deal with life, love and tragedy. When Cara Rutledge faces the impossible, all she wants to do is find comfort in her family’s beach house. But she’s already rented it out to Heather Wyatt, a quiet artist who’s painting birds for the summer – and falling for the man who’s devoted to rescuing the shorebirds. Heather and Cara suddenly find themselves as roommates, facing uncertain futures and learning to rely on one another.
Blind Item, Kevin Dickson & Jack Ketsoyan (Imprint, June 6, 2017)
Blind items are those juicy Hollywood gossip tidbits that gives us lots of drama without any names. This tell-all book is like a walking blind item – both Dickson and Ketsoyan have Hollywood ties and apparently every scandal in Blind Item is 100% true. Only the names have been changed (of course). The story follows assistant publicist Nicola as she gets involved with an A-list actor, but tries to hide the truth from the press by digging up even more scandals. Juicy, exciting and real, this is the celebrity gossip book that is a must-read for summer.
Rise of the Isle of the Lost, Melissa de la Cruz (Disney-Hyperion, May 23, 2017)
De la Cruz’s fun young adult series, The Descendants, imagines a world where all the evil Disney villains have been banished to the Isle of the Lost, forced to live together in isolation. This installment focuses on Uma, Ursula’s daughter, who’s looking for King Triton’s trident and forms a pirate crew (along with Harry, Captain Hook’s son) in order to find it. It’s up to Mal (Maleficent’s daughter) and her reformed-evil friends to find it first.
Confessions of a Domestic Failure, Bunmi Laditan (MIRA, May 2, 2017)
Author Laditan, creator of The Honest Toddler, turns her funny and real take on parenting into a debut fiction novel about “hot-mess moms.” Ashley Keller is one of those moms who can’t ever seem to live up to the Pinterest ideal she thinks she’s supposed to achieve. So she signs up for Motherhood Better boot camp, determined to become the “perfect mom.” Hilarious and honest, this is the perfect summer read for moms – or anyone who likes to laugh.
