Beach Reads: Books We’re Mod About!
Looking for a new book to read by the pool this summer? We asked our book-loving friends what’s on their to-read lists and we got some fun recommendations. Enjoy!
1. Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi
Helen Oyeyemi’s Gingerbread is a fantastical literary novel about the elements of everyday life that bring people together. Perdita and her mother Harriet are extraordinary, living their seemingly magical lives in a gold apartment and furthering their family tradition of making irresistible gingerbread. Years later, Perdita is now a grown woman with many questions about where her mother came from and the mysterious friend, Gretel, who played a major role in her young life. If you’re looking for a novel unlike any other, this spring release is one you need to keep your eye on.
2. The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
Mi-ja and Young-sook grew up the best of friends despite their different backgrounds and in this new book from the New York Times bestselling author Lisa See, they’ll come to learn that life can take life-altering twists and turns you never expected. As the young girls grow into their promised futures, they find themselves up against forces and people that they have no control over, eventually leading to the demise of their own close bond. This story of friendship and hardship is one that will pull at your heartstrings and have you feeling grateful for the people in your life.
3. The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay
Madeline used to love spending time in her aunt’s bookshop, but time and family drama have made her bitter and inheriting the shop is no longer a dream of hers. After the passing of her aunt, she returns to the store with the intention to sell it but as she gets to restoring the bookshop and getting to know its employees, she begins to have second thoughts about getting rid of it. Filled with romance, friendship and family secrets, The Printed Letter Bookshop is the perfect read for fans of touching women’s fiction novels.
4. The Farm by Joanne Ramos
If you have found yourself obsessed with The Handmaid’s Tale, this new dystopian novel will be right up your alley. When a new luxury retreat pops up in New York, promising an all-inclusive stay in return for having a child, some women jump at the opportunity. But the dark truth is that these soon-to-be-mothers will be cut off from the outside world completely and forced to give their child up as soon as it is born. Committing herself to the retreat is Jane: a young woman looking for a brighter future. Just as soon as Jane becomes well acquainted with her new surroundings, her worries for her family increase and she has to make a decision that will dramatically change her life.
5. Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly
Fans of Kristin Hannah will be delighted to dive into Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly this spring. Young Eliza Ferriday couldn’t be more thrilled to be traveling with one of her best friends to Russia but it’s 1914 and tensions are high. Soon, a dangerous war begins and Eliza finds herself fleeing Russia to get back to America, leaving young Sofya and her family behind. But just as Eliza starts to feel safe again, her letter exchange with Sofya comes to a halt and she begins to worry that something dangerous has happened to young Sofya and her family.
6. The Last Resort by Marissa Stapley
If you couldn’t get enough of Big Little Lies, you’ll adore this new summer release from Marissa Stapley. When two couples sign up for marriage counseling at the Harmony Resort, they think that the problems with their relationships will finally be solved but little do they know, the celebrity counseling couple hosting them are hiding many secrets. With a tropical storm keeping them all hostage on the island, they quickly come to realize that this trip will forever change their lives and marriages.
7. The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory
Jasmine Guillory returns this summer with a new love story about two people who couldn’t be more opposite of one another. Maddie and Theo will do anything for their best friend Alexa despite their dislike for one another. But when they accidentally fall into each other’s arms one night, they’ll be forced to confront the idea that they may exactly what each other needs. Will they take the next step in their complicated relationship or are they doomed to be enemies forever?
8. Honestly, We Meant Well by Grant Ginder
From the charming author of The People We Hate at the Wedding comes a new novel about family and putting the pieces back together when everything seems to have fallen apart. Everything in Sue Ellen Wright’s life is going swimmingly… until a disaster strikes her near perfect family. Struggling to figure out how to keep everyone happy and get their lives back on track, she jumps at the opportunity to take her family to a Greek island for a month where she believes the Wright family can heal their past wounds and continue flourishing as a family.
9. City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
If you find yourself going back to Eat, Pray, Love over and over again, you’ll love her new summer release, City of Girls. When Vivian Morris flunked out of college, her parents were forced to send her to live with her aunt and work for a rundown theatre in Manhattan. But what Vivian didn’t know was how this theatre would change her entire life. Now 80-years-old and looking back at this monumental time, she comes to realize the importance of making mistakes and not apologizing for being her true self.
10. A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell
A Stranger on the Beach tells the tale of a woman who had everything and lost it all after a tumultuous affair. Caroline lives a grand life in her beachside home, but her world turns upside down when she finds out her husband has been dishonest with her, leading her to embark on a casual fling that will later prove to have dangerous consequences for the married couple. This new novel from Michele Campbell takes the popular summer fling and gives it a dark twist you won’t be able to get out of your head.
11. The Last Book Party by Karen Dukess
Living in New York in the 1980s, 25-year-old Eve Rosen can’t think of anything she wants more than the chance to be a famous writer. Now brought into the literary fold by one of the New Yorker’s most esteemed writers, she comes to find that the publishing world isn’t what she expected it to be. With secrets, perilous relationships and other uncomfortable situations, Eve will have to come to terms with the fact that the future she’s always dreamed of may not be right for her after all. This debut novel from Karen Dukess is an ode to the uncertainty and chaos that comes with chasing your dreams.
12. The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
Khai Diep has always struggled with the concept of love due to his autism but in The Bride Test, his mother proves that she will go to any length to find him the kind of love he deserves. When Khai’s mother returns from her trip to Vietnam with a hopeful lover for her son, she can’t help but be optimistic about Khai’s future and the way this new woman, Esme, will help shape his life. But as Esme begins falling hard for Khai, she comes to the crushing conclusion that he may never be able to truly have romantic feelings for her.
13. We Came Here to Forget by Andrea Dunlop
Katie Cleary, a young all-American skier destined for Olympic gold, flees to Buenos Aires to reinvent herself after a family tragedy becomes unbearable in We Came Here to Forget. As she explores what it means to dream and desire in this beautiful city, she meets a group of friends who are also looking for a mental and geographical escape. We Came Here to Forget will have you emotionally enthralled as Katie rediscovers herself and her ability to forgive.
14. The River by Peter Heller
If you enjoy a fast-paced read while lounging in the sun, you’re going to want to get your hands on this one ASAP. When two close friends plan a trip to go canoeing in northern Canada, they don’t anticipate the dangerous wildfire that begins to consume the area. Even worse? The two happen upon a mysterious couple who can’t keep from fighting and may even have murderous tendencies.
15. You, Me, and the Sea by Meg Donohue
If you love classic love stories like Wuthering Heights, you’ll adore this new novel by Meg Donohue. Merrow Shawe has always loved living in Horseshoe Cliff, admiring all aspects of the small Northern California town. But her entire world is thrown into chaos when a passionate new love makes its way into her life, leading her to question the man she’s trusted her heart with and the possibility of leaving the place she’s always called home behind.
16. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
Olive Torres can’t wait to see her sister marry the love of her life but could do without having to interact with the best man at the wedding, Ethan. Determined to interact with him as little as possible, she is floored when she learns everyone at the wedding has gotten food poisoning and now she and Ethan are the only ones able to take advantage of the honeymoon her sister had booked. As Olive and Ethan pretend to be a married couple on the trip, Olive begins to believe that their fake relationship could become something more as she falls for the man she once despised.