Beach Getaway? Check Out These 2019 Summer Beach Reads
When you’re a working woman, sometimes nothing is better than time off, in peace and quiet with a great new book. With summer on the horizon, full of possibilities for weekend getaways, we put together this list of 2019 summer beach reads everyone will be adding to their travel bags for a relaxing day by the ocean or lake.
Whether it’s just you or with your besties, grab your lotion, beach towel, and a couple of your favorite beach reads and enjoy!
You, Me, and the Sea by Meg Donohue
Merrow Shawe has always known the comfort of her seaside home on the coast of Northern California. Having spent her life with her father and cruel brother, she’s ecstatic when recently orphaned boy Amir comes to live with her family. As the two fall in love, they get mixed up in activities that will force them apart and cause Merrow to question everything she’s ever known about her perfect home. For fans of the classics and Wuthering Heights, Meg Donohue’s new novel will take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions.
The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory
One of Reese Witherspoon’s favorite authors, Jasmine Guillory returns this summer with a new romance novel about unlikely love. Maddie and Theo have never gotten along but have agreed to put their problems aside for their best friend’s wedding. Having to interact on a regular basis with one another, it’s no surprise when the two realize the attraction between them and soon they’re spending their nights together and contemplating where they see their relationship going. With the fear of falling in love lingering, the two will be forced to make a decision about their future together.
The Escape Room by Megan Goldin
If you’re looking for a book that will shock you from beginning to end, you need to put The Escape Room at the top of your summer reading list. When four Wall Street executives sign up for an escape room, they soon learn that something dark is controlling the game. Playing in a game that could cost the colleagues their lives, they now must work together to get out of the escape room alive. But as secrets are exposed and the clues in the game turn deadly, these four rivals will learn who is willing to commit murder in order to survive.
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
New York Times bestselling author Riley Sager returns this summer with a thriller that will give you the chills. When Jules Larsen is offered a job at a New York apartment building, the Bartholomew, she jumps at the opportunity to escape her mess of a life. As the new apartment sitter in the building, Jules quickly comes to find that not everything is what it seems at her new home and when another sitter disappears, she becomes weary that those living and working in the building are to blame. But as she tries to track down the missing girl, she finds that her life is also in danger and that she can’t trust anyone around her.
A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell
This new thriller from Michele Campbell comes with a shocking twist you won’t see coming. Everything in Caroline Stark’s seemingly perfect life comes crashing down when she finds out her husband has been keeping a huge secret from her. Getting revenge, she spends the night with local bartender Aidan and despite her need to end the affair, Aidan begins to believe that they were meant to be together. As Aidan’s behavior towards Caroline becomes obsessive, she begins to fear for her family’s life and before she knows it, her husband is missing with authorities believing he is dead.
The Road She Left Behind by Christine Nolfi
If you’re looking for a family drama this summer, you’ll love The Road She Left Behind. Wracked with guilt after a car accident that killed Darcy Goodridge’s father and sister, she runs far away from her home with plans of never returning. But eight years later, her nephew has gone missing and without a mother to search for him, Darcy returns to her the place she vowed she’d never see again. Now facing her nephew’s disappearance and issues with her mother head-on, she comes to learn that there’s more to the family’s recent trauma than meets the eye. Uncovering family secrets and coming to terms with the tragic events from her past, Darcy hopes she can find closure in her hometown.
Montauk by Nicola Harrison
This new historical fiction book is the perfect read for your book club this summer. Beatrice Bordeaux can’t wait to spend the summer reconnecting with her husband but when his job forces him to spend the summer in the city, Beatrice is left to mingle with the high society wives at The Montauk Manor. Feeling like an outcast from the privileged women, she befriends the manor’s laundress who reminds her of the woman she once was. As she comes to appreciate the beauty of Montauk, she falls for a new man who will remind her of a tragic event from her past and remind her of the life she truly wants.
Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim
Natalie Tan’s dreams were crushed when her mother told her she wouldn’t support her dreams of being a professional chef seven years ago. Now traveling back to her home in Chinatown after the death of her mother, Natalie is shocked when she learns that she has inherited her grandmother’s restaurant. Apprehensive about restoring the restaurant and bringing business back to the community, a new love interest and friendship will make Natalie realize that she owes it to the neighborhood to make the business a success once again. This magical realism novel is a touching book about new beginnings and finding your true home.
The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay
Madeline Cullen loved her aunt’s bookshop growing up but years later, family discourse leads her to put distance between her and the shop. Just when she thinks she has escaped that part of her history, she learns that she has inherited the shop after her aunt’s passing. Determined to fix the place up and sell it, she’s surprised to learn what an impact the shop has on its employees and the community. Caught between her difficult family history and the need to do the right thing, Madeline makes a decision that will impact her life and her community in this heartwarming novel about friendship and forgiveness by Katherine Reay.
Waisted by Randy Susan Meyers
Daphne and Alice both seem to have it all but constantly feel like failures due to their insecurities over their weight. Because of their unhealthy obsessions with their bodies, the two women jump at the opportunity to enter a weight loss program in Vermont that promises dramatic results. The catch? They’ll be filmed 24/7 for a documentary. When the women learn that the filmmakers are really just using them for their own wicked experiment, they exact their revenge and take back control of their lives. Any woman who has struggled with body image issues will find hope in this relatable summer read.
Honestly, We Meant Well by Grant Ginder
From the author of The People We Hate at the Wedding comes a new novel that will have you laughing and crying up until the last page. Sue Ellen Wright has come to terms with the fact that her family is falling apart. On the edge of divorce and her son’s recent indiscretions at school, Sue Ellen knows she needs to help get the family back on track. With this in mind, she takes them to a Greek island for a month—a place where she once found true love. Experiencing the beautiful place for the first time in years, Sue Ellen hopes this trip will bring her family the new start they are in desperate need of.
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
This new romance novel from bestselling author Helen Hoang is one that will both break and mend your heart this summer. Due to Khai Diep’s autism, he is unable to truly feel emotions the way others can. With this in mind, his mother knows that she needs to find him a wife or he may never find true love. Finding Esme, a single mother in Vietnam, Khai’s mother brings her son’s new suitor back to the United States. Before Esme knows it, she’s teaching Khai what it means to love and along the way begins to fall for him despite the fact that he may never be able to feel the same way about her.
The Enlightenment of Bees by Rachel Linden
Mia West is happy with her picture-perfect life as an apprentice baker in Seattle… and then her boyfriend tells her he needs space. With her world now in freefall, she joins her roommate on a trip that will take her across the globe. From Mumbai to Hungary and everywhere in between, Mia begins to finally realize her purpose in life and when it’s time to return to Seattle, she’ll have to decide whether she wants to jump back into her old life or follow her new passion. This romantic adventure is the perfect read to get you in the mood for your summer travels.
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead returns this summer with an impactful read about a dark and oftentimes untalked about time in American history. Elwood Curtis knows that being a young black man in the Jim Crow South is dangerous and avoids trouble as much as possible… until he commits a small offense that lands him in a hellish reform school for boys. Now in a place where young men are abused and often disappear, Elwood tries his best to stay alive and makes a consequential decision that will change his life and history for decades to come.
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
If you loved Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love you’ll want to add her latest fiction read to your bookshelf ASAP. Vivian Morris has just gotten kicked out of Vassar College and her parents have had enough, sending her to live with her aunt in Manhattan. Moving to the city provides Vivian with a new outlet as she gets involved in her aunt’s playhouse and begins to find what she thinks is her rightful place in the world. Just as Vivian begins to feel at home, she makes a mistake that will damage her professional life and the new beginning she worked so hard for.
The Last Book Party by Karen Dukess
Karen Dukess brings bibliophiles everywhere a unique and riveting literary fiction book this summer with The Last Book Party. Eve Rosen believes her big break has finally arrived after meeting famed New Yorker writer Henry Grey during the summer of 1987. An aspiring writer, Eve cherishes her new job as Grey’s research assistant and the opportunity to finally work in the literary world. But everything is not what it seems and the closer she gets to her dreams, the more she realizes the twisted and complicated truth about the industry. Can she survive this world, or will it eat her alive?
