Summer 2020 Beach Reads
Whether you’re sunning yourself—with plenty of distance!—at the beach, hanging out by the pool, relaxing in your back yard… or enjoying in the air conditioning inside… nothing’s better than a book! Here are some of the best beach reads to enjoy this summer.
August 3, 2020
Whether you’re sunning yourself—with plenty of distance!—at the beach, hanging out by the pool, relaxing in your back yard… or enjoying in the air conditioning inside… nothing’s better than a book! Here are some of the best beach reads to enjoy this summer.
Craigslist Confessional
Helena Dea Bala
The immigrant former Washington lobbyist behind CraigslistConfessional.com presents a collection of 40 raw, heartfelt stories by anonymous strangers who reveal their intimate private struggles with sex addiction, hoarding, prostitution, the loss of a child and more.
The Last Train to Key West
Chanel Cleeton
A Key West native, a bride fleeing the Cuban Revolution and a Wall Street crash victim meet at a Great War veteran camp before one of the most powerful hurricanes in history indelibly changes their lives.
Party of Two
Jasmine Guillory
Going against her better judgement, LA lawyer Olivia Monroe secretly starts dating a hotshot junior senator until their romance is made public and her life falls under intense media scrutiny, jeopardizing everything.
The Vanishing Half
Brit Bennett
Separated by their embrace of different racial identities, two mixed-race identical twins reevaluate their choices as one raises a black daughter in their southern hometown while the other passes for white with a husband who is unaware of her heritage.
Sex and Vanity
Kevin Kwan
When George, the man with whom she had brief fling several years earlier, unexpectedly appears in East Hampton, newly engaged Lucie Churchill is drawn to him again and spins a web of deceit in an attempt to block him from her life – and her heart.
Beach Read
Emily Henry
An acclaimed but blocked literary master and a best-selling novelist who has stopped believing in true love agree to a summer-long writing project that challenges them write well in each others’ styles.
All Adults Here
Emma Straub
A matriarch confronts the legacy of her parenting mistakes while her adult children navigate respective challenges in high standards and immaturity, before a teen granddaughter makes a courageous decision to tell the truth.
Island Affair
Priscilla Oliveras
A social-media influencer in recovery from an eating disorder enlists the aid of a firefighter and dive captain to play the part of her boyfriend after her actual one is a no-show for a family vacation in Key West.
The Jetsetters
Amanda Eyre Ward
Winning the grand prize in an essay contest, a single mother reunites her estranged adult children on a 10-day cruise while confronting long-buried secrets from their dysfunctional shared past.
The Herd
Andrea Bartz
When the enigmatic founder of their exclusive New York women’s mentorship community goes missing, two sisters search for answers to protect their friends and careers before uncovering dangerous secrets.
28 Summers
Elin Hilderbrand
A tale inspired by the film “Same Time Next Year” follows a man’s discovery of his mother’s long-term relationship with the husband of a Presidential frontrunner.
On Ocean Boulevard
Mary Alice Monroe
Returning to Charleston after a 16-year absence, Cara Rutledge reconnects with family members before her second wedding is abruptly halted by a devastating illness.
Big Summer
Jennifer Weiner
A woman confronts the dynamics of friendship and forgiveness while visiting Cape Cod to attend an old friend’s increasingly disastrous wedding.
Girls of Summer
Nancy Thayer
Skeptical about their mother’s Nantucket romance with a younger man, siblings Juliet and Theo navigate their own tangled relationships involving an idealistic environmentalist and a girl fighting the trauma of a school tragedy.
Hello, Summer
Mary Kay Andrews
When the dream job she has pursued all her adult life suddenly disappears, an ambitious journalist returns to her family’s small-town newspaper before witnessing a car accident that ends the life of a local war hero.
A Week at the Shore
Barbara Delinsky
Returning to her family’s Rhode Island beach home after a 20-year estrangement, a real estate photographer navigates painful family secrets that test her bonds with her sisters, while her 13-year-old daughter pursues desperately wanted family ties.
The Key To Everything
Valerie Fraser Luesse
After WWII and a family tragedy, Peyton Cabot seeks connection with his troubled veteran father by retracing the trip he’d taken from Savannah to Key West at the same age. The adventure forces Peyton to come to terms with his identity and decide how much he’s willing to risk for the girl he loves.
Summer Darlings
Brooke Lea Foster
Set during the splendid summer days of 1960s Martha’s Vineyard, a historical novel pulls back the curtain on a mysterious and wealthy family, as seen through the eyes of their nanny—a college student who, while falling in love on the elegant island, is also forced to reckon with the dark underbelly of privilege.
Wow, No Thank You
Samantha Irby
A new collection of humorous and edgy essays from the author of Meaty and We Are Never Meeting in Real Life that highlight the ups and downs of aging, marriage and living with step-children in small-town Michigan.
The Somerset Girls
Lori Foster
As Autumn and Ember work hand-in-hand to save the animal rescue their grandparents created, they’ll see that family can be both a blessing and a curse.
The Lies That Bind
Emily Giffin
Forging an unlikely connection with a stranger at a bar who warns her against resuming a dysfunctional relationship, an aspiring reporter investigates when the man goes missing on September 11, 2001.
The Jane Austen Society
Natalie Jenner
A group of disparate bibliophiles bands together in the small English village of Chawton in the hopes of restoring the final home of Jane Austen, revealing their respective losses along the way.
The Girl in White Gloves
Kerri Maher
A vivid reimagining of the life of Princess Grace of Monaco follows the experiences of an Oscar-nominated actress who falls unexpectedly in love with a prince before overwhelming loneliness prompts her search for a greater purpose.
Summer Longing
Jamie Brenner
When a baby girl is abandoned on her doorstep, Ruth Cooperman, new to Provincetown, turns to her neighbors for help and is drawn into the drama of the close-knit community as alliances are made, relationships are tested, and secrets are uncovered.
The Second Chance Boutique
Louisa Leaman
The owner of a wedding dress shop finds a gorgeous 1950s couture gown and becomes entangled with the original owner’s son who is working hard to keep hidden the dark history of the garment.
To Have and to Hoax
Martha Waters
After their marriage has become cold and detached, a Lady and Lord in Regency England each fake accidents and illness in an escalating game of manipulation that includes sanitariums, fake affairs and possibly a rekindled flirtation.
The Love Story of Missy Carmichael
Beth Morrey
Reevaluating her past upon finding herself alone at age 79, Missy forges unexpected ties with two strangers and their spirited dog, discovering the power of friendship, family and self-forgiveness along the way.
Wife After Wife
Olivia Hayfield
A wickedly entertaining and utterly absorbing modern take on the life and marriages of Henry VIII…if he were a twenty-first-century womanizing media mogul rather than the king of England.
Pizza Girl
Jean Kyoung Frazier
Delivering pizzas in suburban Los Angeles, a pregnant teen mourning the death of her father becomes obsessed with a middle-aged stay-at-home mom who comes to depend on weekly pizza deliveries for her son’s happiness.
The Summer Set
Aimee Agresti
Relegated back into obscurity by age discrimination, a former Hollywood A-list star returns to the theater where she got her start and reconnects with her director former flame before a celebrity rival threatens their summer production
Happy & You Know It
Laura Hankin
Accepting a job as a playgroup musician for Park Avenue infants after her band rises to stardom without her, Claire is drawn into the glamorous world of wealthy clients who hide secrets and betrayals beneath competitive social-media stardom.
How the Penguins Saved Veronica
Hazel Prior
Determined to find a worthy cause where she can dedicate her millions, octogenarian Veronica rediscovers love, family and connection while bonding with an unknown grandson and infiltrating a scientific team on behalf of endangered penguins in Antarctica.
One Perfect Summer
Brenda Novak
Discovering the existence of two siblings in the wake of a DNA test that was supposed to be a joke, Serenity meets her mysterious sisters before her search for answers becomes complicated by divorce and romantic politics.