Beach Reads: 8 Books for Your Hot Girl Summer
Summer is here, and it’s time to get your TBR list filled with some great beach reads!
Whether you are sunbathing in your garden or on a beach in Barbados, these books will make you feel like summer or at least make you feel something.
The question is, what makes a good ‘beach read’? As the voice for all readers, I have come up with the perfect outline of a great summer read. Firstly, it is important to consider the size. Too big and you will be lugging around a massive book that you won’t end up finishing, too small and you might as well not bring a book at all.
More than this, the book must be engaging; every good ‘beach read’ I have ever read has either changed my life or made me forget it. Can it be a stand-alone? The last thing you want to do is finish your book on a beach in Spain and must wait till you fly back home before you can find out what happens after the cliff hanger.
There are a lot of genres to pick from, so I tried to offer a broad range, if slightly limited by my personal preferences. Finally, my non-negotiable, fuelled by personal hatred for hardback books, it MUST be out in paperback. You want a book that can be covered in sand, salt water and suncream without worrying about how much you spent on it. Furthermore, you want the book to be lightweight and one that would easily fit in your beach bag.
Wild Love – Elsie Silver
Wild Love is the first book in Elsie Silver’s Rose Hill Series and can be read as a part of the series or as a standalone. Set in a small town in Canada, nestled among the mountains, the book carries a lot of nostalgia and small-town charm. The book follows Ford Grant, a billionaire and record studio owner, and Rosie, his best friend’s younger sister, who is searching for a fresh start. The characters have to navigate a new business, a new family and new feelings for each other. The heroine, just like in most Elsie Silver books, is sassy in a way that is charming yet also presented as vulnerable, making her relatable and likeable.
Wild Love doesn’t just fall under one romance trope, it contains four. This is the perfect read if you love a small-town romance, or the single dad trope, or the falling for the brother’s best friend trope, where he falls first. It was fun, captivating and a reliable romance.
Book Lovers – Emily Henry
Emily Henry, the woman you are. She writes women with a deep understanding, and you read about a character who may not be exactly like you, but you find elements of yourself in them. The characters feel sincere and captivating, but not perfect. She writes her heroines with flaws but gives them grace, allowing the reader to understand them. I think this element in her writing is what sets her apart from your run of the mill romance.
They say write what you know, and she sure knows how to write about the publishing industry. The heroine, Nora, is a shark in the publishing industry; she isn’t the usual heroine of a romance novel, but she is a strong-willed publishing powerhouse, who love doesn’t come so easily to. Nora would do anything for her sister, and this is what leads her to the small town of Sunshine Falls for August. Nora never liked Charlie Lastra, the book editor, especially after he rejected her book proposal, but she likes him a lot less when he turns up in Sunshine Falls. This book is perfect for any fans of the enemies-to-lovers trope and is a great book to start for first-time Emily Henry readers.
Everything I Know About Love – Dolly Alderton
Dolly Alderton changed my life. The memoir is a beautiful window into Dolly Alderton’s life, but also a route for self-exploration because of the universality of her writing. Friendship, jobs, adulthood, love and loss are all elements of our lives, but exploring them through Dolly Alderton’s life makes you feel less alone in it all.
It is also really focused on platonic love and female friendship, showing platonic love as just as important, if not more impactful, in our lives than romantic love. If this summer you want to explore life and love, this is what you need; it is fun but insightful and has the occasional recipe; it does it all.
Done and Dusted – Lyla Sage
Lyla Sage’s books are short but sweet. The cowboy romance is set in a small mountain town in Wyoming, and follows Clementine “Emmy”, a barrel rider, as she returns to her childhood home after a riding accident. Emmy has to find her new place in her old town. Luke Brookes is Emmy’s elder brother’s best friend and spent most of his childhood annoying her. However, Luke realises things have changed when Emmy wanders into his bar and back into his life.
Done and Dusted is for anyone who had a childhood crush on their sibling’s friends; this is your success story. This light-hearted cowboy romance is only 352 pages, which is perfect for a short getaway. It is a part of a four-book series, so you have the opportunity to read a lot more about what’s happening on The Rebel Blue Ranch.
Malibu Rising- Taylor Jenkins Reid
This is a great way to enter the Taylor Jenkins Reid multiverse. The book is set in August 1983 and revolves around Nina Riva and her siblings as they prepare for a much-anticipated summer party. Their father, Mick Riva, is a famous singer and also the reason for a lot of his children’s fame and attention. The narrative weaves many different plot lines, but they all lead to the same conclusion: an out-of-control party and the Riva mansion up in flames.
Part of why I love Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books is that she is seamlessly able to tie her books together, leaving easter eggs for readers as they explore how the books and characters are linked. Her books are a must-read, and Malibu Rising brings the summertime energy.
Conversations on Love- Natasha Lunn
For a summer of self-reflection and self-love, this book is the perfect beach read. It is small but mighty, following Natasha Lunn’s exploration of love in its many forms as well as, the loss of love. Lunn speaks to Dolly Alderton, Phillipa Perry, Emily Nagoski and many more to have conversations on love. It is riveting and educational, while also feeling like a vulnerable exploration which you are accompanying Natasha Lunn on.
The Seven-Year Slip – Ashley Ponston
Set in the summer in New York, the book blends the magical into a classic romance format seamlessly. Ponston writes characters with all their flaws in a way that makes them come to life. In The Seven Year Slip, Clementine is an overworked book publicist grieving the loss of her beloved aunt and coming to terms with navigating life without her. Living in her aunt’s old apartment is hard, but it becomes harder when she suddenly has a new roommate she had no idea about, who also happens to live seven years in the past.
The sign of a good romance book is often when it is written so well, and you are so engaged that your certainty of a happy ending disappears. The reader is left wondering for a second, will they end up together? There is a suspense that is built in a good romance novel, which the book has in abundance. The exploration of grief throughout the book is moving and feels authentic, and though the plot may seem fantastical, it does not disrupt this.
Powerless – Lauren Roberts
The only fantasy book on the list, although this is not a stand-alone, it is on the list because it is captivating, filled with banter and has the trial trope as a main plot point. The book is set in a world where being powerless is a crime, and the kingdom is ruled by the powerful ‘Elite’. To be powerless is to be an ‘Ordinary’ in this society. Paedyn is an ‘Ordinary’ posing as an ‘Elite’ in a world that wants her dead. When she is selected for the king’s trials, it becomes harder than ever for her to hide her powerlessness. She forges friendships with the king’s sons as she navigates the trials, and the society wants her dead for existing.
Powerless is filled with banter and tension; there are romance plot lines along with the fantasy, which make the book a fun read. All these elements together make it an incredibly hard book to put down. Luckily, the next book in the series is small, so you could easily take both with you on the trip, too!
