The Best Beach Reads of Summer 2015

Is there anything better than a good book to read while lounging on a beach? Not in my book! here are the Best Beach Reads of Summer 2015…

Beach Town by Mary Kay Andrews (the Queen of the Beach Book) is simply delightful.  It is funny, charming and poignant all at the same time.  This book would pair well with a sweet tea on Cypress Key beach in Florida.

China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan is the sequel to Crazy Rich Asians (Top Book of 2013).  In this case, the sequel is just as good as the first.  I would pair this book with a cosmopolitan in The Hamptons.

Does This Beach Make Me Look Fat? by Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella is pretty much, in a word, awesome.  There is a story in this book for every woman.  It is funny and relatable.  This book needs a good ol’ Diet Dr. Pepper on Marco Island, Florida.

Enchanted August by Brenda Bowen has the perfect recipe of tired girlfriends, a house in Maine and a movie star.  This book needs to be read with a lobster roll and a glass of Chablis.

French Coast by Anita Hughes takes us to Cannes in the French Riviera in high style.  She weaves a story of haute couture, five star hotel suites and love as only Hughes can do.   Pair this book with a flute of Veuve Cluquot Champagne while lounging by the pool at the most posh hotel in the Riviera.

The Guest Cottage by Nancy Thayer, the Grand Doyenne of the Beach Read, is another gem.  It will make you want to visit this cottage (not to mention the hot guy there) with your kids.  This book needs a crisp Chardonnay on Nantucket Beach.

The Idea of Love by Patti Callahan Henry is the perfect love story.  Or is it?  Can little white lies lead to a happy relationship?  This one needs a good Tanqueray and Tonic in Savannah.

Killing Monica by Candace Bushnell promises to be excellent.  Expect more sex, the city, fame and love.  Definitely pair this one with a martini, shaken not stirred, on Long Island Sound.

The Knockoff by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza is simply charming and perfect.  Loved this book! What happens when a traditional magazine editor (think Anna Wintour) must learn to read a digital only magazine with an upstart who wants her gone.   This book requires a Manhattan (no ice) on Block Island in Rhode Island.

The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach by Pam Jenoff is a crossover novel that marries Jenoff style engrossing historical fiction with a beach read.   It is captivating and perfect, requiring English cider or Pimm’s on, where else, Chelsea Beach.

Love and Miss Communication by Elyssa Friedland is a fun read, telling us to power down the electronics and (gasp!) focus on the real world in front of us.    Prepare to laugh through this fabulous book with a spritzer at a fabulous hotel pool.

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll combines psychological thriller (yes, it does feel like Gone Girl) with a satisfying beach read.  You will need several ice coffees to get through this one.  It won’t matter which beach you are at as you will only focus on this book.

Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid is a brilliantly written book.  Told in alternating chapters with alternating stories, this one will make you sit up and take notice.  Try a Vitamin Water while sitting in Dana Point, California with this one.

The Rocks by Peter Nichols is quite the story, set in the Mediterranean.  Learn the sixty year secret from two different family points of view while sipping a good red wine (Mediterranean diet, of course) with some almonds overlooking Mallorca.

Rome in Love is ANOTHER book by Anita Hughes this Summer.  Like Roman Holiday and Audrey Hepburn (like who doesn’t?)? Then, you will adore this book.  Again, Hughes matches designer clothes, love and another fabulous locale.  Try a frozen Bellini and pretend you are in Portofino.

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan will appeal to all lovers of the British Royal Family (which is most women in the entire world).  It is clever, whimsical and utterly charming.  This book requires a Dubonnet Cocktail (favored by the Queen) in Bermuda (a few hours after the high tea, of course.)

The Sound of Glass by Karen White, (her finest book yet and yes, that is saying a lot), takes us to Beaufort, South Carolina.  There is a fabulous ancestral house, a cast of characters, a super hot man and a range of emotions of happy to sad.  Run to the Low Country and pair this one with a pitcher of sweet tea.

The Status of All Things by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke shows us what happens when your Facebook status determines your fate.  (Don’t all run and post a wishful status right now).  This book is perfect and should be shared with all of your best girlfriends.  Pair this one with a six pack of Diet Coke on Coronado Island.

The Summer’s End by Mary Alice Monroe, the Empress of the Summer Read,  is the conclusion to her Low Country series.  It is fabulous and makes you wish for your own family home.  This one too must be read in the Low Country with a crisp white wine.

The Summer of Good Intentions by Wendy Francis takes us to Cape Cod (and someone should take us there for real, right?) to the Herington family home.   As the sisters meet there with their significant and insignificant others, family truths come out.  A fabulous read for the Cape with fresh seafood and a beer from, where else, but Cape Cod Beer.

Summer Secrets by Jane Green is a book with which you should not drink alcohol.  Family secrets, alcoholism and making amends are the themes here.  Definitely pair this one with iced tea on Nantucket.

Summer With My Sisters by Holly Chamberlin takes us to coastal Maine as a young 25 year old must take care of her orphaned siblings.  Chamberlin is a master story teller.  Given the youthful characters, try a snow cone in Maine with this one.

Those Secrets We Keep by Emily Liebert features three women and a three-week vacation to Lake George, New York (I need to go there after reading this book!).  Pair this page turner with a pitcher of margaritas and munchies.

Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner is like an old friend who you are so happy to see.  Is there anything better than a Jennifer Weiner book coming out in the dog days of August?  Head to the Florida coast and pair this book with anything as a Jennifer Weiner book is all engrossing.

I received numerous of these via review copies.  All opinions and cocktail ideas are my own.

What are you reading and where are you going?

 

beach reads