Beach Reads
When the month of July arrives, it feels likes summer is finally settling in. The kids have their schedules, and hopefully that allows you more time to relax and read! Summer is a great time to add to your “To Read” list. There seems to be so many books that come out in the summer months just waiting to be devoured on a beach, a deck, a boat, and just about anywhere you can make yourself comfortable. Here are some fun beach reads to help you kick off the season.
“The Happiness Plan” by Susan Mallery
It seems that everyone is looking for happiness, but do they actually have a plan to find it? These three friends do. Heather is happy … well, sort of. She has a successful business, an adorable pet, and three great friends who love her. She is getting over a messy breakup and wondering why she is so bummed when she finds out her ex is dating someone new. It’s time to find a new connection, so she is on the search for her biological dad. Meanwhile, Daphne is having troubles in her marriage. Her husband thinks she’s having an emotional affair, but he was the one who caused their distance when he said they weren’t ready to have a baby. The third friend, Tori, has a major crush on Daphne’s brother-in-law that she keeps a secret until her apartment floods, and she has no choice but to move in with the handsome doctor. “The Happiness Plan” is the story of three friends who can face anything that life throws at them as long as they have each other.
“Meant to Be” by Emily Giffin
The Kingsley family is often considered American royalty, known for political service and military heroics. When Joseph S. Kingsley Jr. is killed in a tragic accident, his son is set to inherit his legacy. But Joe III isn’t your typical Kingsley family member. He’s a bit of a wild child and borderline reckless. He has trouble living up to the legacy set before him and finds himself disappointing the nation and, even worse, his mother. Cate Cooper grew up without a father and ended up fending for herself when her mother married an abusive man. When she is discovered by a model scout at age 16, Cate decides her looks might be her ticket to a better life. Soon she is on magazine covers and billboards everywhere. One afternoon, Cate and Joe run into each other. Their connection is instant and intense. But can their relationship survive the spotlight they both live in?
“The Lifeguards” by Amanda Eyre Ward
Just when you think you are doing everything right with your children, something happens to shatter what you thought to be true. Whitney, Annette, and Liza are the best of friends and have raised their children together for 15 years, always thinking they can keep them away from the dangers of this crazy world. One night, while the moms are having happy hour, their boys come home from a late-night dip in their favorite swimming hole. The boys, who are lifeguards for the summer, have something to tell their moms that will destroy the perfect world in which they think they have been raising their children. Told from the point of view of all three mothers, “The Lifeguards” is filled with lies, betrayals, complicated friendships, and mothers who will do anything to protect the children they love, all because of what happened one summer night.
“Book Lovers” by Emily Henry
I mean, just the title alone makes you want to read this one, right? It sure caught my attention! Nora Stephens’ life revolves around books. A literary agent, she is greatly admired by the clients who land major deals, and by her younger sister, Libby. When Libby begs her to take a sisters’ trip, Nora agrees to spend the month of August in Sunshine Fall, N.C. Instead of the small-town Hallmark vacation Nora had envisioned, she keeps running into Charlie Lastra, an editor from the city with whom she hadn’t always been on the best terms. Nora might not be a heroine and Charlie might not be a hero, but a series of coincidences are leading to a story of their own that neither one could have expected.
“Reservations for Six” by Lindsey J. Palmer
Every year, three couples get together to celebrate each other’s birthdays. In addition to birthdays, together they have celebrated all of life’s milestones and supported each other through hard times. Nathan is the first one in the group turning 40, and along with the cake this year comes a shocking announcement, and nothing within their friend group will ever be the same again. One couple’s marriage is falling apart, and naturally that causes the other two couples to take a close look at their own. Confessions follow and secrets come to the surface. Will the bonds of friendship and matrimony be able to stand up to infidelity, infertility and many other issues that would normally push any relationship over the edge? A year later, the group gathers again, and every relationship and individual has changed.
“The Summer Place” by Jennifer Weiner
Ruby has already set a wedding date with her pandemic boyfriend, and her stepmother Sarah is completely shocked. But plans are moving along, and Ruby has already asked Sarah’s mother, Veronica, if she can have the wedding at the family’s beach house on Cape Cod. Despite Sarah’s reservations, Veronica can’t wait to plan the wedding of the year and have everyone together before she puts the house up for sale. Wedding planning never really goes smoothly, and it seems everyone has something they are dealing with. Ruby has never gotten over her mother leaving her when she was a baby; Veronica faces unexpected news; Sarah’s twin brother, Sam, is recovering from his own loss; Sarah’s husband, Eli, is facing consequences of his own poor decisions; and Sarah ends up facing someone from her past who makes her question everything that could have been. When the big day finally arrives, secrets come out, confrontations take place, and no one will ever be the same.
