Great book recommendations for our Beach Readers this Spring
We've done the work for you by finding the top books for your Bookfinity Reader Type. Be sure to add them to your “Read” list so that you can find them later!
June New Releases
Hot Summer
by Elle Everhart
Sparks fly when a young woman finds herself cast on a Love Island-inspired reality show and has to choose between her heart and her strategy in this sizzling new queer romantic comedy from the beloved author of Wanderlust.
This summer, things are about to heat up.
Cas Morgan has spent years of her life watching Hot Summer, the hit reality dating show that pairs together a bunch of sexy singles in an exotic island location. Like the rest of the TV-watching UK public, she's captivated by the hot contestants, outrageous fights, and hilarious banter. But she never quite thought she'd be a part of it, until her company secures a partnership with the production team behind the show, and Cas is handpicked as a contestant. She won't get any extra help making it through the eight weeks in the hot Cypriot sun, but if she does well and makes it to the finals, her long-awaited promotion will be secured.
Cas is ready to spend the summer trying to make herself more likeable to win over the voting public--and, if not likeable, then at least iconic. But just as she steps into the villa, her entire plan goes off course. She's instantly smitten with fellow contestant, Ada, who shockingly appears to be on the show to find a genuine relationship, one Cas can't give. Ada is gorgeous and charming, and seems to like Cas exactly as she is, sharp-edges and all. Cas isn't used to the side of herself Ada brings out, and when their connection becomes undeniable--and Cas's own standing in the villa precarious--she's torn between listening to her heart or sticking to her strategy.
Husbands & Lovers
by Beatriz Williams
Two women--separated by decades and continents, and united by an exotic family heirloom--reclaim secrets and lost loves in this sweeping novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Wives.
"My favorite kind of page-turner--unputdownable!"--Martha Hall Kelly, author of The Golden Doves
New England, 2022. Three years ago, single mother Mallory Dunne received the telephone call every parent dreads--her ten-year-old son, Sam, had been airlifted from summer camp with acute poisoning from a toxic death cap mushroom, leaving him fighting for his life. Now, searching for the donor kidney that will give her son a chance for a normal life, Mallory's forced to confront two harrowing secrets from her past: her mother's adoption from an infamous Irish orphanage in 1952, and her own all-consuming summer romance fourteen years earlier with her childhood best friend, Monk Adams-- one of the world's most beloved singer-songwriters--a fairy tale cut short by a devastating betrayal.
Cairo, 1951. After suffering tragedy beyond comprehension in the war, Hungarian refugee Hannah Ainsworth has forged a respectable new life for herself--marriage to a wealthy British diplomat with a coveted posting in glamorous Cairo. But a fateful encounter with the enigmatic manager of a hotel bristling with spies leads to a passionate affair that will reawaken Hannah's longing for everything she once lost. As revolution simmers in the Egyptian streets, a pregnant Hannah finds herself snared in a game of intrigue between two men . . . and an act of sacrifice that will echo down the generations.
Timeless and bittersweet, Husbands & Lovers takes readers on an unforgettable journey of heartbreak and redemption, from the revolutionary fires of midcentury Egypt to the moneyed beaches of contemporary New England. Acclaimed author Beatriz Williams has written a poignant and beautifully voiced novel of deeply human characters entangled by morally complex issues--of privilege, class, and the female experience--inside worlds brought shimmeringly to life.
A Love Like the Sun
by Riss M Neilson
"Extraordinary... a raw, vulnerable, breath-stealing love you can feel as you read."
--Emily Henry
"Dazzling, tender, and romantic." --Carley Fortune
Lifelong best friends spend a fateful summer discovering what might happen if they were to be something more in this radiant, heart-clenching adult debut.
Laniah Thompson is a homebody who craves privacy. Issac Jordan is internet famous and spends his days followed by paparazzi. She runs a small business with her mom in her hometown. He runs an international brand.
And they've been best friends since childhood.
When Issac comes home to Providence for the first time in months and discovers Laniah's dream is slipping out of reach as she and her mom struggle to pay the bills at Wildly Green, their natural hair store, she refuses to take a dime from him. And so, he does what any self-respecting best friend would do: tells the world they're dating.
Suddenly business is booming, and Laniah agrees to his ridiculous plan to pretend to be lovers for the course of the summer. Just long enough to catch the eye of an investor and get her dream back on track, like she helped him do so many years ago, he reminds her.
Too soon, though, Laniah knows she's playing with fire, because for as long as they've been friends there's an undeniable pull they've never given in to. And as the lines between art and life--real and pretend--blur, it becomes harder and harder to see where friendship ends and something else begins....
Told over the course of three sizzling summer months, A Love Like the Sun is about shared history, those who make us our bravest selves, and love in its many forms.
The Midnight Feast
by Lucy Foley
Secrets. Lies. Murder. Let the festivities begin...
"Sharp, stylish and stunning...Foley's best yet." -- Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of We Begin at the End
"Everything you want in a thriller." -- Harper's Bazaar
"Agatha Christie for the Instagram age." -- Guardian
The deliciously twisty new locked room murder mystery from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Guest List and The Paris Apartment
It's the opening night of The Manor, and no expense, small or large, has been spared. The infinity pool sparkles; crystal pouches for guests' healing have been placed in the Seaside Cottages and Woodland Hutches; the "Manor Mule" cocktail (grapefruit, ginger, vodka, and a dash of CBD oil) is being poured with a heavy hand. Everyone is wearing linen.
But under the burning midsummer sun, darkness stirs. Old friends and enemies circulate among the guests. Just outside the Manor's immaculately kept grounds, an ancient forest bristles with secrets. And the Sunday morning of opening weekend, the local police are called. Something's not right with the guests. There's been a fire. A body's been discovered.
THE FOUNDER * THE HUSBAND * THE MYSTERY GUEST * THE KITCHEN HELP
It all began with a secret, fifteen years ago. Now the past has crashed the party. And it'll end in murder at...The Midnight Feast.
Not in Love
by Ali Hazelwood
A Hall of Fame LibraryReads Pick!
A forbidden, secret affair proves that all's fair in love and science--from New York Times bestselling author Ali Hazelwood.
Rue Siebert might not have it all, but she has enough a few friends she can always count on, the financial stability she yearned for as a kid, and a successful career as a biotech engineer at Kline, one of the most promising start-ups in the field of food science. Her world is stable, pleasant, and hard-fought. Until a hostile takeover and its offensively attractive front man threatens to bring it all crumbling down.
Eli Killgore and his business partners want Kline, period. Eli has his own reasons for pushing this deal through--and he's a man who gets what he wants. With one burning exception: Rue. The woman he can't stop thinking about. The woman who's off-limits to him.
Torn between loyalty and an undeniable attraction, Rue and Eli throw caution out the lab and the boardroom windows. Their affair is secret, no-strings-attached, and has a built-in deadline: the day one of their companies will prevail. But the heart is risky business--one that plays for keeps.
Our Little Secret
by Lisa Jackson
#1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson puts a sexy, twisty, gender-reversed spin on Fatal Attraction in this addictive tale of escalating obsession, betrayal, and violent delights for readers of Peter Swanson, Allison Brennan, Carola Lovering and Stacy Willingham.
He swore he'd never let her go. She should have believed him.
Brooke Harmon is ready to end her brief affair. Gideon Ross is charming and sexy, but he's not worth throwing away everything she holds dear. So she breaks it off, hoping Gideon will understand.
He doesn't. Gideon insists that he and Brooke are meant to be together. Finally, he backs off, but not before issuing a promise: he'll never let her go.
Little more than a year later, Brooke wants to believe it's all behind her. Her family has survived intact. Gideon has vanished.
But the fear hasn't disappeared. Brooke can't tell how much of it is paranoia, and how much is justified, but she's worried. And maybe she's right to be.
Because Gideon is a man who keeps his promises . . .
The Unwedding
by Ally Condie
The White Lotus meets Agatha Christie in this bold novel from a #1 New York Times bestselling author: a recent divorcee's exclusive Big Sur resort vacation unravels when she discovers a dead body on the day of a wedding, in this "clever, witty and fast-paced whodunit." (Harlan Coben)
Ellery Wainwright is alone at the edge of the world.
She and her husband, Luke, were supposed to spend their twentieth wedding anniversary together at the luxurious Resort at Broken Point in Big Sur, California. Where better to celebrate a marriage, a family, and a life together than at one of the most stunning places on earth?
But now she's traveling solo.
To add insult to injury, there's a wedding at Broken Point scheduled during her stay. Ellery remembers how it felt to be on the cusp of everything new and wonderful, with a loved and certain future glimmering just ahead. Now, she isn't certain of anything except for her love for her kids and her growing realization that this place, though beautiful, is unsettling.
When Ellery discovers the body of the groom floating in the pool in the rain, she realizes that she is not the only one whose future is no longer guaranteed. Before the police can reach Broken Point, a mudslide takes out the road to the resort, leaving the guests trapped. When another guest dies, it's clear something horrible is brewing.
Everyone at Broken Point has a secret. And everyone has a shadow. Including Ellery.
May NEW RELEASES
Just for the Summer
by Abby Jimenez
Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They'll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other's out, and they'll both go on to find the love of their lives. It's a bonkers idea... and it just might work.
Emma hadn't planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.
It's supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma's toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they're suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected--including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?
This Summer Will Be Different
by Carley Fortune
Lucy is the tourist vacationing at a beach house on Prince Edward Island. Felix is the local who shows her a very good time. The only problem: Lucy doesn't know he's her best friend's younger brother. Lucy and Felix's chemistry is unreal, but the list of reasons why they need to stay away from each other is long, and they vow to never repeat that electric night again.
It's easier said than done.
Each year, Lucy escapes to PEI for a big breath of coastal air, fresh oysters and crisp vinho verde with her best friend, Bridget. Every visit begins with a long walk on the beach, beneath soaring red cliffs and a golden sun. And every visit, Lucy promises herself she won't wind up in Felix's bed. Again.
If Lucy can't help being drawn to Felix, at least she's always kept her heart out of it.
When Bridget suddenly flees Toronto a week before her wedding, Lucy drops everything to follow her to the island. Her mission is to help Bridget through her crisis and resist the one man she's never been able to. But Felix's sparkling eyes and flirty quips have been replaced with something new, and Lucy's beginning to wonder just how safe her heart truly is.
Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies
by Catherine Mack
All that bestselling author Eleanor Dash wants is to get through her book tour in Italy and kill off her main character, Connor Smith, in the next in her Vacation Mysteries series--is that too much to ask?
Clearly, because when an attempt is made on the real Connor's life--the handsome but infuriating con man she got mixed up with ten years ago and now can't get out of her life--Eleanor's enlisted to help solve the case.
Contending with literary competitors, rabid fans, a stalker--and even her ex, Oliver, who turns up unexpectedly--theories are bandied about, and rivalries, rifts, and broken hearts are revealed. But who's really trying to get away with murder?
One Perfect Couple
by Ruth Ware
Lyla is in a bit of a rut. Her post-doctoral research has fizzled out, she's pretty sure they won't extend her contract, and things with her boyfriend, Nico, an aspiring actor, aren't going great. When the opportunity arises for Nico to join the cast of a new reality TV show, One Perfect Couple, she decides to try out with him. A whirlwind audition process later, Lyla find herself whisked off to a tropical paradise with Nico, boating through the Indian Ocean towards Ever After Island, where the two of them will compete against four other couples--Bayer and Angel, Dan and Santana, Joel and Romi, and Conor and Zana--in order to win a cash prize.
But not long after they arrive on the deserted island, things start to go wrong. After the first challenge leaves everyone rattled and angry, an overnight storm takes matters from bad to worse. Cut off from the mainland by miles of ocean, deprived of their phones, and unable to contact the crew that brought them there, the group must band together for survival. As tensions run high and fresh water runs low, Lyla finds that this game show is all too real--and the stakes are life or death.
A fast-paced, spellbinding thriller rife with intrigue and characters that feel so true to life, this novel proves yet again that Ruth Ware is the queen of psychological suspense.
I Hope This Finds You Well
by Natalie Sue
As far as Jolene is concerned, her interactions with her colleagues should start and end with her official duties as an admin for Supershops, Inc. Unfortunately, her irritating, incompetent coworkers don't seem to understand the importance of boundaries. Her secret to survival? She vents her grievances in petty email postscripts, then changes the text color to white so no one can see. That is until one of her secret messages is exposed. Her punishment: sensitivity training (led by the suspiciously friendly HR guy, Cliff) and rigorous email restrictions.
When an IT mix-up grants her access to her entire department's private emails and DMs, Jolene knows she should report it, but who could resist reading what their coworkers are really saying? And when she discovers layoffs are coming, she realizes this might just be the key to saving her job. The plan is simple: gain her boss's favor, convince HR she's Supershops material, and beat out the competition.
But as Jolene is drawn further into her coworker's private worlds and realizes they are each keeping secrets, her carefully constructed walls begin to crumble--especially around Cliff, who she definitely cannot have feelings for. Eventually she will need to decide if she's ready to leave the comfort of her cubicle, even if that means coming clean to her colleagues.
Summers at the Saint
by Mary Kay Andrews
Welcome to the St. Cecelia, a landmark hotel on the coast of Georgia, where traditions run deep and scandals run even deeper. . . .
Everyone refers to the St. Cecelia as "the Saint." If you grew up coming here, you were "a Saint." If you came from the wrong side of the river, you were "an Ain't." Traci Eddings was one of those outsiders whose family wasn't rich enough or connected enough to vacation here. But she could work here. One fateful summer she did, and married the boss's son. Now, she's the widowed owner of the hotel, determined to see it return to its glory days, even as staff shortages and financial troubles threaten to ruin it. Plus, her greedy and unscrupulous brother-in-law wants to make sure she fails. Enlisting a motley crew of recently hired summer help--including the daughter of her estranged best friend--Traci has one summer season to turn it around. But new information about a long-ago drowning at the hotel threatens to come to light, and the tragic death of one of their own brings Traci to the brink of despair.
April RECOMMENDATIONS
Young Rich Widows
by Vanessa Lillie - Layne Fargo - Cate Holahan - Kimberly Belle
A private jet carrying four partners of a Providence law firm crashes outside New York City, killing all aboard but leaving behind more questions than answers and setting the stage for four widows to find the truth.
While the crash is initially ruled a tragic accident, something's not adding up: the team wasn't supposed to be in New York that day, and it's soon revealed there was a very large sum of cash that burned up with the plane.
The scene is as wild as '80s neon, and the manic chase to uncover the Mafia-laced secrets gives this rip-roaring read a rad vibe that will linger long after the '80s soundtrack fades and the hairspray falls.
Welcome Home, Caroline Kline
by Courtney Preiss
In New York City, newly single Caroline is stumbling her way through the recent implosion of her life. After a surprise breakup leaves her with no job, no apartment, and no backup plan, she's unsure of what to do next. That is, until Caroline's father, Leo, injures himself in a bad fall and asks her to move home to the Jersey Shore suburb she'd always been desperate to escape. But Leo doesn't want his daughter to be his caretaker; he needs her to replace him as third baseman in his local men's softball league. This isn't just any season, Leo claims. This is the year they have a real shot at the World Series, the pride and joy of Glen Brook, New Jersey.
Caroline agrees to move home, concerned that Leo is hiding a more serious health condition than he's willing to admit. As the first female player in a league full of old-school men, she's up against more than a few challenges. And when a night gone wrong lands her in the path of her hometown crush--and first love--Caroline struggles to reconcile the life she thought she'd have with the life she might actually want.
Sharply observed and full of humor and heart, Welcome Home, Caroline Kline is a touching tribute to the many unconventional paths that victory, and recovery, can take.
Daughter of Mine
by Megan Miranda
When Hazel Sharp, daughter of Mirror Lake's longtime local detective, unexpectedly inherits her childhood home, she's warily drawn back to the town--and people--she left behind almost a decade earlier. But Hazel's not the only relic of the past to return: a drought has descended on the region, and as the water level in the lake drops, long-hidden secrets begin to emerge...including evidence that may help finally explain the mystery of her mother's disappearance.
Funny Story
by Emily Henry
A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.
Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it...right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.
Which is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children's librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra's ex, Miles Nowak.
The Saddest Girl on the Beach
by Heather Frese
The family welcomes Charlotte with chowder dinners and a cozy room, but her friend Evie has a looming life change of her own, and soon Charlotte seeks other attractions to navigate her grief. Will she, like in some television movie, find her way back through a romance, or are there larger forces at play on Hatteras Island? Heather Frese, winner of the Lee Smith Novel Prize and author of The Baddest Girl on the Planet, sets Charlotte on a beautifully rendered course through human frailty, unrelenting science, and the awesome forces of the Carolina coast.