Great book recommendations for our Beach Readers this Summer 2024
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.
This season comes with recommendations from heavy-hitting authors like Colleen Hoover and Ali Hazelwood. If they like the book, you're bound to agree! Don't miss out on fun poolside romantic comedies, beach themed thrillers, and more.
september new releases
Counting Miracles
by Nicholas Sparks
From the acclaimed author of The Longest Ride and The Notebook comes an emotional, powerful novel about wondering if we can change--or even make our peace with--the path we've taken.
Tanner Hughes was raised by his grandparents, following in his grandfather's military footsteps to become an Army Ranger. His whole life has been spent abroad, and he is the proverbial rolling stone: happiest when off on his next adventure, zero desire to settle down. But when his grandmother passes away, her last words to him are find where you belong. She also drops a bombshell, telling him the name of the father he never knew--and where to find him.
Tanner is due at his next posting soon, but his curiosity is piqued, and he sets out for Asheboro, North Carolina, to ask around. He's been in town less than twenty-four hours when he meets Kaitlyn Cooper, a doctor and single mom. They both feel an immediate connection; Tanner knows Kaitlyn has a story to tell, and he wants to hear it. To Kaitlyn, Tanner is mysterious, exciting--and possibly leaving in just a few weeks.
My Vampire Plus-One
by Jenna Levine
Nothing sucks more than fake dating a vampire in this paranormal romantic comedy from the USA Today bestselling author of My Roommate Is a Vampire.
Amelia Collins is by definition successful. She would even go so far as to say successfully single. But not according to her family, and she's tired of the constant questions about her nonexistent dating life. When an invitation to yet another family wedding arrives, she decides to get everyone off her back once and for all by finding someone--anyone--to pose as her date.
On the Hunt
by Iris Johansen
#1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen introduces a bold new heroine--and her search-and-rescue dog--as Kira Drake begins an international search for an elusive killer.
Kira Drake has come to Paris with her highly trained Golden Retriever, Mack, to investigate the horrific bombing of a museum in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. What she doesn't know is that one powerful man has a special reason to find the person responsible.
Jack Harlan has all the money in the world, but it can't bring his brother back. His sibling was murdered during the theft of a scientific discovery that could have made the world a better place. Now, after a four-year search, Harlan learns that this bombing was the work of the same twisted man.
What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust: A Flavia de Luce Novel
by Alan Bradley
Amateur sleuth Flavia de Luce, along with her pestilent younger cousin, investigates the murder of a former public hangman and uncovers a secret that brings the greatest shock of her life.
"I love the Flavia de Luce novels! Flavia is the best female detective I've ever read, full of realism, self-confidence, and emotion (in roughly equal parts), and her tales are hilarious, engaging, and occasionally heartbreaking."--Diana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Outlander series
Flavia de Luce has taken on the mentorship of her odious moon-faced cousin Undine, who has come to live at Buckshaw following the death of her mother. Undine's main talent, aside from cultivating disgusting habits, seems to be raising Flavia's hackles, although in her best moments she shows potential for trespassing, trickery, and other assorted mayhem.
When Major Greyleigh, a local recluse and former hangman, is found dead after a breakfast of poisonous mushrooms, suspicion falls on the de Luce family's longtime cook, Mrs. Mullet. After all, wasn't it she who'd picked the mushrooms, cooked the omelet, and served it to Greyleigh moments before his death? "I have to admit," says Flavia, an expert in the chemical nature of poisons, “that I'd been praying to God for a jolly good old-fashioned mushroom poisoning. Not that I wanted anyone to die, but why give a girl a gift such as mine without giving her the opportunity to use it?”
AUGUST NEW RELEASES
The Stranger at the Wedding
by A E Gauntlett
Before love at first sight, there were things no one saw.
Annie never much believed in love. That is, until meeting Mark. After crossing paths on morning commutes, they connect at a group counseling session for trauma survivors. Each recognizes something in the other, though both hide their own troubled pasts.
It's a whirlwind romance that propels Annie through their courtship, all the way to her wedding day--a day she couldn't have predicted for herself once upon a time yet now feels surer about than anything in her life.
But as Annie stands at the altar, casting her eyes over the rows of well-wishers, she spots a stranger in the crowd, and she soon learns that her new life isn't going to be the happily ever after that she had planned. Who is the stranger at the wedding?
Rip Tide
by Colleen McKeegan
From the author of The Wild One, a heartfelt and suspenseful novel about two sisters returning to their childhood beachfront home who are forced to confront their traumatic past when a body washes ashore.
It's been fifteen years since Kimmy Devine promised herself she'd never move back to Rocky Cape, the idyllic South Jersey beach town where she grew up. She doesn't want to relive the crushing heartbreak and scandal that ravaged her world as a teen. Her younger sister Erin shares those feelings, the wounds she caused so many years ago forever binding her and Kimmy.
Joy
by Danielle Steel
In this deeply moving novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel, a determined young woman must survive a series of abandonments to find a love that is worthy of her.
When she is only six years old, Allegra Dixon's party-loving mother leaves without so much as a goodbye. Her father, an emotionally distant military officer, is also unable--or unwilling--to care for her. Sent to live like a ghost in her grandparents' joyless home, Allegra finds her only solace through an escape into books.
Attending boarding school, life finally takes a turn when she meets a dashing young West Point cadet named Shep Williams. Soon their friendship blossoms into something more, and they fall deeply in love.
Dark Restraint
by Katee Robert
He was my savior. My monster. My obsession. My destruction.
*A scorchingly hot modern retelling of Ariadne and her Minotaur.*
Ariadne Vitalis is in trouble. She's betrayed her father--and his dangerous benefactor--and now she's left to rely on Olympus' questionable mercy. But in this city, mercy comes with a price. For Ariadne, that means a sham marriage to Dionysus. She has no choice but to agree, even if there's only one man she's ever wanted--a man she fears just as much as she desires.
The Minotaur never had any illusions about Minos's plans. He was willing to get his hands dirty as long as the old man kept his word--at the end of their bloody work, the Minotaur would be given Ariadne as a reward. She's meant for him, and he intends to have her, no matter the cost.
Like Mother, Like Daughter
by Kimberly McCreight
From the New York Times best-selling author of Reconstructing Amelia: A daughter races to uncover her mother's secret life in the wake of her disappearance in this "breathless, shocking thriller." --Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times best-selling author
"I think you'll be into it. I love a summer mystery." --Jenna Bush Hager, the TODAY Show
When Cleo, a student at NYU, arrives late for dinner at her childhood home in Brooklyn, she finds food burning in the oven and no sign of her mother, Kat. Then Cleo discovers her mom's bloody shoe under the sofa. Something terrible has happened.
But what? The polar opposite of Cleo, whose "out of control" emotions and "unsafe" behavior have created a seemingly unbridgeable rift between mother and daughter, Kat is the essence of Park Slope perfection: a happily married, successful corporate lawyer. Or so Cleo thinks.
By Any Other Name
by Jodi Picoult
From the New York Times bestselling co-author of Mad Honey comes an "inspiring" (Elle) novel about two women, centuries apart--one of whom is the real author of Shakespeare's plays--who are both forced to hide behind another name.
"You'll fall in love with Emilia Bassano, the unforgettable heroine based on a real woman that Picoult brings vividly to life in her brilliantly researched new novel."--Kristin Hannah, author of The Women
Young playwright Melina Green has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. But seeing it performed is unlikely, in a theater world where the playing field isn't level for women. As Melina wonders if she dares risk failure again, her best friend takes the decision out of her hands and submits the play to a festival under a male pseudonym.
July New Releases
Love of My Afterlife
by Kirsty Greenwood
"This book has it all. Humor, heart, and a heroine I was desperately rooting for. Kirsty Greenwood has a new fan!"
--Colleen Hoover, New York Times bestselling author
If she wasn't dead already, Delphie would be dying of embarrassment. Not only did she just die by choking on a microwaveable burger, but now she's standing in her 'shine like a star' nightie in front of the hottest man she's ever seen. And he's smiling at her.
All the Colors of the Dark
by Chris Whitaker
READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY
1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Muhammad Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the smalltown of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing.
When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges--Patch, a local boy, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake.
Not Another Love Song
by Julie Soto
Ali Hazelwood promises "the cello scene in this book will change your life" in this Reylo-inspired grumpy-sunshine romance full of sharp banter, deep emotion, and irresistible humor.
When professional--and self-taught--violinist Gwen Jackson plays, she disappears into the peaks and valleys of each song, a quiet passion that never quite explodes into pure emotion. Xander Thorne is the exact opposite. A cellist and a rock star, he's all about big emotion, but not even his six-foot-four frame can contain his skill, his genius . . . and an attitude that borders on jerkitude.
Desperation Reef
by T Jefferson Parker
In this high-stakes thriller by three-time Edgar Award winner and New York Times bestselling author T. Jefferson Parker, ("A marvel...hits the high-water mark for crime fiction every time out." --Gregg Hurwitz), a big wave surfer and her sons compete in the same contest that killed her husband many years before.
Jen Stonebreaker hasn't entered into a big-wave surfing competition since witnessing her husband's tragic death twenty-five years ago at the Monsters of the Mavericks. Now, Jen is ready to tackle those same Monsters with her twin sons Casey and Brock, who have become competitive surfers in a perilous sport.
Lost Story
by Meg Shaffer
Inspired by C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, this wild and wondrous novel is a fairy tale for grown-ups who still knock on the back of wardrobes--just in case--from the author of The Wishing Game.
As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they'd gone or how they'd survived.
Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons' investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.
Just One Taste
by Lizzy Dent
"I love, love, love Lizzy Dent."--Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Olive Stone is about to spend four weeks in Italy with the most beautiful man she's ever hated.
When Olive Stone and her Italian pseudo-celebrity chef father fell out fourteen years ago, annoyingly handsome Leo Ricci slipped right in as his surrogate son and sous-chef. No one is more surprised than Olive when her father wills her his beloved (and now failing) restaurant. Or that his dying wish was for Olive and Leo to complete his cookbook...together.
She's determined to sell the restaurant. Leo is determined to convince her not to. As they embark on four weeks in Italy, traveling from Sicily to Tuscany to Liguria, they'll test each other as often as they test recipes. But the more time Olive and Leo spend together, the more undeniable their attraction grows. Olive finds herself wondering whether selling the restaurant might be running away, and what it might be like to try Just One Taste of Leo Ricci. Because he isn't who she expected, and this trip might reveal more about who Olive is than she's ready for.