In this heartfelt novel, Emma Straub tells the story of the Post family's escape from their high-stress lives in Manhattan to the beautiful island of Mallorca to celebrate a wedding anniversary and a high school graduation with family members and close friends.
As it turns out, paradise is anything but perfect: over the course of their two week vacation, the Posts must face a variety of issues, from old secrets and unwanted guests to childhood rivalries and ancient wounds.
Straub paints a beautiful portrait of a family dealing with change and life's ups and downs while at the same time strengthening their bonds and discovering the truth about love and life.
We all fantasize about escaping our daily lives and moving to a tropical island but most of us never actually do it.
Author Ann Vanderhoof and her husband Steve decide to quit their jobs, live on a boat and sail to the Caribbean on a two-year voyage filled with adventure and discovery.
During their trip, they visit various beaches and cultures as they drop anchor on 47 different islands and discover a series of fun recipes that they share in the book, from Dominican papaya salsa to West Indian rum punch. This book is definitely as tasty as it sounds!
In this riveting novel, Ellen Sussman tells the story of Jamie, an American adventure guide sent on assignment to the exotic island of Bali.
But her vacation to paradise turns deadly when Jamie gets caught in the midst of Bali's nightclub bombings. She returns a year later to find Gabe, the man who saved her life.
During the course of her search, Jamie must face a series of challenges—from making sense of her life in the wake of tragedy to opening her heart.
What do three best friends do when faced with personal tragedies? Escape to the beach for the summer to relive their younger days, of course!
Meg Donohue's engaging novel focuses on Kate, Vanessa and Dani, who retreat to the New Jersey beach town where they spent their summers growing up and must learn to face the secrets from their past.
This is a tale about change, personal growth and the powerful bonds of female friendship.
Author Don Wallace shares the heartwarming story about his family's 30-year journey to restore a ruined cottage on the tiny French island of Belle Île off the coast of Brittany.
Shortly after moving to Manhattan with his wife Mindy to work on their writing careers, Don learns of a home in Kerbordardoue—the charming village where they fell in love years ago. Their romantic adventure turns into a financial ruin as they struggle to renovate the house and are constantly faced with the ongoing pressure to sell it.
This touching novel has a diary-like feel to it, including personal photos of the Wallace family's time spent on Belle Île. Meryl Streep calls the book "soulful" and "funny", and readers are privy to the charming true story of a family's journey to create the perfect home away from home.
Author Jaimal Yogis is more than your average surfer. Sick of the suburban life, he left a note on his pillow and took a one-way flight to Maui with only a copy of Herman Hesse's Siddhartha and a pocketful of cash to buy a surfboard.
In his fascinating memoir, Jaimal's journey takes him from Hawaii and New York to Northern California, where he visits communes, monasteries and other places while spending time in the element where he feels most comfortable: the ocean.
This is a novel about running away in order to find your true home and the discoveries that are made along the way.
Our summer reading list wouldn't be complete without a story about being stranded on an island, of course!
Printz Award-winning author Libba Bray paints a hilarious picture of fifty Miss Teen Dream pageant contestants who are stranded on a desert island when their plane crashes, leaving them with little food, little water, and hardly any eyeliner (can we say nightmare?)
At first the beauty queens are forced to fend for themselves as they struggle to survive, but then sexy pirates show up...and everything changes.
Can't get enough of Rich Kids of Instagram? We didn't think so.
In addition to the wildly popular blog that depicts the extravagant lives of the richest kids in the world, now there's Rich Kids of Instagram: A Novel. Centered around a group of spoiled young rich people and described as Gossip Girl meets Cruel Intentions, the reader gets access to the super-exclusive world of the uber-rich, laced with scandal and excess.
Written by the creator of Rich Kids of Instagram along with award-winning author Maya Sloan (who crashed parties in the Hamptons as part of her research for the book), this juicy read is filled with sex, drugs and intrigue—and is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.
If you're on the market for a Miami murder mystery infused with a tropical edge, look no further.
New York Times best-selling author Tim Dorsey's novel focuses on the antics of Florida serial killer Serge Storms, who has now become a secret agent in Miami and has been hired to spy for the president of a banana republic—and now Homeland Security wants to take him down.
Accompanied by his ever-stoned sidekick Coleman, Serge's character captivates readers in the hilarious crime comedy that is very "Sherlock goes to South Beach" with a mini umbrella on top.
While this book isn't set at the beach or on a tropical island, it takes place somewhere equally fascinating: France. And given our obsession with Versailles and anything Marie Antoinette-related, this book lets viewers have their cake and eat it too!
Acclaimed author Katie Alender tells the tale of Colette Iselin, who goes to Paris for a class trip to study the art and culture, as well as to delve into her own French roots. While there, a series of gruesome murders occur throughout the city, and then Colette sees what she thinks is the ghost of the late French queen.
With the help of a handsome French boy, Colette begins to unravel a dark secret that will forever alter her view of history. And things take a turn for the worse when she finds that her own life is suddenly in danger...
Warning: you might not want to go in the water after, so save this book for when you're lounging poolside.
Michael Northrop's thrilling story is about 13-year-old Davey Tsering, who sneaks off to the beach on a family vacation while his parents are still asleep.
Eventually he decides go into the ocean despite the "No Swimming" sign because he simply can't resist the sparkling water. But as the afternoon goes by, Davey finds himself drifting out further and further to sea, until eventually he is surrounded by nothing but water.
Oh, and Davey isn't alone. There's something circling beneath the surface of the water...
Romance is one of summer's guilty pleasures and Maggie Stiefvater delivers in this paranormal young adult fantasy novel, which serves as the companion book to #1 New York Times bestselling Shiver trilogy.
Cole St. Clair is a musician (and a werewolf) who has returned to Los Angeles to revive his career by participating in a reality show about the making of his new album. Faced with relapsing into his familiar world of drugs, debauchery and self-destruction, Cole struggles with his inner demons, along with his tortured love for Isabel—one of the few people who knows his dark secret.
The novel portrays the strained relationship between two damaged people who are trying to make sense of their emotions and feelings for one another. Love is messy, but it's love, nonetheless.