A beach read is in the eye of the beholder—it depends on what you want to read and what frame of mind you want to be in as you relax in the sun, shade or a/c. A beach read is often considered a “vacation for the brain”—however, if a thousand-page historical nonfiction tome is your brain vacation then that counts, too. Famously, Lin Manuell Miranda’s vacation beach read was Hamilton by Ron Chernow. But generally speaking, a beach read is a page-turning escape read, usually: breezy, fun rom coms, intense, sexy thrillers, NSFW romances, intricate mysteries, heartwarming dramas and intergenerational family sagas—often set in stereotypically summery locales, but not always. 

Here’s a list of some of my favorite new “beach read” books out just in time for your summer vacation/staycation. All of these books are currently available as e-books and/or audiobooks via our SimplyE app and Overdrive.

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

Luc is the gay son of two 80’s British rockers who occasionally ends up in the tabloids for his messy behavior. When a photo of him face down in the street ends up on the front page, he must find a fake relationship to salvage his reputation and save his London-based job working in charity fundraising. Enter Oliver, a gorgeous, uptight barrister who is a friend of a friend and who has his own reasons for needing a fake boyfriend. This is the romance read of the summer! It's funny and charming and makes you feel like a human version of a heart-eye emoji. 

 

Beach Read By Emily Henry

January Andrews is a best selling romance author with writer’s block who’s in the middle of an emotional crisis and has a deadline looming. She retreats to her father’s beach house on Lake Michigan only to discover that her neighbor is none other than Gus Everett, her former college crush and creative writing class nemesis and himself a best selling, literary author—who’s having his own issues. One hazy evening, they decide to trade projects to get out of their writing ruts. January will write a serious novel and Gus has to inject happy romance into his. A classic rom com premise becomes something deeper and more emotionally resonant. A really wonderful, chocolate box of a book.

 

Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner

Six years after a fight ruined their friendship, the beautiful and glamorous Drue Cavanaugh comes back into Daphne Berg’s life. Daphne’s life has not been easy but she’s slowly but surely built a life she loves and begun a career as a plus-size influencer on Instagram. Drue breezes into her life with a plea to be her maid-of-honor at her big society summer wedding at a seaside mansion in Cape Cod. It’s an invitation that’s hard for Daphne to resist, setting up a collision course of friendship, betrayal, jealousy and forgiveness.  A roller coaster of a novel full of unexpected twists and turns.

 

 

Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan

An homage to E. M. Forster’s Room With a View, the wealthy, half Asian/half white Lucy Churchill meets the bohemian George Zao while travelling in Italy and she absolutely has no plans to fall for him. Not when he offers her his hotel room with the spectacular view and definitely not when he kisses her in the shadows of an ancient Roman villa. But years later, they run into each other again in the Hamptons and Lucy starts spinning lies to her friends, family, fiance and herself to try and deny that George has burrowed his way into her heart. Crazy Rich Asians author, Kevin Kwan delivers another modern love story and comedy of manners full of summer playgrounds, extravagant fashions and delicious food. 

 

Dead to Her by Sarah Pinborough

Marcie Maddox started her new, wealthy Savannah, GA life as “the other woman” in her husband, Jason’s life. She works hard to live down the ignominy of their illicit affair and maintain a breezy existence of beauty treatments, parties, yachts and clubs all the while keeping Jason interested. But now she has competition. Jason’s boss has a hot, vivacious new wife that is usurping everyone’s attention—including Jason’s—and once Marcie sees the sparks the gloves are off! In the Savannah summer heat, revenge is a dish best served cold. A steamy, rollicking, entertaining thriller that just might have your jaw dropping to the floor.

 

 

Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory

Oliva Monroe has moved to L.A. to start her own law firm. Ambitious and focused on her career, she has absolutely no time for dating. But then she meets a gorgeous, funny man in a hotel bar and they spend the whole night talking and flirting. Much to her surprise he is none other than hotshot U.S. Senator Max Powell. No matter how much of a catch he is or that he woos her with chocolate cake, Olivia knows that dating a high profile, white politician will be complicated. Max is cute, funny, sweet—everything that Olivia could want but are they strong enough to survive the spotlight? Jasmine Guillory continues to expand the romantic universe she spawned with The Wedding Date with satisfying, swoony results!

 

All Adults Here by Emma Straub

Sixty-eight year old Astrid realizes that she might not have been the best parent she could’ve been as she sees each of her adult children struggling. Her youngest son is unfocused and making his own parenting mistakes. Her pregnant daughter is having difficulty accepting the realities of adult life and her eldest spends his energy on trying to live up to impossible standards. Does Astrid need to apologize? Does it matter? Maybe it's the wisdom of her 13 year old grandaughter that will lead the way. A beautifully written, multi generational story about all the things that follow us into adulthood whether we want them to or not. 

 

 

Death on Tuckernuck by Francine Mathews (Merry Folger mystery #6)

A category 3 hurricane is bearing down on Nantucket Island and a luxury yacht has run aground on a deserted barrier island off its coast. When the Coast Guard arrives they find two people onboard who’ve been shot, bringing in Nantucket Police Detective Meredith Folger—three days before her wedding. As a storm batters the island and her house fills up with guests, Merry must unravel a tangle of fake identities, missing guns and a cargo of heroin that’s left one person dead and another in a coma. A page-turning mystery with a terrific sense of place and character that allows a reader to seamlessly jump right into the series. 

 

 

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

On an island off the coast of Ireland, a spectacular wedding has been meticulously planned. The groom is a handsome, rising TV star, the bride a smart and ambitious magazine publisher. They’ve created an event straight out of a bridal magazine spread. From designer wedding fashions, luxe party favors, boutique whiskey and the remote location—nothing has been left to chance— except maybe the spotty cell service and rough seas. As the exclusive guests arrive and the champagne is popped, the wedding definitely stops going according to plan and then a body turns up. As in her first book, The Hunting Party, Foley pays homage to Agatha Christie and classic mystery tropes in the best, most entertaining ways!

 

Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner

Set during and right after the Second World War in the English village of Chawton a.k.a. the last home of beloved British author, Jane Austen. With the author’s legacy in jeopardy, a group of disparate villagers including a distant, reclusive relative, a farm laborer, a maid, a local doctor, a school teacher and an American movie star come together to preserve her home and letters. A fictional story that seems very real, it's a sweet and heartwarming multi-narrative tale about the power of books and (most especially) the power of Jane Austen to transform lives. As a bonus the audiobook is read by British actor Richard Armitage (from my favorite BBC mini series North & South).  

 

28 Summers by Elin Hildebrand

Mallory Blessing gives her son a deathbed instruction to call the number on a slip of paper found in her bedside table. Not knowing what to expect, he calls only to find Jake McCloud, husband to Usrusla DeGournsey, frontrunner in the Presidential election, on the other end. Flashback to 1993, when Mallory meets Jake on Nantucket at a party she’s hosting and an undeniable bond is formed that takes them through marriage, children and the meteoric political rise of Jake’s wife. Based on the classic film, Same Time Next Year, this one-weekend-a-year-love-affair is as complicated as they come and just as good an escape read as you’d want!

 

Friends and Strangers by J. Courtney Sullivan

Elisabeth, an accomplished writer and new mother is struggling to adapt to her new life in a small town. After twenty years of living in NYC and focusing on her career, she’s suddenly adrift. Neglecting work and alone most of the time, she’s been reduced to stalking friends and family on social media. She hires Sam, a senior at a local college to babysit, so she has more time to write. Sam has her own struggles from debt, what career path to take and her messy romantic entanglements. As their friendship grows, it’s Sam’s newest relationship that causes the most friction and reveals just how entwined and complicated their friendship has become. Compulsively readable, funny and insightful.

 

Wife Stalker by Liv Constantine

Piper Reynard has breezed into the wealthy town of Westport, CT with a purpose and it’s not just to start a business or join the local yacht club, she wants a man and a ring already on his finger is no impediment. She sets her sights on the handsome, successful  and very married Leo Drakos. Leo’s wife, Joanna, has been patiently waiting for her husband to get back into life after a severe depression and now that he has, she and their children are being thrown to the curb for the beautiful and New Agey Piper. Joanna may be devastated but she’s determined to find something, anything, to use against the woman who has stolen her life and her true love. Once again, this writing duo have written a thrilling, entertaining, sexy, twisty page turner perfect for summer.

 

Summer Darlings by Brooke Lea Foster

It’s 1962 and Heddy Winsome is heading to Martha’s Vineyard for a summer to be a nanny to a wealthy family. Having been raised in Brooklyn by a single mother struggling to pay each month’s rent, Heddy is striving for something more. Everything was looking bright but after losing her scholarship to Wellesley, her future is in jeopardy. She spends the summer falling for the island and the family, their way of life, their neighbors and friends and gets caught between two men, one a hip, carefree surfer and the other a studious, quiet college boy. No matter how wealthy or glamorous their lives are Heddy soon learns that privilege does not equal happiness. An entertaining, debut historical novel with a delicious sense of time and place.

 

Summer Longing by Jamie Breenner

Ruth Cooperman arrives in picturesque Provincetown, Mass, she’s newly retired and planning to spend a summer of blissful solitude in a waterfront cottage. That plan is abandoned the moment she finds a baby left on her doorstep. As she searches for help she gets pulled into the lives and drama of her neighbors and town locals who are all dealing with the emotions, memories and hope that the mystery baby brings up - including her own. As summer unfolds and and the infant is cared for, alliances are made, relationships are tested, and secrets are uncovered. Complex characters, great dialogue, a summery setting, romance and even a little mystery—a quintessential beach read!

 

 

Death in Focus by Anne Perry (Elena Standish #1)

In pre-WW2 Europe, Elena is a young British photographer working in Italy when she meets a handsome, mysterious man who invites her to travel with him to Paris. She accepts, only to have their trip disrupted by a shocking murder and detoured to Berlin. At the same time, unbeknownst to her, her grandfather, who was once head of British intelligence agency MI6, and her father, a diplomat, have become embroiled in their own strange machinations involving Germany and its new, outspoken leader, Adolf Hitler. Spies, family secrets, historical events and a strong, female heroine combine to create a tense suspense novel by a master of the genre. Book two, A Question of Betrayal, comes out Sept. 8th. 

 

Where Have all the Boys Gone? By Jenny Colgan

London based Katie, is tired of the city dating scene and it’s severe lack of eligible bachelors. When she hears that she’s more likely to get murdered than find a husband in London she heads for the Scottish Highlands. What the remote town of Fairlish lacks in city comforts, it makes up for in eligible men and rain. As Katie starts flirting and basking in the attention of all her new admirers, including gorgeous news reporter Iain,  she must also deal with her grumpy, unpleasant, shady (and not unattractive) new boss Harry. One of my all time favourite authors, Colgan, knows how to write cozy, fun  romances that put a smile on your face even long after you’ve finished them. Perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella and JoJo Moyes.

 

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Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!