Summer is almost upon us and that means summer vacation – yay! Technically I still have to work, no more true summer breaks for me now that college is over, but it still feels like a time for those great vacation reads. It’s like listening to country music in the summer, it just feels right.
For me, a great vacation book has to meet three criteria:
- It has to be easy to travel with; no one wants to carry around a doorstop in their beach bag. Since I refuse to take part in any kind of digital books situation (i.e. Kindles), this means “smaller” books.
- Can’t be anything with a story that’s too heavy. I want lighthearted stories that are easy to get through.
- Can’t be a series. I don’t want to feel like I’m committing my whole summer to reading one series. (This is the rule most often broken but it’s my general rule of thumb)
So without further ado, here are 6 books perfectly suited to be your vacation companions.
1. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I got this book through Book of the Month Club; it’s easily the best one I’ve gotten with them as my monthly selection and the best standalone book I read last year. This book is the essence of old Hollywood glamour and is a story that will mesmerize you from start to finish. It’s riveting, heart-wrenching, beautiful, and wildly addictive – you will not want to put this down once you pick it up so make sure to clear your calendar! If I could only recommend one summer read, it would be this one.
2. A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro
If you’re a Sherlock Holmes enthusiast, you’ll love this clever story about the teenage crime-solving duo of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson’s descendants. I think it falls in the young adult category but don’t let that deter you! It’s a fun, quick read that will keep you on your toes and wondering what will happen next. (Technically this is the first in a series but I didn’t care much for the second installment, so it still counts, right?)
3. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Another mystery recommendation for the mystery lovers out there. A similar story to the movie Clue, a group of strangers are lured to an isolated island by a mystery host and when they start being killed off one by one, the group tries to discover who among them is the killer. It’s a quick read and a fascinating story with an ending I didn’t expect!
4. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
If you’ve seen the movie and like it, you’ll love the book. If you’ve seen the movie and didn’t like it, you’ll probably still like the book a lot (because obviously the book is better than the movie). If you’ve never heard of this book turned movie, it’s the story of an ordinary girl living an ordinary life who takes a job caring for moody, recently wheelchair bound Will Traynor. It’s a love story that’ll make you laugh, break your heart, and want to read it over and over again.
5. The Masters of Time books by Brenda Joyce
(Dark Seduction, Dark Rival, Dark Embrace)
For all my romance novel lovers: these are the books for you! Technically this is a romance series but I didn’t know that when I first found them, so I read them out of order and it didn’t really make a difference. The stories go between present day New York and 15th century Scotland to tell paranormal romance stories with sexy medieval warriors. Just look at the covers if you need convincing. The best part is that the writing and storyline are actually good. Sometimes with romance trash (I use the word lovingly) you get terrible writing and random sex scenes, but these are good all around. The sex parts are good too.
6. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
This one actually is the first in a series (the Sookie Stackhouse Series) but they’re all short, quick, fun reads and easy to randomly pick up so you don’t have to feel pressure to read them all in succession if you don’t want to. The heroine of the series, Sookie Stackhouse, is a telepathic barmaid who gets involved with vampires (and other supernatural creatures throughout the series). The books are a great blend of action, romance, sassy southern characters and are fun books to read by the pool. There’s also some vampire sex thrown in there which always make a summer book fun. (If you’ve seen the show, the books are very different so don’t judge the books by the show – the books are much better.)
I’m torn between starting my summer off with The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (because it’s just my all-time favorite summer book) or starting the Sookie Stackhouse series again because they’re such quick reads with fun plots and vampire romance…
Which would you add to your summer book pile?
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