My Favorite Summer Reads
With summer upon us, I thought I would share a few of my all-time favorite summer reads. I love to dive into a great book during the summer, and lately I have even enjoyed audiobooks at the beach. I can watch the kids play in the water AND still get my book time in (win-win for all of us).
Let me know what some of yours are too, and if you are in Goodreads lets be friends! I love following along and seeing what others say about a book before I pick it up as well.
Book Recommendations:
Spare, by Prince Harry
First things first, I LOVE all things Royal so it was on my list to read. However, this was such a great one to me. It was about SO.MUCH.MORE. than Harry just being royal. He really digs deep into who “he is”. The headlines/media outlets tell the story of his life so different than he is living it, and I found that to be endearing in this book. I am not choosing a team when it comes to the royal family, but I enjoy learning all the inside scoop, and this certainly shares that side of it all too.
Do the audio version, you won’t be disappointed. So good. Overall score: A. Download on Audible.
Every Summer After, by Carley Fortune
Oh, I adored this sweet, nostalgic book. I was hooked from the start. It was a great summer read about young love, summer memories and how important the choices we make are. Honestly, these types of books are fun for me because I can read them quick, and they captivate my attention. I adored Percy and Sam, and I truly felt like I knew them, and often times I wanted to say things for them. I loved how the book went back and forth between now and then so you could really understand the depths of what happened. Great book. Overall score: A. Purchase on Amazon.
The Royals Next Door, by Karina Halle
Such a fun book, this was not related to an actual story on the royal family but a story similar to someone at that level moving into your town. Piper is a teacher and podcaster who is fun and lives at home and cares for her mom because she struggles with a mental illness. Harrison is the body guard who moves down with the royal couple next door to Piper. This story is sweet and a little spicy thanks to Harrison and Pipers crush on one another. I enjoyed this lighthearted read and found myself smiling the entire time. Every time I put it down, I couldn’t wait to pick it back up to continue. Overall score: A-. Purchase on Amazon.
Love and Other Words, by Christina Lauren
I am noticing a trend here as I write this review, it is a reading trend of books I enjoy! I love a lighthearted, sweet, romantic novel. This hits that target and is beautifully written. From childhood friends to lovers, to sudden strangers, and then a possible second chance for Macy and Elliott. I was intrigued and on the edge of my seat during this entire novel. I enjoyed the mystery of wondering what happened to them, and then the back and forth of timelines in the way the story is told in then and now. Christina Lauren writes a great book and this is definitely one you want on your list. Overall score: A. Purchase on Amazon.
5. The Book of Lost Names, by Kristin Harmel
This is my absolute favorite book I have ever read, hands down! I couldn’t do a list of my recommendations without passing this book by. It is truly a beautiful novel on sacrifice, love, dedication, World War 2 historical fiction. I couldn’t put it down. It was to the point that I was ignoring my friends phone calls because I wanted to get a few more pages in! Eva is a Jewish girl, who the book is centered around during the war. She helped Jewish kids escape from France to save their lives. It is compelling and full of creative ways people helped and loved one another through something so hard and tragic. This is a book you definitely want to add to your list. It is a bit heavier than some of the others but beautiful indeed. Overall score: A+. Purchase on Amazon.
People We Meet on Vacation, by Emily Henry.
This is a WIN for an easy summer beach read! Fun, cute, lighthearted and just what you want to pick up for those easy summer days. Poppy and Alex are great characters that you ultimately want to invite over to dinner and get to know better. Poppy is a wild spirit and Alex is all put together, and their vacations together are the best until just two years ago when they ended abruptly. They decide to take one more trip together, can it all work out? Overall score: B+. Purchase on Amazon.
The Idea of You, by Robinne Lee.
What A READ! This was not what I expected when I started reading this book, but I couldn’t get enough!!!! I wanted to fully find August Moon and Solene in the real world and sit down for a long talk. It was SO good, and I was on my toes the whole time. It sort of felt wrong, but OH SO RIGHT for all good things to happen to Solene! She is a newly divorced, single mom who wants to win her daughter over and is convinced to take her to see her favorite boy band in concert. Insert August Moon (who I am convinced was a total vibe of Harry Styles) and this leads to a journey you don’t expect. Self-love, journey to happiness, intrigue, passion and figuring out what she cares most about. This is a page turner and you don’t want to miss it. Very sexy and I hope there is another book (hint hint Robinne Lee). Overall score: A. Purchase on Amazon.
Love & Gelato, by Jenna Evans Welch.
I am so excited to learn as I do my reviews that this book has been made for a movie on NETFLIX . This was a sweet story about a girl named Lina, who goes to Italy because her mother’s dying wish was that she meet her father. She arrives and is homesick until she is given a journal of her mother’s time in Italy and she is sent on a great journey of understanding (and even some love & gelato). Overall score: A-. Purchase on Amazon.
ENJOY!