35 Can’t-Put-Down Beach Reads to Add to Your Summer TBR List

Dolly Brick is a problem solver. Her mom may have left her when she was a kid, but that hasn’t stopped her from being there for her son and her father and brother. Now, they need Dolly more than ever so they don’t lose their family home in Whitfield, Rhode Island. Then, Stewart Whitfield enters the picture: annoyingly perfect and in need of her help. But when their arrangement turns dangerously real, Dolly will have to decide if she’s ready to rely on someone other than herself.

Phoebe has everything she could want: a great group of friends and a job she loves. There’s just one thing in her life she can’t seem to figure out—dating. Anxiety about intimacy and dating has plagued her since she was a teen, but now, as an almost 30-year-old virgin, she’s determined to finally just lose it. She creates a dating bucket list, and suddenly, she’s juggling three romantic prospects at once. But can she set aside her fears and open herself up to the future?

If you haven’t read this bestselling romance yet, now’s the time. The Amazon original series, titled Every Year After, premieres on June 10! Centering on the lifelong romance between Persephone Fraser and Sam Florek—childhood best friends who spent every summer together in Barry’s Bay. The book tackles themes of grief, forgiveness, and facing your past head-on.

Escape to Ibiza in this sparkling summertime romance, where one woman is determined to finish her late sister’s bucket list. She soon finds work at a local nightclub and starts checking off all the boxes: days spent on yachts and glittering parties. But when a growing connection with her new boss threatens to upend everything she’s there to do, she must decide if this summer fling can really last once her trip is over.

Wild child Piper is exactly what you’d expect from a wealthy Beverly Hills socialite—spoiled and a bit out-of-control. After landing herself a night in jail, she’s sent to small-town Washington to run her late father’s dive bar. Here, she meets a bearded sea captain named Brendan who underestimates her just as much as everyone else in town. Though the two couldn’t be more opposite, their attraction to one another couldn’t be more undeniable.

Sophie Drear needs a summer escape, so she heads off to Maine to a temporary job tending the grounds at the historical Lilymoor House. But when she finds a mysterious man trapped in the house’s gardens, her expectations for the summer change instantly.

Available for pre-order

Whether you have or haven’t watched the Off Campus series that this book is based on, Elle Kennedy’s The Deal is a great read. Trust me, the hype for these books is real. In the first book, The Deal, Hannah Wells and Garrett Graham strike up a deal to get what they want. Hannah tutors Garret, the obnoxious hockey captain, to make her crush jealous. Garret agrees to help Hannah if she helps him raise his GPA. Except, when a steamy kiss ends in the best sex of their lives, maybe the guy Hannah is really looking for is Garret after all.

JoJo Burton has had lifelong bad luck with relationships, but she’s determined that her sister’s cruise ship destination wedding will be the end of it all. She diagnoses herself with a fixation on the neighborhood guy who was her first crush and first kiss and—roping in her childhood bestie, Cooper Watts, for help—is determined to woo him. But things never go as planned, and soon, JoJo has to confront feelings she never saw coming.

It’s never too late to jump on the Emily Henry train, and People We Meet On Vacation really is the perfect weekend beach read! Plus, it has a Netflix film now—perfect for a watch party once you’re done. The story focuses on Alex and Poppy, travel buddies and best friends, as they grapple with the heartbreak and mistakes that have inevitably pushed them away from one another.

A small-town waitress and a Hollywood star’s worlds collide in this cozy rom-com that will have you smiling from page one. For a breezy beach read you need to finish quickly, this is a great pick. You won’t want to stop turning the page.

Had to include another Carley Fortune since this is her newest title everyone is talking about! Frankie and George are childhood best friends, but having grown apart in adulthood, Frankie isn’t even sure if George will show up for her wedding. Then, she’s even more unsure where they stand—when she’s left at the altar by her fiancé. Frankie’s life is a mess, but George swoops in nonetheless with an idea to heal her broken heart: go on her honeymoon. But surfing and exploring rainforests quickly turn into an emotional rollercoaster, one where long-buried feelings will finally be confronted.

In this fantasy romance, the former god of the Underworld turned grumpy funeral director Hayden Harlow must find a loophole in the Immortal Retirement Act. But when the florist next door swoops in—Levi Wilder, with a stupidly infectious smile and energy—all of Hayden’s carefully structured plans begin to unravel.

At 36, Finlay Hightower has attended countless weddings with his best friends. Their secret to surviving wedding chaos? The Hour of Disrespect—a pact to reserve judgment until one hour after the couple’s Big Day. But this time around, it’s one of their own getting married, so reserving opinions won’t be nearly as easy. Plus, Finlay has a huge secret, one that will come to a head as vows are spoken and drinks are passed around.

In this hilarious and heartwarming read, a pop-cultured obsessive uses her reality TV experience to investigate a disappearance on a cruise ship. All the while, she’s falling for a deckhand and struggling to confront the loss of a loved one. Soon, she’ll find that in order to understand what happened on the ship, she first needs to face what has happened to her.

If you read this one and have lots of thoughts, be sure to join The Everygirl’s June Book Club! This is their first summer pick.

When Daphne Fuller and her husband Jonathan visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a strange man starts to follow them. Soon, Daphne realizes he isn’t so strange after all—he’s her former step-dad, who she hasn’t spoken to for many years. Both have been driven away from one another by a life changing event, but as they finally connect, they’ll have to face the choices that led them to where they are.

For a heartwarming read that will make you laugh (and cry), Remarkably Bright Creatures is the perfect pick. Narrated by the giant Octopus at the aquarium where Tovah—the novel’s protagonist—works, the story tackles long-buried grief, regret, and the power of human connection, even when you feel like it came far too late.

Make sure to also check out the Netflix film adapatation!

When Caroline Lash arrives in Greenhead, Massachusetts, she falls head-over-heels for Van Whittaker, a golden born and raised in the small coastal village. She spends the summer running wild with him and his friends, until an unexpected positive pregnancy test leaves her alone, cast out of their circle for good. Weighed down with heartbreak, Caroline is forced to decide how to move forward on her own.

Available for pre-order

Hollis Shaw’s life seems picture perfect—the dream job, the perfect husband—but when a sudden car accident sends it all up in smoke, she’s forced to reevaluate. Desperate for a fresh start, Hollis decides to host a “Five-Star Weekend,” a getaway on Nantucket where a best friend from each stage of her life will join her. But old feelings and grudges are afoot, and the weekend turns out to be far from the Hallmark movie joyous occasion she was going for.

This book has a series adaptation releasing July 9, with a star-studded cast that includes Jennifer Garner. Yon’t want to miss it!

Phoebe Stone has always dreamed of staying at The Cornwall Inn in Newport, Rhode Island, with her husband, but now she’s here without him—alone and at rock bottom. When she walks into the lobby of the inn, fitted in a green dress and gold heels, she’s immediately mistaken for a guest of a grand wedding taking place that weekend. Soon, Phoebe (and the bride) will embark on a winding adventure neither saw coming.

Jazmine, Judith, Erin, and Sara have little in common. One is a top agent balancing her career and motherhood. Another is an empty-nester questioning her marriage and life choices. But when they meet for their weekly book club, everything else falls away. Together, they find the courage to pursue their own versions of happily-ever-after.

Violet Powell is about to be released from a 22-month prison sentence for a drunk-driving crash. Once she’s out, she visits a bookstore to get a copy of the book she was reading in her prison book club. There, she crosses paths with two others: Harriet Larson, the host of the prison book club, and Frank Daigle, a retired machinist coping with the loss of his wife—the woman who Violet killed in the car crash.

Through the intersection of these three individuals, Wood crafts a deeply human and touching novel about all the small decisions we make that determine our lives—and how to keep on living, even when things don’t go as planned. Most of all, this story serves as a reminder that books can change the world. What better title is there for a book club?

This warm and funny summer novel focuses on three sisters, their family beach house, and secrets threatening to come to the surface. The drama intensifies when the three sisters realize their father intends to sell their cherished beach home. As they navigate packing up the house and facing their pasts, they’ll come to realize that ‘home’ may not be a place, but actually each other.

Many of us know her as the beloved Lorelai Gilmore, and, as it turns out, Lauren Graham has quite the sense of humor, too! In her book of essays, she shares her life stories that are filled with hilarious anecdotes and plenty of sage advice that we can all take with us.

Comedian Taylor Wolfe (AKA @thedailytay on social) takes her readers on a journey that is all too familiar: the classic ups and downs of motherhood, and what it takes to carry ourselves through even the busiest (and most turbulent) seasons of our lives.

A peek behind the curtain of the remarkable creator of Girls and the bestselling author of Not That Kind of Girl, Lena Dunham, immerses her readers in a journey that questions the cost of creative ambition.

Fire Island is exactly what you’d expect from an upscale summer tourist town. There’s social politics and drama around every corner, but never anything malicious—until now. When a body shows up dead on the boardwalk, we quickly learn that everyone has something to hide.

Freida McFadden’s mysteries are the kind of books that will keep you turning the page—so fast you won’t even realize you’ve already finished. Debbie Mullen may be an advice columnist, but her own life is spiraling out of control. Her husband is keeping secrets, her teenage daughters are hiding things, and Debbie has had enough. Now, she’ll finally take her own advice and get her life back on track.

Hamilton, Massachusetts is the kind of town where everything is perfect—million dollar homes, great schools. But for Anna Plummer, the rich-stay-at-home-wife lifestyle is growing more boring by the minute. When her son is barred from attending a school dance because she didn’t pay the “Premium” fee, she finally snaps, sending a scathing email to the head of PTO. One year later, she’s found dead in a frozen river. Left to pick up the pieces, her husband Denny sets out to find justice—and uncover Hamilton’s secrets along the way.

This one is delightfully romantic and thrilling—perfect for a book club just getting into the mystery genre. Jamie Prescott attends a speed dating event hoping to find love, but when one of the contestants gets their throat slit, she’s thrust into a fight to survive. As the body count rises, Jamie finds herself fighting for her life while navigating an unexpected love triangle.

If you like your beach reads with a side of heartfelt mystery, pick up this best seller. In 1962, a family ventures to Maine from Nova Scotia to pick berries for the summer. Their lives begin to spiral when their 4-year-old daughter goes missing. As a young girl grows up in an affluent family, she realizes something feels off and spends decades uncovering the truth behind her life.

Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life as a caseworker at the Department for Magical Youth. When he’s sent on a special assignment to Marsyas Island Orphanage, he doesn’t just find six dangerous children, but their caretaker, Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep them safe—regardless of what Linus says. Soon, Arthur and Linus begin to grow closer, and both are faced with a set of impossible choices.

With an ailing family to support, Evie Sage is willing to take any job, even an assistant position with Rennedawn’s most infamous Villain. The only problem? She can’t help but develop a small crush on her new boss, one she has to bury deep to stay focused and alert when she begins to suspect something rotten growing beneath his chambers. Now, Evie must figure out who is sabotaging the Villain’s work while confronting her growing feelings for him.

A story of time travel and magic perfect for a quick beach read, Wilbur misses the best days of his life: his honeymoon in Venice with Maggie. He wishes he could go back and relive them, but what is the cost of boarding the midnight train?

A moving story, Rainfall Market follows Serin, a lost young woman who—on a whim—writes a letter to request admission to the Rainfall Market. There, it’s said you can completely change your life, no matter your circumstances. She’s shocked when she actually earns herself a ticket, and even more shocked when, upon arrival, she meets a mysterious cat who quickly becomes her companion for the journey ahead. Now, she has one week to find happiness or be lost to the market forever.

As a lifelong Percy Jackson fan, I’m a sucker for a Greek mythology retelling. And this one centers on the mysterious goddess Circe, who unlocks an aptitude for sorcery in childhood. Fearing her powers, she’s banished to a mysterious island by Zeus, King of the Gods. There, her growing powers attract the attention of men and Gods alike. Alone and shunned, Circe must find the power to survive within herself.