Looking to escape into the far off world of a brand new book? Summer is absolutely the perfect time to do this, and there’s a reason there’s a whole collection of books known as “beach reads.” Even if you can’t exactly make it to the beach this summer (there's a pandemic happening, so you may just have to make your apartment fire escape your "beach"), there’s always time to curl up on the couch, the bed, or on a front stoop with a pair of sunglasses and dive into a new story.
If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to beach reads for 2020, no worries, because there are so many to choose from and we’ve narrowed down the list to a handful of titles you’re going to want to read through as fast as possible, and then talk about with whoever will listen. Some of the books even have the word “beach” and “summer” right in the title, so you know they mean business.
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In addition to the obvious choices, there are brand new sequels, prequels, and everything in between for you to get lost in this summer, whether you want to return to characters you already know and love, or visit someplace new. No matter your vibe, there’s a summer book for everyone.
Pizza Girl
by Jean Kyoung Frazier
Pizza Girl tells a story about, yes, pizza. Specifically, a pickle-covered pizza. Our heroine Pizza Girl is an 18-year old first-time mother who works delivering pizzas and quickly becomes obsessed with a woman new to the area, who keeps ordering pickle-covered pizzas. The two become friends and quickly begin to rely on each other for way more than just pizza.
Ebook Available On Amazon.
Party of Two
by Jasmine Guillory
Out June 23
Olivia quickly falls for Max, who she meets at the hotel bar. Then she learns that Max is actually a hotshot junior senator and their relationship is quickly thrust into the limelight. Olivia isn’t ready to let go of Max, but now she’s got to navigate the political spotlight as her past is brought to life and her status as a “trophy girlfriend” is question in front of everyone.
Ebook available for pre-order on Amazon.
The Jetsetters
by Amanda Eyre Ward
Seventy-year old Charlotte enters a cruise contest, and wins! Recruiting her three adult-children to go with her, she hopes this can be a time for all of them to reconnect and be a family once again. But 10 days might be 10 days too many for this family to be stuck together on a pleasure cruise.
Ebook available on Amazon.
Island Affair
by Priscilla Oliveras
Sara is an influencer with an unreliable boyfriend. When he doesn’t show at the last second for a family vacation, Sara just recruits someone else, Luis, to literally be her social media boyfriend. It’s all fun and games for the two of them until Sara’s vacation comes to an end, and she has to figure out what’s really happening between her and Luis.
Ebook available on Amazon.
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Sex and Vanity
by Kevin Kwan
Out June 30
No, this isn’t a sequel to Crazy Rich Asians, but it’s certainly got the same spirit. The story follows Lucie who meets a very eligible suitor on vacation, and then accidentally runs into him again years later, this time accompanied by her fiancé. Now she’s got to choose between what she wants and what her family wants without tearing everything in her life apart.
Ebook available for pre-order on Amazon.
You Had Me at Hola
by Alexis Daria
Out August 4
Jasmine is going through a messy breakup that’s all over the tabloids, and hopes to put that behind her just in time to star in a new bilingual blockbuster. Unfortunately for her, the movie’s leading man is telenovela hunk Ashton, and sparks quickly fly between them on and off set.
Ebook available for pre-order on Amazon.
The Party Upstairs
by Lee Conell
Out July 7
Told over the span of one day, with alternating narration between a daughter and her father, the story follows the ups and downs of what it means to live in the basement of an affluent apartment building in New York City. Because of this, Ruby resents many things in her life, including a party she’s going to on an upper level of the apartment building later that night.
Ebook available for pre-order on Amazon.
Real Men Knit
by Kwana Jackson
When Jesse’s adoptive mother suddenly passes away, he vows to keep her small knitting store open. While none of his siblings are gungho about the idea, one of the store’s part-time employees is more than game to jump onboard, too.
Ebook available on Amazon.
Malorie
by Josh Malerman
Out July 21
It was only a matter of time before Bird Box received a sequel, and here it is. Now with Malorie’s children now teenagers, they’re living a comfortable life in their new refuge. However, Malorie is forced to revisit people from her past, and it might leave her to risk it all — again.
Ebook available for pre-order on Amazon.
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The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
by Suzanne Collins
The prequel to the Hunger Games series takes us back to the early days of Panem, roughly 60 years before the events of the best selling book. We’re at the 10th annual Hunger Games, Coriolanus Snow (yes, that Snow) is working as a mentor in District 12 and his fate, along with his family’s fate, lies with the district’s female tribute.
Ebook available on Amazon.
Midnight Sun
by Stephenie Meyer
Out August 4
Yes, what we all need right now is more Twilight, but now it’s been inverted — Midnight Sun? Twilight? Get it? Anyway, this time we’re going to see all the events take place from Edward’s point of view, so hope you’re ready for sparkly vampire skin-care tips (probably not exactly that, but a girl can hope).
Ebook available on Amazon.
Memoirs and Misinformation
by Jim Carrey & Dana Vachon
Out July 7
According to author Jim Carrey — yes, that Jim Carrey — ”None of this is real and all of it is true." The story follows actor Jim Carrey who is feeling sad and isolated, and even his best friend Nicolas Cage can’t help him feel better. The book is billed as semi-autobiographical, and you’re going to have to figure out for yourself what’s fact and what’s fiction.
Ebook available on Amazon.
Beach Read
by Emily Henry
A book called Beach Read is destined to be about the beach and also be read at the beach (or at least someplace sun-adjacent — do what you can in these quarantine times). Two drastically different authors find themselves living next to each other one summer, and both are also suffering from writer’s block. So, they decide to work together and the book blurb swears, “Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.”
Ebook available on Amazon.
Dolls! Dolls! Dolls! Deep Inside Valley of the Dolls
by Stephen Rebello
If you’re looking for something based on (juicy) truths, Dolls! Dolls! Dolls! dives deep into the world of Valley of the Dolls, from the book’s original publication to the 1967 film adaptation. With brand new interviews, screenwriter-journalist-film historian Stephen Rebello takes us on a journey into 1960s Hollywood.
Ebook available on Amazon.
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Exciting Times
by Naoise Dolan
Ava leaves Dublin for Hong Kong and hopefully a more exciting life where she’s now... teaching English to rich children. Struggling, she moves in with Julian and he starts showering her with gifts and a spot in his cushy apartment. But then when he goes away on business, Ava strikes up a friendship with Edith, and that quickly leads to something more. When Julian unexpectedly comes back, Ava finds herself torn between two different paths.
Ebook available on Amazon.
What You Wish For
by Katherine Center
Out July 14
Samantha is living a happy life as a school librarian, but when a man from her past becomes the new school’s principal, she freaks out. Even worse, this new principal, Duncan, is someone who never even acknowledged her before, and now he’s changing rules left and right for the school system she dearly loves. Can the two of them learn to work together and put aside their differences, including their newfound feelings?
Ebook available for pre-order on Amazon.
The Heir Affair
by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan
Out July 7
The follow-up to The Royal We, Bex and her new husband Prince Nicholas are trying to escape life in the (royal) public eye following a secret scandal. When they’re forced to return back and face the Queen — who is, to put it lightly, furious with them — they’ve got to figure out how to juggle their real life with their royal life.
Ebook available for pre-order on Amazon.
Summer Darlings
by Brooke Lea Foster
Heddy leaves New York for the summer and heads off to Martha’s Vineyard where she’s set to be a nanny for a very wealthy family on the island. Things are going great at the beach, while back home for Heddy she learns she’s lost the scholarship that will keep her in school come fall. Determined to find a way to make things work, she tries to fit into the new high-class social society she’s being paid to be a part of.
Ebook available on Amazon.
A Star Is Bored
by Byron Lane
Out July 28
The real hook here is that the author, Byron Lane, loosely based the story on his time working as Carrie Fisher’s assistant. Does that catch your attention? While a work of fiction, the story follows Charlie who starts a brand new job working for actress Kathi, who is eccentric both on and off the screen.
Ebook available on Amazon.
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