Mmm, summer reading. It’s the best kind of feeling! Is that just me getting older? Maybe…. but I’m HERE for it you guys.
There is nothing better than the slow, warm days of summer, making it so much easier to escape into a book, even in little moments.
Double that on summer vacations or weekend trips (or even just the weekends in your own backyard). And in case nothing resets your soul like some sunshine and a great book (like me), we’ve got a little treat for you today– a vetted list, so you don’t have to spend hours searching this summer. So you can get back to relaxing instead.
So whether you’re escaping to a beach this summer or just looking for a captivating new read to mosey to bed with, here are some of the SRH team and my favorite books lately, summer book club edition.
Team SRH summer reading recs:
Sarah’s picks:
- Between Sisters by Kristin Hannah: currently halfway through and loving it. A story of two sisters, motherhood, heartache and finding their own way in life after a hard upbringing. This one is a little bit lighter than Hannah’s usually gut wrenchers, and I loved it for that reason.
- Summer Island by Kristin Hannah: a lighter great summer beach read, taking place in the PNW San Juan Islands. I’m on a Kristin Hannah bender if you can’t tell (The Great Alone, The Nightingale and The Four Winds are all sooo good too)
- The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand: a charming read about an old hotel that gets renovated on Nantucket Island. All the employees (and some of the guests) have such interesting stories that cross paths in mysterious ways. A great beach read!
- Time Magic by Melissa Ambrosini & Nick Broadhurst: you know I always have to sneak a little personal development one into the mix (usually in audio format). And I loved loved the reminders (and new tips I got) in this one about time, making more of it for what matters and simplifying things, in so many areas of life.
Melissa’s picks:
- Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt: the author’s debut novel is a touching and unexpected (read: one of the protagonists is an octopus) story that explores the depths of grief and how looking at one’s past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible. It was a beautiful read.
- Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan: (Melissa’s take) Reading this book kept me on the edge of my seat to see a tragic murder solved, and hit home in so many ways as a mother. Definitely a page-turner. (Jordyn’s take) This has been my most enjoyed read of the year. There isn’t much I can say without slipping some crucial to the storyline spoilers, but wow it was a really powerful, moving, and beautiful read. One of those books that will linger with you for awhile! The story was part coming of age/young love, part the power of a mother’s love and resilience, and part courtroom drama. I really was immersed in the story and so sad when I put it down.
- Happy Place by Emily Henry: Emily Henry is quickly becoming my go-to romance author for lighthearted, enjoyable reads that fly by. Her latest release is no exception! A story about a tight-knit group of friends and a break-up of a couple within them that threatens to ruin it all. Good amount of steam 🙂
- Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid: Okay, while I may not know really anything about tennis, the story transcends the sport. It was a compelling story about the cost and pressures of greatness, the double-standard women often face in terms of being likable, and how far a person may go to protect what they view as their legacy.
- Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young: Set in the Pacific Northwest on a fictional island, this story is a murder mystery, with folklore and magic and secrets. It was a captivating read that I couldn’t put down.
- No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model by Dr. Richard C. Schwartz: IFS provides an interesting new way of understanding our multifaceted mind and how to heal the many parts of us that make us who we are. Highly recommend the audiobook version where Dr. Schwartz narrates the different exercises.
Jordyn’s picks:
- The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros: This book absolutely wrecked me! I love a romance book that jumps between one timeline to another and intertwines the connections and love stories in the end. And, I am also officially a sucker for a romance book ABOUT a romance book. The present timeline follows Georgia as she goes through the process of publishing her great grandma’s romance book about her life and the past timeline follows Scarlett, Georgia’s great grandma, during the war. (This is your fair warning that half of the book focuses on a war romance…so you know your heart will be torn to lil shreds. But can’t we all agree that a perfect romance book kind of ruins you and leaves you aching and heartbroken?)
- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros: Can you tell I am Rebecca Yarros’ newest fan? The second I put down “The Things We Leave Unfinished” I found out that Yarros recently published a fantasy book. I am currently consumed by this read! I am eating up the latest fantasy romance trend and “Fourth Wing” checks all the boxes for me. This book explores the brutal world of a war college for dragon riders…and of course there is some focus on friends, enemies and lovers, too.
- Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune: Last summer I devoured Carley Fortune’s debut novel “Every Summer After,” so it only makes sense that I have been saving her second book to dive into soon. Fortune has a way with childhood friends to lovers storylines and I am excited to see what she explores in her newest book!
- Homecoming by Kate Morton: This thriller/mystery book is also sitting on my nightstand ready to be read this summer. “Homecoming” follows a journalist who moves home when her grandmother is raced to the hospital and she comes across a true crime book that chronicles the police investigation into one of the most perplexing murder cases. She (of course!) finds some shocking connections between her own family and this cold case…
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