Summer brings so many opportunities to dive into a good book! Road trips, flights, vacations, beach and pool time are all great places to lose yourself in the pages of a great story. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite recent reads to make your selection this summer a tad easier. If you’re looking for a variety of books to pick up, this is the only summer reading list you’ll need…
Photo by Liana Mikah
Best Beach Read: The Hating Game
We loved this quick and light read from Sally Thorne! Get lost in the on-going shenanigans between office rivals Lucy and Joshua. Things turn up a notch when soon they aren’t only cubicle mates working for co-CEO’s, but also up for the same promotion. As the saying goes, “There’s a fine line between love and hate”. We promise you’ll be devouring this book to find out which side of the line Lucy and Joshua are REALLY on. (P.S. – word on the street is they’re making this into a movie with Lucy Hale!)
Best Mystery: Miracle Creek
Young and Pak have immigrated to the US hoping to make a better life for their family, and brought with them a desire to bring holistic healing in the form of a pressurized oxygen chamber. You’ll meet the cast of characters who use these “dives” to treat a variety of ailments – infertility, autism and behavioral disabilities. When the Miracle Submarine mysteriously explodes, everyone is a suspect. Find out “who done it” as the murder trial unfolds in the courtroom.
Best Prequel: Lost Roses
When the author of one of our favorite WWII historical fiction novels, Lilac Girls, came out with a WWI prequel, picking it up was a no-brainer. If you read Lilac Girls, you’ll remember heroine Caroline helping refugees in NYC. Lost Roses follows the story of her mother, Eliza, during WWI as she desperately tries to help displaced Russian women, including her good friend Sofya, who, being a cousin of the Romanov family, is in grave danger as the Russian revolution overthrows the Tsar.
Best Sequel: When We Left Cuba
You may also remember us recently raving about Next Year in Havana, a novel that wove together past and present Cuba. In that book we briefly met Beatriz, the glamorous aunt of heroine Marisol. When We Left Cuba brings us Beatriz’s fascinating story. We won’t give too much away, but it involves falling in love, being recruited by the CIA, and an all-consuming quest for revenge.
Best Soon to be Movie: Just Mercy
Total disclaimer: this is a very heavy, but very important, read. If you’re looking for a fun and light poolside read, this is not it… but if you’re looking to be educated, inspired and challenged, this is a book for you. Author Bryan Stevenson is one of the most impactful lawyers of our time, having argued multiple Supreme Court cases that have changed the way we prosecute and punish criminals, primarily those on death row and children convicted of serious crimes. While Mr. Stevenson tells many thought-provoking and eye-opening true stories and examples of court cases he’s worked on, the entire book weaves together the story of Walter McMillian, a man sentenced to die for a crime he did not commit. The case helped shape Mr. Stevenson’s career and his passion for pursuing just mercy. The compelling story caught the attention of Hollywood and will come out next year staring Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson, and Michael B. Jordan.
What is on your summer reading list?
