Best Beach Reads for Summer – Romance, Romcom Books to Read at the Beach – What I’m Reading this Summer.
I live next to a lake. A Great Lake. A Great Lake that I can see from my balcony. And rooftop.
A rooftop view of the Great Lake that is truly spectacular.
My address has the word lake in it. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago. I couldn’t get any closer to the lake if I tried.
And with all that information at hand, with all those spectacular lake views from my balcony and rooftop, why am I surprised to see a stream of people in bathing suits with inflatable tubes and beach chairs and towels and coolers walking down the sidewalk. Outside my condo. On their way to the lake.
The Great Lake. That I live next to.
I live in vacation.
Clunk.
That’s reality hitting me on the head.
I. Live. In. Vacation.
Which must be why I’m suddenly inspired to read books. Beach read books. Because that’s what you do on vacation.
Or when you live in vacation. š
So what am I reading in my new year-round vacation home on the lake?
Let’s start with one of my all time favorite beach read authors: Marian Keyes. I was first introduced to her Walsh sister series of books. They’re fun and exciting and dramatic and funny. And there’s always a love story.
Marian Keyes Walsh original Walsh sister books in order:*
(1) Watermelon; (2) Rachel’s Holiday; (3) Angels; (4) Anybody Out There and; (5) The Mystery of Mercy Close
You don’t have to read them in order (even though I’ve listed them as such). I actually started with Anybody Out There. I distinctly remember reading it on the beach in Florida. And I’m pretty sure my original copy continues to live at my parent’s old condo on the beach.
What’s even more exciting for this Marian Keyes fan is that in this age of sequels (think And Just Like That and Fuller House) she’s revisited the Walsh sisters! Well, at least two of them …
Again, Rachel (in 2023) and My Favorite Mistake (in 2024).
Is it fair for me to be hopeful that we’ll revisit another of the sisters in 2025, Marian? Fingers crossed!
Staying on the Marian Keyes fandom bandwagon, I’ve just finished one of her non-Walsh sister book, Grown Ups, and thoroughly enjoyed it! She’s so good at creating a cast of characters that are richly drawn. And likeable.
Well, with the exception of the one or two not-so-likeable characters. š
Which makes me hopeful these two Marian Keyes non-Walsh family books don’t disappoint:
The Brightest Star in the Sky and The Woman Who Stole My Life.
They’re in the queue for this sumer.
I don’t know about you, but when I take a deep dive into the works of a single author (like I am with my bestie Marian) I like add a few more authors into the mix. You know, so I’m not reading the same author back-to-back-to-back.
An amuse bouche, if you will. A palate cleanser by adding a fresh, new voices into the mix.
So when I turned the last page of the last chapter of Grown Ups — there may have been tears brimming in my eyes — I turned to the much-hyped new Emily Henry novel …
I’m a few chapters in and it definitely is living up to it’s beach read cred. Especially since the story is set in a beach town. š
I also devoured this book last month. It actually kicked off my summer of 2025 beach reads …
I’m an Andy Cohen fan and one of the bartenders on his Watch What Happens Live show authored the book. So I was immediately influenced and placed my Amazon order.
Because I’m so easily influenced like that! š
I’ll be honest, it followed the romcom tropes (not a bad thing for me). But the setting is New York City in the summer. And it was a quick, fun read. Perfect for sitting in a beach chair with your feet in the sand.
Or in my case, on a balcony overlooking a great big lake.
A few more books in my summer reading list queue include:
This book popped up in my Amazon algorithm feed. So I clicked on the link and went right to the “Read Sample” button. And I was hooked. I’m really looking forward to diving into this one.
Oh, and I just realized it’s going to be a two book series (yay) with the next volume coming out in March 2026. Perfect for my summer 2026 line up!
Finally, I started on this quirky fantasy romcom series back in late 2024. And was just diving into book 2 about the same time we really dove into the house sale and condo buying process. Emptying out 30 years of stuff was a huge distraction, so I ended up putting volume 2 down. But methinks it’s time for a revisit. Maybe in September or October …
Assistant to the Villian and Apprentice to the Villian
to go with the more moody fall vibes.
I think I may need to create an Autum reading list. Filled with lots of fantasy and fantasy romcoms.
Hmmm …. š
P.S. This post includes Amazon affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. It’s a referral fee Amazon pays directly to me.
P.P.S. Today is the kick off of Amazon Prime Days (which go from July 8-11) so there may be some Amazon Prime savings on the links I’ve provided.
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