I’m back with another round up of great beach reads for summer — this was one of my most popular posts last year (and actually throughout the year; I think a lot of us look for books like this anytime we’re heading on vacation, recovering from something, in need of distraction, regardless of season), so I thought I’d reprise.
Below, my top picks for throwing into your suitcase —
The Someday Garden by Ashley Poston (June 16).
One thing Carley Fortune’s books have taught me: I’m deeply drawn to a richly place-based beach read, where the setting is almost like a character. This book seems to run along these tracks, set in “the storied grounds at Lilymoor House in Coastal Maine.” (She had me at the name Lilymoor.) The protagonist, employed to revitalize the property, falls in love with “the beguiling land, the fragrant flowers, and the towering hedge maze…[as well as] the quirky staff and the enigmatic woman who owns the place” before discovering a secret garden “with a frustrated thundercloud of a man trapped inside.” OMG! This has everything I love: a gorgeous, foliage-dense setting on the coast of Maine, a spectacular mansion, enigmatic groundskeepers (slight, non-scary Rebecca vibes), a hidden romance! Eek! A grown-up romance for childhood fans of The Secret Garden — one of the most formative books I read when I was 10 or 11!
Key attractions: Maine setting, grumpy love interest, Secret Garden vibes, decaying mansion, strong female protagonist
Perfect for: Sitting on an Adirondack chair with an iced tea
June Baby by Shannon Garvey.
Another fab setting-rich read: “Set over the course of one transformative summer in the lush, beachy enclave of Block Island, a young woman reckons with love, loss, and the choices she must make to move forward.” Family drama, sandy dunes, seaside sunsets, young love. I’m in.
Key attractions: lighthouse aesthetic: dramatic bluffs and sandy dunes, young love, family secrets
Perfect for: Reading on sandy dunes with the wind in your hair — beach sweater and LL Bean tote vibes
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lyon by Beth Brower.
Magpies are losing their minds over this series (there are eight of them!) — so many of you have raved about these journals; they’ve been likened to works by Austen and L. M. Montgomerey. I’m imagining this is the perfect thing to tuck into on a screened-in porch while enjoying a morning coffee or an evening tea.
Key attractions: Ausen and Montgomerey vibes?! Need we say more?! (Also, there are eight of these to enjoy! Fun start of a new series!)
Perfect for: Screened-in porch beneath a blanket
Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune.
I’ve loved Fortune’s last few novels, and am about halfway through this year’s. Candidly, at first, I wasn’t as gripped by this as her previous work — possibly because I just want more of what she gave us in the past in her Barry’s Bay lakeside novels, and this, while also set on the water (this time in oceanfront Tofino), just has a different vibe to it — but stick with it. Fortune is a snappy writer who keeps you rooting for love, and she handles slow-simmer relationships so well. The setting, the luxe resort, the food writing, the slow-burn attraction between the two characters — all of it is just as rich as we’ve come to expect from Carley. If you are new to this author, I’d suggest starting with her backlist before jumping into this one. Netflix is releasing an 8-part series based on her book Every Summer After on June 10th!
Key attractions: friends-to-lovers story that unfolds over decades; brooding, smart, glasses-wearing beau; deep-foliage-into-stunning-ocean vibes; luxury resort
Perfect for: A crisp, mineral white wine and oysters in the PNW (or imagining you’re there)
The Shippers by Katherine Center.
Released today! “After a lifetime of being bad at love, JoJo Burton vows to solve her intimacy issues once and for all at her sister’s destination wedding on a cruise ship.” I mean! What can go wrong (slash right)?! This sounds like a complete mental vacation: “Shipboard antics abound in this witty, heart-tugging, childhood-friends-to-lovers romance, as JoJo and Cooper team up, fake flirt, slow dance, share a cabin, sing duets, get jealous, answer long-held questions, and finally, at last, discover truths about each other that will change everything.”
Key attractions: Vibrant, over-the-top romance, cruise ship, fake-dating, forced proximity
Perfect for: Pool cabana (ambient dance music, aperol spritzes, etc)
Pink Sand Summer by Chassity Evans.
I received an advanced copy of this and tore through it in a few days before lending to my mom. This is a “torn between two lovers” story that reads like one of those cocktails that was trending a summer or two ago, where you put a popsicle in a glass of champagne — effervescent, sweet, transportive, fun. I loved the hyper-local/insider’s look at Harbour Island, where the author spends a lot of her time, and the fashion details, too.
Key attractions: island setting, summer romance amidst frolicking with friends at fancy parties, fashion
Perfect for: Sitting in a beach chair with a pina colada
Go Gentle by Maria Semple.
“A Stoic philosopher and divorcée, she lives a contented life on New York City’s Upper West Side. Having discovered that the secret to happiness is to desire only what you have, she’s applied this insight to blissful effect….Soon, her ordered world is upended by black-market art deals, secret rendezvous, and international intrigue . . . and her past—which she has worked so hard to bury—lands like a bomb in her present. ” This book is getting a lot of buzz; I keep hearing about it from friends, family members, readers! Got the Oprah nod!
Key attractions: NYC lifestyle, middle age transformation, chance romance
Perfect for: An urban summer escape, on an apartment rooftop or in a backyard with tiki lights
Star-Crossed Summer by Devon Daniels (July 7).
I was hooked when I saw this Instagram post from the author explaining the backstory: this is a fictionalization of the romance between Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling while filming “The Notebook.” (Lore has it that they hated one another on set, then locked themselves into a room “to have it out” and eventually ended up dating…?!).
Key attractions: Ryan Gosling fan fic, enemies-to-lovers, dreamcasting is already done for us
Perfect for: Sunset on a dock, glass of rose close at hand
Married with Benefits by Ellie Palmer (July 21).
“A trope-filled delight of a rom com about two strangers who enter into a marriage of convenience that becomes anything but convenient.” Love the fake dating / marriage of convenience / forced proximity tropes, and really enjoyed her novel from last summer, Anywhere with You, which I found funny, quirky, cinematic. I still think about the love interest in that book — quite a feat. Usually they disappear from my mind in no time.
Key attractions: fake dating, Wisconsin lakeside setting, love interest from D.C.!
Perfect for: Mid-morning lakeside read, with Wheat Thins and a Diet Coke (or your other secret single behavior snack)
Main Characters by Bobby Palmer (June 30).
Excuuuuse me: “For readers of David Nicholls and Sally Rooney comes a new love story that’s at once tender and electrifying—told by everyone but the main characters.” You had me at Sally Rooney! I also love this set-up (including the character’s names): “When Clara and Seb first cross paths in a London square, it’s the start of something exciting. Clara, an aspiring director stuck in an entry-level job, itches to pick up a camera. Seb, having floated between music, modeling, and now acting, struggles to find purpose in his work. Yet as random chance brings the two back together, time and time again, neither could predict that their magnetic connection is set to change their lives.”
Key attractions: Sally Rooney comp, relationship that unfolds over decades, a male character named “Seb” (hot!)
Perfect for: A London summer escape, read in a park or garden
A Couple Niche Picks…
+Workplace romance: Annie Knows Everything by Rachel Wood (comp: Ali Hazelwood)
+Reality tv romance: Good at Being Alive by Elizabeth O’Roarke (I’ve enjoyed some of her other work — especially the one about hiking Kilamanjaro — and appreciate the extreme and imaginative contexts for her romances!)
+More in the thriller vein: Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth
+If you’re looking for more substantive/literary reads, I shared some of my top picks for summer 2026 in this post. Everyone I know is talking about Strangers and Yesteryear! I’d start there if you’re looking for the buzziest books out right now. If you want a sweeping, gorgeous epic of a novel, try Tayari Jones’ Kin. I thought it was one of the best books I’ve read in the past year or two. I’m currently working on a full review, will publish it in June!
+A lot of Magpies are currently reading The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett (you know her from The Help!)
Shopping Break: New Tuckernuck + The Hit List.
+Tuckernuck continues to slay this season, with a new print in their very popular wrap skirt, a crochet cardigan to throw on with anything this summer, and a gingham version of our favorite statement top (pair with white jeans).
Next: sharing a couple of items that have been incredibly popular among Magpies the past few days:
+The best t-shirt bra, on sale.
+The Faherty Sophia dress. Dakota Johnson vibes, under $200, just what you want to wear this summer. Think backyard BBQs, casual outdoor hangs.
+The athletic shorts I’ve spotted on several very chic moms.
+The top-selling LWD in my roundup of the best white dresses for summer.
+Pair with this turquoise tennis necklace — another bestseller, under $100 with code JEN20.
+Coolest white linen pants I’ve seen this year.
+A MUST-HAVE for sandal season. Truly the most effective thing I’ve ever tried!
+Finally, every time I share items from Evereve, Magpies love them! Sharing a roundup of my favorite picks from there (all well-priced) right now — so many of you ordered these socks, which people rave about, and how chic is this pointelle-trim ribbed tank to pair with all the wide leg and statement pants we’re buying this season?!:
A PERFECT RIBBED TANK // $32 BANDANA SCARF // SOCKS WITH A CULT FOLLOWING // DENIM TRACK PANTS
P.S. On being “a bad book girl.”
P.P.S. The best book-based movies.
P.P.P.S. One of my favorite, immersive summer reads.
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