The 30 Best Beach Reads for Summer 2022

Broke and alone, Jess turns to her half-brother Ben for a place to say after she leaves her job. He isn't exactly thrilled, but he doesn't say no either, so Jess arrives at his very nice Paris apartment nonetheless. But she is surprised to find that Ben isn't even there. The longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess begins to investigate his situation and learn that while she is running from her past, Ben's future might be in question. If you were a fan of Foley's thriller The Guest List, then The Paris Apartment is a natural follow-up.

Emily Henry is one of the best rom-com writers out there, and People We Meet on Vacation only proves this point. Whether you are on a vacation yourself, or want to be transported elsewhere while you lounge by the pool, you will be swept up in the friends to lovers romance between travel journalist Poppy and high school teacher Alex. The chapters travel between past and present, chronicling their journeys together from college to their latest adventure which Poppy hopes will fix things between her and Alex. A single vacation could clear the air and give Poppy and Alex what they desire most.

Nella Rogers is an editorial assistant at Wagner Books where she is the only Black employee. She's tired of feeling isolated and of her colleagues' microaggressions. So when Harlem-born Hazel is hired, she's excited to have someone in her corner. But that's when the threatening notes start arriving. Nella begins to think Hazel is not who she says she is and soon realizes there's a lot more at stake than her publishing career. This whip-smart thriller exposes the unfortunate realities of the workplace and what Black women are sometimes forced to do in order to not be overlooked.

It doesn't matter if you are looking for a plane read on your way to Italy or just a summer drama to inhale at the beach, Rebecca Serle will quickly transport you to the shores of the Amalfi Coast with One Italian Summer. Katy is left reeling after the death of her mother Carol, but decides to take the mother-daughter trip to Positano they had planned before she passed away. As soon as she lands, Carol reappears as a younger version of herself and Katy soon learns she doesn't know as much about her mother as she thought she did. This is another kind of love story: That between mother and daughter, a dynamic that is not always explored but is just as important.

The cover of best-selling author Taylor Jenkins Reid's latest novel might just have you picking up a surfboard this summer. But as you open Malibu Rising, you will learn of the complicated Riva family history and how surfing fuels the children of famous singer Mick Riva. Each chapter is timestamped leading up to the night in 1983 that will change the Riva family forever. The read travels back in time to when June met her future-husband Mick, as well as to the present, where eldest Nina navigates the responsibilities of taking care of her three siblings: Hud, Jay, and Kit, and herself. Each sibling has a story and secret of their own, all weaving together at the crest of a wave about to crash over the family.

Annie Hartnett writes a laugh-out-loud funny coming-of-age story told from the perspective of Elvis Babbitt, a young girl navigating the recent death of her mother. Elvis knows she should be grieving, but she wants answers surrounding the strange circumstances of her mother's untimely death. Her journey towards closure may not be what she expected, but she is able to find the comfort she needs and learns the everlasting power of humor after loss.

When people start calling Pamela Druckerman — an American living in Paris — madame, she's forced to confront how the age she feels inside differs from the way people see her. Part memoir, part instruction guide, this well-researched book will keep you laughing and pondering what it really means to grow older.

In this fast, witty read, Olive is asked to take her newlywed sister’s place on her non-refundable honeymoon after she and her husband get food poisoning at their wedding. While a free trip to Hawaii sounds great, there's just one problem: her plus one is her detestable new brother-in-law, Ethan.

Erin and Mark couldn’t be happier when they set off to Bora Bora for their honeymoon. Things quickly change, however, when they spot something suspicious — and immediately life-changing — in the crystal-blue ocean. Follow along in this captivating psychological thriller as the newlyweds must decide if they keep their discovery a secret or speak out and risk it all.

Nina Browning is living the good life raising her children amongst Nashville's elite, while Tom Volpe is a single dad who works multiple jobs to provide for his daughter. When a photo is taken during a drunken moment at a party, their lives become unexpectedly intertwined and both are left questioning the relationships closest to them.

One of the best-reviewed books of the summer, Fleishman is in Trouble does not disappoint. Dropping the reader into the life of recently divorced doctor Toby Fleishman, the novel follows the series of unfortunate events that erupt immediately after. When his ex-wife goes missing, Toby is forced to unravel his own internal monologue about how he's lived his life.

Every year, the Levin family retreats to Nantucket, but in 1969, things are a little different. Blair is too pregnant to travel, Kirby takes a gig on Martha’s Vineyard, and Tiger’s deployed to Vietnam. That just leaves 13-year-old Jessie alone with her grandmother and mother — both distracted by their own secrets. Travel back in time to the year man walked on the moon, Ted Kennedy crashed his car, and everything changed both within the Levins’ insular world and our nation’s history.

After two earthquakes strike San Francisco within an hour of one another, the fates of a group of survivors — Max, Vashti, and Gene — become intertwined in ways they couldn't have imagined. As Max and Vashti face the truth about their past together and Gene frantically embarks on his way back home, what results is a beautiful story about the enduring strength of love.

Historical fiction at its best, this novel lays out the rivalry between two great artists and brings them to life in Florence in the 16th century. Their feud runs deep as Leonardo is at the peak of his career (but has lost the commission for The David) and Michaelangelo is desperately trying to establish himself as a great artist while struggling to sculpt The David.

Tea, cake, books, and... murder? That's exactly what you're going to get in this Agatha Christie-style murder mystery novel. Following the lives of nine seemingly ordinary women who come together to share their love of books, readers will quickly discover that everything is not as perfect as it seems between the so-called friends. And when one of the women ends up dead, all signs point right back to the members of the book club. Filled with twists, turns, and plenty of unsuspecting moments, this Whodunnit novel will suck you in from the first page.

In minutes, Margaret Jacobsen’s life changes twice. First, when her dreamy amateur pilot boyfriend proposes mid-air, and again when the plane crashes, leaving Margaret permanently injured. Her fiancé is unable to cope, her big new job offer is rescinded, and she is forced to depend on her family. Though things aren't as she initially imagined, Margaret learns to heal with grace, humor, and even finds romance.

Cat Carmichael is the owner of a thriving naughty bakeshop — who hasn't been intimate with her boyfriend in almost two years thanks to a muscular condition called vaginismus. Determined to find a cure before their next anniversary, life gets more than a little awkward when the shop's cutest customer offers to be her physical therapist.

Controversy surrounds a London neighborhood after a young girl finds her 13-year-old sister, Grace, unconscious and hidden in a remote corner of a communal garden. As investigations are underway, the entire community denies any part in the act. Ultimately, though, all of the secrets of the community are revealed and betrayals that lie beneath the neighborhood's picturesque exteriors begin to come to the surface.

When Georgia returns from Los Angeles to her family's small Sonoma, CA vineyard in a mud-covered wedding dress, things are not what they seem. The ceremony is still five days away, but big secrets about her fiancé and her family are surfacing — and, as a result, Georgia's marriage plans are unraveling.

Madeline Hyde thought she lived a comfortable life with her handsome, well-to-do husband. But when he suddenly drags her to Scotland in search of the Loch Ness monster, Maddie is forced to rethink her way of life and the people in it.