Five Things to Tell You Vol. 31
Five more summery reads to kick off July!
Well, hello there! So happy to see you today!
Full disclosure: I wrote and scheduled this before I left earlier this week, in between trips. When this hits your inboxes, I am on day four of being up north for my sibling gathering ~ hooray for family time in my hometown, lake time and a parade, fireworks and mosquitoes!! Plans are to arrive home again later today?! We shall see!
Remember my motto: summer is for FUN AND ADVENTURES!
Today’s edition of Five Things is THEMED, and I am bringing to you five (more!) of my recent summery reads that I just have to tell you about. Yes, in addition to my Backlist Summery Reads Collection and all of the other titles I already shared in the past month(ish) ~ I can’t stop reading these books!
Go on and grab a cool drink and your sunglasses, settle in with your favorite snack (preferably by water) and let’s dive in …
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Let’s head to … a private island off the Rhode Island coast
These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean releases on Tuesday, July 8th and is a absolute romp of inheritance games, family drama and intrigue, light romance, and of course MONEY. I loved this one, more for all the family drama than the romance storyline, but mostly, of course, for the ISLAND. MacLean does a masterful job making the transition from historical romance to contemporary fiction, and I can’t WAIT to see what she writes next!
Let’s head to … Destin, Florida
The Summer We Met by Hope Holloway & Cecelia Scott is the first book in a new series by this duo, who I first encountered with their Carolina Christmas series on Kindle Unlimited. The Destin Diaries is a seven book series with alternating timelines about two families and a whole lot of drama. I have only read this first book so far, but it’s just the kind of fizzy, wholesome, sun-drenched story I need to throw me right into summer mode.
Let’s head to … Martha’s Vineyard
The Summer of Broken Rules by K.L. Walther is officially my new favorite young adult summer romance story! Delectable Martha’s Vineyard family farm-compound setting, a deeper grief-related backstory, a massive chaotic family, a gorgeous wedding, and of course, a swoon-worthy romance. I’m kicking myself for waiting this long to read it! Loved it on audio.
Let’s head to … Block Island
Mansion Beach by Meg Mitchell Moore is a sharper summery read by one of my favorite summer authors with a throughline of Gatsby references that I just loved. Class and wealth disparity, dreamy island setting, a mysterious death, some illicit affairs … I couldn’t put this one down.
If you like Elin Hilderbrand’s more suspenseful reads, like Swan Song, definitely try this one!
Let’s head to … a tiny Minnesota Lake town
Lucky Break by Jaclyn Westlake releases on July 15 and is such a fun blend of small town intrigue, starting over, found family, light romance, and of course, a three-legged dog named Potato. As a Wisconsin reader, I really appreciated the Minnesota lake town setting! While the timing of this story may bleed into fall, it’s the perfect one to dig into if you’re wanting a bit less overtly summer story while still wanting to sink into the season. There’s a lake, a dock, barbecues, swimming, paddle boats and pontoon boat, fireflies and town fairs ~ delightful small town summer fun.
Note that there are also more serious storylines involving grief and infertility in this story.
Which of these books have you read, or are you most excited to add to your TBR? I’d love to hear!
Also, could you do me a favor and share this with a friend or your readers if you also have a newsletter? Go ahead and forward the email or link directly to the archive version of this newsletter ~ it would help me so much as I continue to fight the algorithm. Thanks a million!
That’s all for this week ~ thanks for reading! Please feel free to reply to this email or use the link below to leave a comment to chime in about any of these things, or to share one of your own things ♡
Thanks for stopping by!
