Beach Reads Perfect for Summer 2020

By Southern Living
March 20, 2019
Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.
Credit: Roberto Moiola/Sysaworld/Getty Images
If you’re already planning what books you’ll be packing in your beach bag this summer, you’re in good company. Vacation is just around the corner, and our reading list is as ready as we are. There are lots of new beach-ready reads by some of our favorite authors coming out this summer. From Mary Alice Monroe to Elin Hildebrand to Jasmine Guillory, there’s no lack of new stories coming out to keep us busy all summer long. If you’re still looking for a few good books, check out some of our favorite beach reads of 2019, and get that summer reading list in order. Beach days will be here before you know it—and if you’re also still booking your travel, check out The South’s Best Beach Towns and The South’s Best Resorts for some of our readers’ best summer ideas and favorite vacation spots to inspire your travels with family and friends this season.
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28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand

Credit: amazon.com

To buy: $28, amazon.com, indiebound.org

Let Elin Hilderbrand transport you to a cottage in Nantucket where a love story unfolds and where, 28 summers later, a son discovers secrets of his family’s past.

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Beach Read by Emily Henry

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To buy: $16, amazon.com, indiebound.org

Two polar-opposite writers embark on a summertime challenge in Beach Read, a book that lives up to its name—and then some.

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Sorry I Missed You by Suzy Krause

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To buy: $14.95, amazon.com, indiebound.org

Three strangers become roommates with something unexpected in common in Suzy Krause’s new book.

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On Ocean Boulevard by Mary Alice Monroe

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To buy: $26.99, amazon.com, indiebound.org

Mary Alice Monroe’s new book is set in Charleston and Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina, on the eve of a wedding.

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Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner

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To buy: $28, amazon.com, indiebound.org

Prepare for a big summer in Jennifer Weiner’s new novel about long-lost friends and a weekend in Cape Cod.

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Girls of Summer by Nancy Thayer

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To buy: $27, amazon.com, indiebound.org

A love story blossoming on Nantucket is not without its challenges in Nancy Thayer’s Girls of Summer.

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Hello, Summer by Mary Kay Andrews

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To buy: $28.99, amazon.com, indiebound.org

Secrets and scandals in a small beach town threaten to erupt in Mary Kay Andrews’ new book.

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Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory

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To buy: $26, amazon.com, indiebound.org

Jasmine Guillory’s new book is a love story set in Los Angeles, where the main character, Olivia Monroe, moves to establish her own law firm.

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So We Can Glow: Stories by Leesa Cross-Smith

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To buy: $27, amazon.com, indiebound.org

This collection of forty-two short stories by Leesa Cross-Smith is perfect for summer.

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A Week at the Shore by Barbara Delinsky

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To buy: $27.99, amazon.com, indiebound.org

This new book about family and friendship is set on the beaches of Rhode Island.

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The Key to Everything by Valerie Fraser Luesse

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To buy: $15.99, amazon.com, indiebound.org

The main character of this story sets off on a bicycle journey to Key West in this new book from Southern Living Senior Travel Editor Valerie Fraser Luesse.

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Summer Darlings by Brooke Lea Foster

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To buy: $27, amazon.com, indiebound.org

Set on Martha’s Vineyard during the 1960s, Summer Darlings follows a nanny who finds that the rarefied air is not all that it seems.

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All Adults Here by Emma Straub

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To buy: $27, amazon.com, indiebound.org

Emma Straub’s bighearted new novel plumbs the questions of adulthood—namely, how did we get here?

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Wow, No Thank You: Essays by Samantha Irby

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To buy: $15.95, amazon.com, indiebound.org

You’ll fly through Samantha Irby’s new collection of laugh-out-loud essays.

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The Somerset Girls by Lori Foster

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To buy: $16.99, amazon.com, indiebound.org

Set in Sunset, Kentucky, The Somerset Girls tells the story of sisters running a farm together and finding their own happily ever afters.

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The Inn at Willa Bay by Nicole Ellis

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To buy: $12.70, amazon.com, indiebound.org

Friends and co-workers encounter unexpected challenges while working at a picturesque inn in this new novel.

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The Lies That Bind by Emily Giffin

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To buy: $28, amazon.com, indiebound.org

A woman tries to come to grips with the unknown in Emily Giffin’s new novel The Lies That Bind, which is set in New York just after September 11th.

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Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory

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To buy: $20, amazon.com, indiebound.org

A holiday romance in England is at the heart of Jasmine Guillory’s novel Royal Holiday.

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The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner

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To buy: $26.99, amazon.com, indiebound.org

Natalie Jenner’s new book is set in England just after World War II, where a group of women gather together preserve Austen’s legacy.

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A Happy Catastrophe by Maddie Dawson

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To buy: $14.95, amazon.com, indiebound.org

Chaos encroaches on Marnie MacGraw’s love story in Maddie Dawson’s new book, A Happy Catastrophe, but she’s determined to weather the unexpected.

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Summer at Firefly Beach by Jenny Hale

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To buy: $12.99, amazon.com

A love story by the beach is at the heart of Jenny Hale’s new novel.

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