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.

Skip gallery slides

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.

Start Slideshow

1 of 22

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.

button

2 of 22

Beach Read by Emily Henry

Credit: amazon.com

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.

3 of 22

Sorry I Missed You by Suzy Krause

Credit: amazon.com

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

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

4 of 22

On Ocean Boulevard by Mary Alice Monroe

Credit: amazon.com

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.

5 of 22

Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner

Credit: amazon.com

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.

6 of 22

7 of 22

Girls of Summer by Nancy Thayer

Credit: amazon.com

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.

8 of 22

Hello, Summer by Mary Kay Andrews

Credit: amazon.com

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.

9 of 22

Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory

Credit: amazon.com

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.

10 of 22

So We Can Glow: Stories by Leesa Cross-Smith

Credit: amazon.com

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

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

11 of 22

A Week at the Shore by Barbara Delinsky

Credit: amazon.com

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

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

12 of 22

The Key to Everything by Valerie Fraser Luesse

Credit: amazon.com

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.