I used to write these all the time and was inspired to go for it again, so here we are with a somewhat similar post! I really am hoping to read some good seasonal stories this year since I’ve been inspired lately. We have a super busy summer on deck overall, but let’s bring on the beach reads!
Summery Books
I’m currently reading both ONE GOLDEN SUMMER (preordered) and DEAD OF SUMMER (review copy). They’re shaping up to be good summery reads with completely different vibes!
I’m a Cape Cod kid at heart (spent a week or two there every summer as a kid) but SANDWICH passed me by last year! I requested it from the library so hopefully it comes in at some point this summer lol. I also forgot I have a cozy mystery called MURDER ON CAPE COD that I should try to read this summer. Similarly, I’m a big coastal Maine girl as well – I have a review copy of MAINE CHARACTERS to definitely read soon.
As for other summery books I own or have egalleys of, I have a review copy of IT’S A LOVE STORY that should be an amazing seasonal read.
I’ve been researching more random summer books and my friend started reading UNTIL NEXT SUMMER – I’ve been wanting to read this author and think I may start with this book instead of her 2025 release since this is more summer/beachy-focused. I also wanted to read JACKPOT SUMMER last year and never got to it – we’ll see if I can this year!
Mystery/Thriller Book Club Picks
We’re reading ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK for June, which is a massive book but one I’ve been excited to read! Our pick for July is THE BERRY PICKERS so I was sure to not pack up that one lol. Luckily I’ve already read our August book (BEAUTIFUL UGLY) so that’s one more book to put in of my moving boxes. And finally, September is NOT QUITE DEAD YET – this comes out in July and I preordered it, so I can’t honestly imagine waiting until September. This one is going to be kept out and read immediately… hopefully I don’t forget everything before book club lol.
Other Review Copies/New Releases
I’ve made it a point to preorder and/or pick up new releases from my local indie. I grabbed NO ONE WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE AT THE WEDDING on release day and am planning to read it immediately after finishing my other current reads. SAGA #12 is another one of my preorders I should quickly read soon.
NIGHT WATCHER is another spooky review copy I have from one of my favorite podcast hosts – it’s her debut mystery/thriller novel and should be a good one. Same goes for THE THRASHERS: a YA mystery/thriller I’ve heard great things about.
I received TIME LOOPS & MEET CUTES in my first package from The Book Drop, which was so exciting – it’s one of my more anticipated books for the year! I also got WILD DARK SHORE recently at an indie when we were away last weekend. Not sure it fits the summer vibes but whatever!
I’m one of the few people that really enjoyed Sager’s release last summer and am definitely looking forward to WITH A VENGEANCE when it comes out next month. I also absolutely loved Marlowe’s debut last year and am pumped to read my review copy of LOVE AT FIRST SIGHTING before it comes out in August.
1. MOVE!
We’ve been planning on buying my parents house for years now, just waiting for the right time for them to move north to Maine. Long story short, it’s finally happening this summer! We have to use a short-term rental house for about a month in between, which will be very annoying but worth it in the end. We leave our current house at the end of June and will be in the next town over for July, then our new house in early August.
2. Read on the porch/outside every nice day
I keep this one all the time because it’s really my favorite way to read in the summer. We currently have a great porch, will be moving to a rental house with a nice porch, and our permanent home in August has a screened in porch AND patio to read on!
3. Go to the beach in RI and ME
Last time I wrote one of these I made a note that I wanted to go to the beach more than once. This summer is shaping up to be incredibly busy for the reasons above but we’ll definitely be heading to Maine for 4th of July weekend to start the summer beachin’. Hopefully we can spend a weekend or even just a day visiting the beach in Rhode Island another day this summer.
4. Eat 5 lobster rolls
I try to eat a couple per month but as usual, I’m slacking already! I want to try to eat 5 lobster rolls if I can. I was hoping to get one in when we visited the MA shore last week but it just never worked out that way unfortunately. I’ll have at least one in Maine and then we’ll have to get back on our game.
5. Enjoy the new pool
Our new house has a pool! We’ll be hanging with my dad as he opens it for the season in a couple of weeks to take a video and learn what to do lol. It’s just a circular above-ground pool but it will be great to have a way to cool down over the summer, hang out with friends, etc. I love walking laps in the pool with my book!
1. Read all of the books I don’t pack up
I’m going to pack all of my physical books up slowly throughout June, but I plan to keep around 8-10 of them out. We’re going to be in the rental house for a month and I won’t actually read that many books during that time period but it would be great to read them through June (when my other books are gone) and the rest of the summer as we unpack. I have to plan ahead to figure out which books are critical (the books we have planned for book club) and which are just nice to have (new releases, summery books, etc.)
2. Read my entire Summer TBR
You’ll see another post next week featuring some random summery books I hope to read in the semi-near future, inspired by a conversation I had with one of my friends the other day. There are so many nostalgic summery YA books I’ve read over the years with fun beach towns, boardwalks, summer small town vibes. I want to get back into those this summer! I’m currently reading ONE GOLDEN SUMMER, which is hitting the spot. The graphic below is one I made for Instagram but the list above is the true “must read” list!
Good luck with your move!! I’m so excited for you that you’ll finally be in Maine!! And we have a lot of crossover on our Summer TBRs 🙂
Thank you! Well my parents will be in Maine still and I’m buying their Connecticut house, but it does mean I’ll be basically moving in with them every summer 😉
Congratulations on the move! You have some great summer goals. I’ve never had a lobster roll but I’m curious to try one, maybe that will be one of my summer goals as well.
Your summer TBR is filled with a lot of books that I’m curious about so I’ll look forward to reading your thoughts on them.
Happy Summer!