Summer officially begins tomorrow so it’s the perfect time to plan some seasonal reads. I no longer live close enough to the beach to sit and read these in the sun (boo), but I do have a garden now so I can sit there instead (yay!).
The Strawberry Patch Pancake House by Laurie Gilmore
Technically this is set during spring, but I personally feel like the cover and title have summer vibes. Plus spring has passed and I’d like to continue this series, even though I haven’t read The Cinnamon Bun Book Store yet. But you don’t really need to read this in order anyway, all that really gets spoiled for you is which couples get together and that’s already obvious from the synopsis anyway.
Synopsis: As a renowned chef, single-dad Archer never planned on moving to a small town, let alone running a pancake restaurant. But Dream Harbor needs a new chef, and Archer needs a community to help raise his daughter, Olive.
Iris has never managed to hold down a job for more than a few months. So when Mayor Kelly suggests Archer is looking for a nanny, and Iris might be available, she shudders at the thought. But in need of money she reluctantly agrees.
As Archer and Iris get used to their new roles, is it possible that they might have more in common than they first thought, or is Olive just determined to play match-maker…
This summer’s secrets by Emily Barr
I think it’s safe to say a book that has summer in the title and someone in a pool on the cover is a great read for the season. This is a new author for me so I’m quite excited to check this out. Plus I’m really enjoying mystery thrillers at the moment.
Synopsis: One hot summer, first love and so many buried secrets…
Senara has never been in love before. She’s not done anything exciting before. Always the sidekick . . . Until the summer that changes everything.
Cliff House is closed off for most of the year until its rich Londoner owners come down to Cornwall for the summer. This year, despite herself, Senara finds herself pulled into this world of wealth and ease, sunbathing and beautiful people. She even finds herself falling in love for the first time.
But Cliff House and its owners are hiding things. They’ve been hiding things for too long and now, despite all their efforts, their secrets are coming out . . . Secrets that involve Senara’s friends and her family in a way she could never have imagined.
Camp Spirit by Axelle Lenoir
Nothing screams summer more than a literal summer camp. Not that they’re really a thing in the UK. I have, however, always loved anything to do with American summer camps. My love for them started with The Parent Trap. I wanted to go to one so bad but the harsh reality is I probably would have absolutely hated it.
After reading Lumberjanes Vol.1, I’ve been wanting more summer camp vibes in my life and this looks like it fits the bill perfectly.
Synopsis: Summer camp is supposed to be about finding nirvana in a rock garden… But Elodie prefers Nirvana and Soundgarden. Can she confront rambunctious kids, confusing feelings, and supernatural horrors all at once?
Summer 1994: with just two months left before college, Elodie is forced by her mother to take a job as a camp counselor. She doesn’t know the first thing about nature, or sports, of kids for that matter, and isn’t especially interested in learning… but now she’s responsible for a foul-mouthed horde of red-headed girls who just might win her over, whether she likes it or not. Just as Elodie starts getting used to her new environment, though — and close to one of the other counselors — a dark mystery lurking around the camp begins to haunt her dreams.
You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry
I don’t have a photo for these yet as I always forget about audiobooks, but I’ve been meaning to read this for so long now. The announcement of the film cast is finally pushing me to do it. Plus, it sounds like the perfect summer read.
I’ve only read one Emily Henry book so far and I adored it so it’s really about time I get around to another one.
Synopsis: Two best friends. Ten summer trips. One last chance to fall in love.
Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.
Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since.
Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.
Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?
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