Seven Beach Reads Perfect For Hot Summer Days

We’re kicking off with a book literally designed for the beach: Emily Henry’s Beach Read.

January Adams is a chick-lit author who, after a series of bad events and the torment of writer’s block, moves into her late father’s lake house. Her neighbour? January’s college acquaintance/rival/crush, and handsome literary fiction author, Augustus ‘Gus’ Everett.

As they get to know each other all over again, the two authors set a bet: January will write a serious novel, and Gus will write something happy. Whoever gets published first wins.

Planning on soaking up the sun for the whole day?

Lay down your towel and lather on the SPF because Samantha Shannon’s The Priory of the Orange Tree is a mammoth of a book.

Described by Shannon as a ‘feminist retelling of George and the Dragon’, this novel is rich in sapphic romance, relatable female characters, and ancient rivalries.

And don’t forget the dragons!

Revolving around three main characters: Queen Sabran the Ninth, ruler of Inys; Ead Duryan, a member of The Priory of the Orange Tree and Sabran’s protector; and Tané, a dragon rider from the East, this novel will have you gripped from the first chapter.

With Madeline Miller’s Circe, we’re going all the way back to antiquity.

This is a beautifully gripping feminist retelling of Homer’s Odyssey, in which Miller brings a new perspective to Circe’s journey. Though the book features gods, goddesses, and witches at its heart, it’s about humanity and the desire to belong.

Circe is the eldest daughter of Helios, the sun god. Throughout her life, she is mocked and ridiculed by the other divinities for being different, powerless, and ugly. That is, until she shows just how much power she has, which sets her life on a different course.

If you like your beach books with a hint of murder and a lot of scandal, check out Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum.

Set in the fictional town of Salcombe on Fire Island, it’s hard not to be drawn into the world of the dirty rich that Emma Rosenblum has created.

The characters are as flawed as they are rich. They lie. They cheat. They manipulate. They gossip. A lot. Almost as much as they play tennis and sip expensive wine.

And every summer, these Manhattan elites gather and journey to their holiday homes, bringing along their kids, imported seafood, and, most importantly, their nannies.

If you only have time to scoff a sandwich against the backdrop of the waves over your lunch break, try dipping into Grand Tour by Elisa Gonzalez.

In Elisa Gonzalez’s debut collection, you’re invited to sink your toes into the sand and fully absorb the tapestries she paints with her poetry. With themes of sexuality, family, life, loss, and identity, Gonzalez’s Grand Tour is reminiscent of the journey aristocrats would take on their summer breaks, making it a reflective and profound beach read.

If you enjoyed Circe, you’ll likely enjoy the poem “After My Brother’s Death, I Reflect on the Iliad." In this poem, Elisa reflects on her brother’s death through nods to Homer’s Iliad, specifically characters such as Achilles and Priam, making the poem even more raw and emotive.