Reading with a Side of Life

This story is about Linnea Rutledge, it’s more like chaos in coastal granddaughter inspired linen pants. She’s just lost her job at the aquarium (again…like-get it together world), her family is dealing with all kinds of emotional and financial stress, and oh—her boyfriend Gordon is stuck overseas. Classic 2020 problems…Awe….don’t we all miss quarantine?

But with a twist, her ex John shows up. He’s quarantining next door. The tension? Palpable as sea salt on your lips after a dip in the ocean. Now Linnea’s torn between two loves and one very strange summer.

Buy this beach read here.

Perfect for readers who love:

• Books set on the Isle of Palms and coastal South Carolina
• Second-chance romances (plural, y’all)
• Emotional family fiction with modern themes
• Summer reads that balance heartbreak with healing
• Coastal granddaughter aesthetic but make it pandemic-era

On a golden June night in Nantucket, graduation is supposed to be the start of everything. But for four teens, it becomes the end of life as they knew it. When a celebratory beach bonfire takes a tragic turn, Penny Alistair is gone in an instant. Her brother, Hobby, ends up in a coma. And their best friends, Jake and Demeter, walk away without a scratch—but emotionally shattered in to a million little sand grains.

As summer on the island unfolds, the once-perfect lives of these teens and their families begin to unravel. Long-buried secrets come to light, grief bubbles to the surface, and relationships are tested in the warm, salty air. This book goes through loss, resilience, and the messy magic of starting over. It’s a book about what happens when your whole world breaks—and how the people who love you help pick up the pieces.

Pick up the pieces here.

Perfect for readers who love:

Fiction that feels like a summer storm—beautiful, sudden, and unforgettable
Emotional beach reads with deep family dynamics
Coastal settings full of charm and hidden pain
Coming-of-age stories with grief, growth, and healing

Okay, this one? It’s a whole vibe. Set in London and coastal Cornwall, this is one of those kind of books that makes you feel like you’ve lived a thousand quiet lives before you even hit chapter ten. So lets talk about Penelope Keeling, a woman who has seen war, love, loss, and the beautifully complicated mess of raising a family. Her life and the lives of her children revolve around one mysterious and emotional artifact: an oil painting called The Shell Seekers, painted by her father.

As the narrative gently shifts between World War II and present day, we get into each generation of the Keeling family. Because, let’s be real—family heirlooms + money + unspoken resentment = inevitable drama.

By this time-traveler here.

Perfect for readers who love:

Art as symbolism, legacy, and the root of conflict
Multi-generational family sagas with emotional depth
That slow, sweeping historical fiction energy
British coastal settings and old family estates
Books with strong, complex women at their core

Let’s talk about that summer. We all have that summer that sticks with you. Shapes you to who you are today. Everything shifts, hearts crack open just a little spewing out hormones, and you realize you’re not a kid anymore. That’s what happens to Belly.

Belly doesn’t do seasons—she does summers. For her, the year begins and ends with Cousins Beach, with bonfires, tan lines, crashing waves, midnight swims, and those two boys: Jeremiah and Conrad. They’ve been her forever friends and basically her whole beach universe since she could walk.

But this summer? It’s different. Belly’s grown up. People notice. Tensions rise. And all those innocent summers suddenly feel like prequels to the real story. One where love gets messy, families get complicated, and feelings refuse to stay in their lane.

Get this book along with coral friendly sunscreen here.

Perfect for readers who love:
The kind of nostalgic story that makes you want to journal about your crush under a beach umbrella
Coming-of-age romance with emotional depth
Love triangles that actually break your heart a little
Coastal granddaughter-core with teen angst + glow-up energy
Summers that change everything

Two best friends. One charming and relaxing seaside bookshop. And a summer that just might rewrite everything.

Imagine this: Cape Cod breeze blowing through your hair, iced coffee in hand with slight condensation running down the side, and a cozy little bookshop that smells like sea salt and dreams. YYYASSS. Okay, now when Jess watches her marriage unravel and pull away like a resending tide, she does what any smart woman with a suitcase and a soul in need of rest would do—she heads straight for Cape Cod. With her grown daughter in tow and her ride-or-die bestie Alison by her side, it’s time to reconnect and reset.

Meanwhile, after a two-decade career is suddenly gone like a well built sandcastle being taken by the sea. What now? Well, a quaint bookshop in town is looking for new owners, and suddenly, the dream she didn’t know she still had comes knocking.

Together, these two lifelong friends trade in their stress for stories, sunshine, and seaside serenity. And as they turn the key on their new bookstore, they might also be unlocking love, purpose, and the joy of starting over.

Start over with this book here.

Perfect for readers who love:

Coastal granddaughter feels in a book
Uplifting women’s fiction with beachy backdrops
Friendship stories that span decades
Cape Cod small-town charm
Bookshops, breezy porch scenes, and characters you want to hug

One perfect day. One massive letdown. One maybe-he’s-back-for-real reunion. Fern Brookbanks spent one magical day in her twenties tangled up in a whirlwind city adventure with Will Baxter. They made a pact. A date. A moment. And then… he ghosted. What the acutual fuck?

Fast-forward nine years, Fern’s back in her small hometown, running the family lakeside resort she promised she’d never touch. Her life plan? Off the rails. Her ex? Still hanging around. Her mom’s legacy? Slightly falling apart. Basically: Fern needs a miracle—and fast.

Cue Will. Looking hotter than ever, of course. And very much not the barefoot artist she remembered—he’s now showing up in suits and secrets, with a helping hand and some serious emotional baggage.

Is this fate finally righting a cosmic wrong? Or just another round of heartbreak wrapped in charming smiles and lake sunsets?

By this second chance love story here.

Perfect for readers who love:

Lake resort vibes with strong second-chance romance energy
A summer read full of slow-burn tension, wistful memories, and small-town drama
Think The Summer I Turned Pretty but with grown-up stakes and heartbreaking almosts
Cozy Canadian setting with Gilmore Girls meets The Notebook flair
A what-might-have-been love story that will hit you right in the soul
That coastal granddaughter + lake life core you can read on a porch with iced tea

Small town secrets, summer scandals, and one big city comeback…

Conley Hawkins thought she’d traded in sleepy Silver Bay for a glam D.C. journalism career—new job, new life, new zip code. But when her big-city gig vanishes in a puff of newsroom smoke, she’s back where it all started: working at The Silver Bay Beacon… under her sister, no less. Oof.

Now stuck writing the local gossip column—fittingly titled Hello, Summer—Conley’s covering bake sales and bridal showers when bam, a high-profile death rocks the town. A local congressman (and supposed war hero) dies in a suspicious accident, and Conley smells a story far bigger than PTA drama.

As buried secrets rise to the surface, an old flame sparks back to life and the town starts to sizzle with scandal. Conley’s about to learn that small towns can hold some very big secrets… especially in the heat of summer.

Buy this gossip filled book here.

Marin Bishop did everything right—top-tier law career, a picture-perfect NYC engagement, and the golden child status her father always wanted. But one impulsive decision sends her entire life into a tailspin. Suddenly single, jobless, and spiraling, Marin is hit with another curveball: a stranger shows up claiming to be her half-sister.

Cue the road trip.

With nothing left to lose, Marin escapes to a charming New England beach town to meet the grandmother she never knew existed. What starts as a getaway turns into a deeply personal journey full of buried family secrets, unexpected connections, and heart-healing summer magic.

Set against the salty breeze of a coastal B&B is an emotionally rich, binge-worthy story of identity, forgiveness, and the many forms love can take. If you’re into layered family drama, sisterhood, and beach reads with substance, this one’s your next suitcase essential.

Buy this to take on your road trip here.

In the postcard-perfect seaside town of Maine, Evvie Drake is known as the grieving widow. Almost a year after her husband’s sudden death, she’s still hiding out in her big, echoey house.

Okay, now let’s bring Dean Tenney into the story: former MLB star, New York City golden boy, and currently benched by a wicked case of the yips (yep, that thing where you just can’t anymore). With the media breathing down his neck, Dean skips town for a fresh start—and ends up renting the back apartment of Evvie’s quiet coastal home.

The deal is simple: no talking about her late husband, and no questions about his baseball career. Easy, right? Well, not exactly. Because when you put two broken people under the same charming roof with salty air, second chances, and a few snarky quips… walls start to come down.

Get your second chance here.

For those who need:

Cozy coastal settings with emotional depth
Second-chance romance with a splash of humor
Strong-but-flawed main characters you root for
Slow burn chemistry that feels real and earned
Found family, healing, and honest new beginnings

What happens when a romance writer who’s lost her spark and a brooding literary darling who’s allergic to joy become next-door neighbors for the summer?

January Andrews writes swoon-worthy, bestselling romances with perfect endings. Augustus Everett? He’s a critically acclaimed author who prefers his characters dead or destroyed by the final page. They couldn’t be more opposite—except now, they’re both broke, creatively blocked, and living in side-by-side beach houses on Lake Michigan.

Then comes a challenge: swap genres for the summer. He’ll write a happily-ever-after (gasp), and she’ll tackle the kind of moody, existential fiction he’s known for. Field trips, interviews, awkward tension, and plenty of banter follow. The goal? Finish their books. No one falls in love. (Sure, Jan.)

This sharp, clever, and heart-swoony novel is not your average beach read—but it’s exactly what your TBR needs.

By this challenge filled book here.

If you love:
💘 Enemies-to-lovers done right
📚 Writers writing about writers (hello, meta perfection)
🏖 Books with beach vibes and bite
📺 Rom-com energy with serious emotional depth
📖 Emily Henry, Christina Lauren, or Ali Hazelwood
✨ Witty banter + secret sadness + slow burn romance

Then buckle up—Beach Read is your next obsession.