Books to put in your beach bag

It’s finally spring ! This means warmer temperatures, sunny days and vacations. I don’t know about you, but for me, more enjoyable also means more time to read the kind of books I can relax with; the kind of brain candy that allows me to escape reality.

These types of books are great for cruising, as I can pick them up and put them down as often as needed as activity allows – although let’s be honest, once I really get sucked into a story, it’s SO hard to put it down! A quick wave to the bartender for another Gin & Tonic, and I’m a very happy cruiser.

I’ve picked out some pretty fun novels for you this month: romance, fantasy, thrillers full of suspense. Pick a few and head to the Solarium to spend a day with the characters. Don’t forget to pack the sunscreen and let me know which books you liked!

Romance

1. Tempting Taste by Sara Whitney: Any show that has Cinnamon Roll in the name has to be delicious, right? This one begins with a clash between a grumpy baker and an assertive public relations whiz. Can they work together, or will the salt versus the sweet be too difficult to balance?
2. The Kissing Quotient by Helen Hoang: When Stella, a woman more into math and algorithms than romance, needs to gain experience in the dating world, she hires escort Michael. Maybe she can get some dating data from him that will help tip the balance in a more logical direction.
3. A bold arrangement by Joanna Shupe: The first in Shupe’s Four Hundred series set in Golden Age New York, we meet a lady in a hurry to find a partner. However, this particular match must be absolute terror, so her father will refuse so she can marry whoever she wants instead. Unfortunately, the man she chooses does good, instead of the evil she wanted.

Fancy

1. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss: Considered by some to be a grown-up version of Harry Potter, it’s the story of the world’s most notorious wizard and how he became. Born into poverty, he found his place in a school of magic and became a legend.
2. The City of Copper by SA Chakraborty: Journey to Cairo, in a magical world full of enchantments. Nahri accidentally summons a jinn warrior and discovers that the myths of her childhood aren’t just legends and that actions do, in fact, have consequences.
3. Written in red by Anne Bishop: When Meg, a clairvoyant, arrives at Lakeside Courtyard, the community does not know what to do with her. She is not part of the Others, those who live there. But Simon Wolfgard has an instinct to protect her, even if there is a significant risk. Is she prey, predator or someone worth protecting?

Suspense/Thriller

1. The Historian of Elizabeth Kostova: Follow the story of Dracula through the clues and letters of a historian. Can you save his father from impending doom?
2. The Secrets We’ve Kept by Lara Prescott: Literature lovers will enjoy this spy thriller based on a true Cold War story. Two secretaries are pulled from the CIA’s typing pool for a top-secret assignment. That mission, if they choose to accept it, is to smuggle Doctor Zhivago out of the USSR so he can be released.
3. Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam: Vacations are supposed to be relaxing, but when Amanda and Clay rent a vacation home on Long Island, things don’t go as planned. The owners of the house show up in the middle of the night, there is a crisis in New York and they have to escape. Can the two families trust each other isolated in this rural house, cut off from everyone?

What have you read lately? Do you spend more time reading when the weather warms up? What sounds good about this list? Share in the comments!