Top 30 New Summer Romance Books That Are Essential for 2026
“The beach is the perfect place to escape reality and get lost in a great book.”
Hello fellow book lovers! Welcome to Cozy Book Cafe. Thank you for visiting our website. Here you will discover the most anticipated best summer holiday books of 2026. Dive into captivating new stories, discover new authors, and let your imagination soar.
Think of new summer romance books as bottled sunshine, feel-good love stories that capture vacation vibes, beach days, and those long, golden afternoons full of possibility. If you’re hunting for the best new summer romance books, you’ll find sun-soaked romances with flirty sparks that grow into something real. Picture sun-kissed glances, charming coastal towns that feel like a permanent escape, ice cream in hand, and ocean breezes that add a little spark to every moment. Add a sprinkle of warm, sunlit magic and you’ve got the perfect recipe for a dazzling summer read.
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⭐ BOOK CLUB TOP PICK ⭐
Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan
If they start by pretending, can they end with something real?
Dolly Brick has never met a problem she couldn’t solve. Not when her mom left when she was twelve, and not at thirty-nine when she moves with her son back to Whitfield, Rhode Island, for the summer to keep her dad and brother from losing the family home.
So when she comes across Stewart Whitfield—annoyingly handsome scion of the Whitfield family—with a flat tire and at the wrong end of a very public, very humiliating breakup, it’s in her nature to help.
But Stewart’s proposed arrangement ends up being more than either of them bargained for, because as public dinners and high-society benefits turn into sunset boat rides and kisses that hit her bloodstream like a ghost pepper, Dolly starts to feel something more than helpful.
She’s never relied on anyone besides herself—can she really start now?
The Vacation Situation by Lyra Parish
Carter Banks shows up at my struggling beachside B&B looking for a place to disappear for the summer. I accept his reservation because we need the money. As it stands, I have three months to save my family's legacy and no time for distractions.
But the chemistry is off the charts, and we can't get enough of one another.
Between late-night meetups and early morning coffee runs, I'm falling for a man who feels like home. He helps me slow down long enough to remember what I'm fighting for and reminds me to have fun.
Everything seems like it might work out until the sharks start circling, both the corporate kind and my ex wanting a second chance. Somehow, Carter's the only one keeping me together.
But when paparazzi photos and gossip blogs reveal the guy I've been falling for is actually Dyson Carter Banks—billionaire CEO and exactly the kind of man I swore I'd never trust—I'm left wondering if it was real or if I was just another summer crush.
There's only one way to find out…
The Lake House by Lori Foster
When Pixie Nolan first came to Bramble, Kentucky, the abandoned and desperate young single mother found hope, healing, and a fresh start. With the loving support of her best friends—Marlow Heddings and her handsome Marine husband, Cort—Pixie is now happily raising her toddler son in a cozy cottage, managing Marlow’s thriving boutique, and designing firefly logo t-shirts that are selling like hotcakes. The past is behind her, and life is good.
She never expected to make an electrifying connection with a summer renter, a retired Navy SEAL with his own complicated past . . .
A rugged warrior with scars both seen and unseen, Brogan Rafferty arrives with an adorable baby girl in tow and settles into the lake house next door. And while he’s a stunning addition to the gorgeous scenery, it’s his caring devotion that captures Pixie’s heart—the way he gently snuggles away the precious infant’s cries, or swoops Pixie’s delighted little boy high in the air with his tattooed, muscular arms.
But it’s no coincidence that Brogan has found Pixie, and his startling revelations make it clear she’s the key to healing old regrets and building new dreams. And when a hostile stranger turns up with shocking accusations against Bramble’s new hometown hero, Pixie must put her own fears and heartbreak away for good—and learn what it truly means to trust.
Bad Boy Era by Amy Daws
Everly is the matchmaking mastermind of her family, but her own love life is a bit of a flop.
Back from four years in Dublin, she’s ready for a quiet summer on Fletcher Mountain helping launch her aunt’s animal rescue center—until Conri “Wolf” Reilly shows up.
Wolf is her college roommate’s infuriating twin brother. He’s brooding, Irish, and college rugby’s resident bad boy with thighs that could crack a watermelon.
His red card reputation has trashed his rugby prospects…until a training camp in Denver comes calling. As a favor, Everly reluctantly gets Wolf a place to stay if he volunteers at the rescue center.
Now Everly finds herself working and living next door to the Irish tattooed grump who treats her like a nuisance—but looks at her like he could press her up against a hay bale until they forget their own names.
Wolf swore he came to America to fix his image, not fall for his sister’s best friend, but the more time he spends with Everly, the harder it is to keep his distance.
Perhaps Everly’s in her bad boy era…or maybe Fletcher Mountain has its own matchmaking plans.
The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez
In everyone's life, there's a split-second decision that can change everything . . .
For Larissa, it came when choosing which guy to ride home with after a concert. That night, she had no idea she'd met the perfect man.
She and Chris are great together, co-parenting a slightly unhinged rescue Yorkie, sharing their favourite books, and judging bread (pumpernickel for the win!).
For the first time amid all her side hustles to scrape by, things finally feel easy.
But Chris isn't the one who drove Larissa home all those months ago - Chris is her boyfriend's best friend.
All Chris wants is for Larissa to be happy. Standing by on the sidelines is slowly killing him, but making a move would destroy someone else.
And he's just not that guy.
Kissing the Sky by Lisa Patton
It’s the summer of ’69. While her peers revel in free love and rock and roll, Suzannah is home from college, sequestered inside her conservative Southern home. Her domineering father has condemned rock music and driven away her best friend. She’s counting the days until fall.
But everything changes when her free-spirited best friend, Livy, resurfaces, urging Suzannah, a talented singer, to join her for three days of peace and music in upstate New York. Fed up with her father’s rules and fearful for her brother’s fate in Vietnam, Suzannah agrees to the road trip, sneaking off without her parents’ knowledge.
Miles outside her comfort zone, the electrifying bedlam of Woodstock jolts her into a journey of self-transformation. But it’s not all incense and peppermints. Suzannah’s falling hard for Leon, a boy she meets at the festival, and the seductive bud of first love conceals a thorn of heartache. Lies uncover betrayal, and Livy’s wild behavior leads to a startling revelation.
A nostalgic trip through the turbulent ’60s, this is the story of a lovable heroine who lets go of the girl she was to embrace the woman she’s becoming while she learns to lift her voice—for herself and perhaps for the world.
Have a Great Summer by Francesca Cocchi
If time is supposed to heal all wounds, Lina Mariano’s broken teenage heart never quite got the message—but 15 sunny, sandy, angsty Jersey Shore summers later, she finds herself unexpectedly facing her old crush, getting a new perspective—and maybe even a hopeful glimpse of the future . . .
Lina Mariano is stuck—in her hometown, in her job, and in the past. And after six years of writing up local weddings as a columnist for a popular lifestyle website, she’s wholeheartedly sick of nuptials. Worse, the next one on her list is none other than Sebastian Nikolaou’s.
Working high school summers with sweet, handsome Sebastian at his mother’s iconic beach restaurant, teenage Lina was totally wrapped up in the way he made her feel—until the night that everything changed. Even so, she’s embarrassed to admit how often she still thinks of him, and now, comparing their present lives is wrenching.
It will take a careful look at her younger self, and some wisdom from the best friend who was there for it all, to see that making her dreams come true is up to her alone—whether or not those dreams still include Sebastian . . .
The Summer Girlfriend by Kristina Forest
Noelle Lewis doesn’t have time for long walks on the beach, brunch with the girls, or summer vacations. She’s too busy saving up to go back to college. After recently getting laid off from her bookseller job, her main gig is now serving as a “stand-in” bridesmaid, which doesn’t pay enough for the upcoming semester’s tuition. But then the perfect, if not unconventional, opportunity arises…
Jeremiah Smith II, grandson of the founder of Smith’s Sweets—a well-known baked goods company—once lived a life of frivolity. Since his grandfather’s death, Jeremiah’s tried to clean up his act, but it’s hard to focus when his family requests that he join them at their summer house in Heart Beach, New Jersey, where his most painful memory lies. To avoid going there, Jeremiah claims he already has plans with his girlfriend, and of course, his family tells him to bring her. The problem? Jeremiah doesn’t have a girlfriend.
After a chance meeting, Noelle and Jeremiah come to an agreement. He’ll hire her to be his stand-in girlfriend for the weekend, and she’ll use that money toward her tuition. She figures it will be quick, easy money, but as it turns out, Jeremiah’s family is lovely, and Jeremiah is even lovelier. Soon, a weekend agreement turns into an entire summer, and Noelle and Jeremiah will have to keep their hearts in check, or else it’s sink or swim for them both.
Lucky Girl Summer by Morgan Elizabeth
June Taylor has always believed that the universe pushes her in the right direction, even if, at the time, it felt like the end of the world. The universe works in strange ways, and those strange ways always work in her favor.
But when she gets laid off from the job she always thought was her calling, she leans further into all things luck and fate and vows to take every opportunity that the universe offers her. She’s entering her Lucky Girl Summer, finding four-leaf clovers and wishing at 11:11, and knowing it will all work out in the end.
When she stumbles into a new job, she thinks it might be working… until she realizes her grumpy new boss is also the man she had a one-night stand with.
Graham Hawthorne is not a man known for getting distracted: has always been laser-focused on his career and nothing else. When work brings him to the small shore town of Seaside Point, where he’s been tasked with opening a beach resort, he assumes it will be the same as always: get in, make the business profitable, then move on to the next location.
It’s just his luck that he would find himself increasingly obsessed with his new bubbly assistant… and even more obsessed with making all of her whimsical dreams come to life.
But lately, his successes have felt hollow, no longer bringing that satisfaction of a job well done. He hopes that his newest challenge, heading the newest expansion of Daydream Resorts in the form of small-scale luxury clubs, will be the thing to snap him out of it.
When You Loved Me by Beatriz Williams
Local history insists that a legendary pirate buried his treasure somewhere beneath Windward, the decayed Cooper estate on Winthrop Island, but Lucy Cooper never trusted the fable that broke her family apart. When a widowed Lucy returns with her young daughter to grieve her estranged father, she discovers catastrophe: The property is mired in debt she canʼt repay, and Ben Ressler has unexpectedly turned up on her doorstep.
Thirteen summers ago, the teenaged Lucy never meant to fall in love with Ben, a Dartmouth football star vacationing nearby at the Peabody estate and the object of an all-consuming crush by Laura Peabody, Lucy’s best friend. Those few weeks were the best and worst of Lucy’s life, dooming her friendship with Laura. Now, after a fatal accident ended his dazzling NFL career, Ben has returned to live quietly in the Peabodys’ caretaker lodge. He’s also the last person who saw Lucy’s father alive.
As Lucy reconstructs her father’s troubling final days, she uncovers his research on the frozen winter of 1717, when a desperately wounded pirate sought refuge on Winthrop Island with an enigmatic healer. To Lucy, this history points the way to a different kind of treasure: how to heal from the fractures of the past and earn a second chance at love. But just as Lucy’s long-buried emotions sear to the surface, a shocking turn of events reveals that someone else on the island will do whatever it takes to claim the fabled plunder.
Five-Star Summer by Sarah Morgan
Running a five-star Cornish hotel should have been Evie Hamilton’s dream job. But restoring it to its former glory is going to take a miracle. All Evie has is grit, and a hoard of unruly staff who love to speculate about her love life. She needs back-up, and fast.
Enter Abby Jones. Parachuted in by the hotel’s umbrella company for the summer, Abby thinks Evie could be the best friend she never had.
But Abby has her own agenda for being in Cornwall. If her real motives are uncovered, their friendship is going to melt away faster than an ice cream in the summer sun.
Yet Abby’s arrival starts a chain reaction. With the help of a charming chef and a gruff pub owner, they begin to embrace their true selves and the bonds that unite them.
But it’s not just the hotel’s five-star reputation that needs rebuilding – Evie and Abby will also have to brave tearing down their lives in order to reshape their futures…
Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune
Frankie and George have been best friends since they were eight years old. Both passionate, impulsive, and headstrong—they’ve always clashed . . . and come back together. Until now. It’s the eve of Frankie’s wedding weekend, and she doesn’t know where they stand or even if George will show up as her best man.
Then, at the start of the festivities, in walks George. For one glorious evening, surrounded by her loved ones, Frankie’s life is finally perfect. But it all comes crashing down when her fiancé dumps her the next morning, leaving only a note as an explanation.
Crushed and confused, Frankie returns to her family’s home to wallow. But George has a different idea and a plan for healing Frankie’s broken heart. He wants her to go on her honeymoon. With him. For one week, to the lush rainforests and misty beaches of Tofino.
Frankie agrees, seeing the trip for what it really is: one last chance to repair their friendship. Even if it means unearthing secrets and long buried feelings neither knows how to handle. Even if it means falling apart for good.
The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson
When writer Caroline Lash arrives in Greenhead, she falls immediately for its scenic beaches and New England charm – and even harder for Van Whittaker, a gorgeous, fleece-wearing, litter-collecting, kayak enthusiast.
She meets his friends: Augusta, old money and uptight; Fran, drowning in everyone else’s problems whilst keeping two kids (and an inebriated husband) afloat; and Bailey, who is sexy, confident… and inconveniently pregnant with Van’s child.
Determined nothing will dull the shine of her new romance, Caroline joins the friends as they run wild through Greenhead, drinking on houseboats, gossiping on beaches while their children paddle, and playing risky games.
It seems the fun will last forever – until it doesn’t.
As decades-old friendships and marriages begin to fracture, Caroline’s place in their world is called into question.
And with all the group’s most tightly held secrets at stake, who knows what might come out?
Road Trip by Mary Kay Andrews
Maeve and Therese Dunigan haven’t spoken in years. Raised under the same roof in Savannah, the two sisters could not be more opposite—Maeve the rule follower, Therese the unapologetic rebel. But when their mother’s death pulls them back together, they inherit more than just grief: a mysterious painting that may be worth millions…if it’s real.
Determined to uncover the truth—and desperately in need of the money—the sisters set out on a journey to Ireland, tracing their family’s roots and the origins of the portrait. What begins as a search for answers soon becomes something deeper—a reckoning with the past, as they uncover secrets that span generations and reshape everything they thought they knew about their family.
With tensions simmering, the two hit the road and find themselves on twisty lanes, in colorful villages, at local pubs, and with handsome men whose gift of the gab is surpassed only by their charm.
Can Maeve and Therese actually survive the journey without killing each other? Join Mary Kay Andrews on a road trip that will entertain you for miles.
Lost in the Summer of '69 by Eliza Knight
Summer, 1969. Eleanor Bell doesn't have anything to lose.
According to her doctors, she might not remember how to sing or play guitar soon, so why not head west now?
Why not join the music festivals sweeping the country and lose herself in the music again in a swan song of her own?
Except Eleanor forgets, maybe on purpose, to tell anyone where she's going. When her daughter, Leanne, discovers her mother missing, she enlists the help of her own daughter, Nora, to help her find Eleanor.
The last thing Nora wants to do before starting as one of Yale's first female undergrads is hit the road.
But then Nora hears her grandmother on the radio - singing. Nora and Leanne hop in their Lincoln Continental for a cross-country road trip, always one step behind Eleanor, who has been dubbed the Dame of Rock n' Roll by none other than Johnny Carson.
Scandal of the Summer by Alexandra Vasti
Eccentric heiress Lady Ruby Ballimore has had enough of the Marriage Mart. After offending yet another Very Important Marquess―and imperiling her father’s diplomatic career―Ruby flees London for the holiday house of a glamorous (and better yet, absent) princess. Armed with a forged invitation and accompanied by her like-minded friends, Ruby arrives at the Cornwall estate expecting a summer of blissful freedom.
Instead, she discovers a derelict mansion and the most suspiciously charming man she’s ever met.
Former privateer and current con artist Captain Malcolm Archer has dragged his ramshackle crew into a new life. Posing as staff at a princess’s abandoned estate provides the perfect cover for Archer’s smuggling scheme (not to mention free rent). Everything’s going according to plan―until an unorthodox London heiress crashes the party.
But when Archer and his crew attempt to frighten off their uninvited guests, Ruby’s unfazed by insect invasions and sham sea monsters. Harder to ignore? The scorching heat between the rakish pirate and the debutante who can see right through him. As sparks fly, deceptions run wild―because in this Great Cornish Fake Off, the only thing riskier than telling the truth is falling in love.
Our Secret Summer by R.S. Grey
What happens in Ibiza . . . could change everything
I've spent years stuck behind a desk, always doing the practical, predictable thing. But when my sister's untimely death leaves me with her unfinished bucket list, I have no choice but to throw caution to the wind and hop on a flight to sunny Ibiza. Attempting to carpe my diem on the shores of the Spanish Mediterranean, I waste no time making new friends and finding work at a popular nightclub.
Living out my sister's dream summer shouldn't be hard with her bucket list as my guide: Go surfing? Done. Get a tattoo? If the list says so . . . Fall in love? . . . Sorry, sis. No luck on that front.
That is, until I meet my surprisingly sexy boss Cristiano Moreno Winthrop. He's completely off limits, but we can't seem to stay away from each other. And between late-night talks, glittering parties on his yacht, and steamy stolen moments, I'm starting to think that I just might have found a way to finish that bucket list after all. But summer won't last forever. Is what Cristiano and I have just a fling, or will it last beyond the season?
Good at Being Alive by Elizabeth O'Roark
Rebecca “Bex” Daniels has just lost her entire family in a freak train accident, leaving her completely alone in the world and responsible for their travel agency. Only a few months after the tragedy, her father’s UK partner, the straitlaced Theo Porter, reveals that the business is about to go under. Their only hope? A reality TV deal brokered before her father’s death . . . with a rebrand: Bex and Theo are to pose as newlyweds, exploring the world on an extended honeymoon.
Bex and Theo couldn’t be more different—but though they initially clash, Bex soon discovers he’s amusing, protective, and kind, the sort of man she’d want to be married to in real life, if she thought for a second she deserved him. As for Theo, he can’t help but be swept up into the brilliant whirlwind that is Bex, but ever since his brother died, a real relationship is the last thing he wants.
As Bex and Theo flit across Europe, from Capri to Paris, exploring sun-drenched villas and remote fjords, they can’t help but notice their walls coming down, and their arguments begin to feel a lot more like foreplay than fighting. But they each carry around more than enough emotional baggage, and they’ll have to contend with public scandals and crushing grief before they can decide if they’re ready to ride off into the sunset once the cameras stop rolling.
The Shippers by Katherine Center
She thought she'd charted her course ... until love came on board.
After a whole lifetime of being bad at love, JoJo Burton decides to solve her commitment issues once and for all at her sister's destination wedding on a cruise ship. Her longtime crush and first ever kiss (who just happens to be newly-divorced) will be on board, and she decides to woo him during the cruise for some long-delayed closure.
Only problem is, her sister's a little busy being a bride at the moment-so JoJo ropes in her childhood bestie, Cooper, to be her wing man.
Cooper: who RSVPed no, but then showed up, anyway. Cooper: who left town without a word four years earlier and moved to London. Cooper: who was, if she's honest, the worst heartbreak of JoJo's life. It's bliss for her to see him again, and it's agony, too - and the more time they spend together, the more she obsesses over questions she can't bring herself to ask.
Shipboard antics ensue in this witty, heart-tugging, childhood-friends-to-lovers romance - as JoJo and Cooper fake flirt, slow dance, share a cabin, sing duets, treat sunburns, get jealous, and rescue each other over and over again...
Rules for the Summer by Meghan Quinn
Renley Gossage has nothing but a struggling candy shop and a dream. She is determined to make it as Cape Meril's confectionary queen with no help, no shortcuts - and definitely no rich men wielding engagement rings and making things messy.
Theo Williams never thought he'd be flying across an ocean to propose to a stranger, but here he is, knocking on Renley's door with a shiny diamond. She's the one person who might be able to stop his life from falling apart, so he's here with a marriage proposal - and more importantly for Renley, a business proposal . . .
The Deal: Theo needs a wife so his stiff-upper-lipped father won't cut him off. Renley needs a financial backer, even if she's too stubborn to admit it.
The Rules: One fake engagement. One summer. Zero romance.
But between collapsing drywall, gossiping neighbours, and the chaotic schemes of Renley's aunt, their forced proximity turns into something dangerously close to real.
Except Renley can't let go of the idea that standing on her own two feet means not accepting help. And Theo's past is about to catch up with him. By the time the candy shop doors reopen, they'll have to decide if this is just a summer fling - or a happily ever after worth breaking the rules for . . .
Summer State of Mind by Kristy Woodson Harvey
After the worst day in her professional life, burnt-out NICU nurse Daisy Stevens runs to Cape Carolina, North Carolina, looking for a new life—and possibly new romance. On her first day at her “simpler” job, high school baseball coach Mason Thaysden discovers an abandoned baby, sending ripples through the entire tight-knit town of Cape Carolina.
Mason is still struggling to reconcile the scars of the injury that kept him out of the big leagues, stuck in his hometown, and searching for a way out. This newcomer and the child they’ve saved together might be just the motivation he needs to stay put.
Sparks fly as Mason acquaints Daisy with Cape Carolina, introducing her to his friends and family, including his batty Aunt Tilley, who is looking for relief from long-buried family secrets and her own fresh start.
But as Daisy becomes increasingly attached to this abandoned child, and begins facing her own demons in the process, a startling discovery is made that threatens to rip the entire town of Cape Carolina apart, placing Daisy, Mason, and Tilley in the center of the storm.
The Daisy Chain Flower Shop by Laurie Gilmore
The greatest love is the one you never expected to find.
Daisy is fed up with being unlucky in love. And since Mayor Kelly declared her beloved flower shop cursed in one of his infamous visions, business has been slow.
Dream Harbor newcomer Elliot has been adjusting to small-town life following his own relationship turmoil. And until now he’s avoided the flower shop at all costs. If the mayor is correct, he doesn’t need any more bad luck in his life.
When he finds himself walking through the door of the Daisy Chain Flower Shop, he doesn’t expect it to be a life-changing moment.
But as the petals blossom in the sunlight, might the unluckiest woman in Dream Harbor finally find that love comes when you’re least expecting it?
Love Song by Elle Kennedy
Join us at the Logan family lake house in Tahoe...
After a brutal breakup, college junior Blake Logan escapes to her family's lake house in Tahoe, determined to shut out the world. Her plan is simple: no men, no drama. Until Wyatt Graham shows up. Four years older and far too good at getting under her skin, Wyatt is the living embodiment of a "bad idea," and the guy who shattered her pride when she confessed her crush at sixteen.
With his music career stalled, Wyatt has come to Tahoe for inspiration. The last thing he expects is to find it with Blake. He's spent years keeping his distance, convinced he's all wrong for her, but she's no longer the innocent girl he once knew. She's confident, captivating, and impossible to ignore. And the slow-burning tension between them? It's catching fire fast.
They both know this can't last, but one reckless kiss turns into another, and soon they're tangled in something that feels dangerously like more. Just as they finally give in to the pull, tragedy tears them apart, leaving their hearts in pieces.
But forgetting that one, nearly perfect summer? Not a chance. And when fate brings them together again, Blake and Wyatt must decide if this is a second chance...or the final verse.
Ways to Find Yourself by Angela Brown
Grace Whittaker’s life is coming apart.
In the wake of her mother’s death, a stalled writing career, and a slow-motion separation from her husband, Grace is more directionless than ever.
But when she returns to Sea Drift, the beach town where she and her mother summered for years, Grace’s life comes together in the most unexpected ways.
Soon after arriving on the picturesque coastline that meant so much to her, Grace discovers more than she remembers, and for reasons she can’t possibly fathom. Amid the weathered surf shops, pastel motels, and sloping beaches, Grace begins to encounter younger versions of herself. Each one is vivid, alive, and breathtakingly real.
As she navigates this most surreal week―reconnecting with old friends, trying to solve a quiet mystery about her mother, and revisiting a love she left behind―Grace is forced to remember who she used to be. It’s the only way she can figure out who she can still become.
The Summer of Second Chances by K.L. Walther
Olivia Lupo feels stuck. All her friends have gone on to their first year of college while she's still at home with her family. There's a good reason though, her beloved grandmother, Annie, has dementia, and Olivia can't bear the thought of being so far from home when Annie needs her the most.
So when her stepmother asks the family to spend three weeks of the summer on Martha's Vineyard, Olivia plans to say no...until she discovers an old box Annie filled with photos and memories from her own time there. Olivia decides to follow in her grandmother's footsteps and spend some time on the island that Annie describes as magical.
When she arrives, she meets Connor, a boy from her past who really wants to be a part of her present... and future. Olivia's never thought about forever with someone until meeting Connor...and it scares her. How can she make plans when all she wants to do is keep close to her grandmother before she's gone forever?
As she recreates the memories Annie made a lifetime ago, she has to decide if she's finally willing to give someone her heart, just when she needs it the most.
Summer Love by Lea Coll
Being labeled one of the island’s most eligible bachelors was not on my to-do list.
But thanks to one sexy reporter with her eye on an exclusive feature, that’s exactly what happened.
Elena is wickedly smart. So, it didn’t take her long to learn way more about me than most people would.
I just never thought I’d get to know her so well in the process. Or that I’d want her more than my next breath. But I did…and I do.
Now, somewhere between volunteering to renovate her grandmother’s porch and spending all our free time together, I’m falling for a woman I have to pretend means nothing to me so that we don’t ruin her article and wreck this publicity opportunity for my family’s business.
I’m sure it’ll all work out, though. After all…what could possibly go wrong?
Anchored by Marika Ray
I didn’t mean to blurt out that the ridiculously handsome physical therapist at Sunny Shores Retirement Home is my fiancé. (Spoiler alert: he's not.) But hey, at least my grandmother—the one recently diagnosed with dementia—is thrilled for me. Which makes lying to her feel so much worse, especially since my actual love life has sunk to the bottom of the lake.
My favorite memories are those magical summers at Grandma's cabin in Anchor Lake. The ones filled with cannonballs, sunburns, and my first crush. Well, guess who's now renting that very cabin and strutting around like a walking men’s fitness magazine cover? Yep, my childhood crush (aka: the hot physical therapist turned fake fiancé). Except now he comes with bonus muscles and designer glasses that make him look like Clark Kent's hotter cousin. And apparently, he's allergic to shirts. (I'm not complaining, but my ability to form coherent sentences sure is.)
Thanks to the town being packed tighter than a tin of sardines with tourists, we're now playing house in Grandma's cabin. He thinks his ADHD makes him challenging to live with, but after dating my ex (a two-timing toad), this guy's like a breath of fresh air – or maybe that's just the lake breeze talking.
As we investigate Grandma's mysterious health decline and uncover love letters that suggest she was quite the heartbreaker back in the day, I'm starting to wonder: will this fake engagement lead to real heartbreak, or is Anchor Lake about to work its romance magic one more time.
Summer People by Brittanee Nicole & Jenni Bara
A quirky island off the coast of Maine seemed like the perfect escape from the pesky media when my life in Hollywood fell apart. From the moment I step off the ferry in Monhegan Island it's clear that no one wants me here though, least of all the grumpy single dad who seems affronted by my mere existence.
Fisher Jones is stupidly handsome, goes nowhere without his beloved golden retriever Bing, and speaks in nothing but grunts.
Unfortunately for Fisher, I’m not going anywhere. In fact we’re neighbors. And his daughter Sutton, just like every other eight year old in America, is obsessed with me.
Summer in Monhegan isn’t at all what I expect, but neither is Fisher. I haven’t quite figured out why he’s so miserable, but I’m also not volunteering what I’m running from.
All I know is the Islanders aren’t the only ones worming their way into my heart. Though, I suppose it won’t matter how I feel, if my past catches up to me. Maybe I’m destined to be nothing more than summer people.
Far and Away by Amy Poeppel
Perfect strangers Lucy and Greta have agreed to a house swap—and boy, are they going to regret it.
Lucy’s hometown of Dallas has gone from home sweet home to vicious snake pit in the blink of an eye after her son makes a mistake he can’t undo. And Greta’s beloved flat in Berlin is suddenly up for grabs when her husband Otto takes a dream job in Texas without even telling her. In their rush to leave town, Lucy and Greta make a deal, pack their bags, and—thanks to martinis, desperation, and some very rusty German—have absolutely no idea what they’re getting themselves into.
Trading Southern charm and barbecue for European sophistication and schnitzel, the two women get a lot more than a change of scenery as they move into each other’s houses, neighborhoods, and lives. Greta and Lucy’s husbands are no help: Otto is winning over his colleagues, swimming laps in the backyard pool, and rooting for the Rangers, while Lucy’s husband is doing a six-month stretch out west, either in a NASA biosphere or in jail, depending on who you ask. Meanwhile, Greta’s daughter Emmi and Lucy’s son Jack get tossed into each other’s orbits, where they both discover secrets they can’t ignore.
When Greta’s biggest career achievement—the buzzworthy purchase of a Vermeer at auction—is thrown into question and Lucy’s past with a hot Viking named Bjørn invades her present, the two women need each other in ways they never could have imagined. Through jet lag, culture shock, suspiciously nice neighbors, and scandals that refuse to be left behind, Lucy and Greta will have to decide if they can ever go home again.
Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone
Lenny’s a bit of a mess at the moment. Ever since cancer stole away her best friend, she has been completely lost. She’s avoiding her concerned parents, the apartment she shared with her best friend, and the ever-laminated “live again” list of things she’s promised to do to survive her grief. But maybe if she acts like she has it all together, no one will notice she’s falling apart.
The only gigs she can handle right now are temporary babysitting jobs, and she just landed a great one, helping overworked, single mom Reese and her precocious daughter, Ainsley. The only catch: Ainsley’s uncle, Miles, always seems to be around, and is kind of. . . a walking version of the grumpy cat meme. Worse – he seems to be able to see right through her.
Surprisingly, Miles knows a lot about grief and he offers Lenny a proposition. He’ll help her complete everything on her “live again” list if she’ll help him connect with Ainsley and overcome his complicated relationship with Reese. Lenny doubts anything can fill the void her best friend has left behind, but between late night ferry rides, midnight ramen, and a well-placed shoulder whenever she needs it, Miles just won’t stop showing up for her. Turns out, sometimes your life has to end to find your new beginning.