What are the Best Beach Books of Summer 2019?

What are the best beach books of summer 2019? So many choices, and only 12 weeks of summer. What to do? To lend a hand, we’ve rounded up the most-anticipated new releases since the last time we compiled a list of the best beach books. You might also enjoy the best books of 2018, most of which are now out in paperback. These are our picks for the best beach reads 2019.

What are the best beach books of summer 2019?

Like a lovely glass of rose or a perfect romantic comedy, one of the great joys of summer is a light and refreshing new novel. Call it a “beach read,” or just call it your perfect summer companion.

The best summer books 2019 will take you to Block Island, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, the Hamptons, Paris and beyond. Even if only in your mind.

The summer beach reads 2019 are arriving in-store and online now, so its time to start stocking up. Apply sunscreen, then kick back and relax. Here are our picks for the best beach books 2019.

the best beach reads 2019

1.

The Islanders: A Novel by Meg Mitchell Moore. Anthony Puckett was a rising literary star. But his second work failed. Now he’s living in a borrowed crumbling beach house on Block Island. Joy Sousa runs the island’s beloved café. But this summer a food truck is threatening her business. Lu Trusdale is spending the summer living on-island with her two young sons while her surgeon husband commutes to the mainland. Over the twelve short weeks of summer, these three strangers will meet and grow close, share secrets and bury lies.

2.

Summer of ’69 by Elin Hilderbrand. In her first historical novel, the author profiles one family rocked by social change. Four siblings who used to spend every summer on Nantucket are apart – one fighting in Vietnam, one pregnant, one rebelliously working on Martha’s Vineyard. And one stuck with their mother and grandmother on Nantucket. Ted Kennedy sinks a car in Chappaquiddick, a man walks on the moon, and this family experiences dramatic upheavals along with the rest of the country.

3.

Drawing Home by Jamie Brenner. In idyllic Sag Harbor, Emma Mapson mans the front desk of The American Hotel. When notable artist Henry Wyatt dies suddenly, she learns that he has mysteriously left his waterfront home to her teenage daughter, Penny. Then legendary art patron Bea Winstead, with her devoted assistant Kyle in tow, arrives determined to reclaim the house and preserve Henry’s legacy. In their battle for the house, Emma and Bea are forced to confront the past and their beliefs about love, fate, and family.

4.

The Summer Guests by Mary Alice Monroe. When a hurricane threatens the Atlantic coast, an eclectic group of evacuees flees for the home of their friends Grace and Charles Phillips in North Carolina. In the mix? The Phillips’s daughter Moira and her rescue dogs. Famed equestrian Javier Angel de la Cruz. Makeup artist Hannah McLain. Horse breeder Gerda Klug and her daughter Elise. And island resident Cara Rutledge. They bring with them only the few treasured possessions they can fit in their vehicles. Strangers to all but the Phillips, they ride out the storm together.

5.

Vintage 1954 by Antoine Laurain. When Hubert Larnaudie invites some fellow residents of his Parisian apartment building to drink an exceptional bottle of 1954 Beaujolais, he has no idea of its special properties. The following morning, Hubert finds himself waking up in 1950s Paris, as do antique restorer Magalie, mixologist Julien, and Airbnb tenant Bob from Milwaukee, who’s on his first trip to Europe. After their initial shock, the city of Edith Piaf and An American in Paris begins to work its charm on them.

6.

The Red Address Book by Sofia Lundberg. Doris, a 96-year-old woman living alone in her Stockholm apartment takes great joy from her weekly Skype calls with Jenny, her American grandniece. When Doris was a girl, she was given an address book by her father. Ever since she has carefully documented everyone she met and loved throughout the years. In writing down the stories of her colorful past, she hopes to help Jenny, haunted by a difficult childhood. And whatever became of Allan, the love of Doris’s life? This charmingly told tale is a meditation on the stories we carry forward to the next generation. And the surprises in life that can await us at any age.

7.

The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick. Librarian Martha Storm has always found it easier to connect with books than people. She keeps careful lists of how to help others in her superhero-themed notebook. Then a book of fairy tales arrives on her doorstep. Inside, she finds a dedication written to her by her best friend—her grandmother Zelda—who died under mysterious circumstances years earlier. A clue within the book indicates that Zelda may still be alive.  As she delves into Zelda’s past, she unwittingly reveals a family secret that will change her life forever.

8.

Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss by Rajeev Balasubramanyam. Professor Chandra is an internationally renowned economist, divorced father of three (quite frankly baffling) children, and the recent victim of a bicycle hit-and-run. He wants to get straight back to the office, but his doctor has other ideas. Work, success, stress – the doctor prescribes taking a break and enjoying himself. In short, Chandra should follow his bliss. He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s about to embark on the journey of a lifetime.

9.

Polite Society by Mahesh Rao. Beautiful, clever, and more than a little bored, Ania Khurana has Delhi wrapped around her finger. Having successfully found love for her spinster aunt, she sets her sights on Dimple: her newest, sweetest, and most helpless friend. But when her aunt’s handsome nephew arrives from America, the social tides in Delhi begin to shift. Have a whirl through the mansions of India’s dazzling elite in this charming and bubby modern reimagining of Jane Austen’s Emma.

10.

The Summer of Sunshine and Margot by Susan Mallery. An etiquette coach, Margot is skilled at teaching her clients to fit in. But Bianca, an aging movie star who now needs to show up as a proper diplomat’s wife, requires intensive lessons. Bianca’s son Alec is handsome and brusque. Can Margot convince him to let her in? Meanwhile, Sunshine has always been the good-time sister, but she swears she won’t be “that girl” again. No more falling for the wrong guy. Especially not the tempting single dad who also happens to be her boss.

11.

Surfside Sisters by Nancy Thayer. Keely Green dreamed of leaving Nantucket to become a writer and she makes it happen, building a glittering life in Manhattan. But then her perfectly fine pediatric surgeon boyfriend – who looks good on paper but isn’t “the one” – proposes. And her editor rejects her latest novel. The dual dilemmas send her back to Nantucket, where her estranged childhood best friend Isabelle is living with her husband (who happens to be Keely’s ex). Complications ensue, including those presented by Isabelle’s older brother, Sebastian.

12.

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang. The author of the 2018 novel The Kiss Quotient returns with one of the best beach books 2019. This time, its the story of an arranged relationship between Khai, who struggles to feel emotions due to autism, and Esme, a Vietnamese girl who just wants to belong.

That’s it – our picks for the best beach reads 2019. What’s at the top of your list?

Forward This Article