Hey guys. I know things have been really quiet this month on my blog. Really, I have zero excuses for not posting as much. I’ve been preoccupied and really just not motivated to write, bake, or blog. Yeah, it’s just been one of those months. I’m really hoping and praying that I get an energy boost come July!
I missed this topic from the ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish a few weeks ago, even though I had been planning to participate a month or so prior. So, even though it’s not Tuesday and it’s not even this topic, I decided to finish putting it together and share anyways. *shrugs shoulders* I do what I want. đ
Anyways, I hope you enjoy this list of “beach reads” or books I’d love to read this summer. Some have already been released and others are releasing soon. Of course, I could’ve added a hundred more books to this list, but I didn’t want to overwhelm or take away from these fantastic reads, so I decided on sharing these eleven for now. Let’s begin.
The Love That Split the World by Emily HenryNatalie Cleary must risk her future and leap blindly into a vast unknown for the chance to build a new world with the boy she loves.
Natalieâs last summer in her small Kentucky hometown is off to a magical start… until she starts seeing the âwrong things.â Theyâre just momentary glimpses at firstâher front door is red instead of its usual green, thereâs a pre-school where the garden store should be. But then her whole town disappears for hours, fading away into rolling hills and grazing buffalo, and Nat knows something isnât right.
Thatâs when she gets a visit from the kind but mysterious apparition she calls âGrandmother,â who tells her: âYou have three months to save him.â The next night, under the stadium lights of the high school football field, she meets a beautiful boy named Beau, and itâs as if time just stops and nothing exists. Nothing, except Natalie and Beau.
Emily Henryâs stunning debut novel is Friday Night Lights meets The Time Travelerâs Wife, and perfectly captures those bittersweet months after high school, when we dream not only of the future, but of all the roads and paths weâve left untaken.
A Study in Charlotte by Brittany CavallaroThe last thing Jamie Watson wants is a rugby scholarship to Sherringford, a Connecticut prep school just an hour away from his estranged father. But thatâs not the only complication: Sherringford is also home to Charlotte Holmes, the famous detectiveâs great-great-great-granddaughter, who has inherited not only Sherlockâs genius but also his volatile temperament. From everything Jamie has heard about Charlotte, it seems safer to admire her from afar.
From the moment they meet, thereâs a tense energy between them, and they seem more destined to be rivals than anything else. But when a Sherringford student dies under suspicious circumstances, ripped straight from the most terrifying of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Jamie can no longer afford to keep his distance. Jamie and Charlotte are being framed for murder, and only Charlotte can clear their names. But danger is mounting and nowhere is safeâand the only people they can trust are each other.
Tell Me Three Things by Julie BuxbaumEverything about Jessie is wrong. At least, thatâs what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when sheâs thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?
Itâs been barely two years since her motherâs death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son. In a leap of faithâor an act of complete desperationâJessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie canât help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?
Julie Buxbaum mixes comedy and tragedy, love and loss, pain and elation, in her debut YA novel filled with characters who will come to feel like friends.
The Lady and the Lionheart by Joanne BischoffRaised amid the fame and mystique of the Big Top, Charlie Lionheart holds the audience in the palm of his hand. But while his act captivates thousands, itâs away from the spotlight where his true heart lies. Here he humbly cares for his pride of lions as if they were his brothers, a skill of bravery and strength that has prepared him for his most challenging feat yetâfreeing an orphaned infant from the dark bondage of a sideshow. A trade so costly, it requires his life in exchange for hers, leaving him tarnished by the price of that choice.
As the circus tents are raised on the outskirts of Roanoke, nurse Ella Beckley arrives to tend to this Gypsy girl. All under the watchful eye of a guardian who not only bears a striking resemblance to the child, but who protects the baby with a love that wraps around Ellaâs own tragic past, awakening a hope that goodness may yet reign. When their forbidden friendship deepens, Charlie dares to ask for her heart, bringing her behind the curtain of his secret world to reveal the sacrifice that gave hope to one little girlâboldly showing Ella that while her tattered faith is deeply scarred, the only marks that need be permanent are his own.
A Heart Most Certain by Melissa JagearsLydia King knows what it’s like to be in need, so when she joins the Teaville Moral Society, she genuinely hopes to help the town’s poor. But with her father’s debts increasing by the day and her mother growing sicker by the week, she wonders how long it will be until she ends up in the poor house herself. Her best chance at a financially secure future is to impress the politician courting her, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that the moral society’s president is her suitor’s mother. Her first task as a moral society memberâto obtain a donation from Nicholas Lowe, the wealthiest man in townâshould be easy . . . except he flat-out refuses.
Despite appearances, Nicholas wants to help others but prefers to do it his own way, keeping his charity private. When Lydia proves persistent, they agree to a bargain, though Nicholas has a few surprises up his sleeve. Neither foresee the harrowing complications that will arise from working together. When town secrets are brought to light, this unlikely pair must decide where their beliefsâand heartsâtruly align.
Smash & Grab by Amy Christine ParkerLEXI is a rich girl who loves a good rush. Whether itâs motorcycle racing or BASE jumping off a building in downtown Los Angeles, the only times she feels alive are when she and her friends are executing one of their dares. After her fatherâs arrest, Lexi doesnât think twice about going undercover at his bank to steal the evidence that might clear his name. She enlists her hacker brother and her daredevil friends to plan a clever heist.
CHRISTIAN is a boy from the wrong side of the tracks. The local gang has blackmailed him and his friends into robbing banks, and he is desperate for a way out. When the boss promises that one really big job will be the last he ever has to do, Christian jumps at the chance for freedom. In fact, heâs just met a girl at the bank who might even prove useful. . . .
Two heists. One score. The only thing standing in their way is each other.
Never Ever by Sara SaediWylie Dalton didnât believe in fairy tales or love at first sight. Then she met a real-life Peter Pan.
When Wylie encounters Phinnâconfident, mature, and devastatingly handsomeâat a party the night before her brother goes to juvie, she canât believe how fast she falls for him. And thatâs before he shows her how to fly. Soon Wylie and her brothers find themselves whisked away to a mysterious tropical island off the coast of New York City where nobody ages beyond seventeen and life is a constant party. Wylieâs in heaven: now her brother wonât go to jail and she can escape her over-scheduled life with all its woes and responsibilitiesâpermanently.
But the deeper Wylie falls for Phinn, the more she begins to discover has been kept from her and her brothers. Somebody on the island has been lying to her, but the truth canât stay hidden forever.
The Geek’s Guide to Unrequited Love by Sarvenaz TashPeter Parker and Gwen Stacy…
Archie and Veronica…
Althena and Noth…
…Graham and Roxy?
Graham met his best friend, Roxana, when he moved into her neighborhood eight years ago, and she asked him which Hogwarts house heâd be sorted into. Graham has been in love with her ever since. But now theyâre sixteen, still neighbors, still best friends. And Graham and Roxy share more than everâmoving on from their Harry Potter obsession to a serious love of comic books.
When Graham learns that the creator of their favorite comic, The Chronicles of Althena, is making a rare appearance at this yearâs New York Comic Con, he knows he must score tickets. And the event inspires Graham to come up with the perfect plan to tell Roxy how he really feels about her. Heâs got three days to woo his best friend at the coolest, kookiest con full of superheroes and supervillains. But no one at a comic book convention is who they appear to be…even Roxy. And Graham is starting to realize fictional love stories are way less complicated than real-life ones.
How It Feels to Fly by Kathryn HolmesFor as long as Samantha can remember, sheâs wanted to be a professional ballerina. Sheâs lived for perfect pirouettes, sky-high extensions, and soaring leaps across the stage. Then her body betrayed her.
Failed diets. Disapproving looks. Whispers behind her back. The result: crippling anxiety about her appearance, which threatens to crush her dancing dreams entirely. On her dance teacherâs recommendation, Sam is sent to a summer treatment camp for teen artists and athletes who are struggling with mental and emotional obstacles. If she can make progress, sheâll be allowed to attend a crucial ballet intensive. But when asked to open up about her deepest insecurities, secret behaviors, and paralyzing fears to complete strangers, Sam canât cope.
Sam forms an unlikely bond with Andrew, a former college football player whoâs one of her camp counselors. As they grow closer, Andrew helps Sam see herself as he doesâbeautiful. But just as she starts to believe that thereâs more between them than friendship, disappointing news from home sends her into a tailspin. With her future uncertain and her body against her, will Sam give in to the anxiety that imprisons her?
With Malice by Eileen CookIt was the perfect tripâŚuntil it wasnât.
Eighteen-year-old Jill Charron wakes up in a hospital room, leg in a cast, stitches in her face and a big blank canvas where the last six weeks should be. She discovers she was involved in a fatal car accident while on a school trip in Italy. A trip she doesnât even remember taking. She was jetted home by her affluent father in order to receive quality care. Care that includes a lawyer. And a press team. Because maybe the accidentâŚwasnât an accident.
As the accident makes national headlines, Jill finds herself at the center of a murder investigation. It doesnât help that the media is portraying her as a sociopath who killed her bubbly best friend, Simone, in a jealous rage. With the evidence mounting against her, thereâs only one thing Jill knows for sure: She would never hurt Simone. But what really happened? Questioning who she can trust and what sheâs capable of, Jill desperately tries to piece together the events of the past six weeks before she loses her thin hold on her once-perfect life.
Girl Against the Universe by Paula StokesMaguire is bad luck. No matter how many charms she buys off the internet or good luck rituals she performs each morning, horrible things happen when Maguire is around. Like that time the rollercoaster jumped off its tracks. Or the time the house next door caught on fire. Or that time her brother, father, and uncle were all killed in a car crashâand Maguire walked away with barely a scratch.
Itâs safest for Maguire to hide out in her room, where she can cause less damage and avoid meeting new people who she could hurt. But then she meets Jordy, an aspiring tennis star. Jordy is confident, talented, and lucky, and heâs convinced he can help Maguire break her unlucky streak. Maguire knows that the best thing she can do for Jordy is to stay away. But it turns out staying away is harder than she thought.
From author Paula Stokes comes a funny and poignant novel about accepting the past, embracing the future, and learning to make your own luck.
And that’s a wrap! Those are a few of the books I’d love to read this summer. Do you have any of these on your TBR? Are you adding them? What are your most anticipated reads for this summer? Thanks so much for visiting Will Bake for Books! âĽ
Rissi says
Aw, we hope you’re back soon, Bekah. You’re missed. Hope July is an awesome month for you – whether that involves blogging or not!
I’m SO(so) crazy excited for Joanne’s novel and ‘How it Feels to Fly’ piques my interest too. Happy reading!
Bekah says
Thanks, Rissi – I appreciate you, buddy. Happy 4th of July!!! I wish the same for you…an amazing month!
Oh yay! *squeals* Joanne is such an incredible writer and her latest sounds soooo good. Can’t wait to read your review!
Thanks so much for the continued support. Have a happy day!