In anticipation of warm summer days, it’s almost impossible not to dream of lazy hours spent on the beach. You can almost hear the crash of the ocean waves and the cries of circling seagulls. The salty air soothes and the sun bathes you in its heat as a soft, cool breeze blows and you burrow your toes into the soft, warm sand.
Of course, no day at the beach would be complete without a really good book. With new releases from best-selling favorites such as Lisa Jackson, Wendy Wax and Emily Giffin, this summer is shaping up to be utterly irresistible.
The young – or young at heart – can escape to Spain with Beth Kephart’s Small Damages (Philomel). Seventeen-year-old Kenzie just lost her father and is scheduled to start college in the fall, until an unplanned pregnancy changes everything. Sent to Spain by her mother to deliver her baby and meet the adopting parents, Kenzie’s experiences abroad just might be enough to help her find the strength to make the right decision.
Or maybe you prefer the great outdoors like the Pocono Mountains where Morgan Matson’s Second Chance Summer (Simon & Schuster) is set. The reader accompanies Taylor Edwards on her journey of discovering that although life can sometimes break your heart, it can also give you a second chance at the things that mean the most: love, family and friendship.
If it’s mystery and intrigue you want, Lisa Jackson has it in spades.
You Don’t Want to Know (Kensington; August 2012) is a frantic adventure through a mother’s worst nightmare: the loss of her child. When Ava’s two-year-old son Noah goes missing, it’s assumed he drowned. Struggling through the next two years, Ava can’t clear her mind long enough to remember the details of her son’s disappearance. However, when her memories begin to surface she realizes that the people she trusts most know much more than they’ll admit.
Ocean Beach (Berkley Trade) is the anticipated sequel to Wendy Wax’s Ten Beach Road. As always, Wax’s heartfelt portrayal of the female spirit and the bonds of friendship infuse warmth and love into the story of Madeline, Avery, Nicole and Kyra as they embark on another home renovation project. As the four friends work to restore a South Beach house, they realize their lives could use some renovating as well.
You Take It From Here by Pamela Ribon (Gallery) is a poignant, heartwarming story of two life-long friends, Smidge and Danielle. Danielle married and moved to L.A., while Smidge remained in their small Louisiana hometown. But the distance between them was no match for Smidge’s larger-than-life personality. Now divorced, Danielle returns home for their annual girls’ vacation, on which Smidge reveals that she has terminal cancer, and asks Danielle to step in and continue Smidge’s life – which includes marrying her husband and raising her daughter a request that would be laughable, if Smidge wasn’t so serious.
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