Summer Beach Reads - 2023 Adult Fiction

Adult Fiction Summer Reads 2023

Ah summer! Are you a ‘warm sun, long nights, fresh fruits and veggies, beaches, swimming, vacation or staycation’… and maybe some time to read! Or are you a ‘looking for something to do while hiding from the heat, bugs and humidity’? Here is a list of Adult Fiction – mostly owned by Pollard Memorial Library – that you can borrow and read wherever your next adventure/escape takes you!

Don’t want to take a physical book? Check out Overdrive and read or listen on your favorite portable electronic device!

Don’t feel like reading? We have museum passes – go online to https://lowelllibrary.org/museum-passes/ or stop by in person to reserve a pass!

And now, the books!

All book descriptions taken from the library catalog.

Many of the book suggestions from Beyond the Bookends very extensive list of Beach Reads:  https://www.beyondthebookends.com/ .

The Celebrants by Steven Rowley

Reuniting in Big Sur to honor a decades-old pact to throw each other living “funerals,” celebrations to remind themselves life is worth living–and living well–five friends find their pact upended when one of them reveals a shocking secret.

Happy Place by Emily Henry

A couple who broke up months ago make a pact to pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends in this glittering and wise new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson

A deliciously funny, sharply observed novel of family, wealth, love and tennis, this zeitgeisty debut follows three women in an old Brooklyn Heights clan: one who was born with money, one who married into it, and one, the millennial conscience of the family, who wants to give it all away.

Hula by Jasmin ‘Iolani Hakes

Hi’i is proud to be a Naupaka, a family renowned for its contributions to hula and her hometown of Hilo, Hawaii, but there’s a lot she doesn’t understand. In hula, Hi’i sees a chance to live up to her name and solidify her place within her family legacy. But in order to win the next Miss Aloha Hula competition, she will have to turn her back on everything she had ever been taught, and maybe even lose the very thing she was fighting for.

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?

On Fire Island by Jane L. Rosen

A book editor spends one last summer on Fire Island in this sparkling and surprising new novel from the author of A Shoe Story. When the unthinkable happens to Julia, rather than following the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, she chooses to spend one last summer near those she loves most. With poignant comedy and insight, On Fire Island is an ode to the stories all around us and to the brightest types of loves…for the people closest to you and the places that shape you

Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley

Nobody ever talks to strangers on the train. It’s a rule. But what would happen if they did? From the New York Times bestselling author of The Authenticity Project, a heartwarming novel about unexpected friendships and the joy of connecting.

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

A young Indian woman falsely rumored to have killed her husband finds a way to make her unfortunate reputation surprisingly useful–but complications arise when other village women seek her help offing their husbands–in this provocative, razor-sharp debut.

Maame by Jessica George

An utterly charming and deeply moving portrait of the joys–and the guilt–of trying to find your own way in life.

Cover Story by Susan Rigetti

A whip-smart and delightfully inventive writer, Susan Rigetti brilliantly pieces together a perceptive, humorous caper full of sharp observations about scam culture. Composed of diary entries, emails, FBI correspondence, and more, Cover Story is a fresh, fun, and wholly original novel that takes readers deep into the codependency and deceit found in a relationship built on power imbalance and lies.

River Sing me Home by Eleanor Shearer

Rare. Moving. Powerful. This beautiful, page-turning and redemptive story of a mother’s gripping journey across the Caribbean to find her stolen children in the aftermath of slavery marks the arrival of a remarkable new talent.

Jacqueline in Paris by Ann Mah

From the bestselling author of The Lost Vintage, a rare and dazzling portrait of Jacqueline Bouvier’s college year abroad in postwar Paris, an intimate and electrifying story of love and betrayal, and the coming-of-age of an American icon – before the world knew her as Jackie

Always be my Duchess by Amalie Howard

Lord Lysander Blackstone, the stern and fractious Duke of Montcroix, has only one interest: increasing his already considerable fortune. Thanks to a series of betrayals, he keeps his emotions buried deeper than his coffer. Money, after all, can’t break a man’s heart–nor make promises it can’t keep. But when his reputation for being heartless jeopardizes a new business deal, he finds himself seeking the most unusual–and alluring–of solutions . . .

The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner

At an abandoned château on the outskirts of Paris, a dark séance is about to take place, led by acclaimed spiritualist Vaudeline D’Allaire. Known worldwide for her talent in conjuring the spirits of murder victims to ascertain the identities of the people who killed them, she is highly sought after by widows and investigators alike.

The Friendship Breakup by Annie Cathryn

When her best friend starts ghosting her, taking all of their mutual friends with her, Fallon Monroe, pushing down a lifetime of insecurities, reads a recently unearthed letter that gives her the ability to see her friendships in a new light, forcing her to decide between hanging on and letting go

Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley

Tanner needs a place to live, so when an opportunity to work as a live-in caregiver falls into her lap, she takes it. Louise wants a caretaker even less than Tanner wants to be one. The two start off happily ignoring each other until Tanner starts to notice things. Like, why does Louise keep her shed locked? And why is the local news fixated on one of the biggest jewelry heists in American history? And why does Louise appear in her room insisting they leave town immediately? Thus begins the story of a not-to-be-underestimated elderly woman and an aimless young woman who might just have the greatest adventure of their lives.

The Matchmaker’s Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman

Is finding true love a calling or a curse? Even as a child in 1910, Sara Glikman knows her gift: she is a maker of matches and a seeker of soulmates. But among the pushcart-crowded streets of New York’s Lower East Side, Sara’s vocation is dominated by devout older men-men who see a talented female matchmaker as a dangerous threat to their traditions and livelihood.

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

The many lives of theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway have finally caught up with her. By day, she’s an adjunct professor, toiling away at grading labs and teaching thermodynamics in the hopes of landing tenure. By other day, Elsie makes up for her non-existent paycheck by offering her services as a fake girlfriend, tapping into her expertly honed people-pleasing skills to embody whichever version of herself the client needs. Honestly, it’s a pretty sweet gig–until her carefully constructed Elsie-verse comes crashing down. Will falling into an experimentalist’s orbit finally tempt her to put her most guarded theories on love into practice?

Fake it till you Bake it by Jamie Wesley

Jada Townsend-Matthews is the most reviled woman in America after turning down a proposal on a reality dating show. When she comes home to lick her wounds, Jada finds herself working at San Diego’s newest cupcake bakery, Sugar Blitz, alongside the uptight owner and professional football player Donovan Dell. When a reporter mistakenly believes Jada and Donovan are an item, they realize they can use the misunderstanding to their advantage to help the struggling bakery and rehabilitate Jada’s image. Faking a relationship should be simple, but sometimes love is the most unexpected ingredient.

Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421 by T.J. Newman

Six minutes after takeoff, Flight 1421 crashes into the Pacific Ocean. During the evacuation, an engine explodes and the plane is flooded. Those still alive are forced to close the doors, but it’s too late. The plane sinks to the bottom with twelve passengers trapped inside. More than two hundred feet below the surface, engineer Will Kent and his eleven-year-old daughter Shannon are waist-deep in water and fighting for their lives. Their only chance at survival is an elite rescue team on the surface led by professional diver Chris Kent, Shannon’s mother and Will’s soon-to-be ex-wife, who must work together with Will to find a way to save their daughter and rescue the passengers from the sealed airplane, which is now teetering on the edge of an undersea cliff.

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

After years of avoiding each other, Daisy Darker’s entire family is assembling for Nana’s 80th birthday party in Nana’s crumbling gothic house on a tiny tidal island. Finally back together one last time, when the tide comes in, they will be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours. The family arrives, each of them harboring secrets. Then at the stroke of midnight, as a storm rages, Nana is found dead. And an hour later, the next family member follows… Trapped on an island where someone is killing them one by one, the Darkers must reckon with their present mystery as well as their past secrets, before the tide comes in and all is revealed.

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins comes a deliciously wicked gothic suspense, set at an Italian villa with a dark history, for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware.

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Knives Out meets Kim’s Convenience in this captivating mystery by Jesse Q. Sutanto, bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties.

The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood

Judith Potts is seventy-seven years old and blissfully happy. She lives on her own in a faded mansion just outside Marlow, there’s no man in her life to tell her what to do or how much whisky to drink, and to keep herself busy she sets crosswords for The Times newspaper. One evening, while out swimming in the Thames, Judith witnesses a brutal murder. The local police don’t believe her story, so she decides to investigate for herself, and is soon joined in her quest by Suzie, a salt-of-the-earth dog-walker, and Becks, the prim and proper wife of the local vicar.

The Other Side of Night by Adam Hamdy

The Other Side of Night begins with a man named David Asha writing about his biggest regret: his sudden separation from his son, Elliot. In his grief, David tells a story. Next, we step into the life of Harriet Kealty, a police officer trying to clear her name after a lapse of judgment. She discovers a curious inscription in a secondhand book–a plea: Help me, he’s trying to kill me. This note leads Harri to David Asha, who was last seen stepping off a cliff. Police suspect he couldn’t cope after his wife’s sudden death. Quickly, Harri’s attention zeroes in on a person she knows all too well. Ben Elmys: once the love of her life. A surrogate father to Elliot Asha and trusted friend to the Ashas. Ben may also be a murderer.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family-and a new love-changes the course of her life.

Upgrade by Blake Crouch

An ordinary man undergoes a startling transformation-and fears that all of humanity may be next-in the mindblowing new thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter and Recursion Logan Ramsay can feel his brain…changing. And his body too.

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

In the early 1900s, a curmudgeonly professor journeys to a small town to study faerie folklore, where she discovers dark fae magic, friendship, and love. Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on dryadology, the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encylopedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party–much less get invited to one.