Reading Recommendations: Summertime Reads!
Summertime is making it’s arrival and it’s a great time to read outdoors! Today I’ll be sharing a variety of novels that you can enjoy in the summer sun while you lounge by the beach. Enjoy!
Synopsis: MG Martin lives and breathes geek culture. She even works as a writer for the comic book company she idolized as a kid. But despite her love of hooded vigilantes, MG prefers her comics stay on the page.
But when someone in LA starts recreating crime scenes from her favorite comic book, MG is the LAPD’s best–and only–lead. She recognizes the golden arrow left at the scene as the calling card of her favorite comic book hero. The thing is…superheroes aren’t real. Are they?
The Frame Up is a good mashup of nerd culture, comic books, and mystery. It’s light-hearted, fun, and full of interesting characters that add to the entertainment aspect. I love how the main character MG uses her comic book knowledge to become an amateur sleuth.
Synopsis: Clara Shin lives for pranks and disruption. When she takes one joke too far, her dad sentences her to a summer working on his food truck, the KoBra, alongside her uptight classmate Rose Carver. Not the carefree summer Clara had imagined. But maybe Rose isn’t so bad. Maybe the boy named Hamlet (yes, Hamlet) crushing on her is pretty cute. Maybe Clara actually feels invested in her dad’s business. What if taking this summer seriously means that Clara has to leave her old self behind?
This novel is the essential YA summertime contemporary novel! It’s got delicious food trucks, sunny weather, and a blooming romance. I love how the story centered on the importance of family. (See review here)
Synopsis: Kimaya is the first of her mother’s offspring after seven miscarriages. Her parents treat her like the miracle she is, keeping her confined to their Pali Hill mansion and, after she develops a rare form or aplastic anemia, to a laminar airflow room. Rahul Savant was thirteen when his father died in his arms after taking a bullet for Kimi’s politician father. He accepts Kimi’s father’s mentorship on the condition that he work off the charity by being a servant in his home. As Rahul and Kimi develop a unique and deep friendship, she becomes his refuge in a cruel world. When Kimi finds new hope through a life-saving procedure, she and Rahul must confront their undeniable attraction as they navigate a web of lies … and learn the real meaning of courage, loss and love.
Set among the backdrop of Mumbai this is the fourth book in the Bollywood series by Dev. I’ve read every book in the series except for The Bollywood Bride and I’ve enjoyed all of them. It has a slow-burn romance and I loved seeing the rich culture that was infused into the novel. (See review here)
The Midwestern resort town of Pemkowet boasts a diverse population: eccentric locals, wealthy summer people, and tourists by the busload—not to mention fairies, sprites, vampires, naiads, ogres, and a whole host of eldritch folk, presided over by Hel, a reclusive Norse goddess.
To Daisy Johanssen, fathered by an incubus and raised by a single mother, it’s home. And as Hel’s enforcer and the designated liaison to the Pemkowet Police Department, it’s up to her to ensure relations between the mundane and eldritch communities run smoothly.
But when a young man from a nearby college drowns—and signs point to eldritch involvement—the town’s booming paranormal tourism trade is at stake. Teamed up with her childhood crush, Officer Cody Fairfax, a sexy werewolf on the down-low, Daisy must solve the crime—and keep a tight rein on the darker side of her nature.
This is a fast-paced and entertaining urban fantasy that is action-packed and full of mystery. The whole lake town is full of paranormal beings that live side by side with humans. It’s interesting to see how Daisy works to help both communities exist. I loved the heightened suspense through the novel as I tried to solve the mystery.
When a bestselling debut novel from mysterious author J.Colby becomes the literary event of the year, Emiline reads it reluctantly. As an adjunct writing instructor at UC San Diego with her own stalled literary career and a bumpy long-term relationship, Emiline isn’t thrilled to celebrate the accomplishments of a young and gifted writer.
Yet from the very first page, Emiline is entranced by the story of Emerson and Jackson, two childhood best friends who fall in love and dream of a better life beyond the long dirt road that winds through their impoverished town in rural Ohio.
That’s because the novel is patterned on Emiline’s own dark and desperate childhood, which means that “J. Colby” must be Jase: the best friend and first love she hasn’t seen in over a decade. Far from being flattered that he wrote the novel from her perspective, Emiline is furious that he co-opted her painful past and took some dramatic creative liberties with the ending.
The only way she can put her mind at ease is to find and confront “J. Colby,” but is she prepared to learn the truth behind the fiction?
Carlino’s writing gives me all the feels with her complex characters and storylines in her books. This is such a sweet book with a happily ever after, but it takes a lot of soul-searching for Emiline to get to that point. Revisiting her past helps her to move on and move forward in life. I fell in love with these characters! (See review here)
Synopsis: Jonathan and Rosie have been together so long they finish each other’s sentences—so when he (finally) proposes and asks her to move across the country with him, everyone is happily surprised.
But when things suddenly unravel, Rosie sends Jonathan packing and moves back home with Soapie, the irascible, opinionated grandmother who raised her. Now she has to figure out how to fire Soapie’s very unsuitable caregiver, a gardener named Tony who lets her drink martinis, smoke, and cheat at Scrabble.
It’s meant to be a temporary break, of course—until Rosie realizes she’s accidentally pregnant at 44, completely unequipped for motherhood, and worse, may be falling in love with Tony, whose life is even more muddled than hers. When Soapie reveals a long-hidden secret, Rosie wonders if she has to let go of her fears, and trustthat the big-hearted, messy life that awaits her just may be the one she was meant to live.
For this novel, I liked watching the character growth throughout the novel, especially as the main character comes to a realization that she hasn’t really lived her own life and just has been following others and doing what they want. It’s a interesting story about the choices we make in our life and how those choices affect us. (See review here)
Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Jules Maroni’s dream is to follow in her father’s footsteps as a high-wire walker. When her family is offered a prestigious role in the new Cirque American, it seems that Jules and the Amazing Maronis will finally get the spotlight they deserve. But the presence of the Flying Garcias may derail her plans. For decades, the two rival families have avoided each other as sworn enemies.
This story hooks you right from the beginning and I liked the hints of fantasy elements and the mystery surrounding a decades old curse. One of the most exciting aspects of the novel besides the death-defying circus acts was piecing the mystery together. It immerses readers into the circus and gives a behind the scenes glimpse of what happens in the life of a traveling performer. (See review here)
That concludes my reading recommendations for Summer Reading! What books do you recommend or what are your favorites? Comment below!
