Beach Reads: Summer 2024

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Back for 2024, here is a list of some more favorite beach reads! Perhaps a little early, but Memorial Day is the traditional kick off to Summer, after all, and that’s just a week away. “Beach read” is a very fast and loose term for books people read over the beautiful summer months when we really should be outside “doing things” but are instead reading…maybe outside. Some people see these months as an opportunity to slog through long classics (we’re looking at you “Moby Dick”) before the busy-ness of the fall starts up, but for the sake of this list, we’re limiting our choices to fast paced, mostly feel good books (though there’s some obvious leeway here for Kate’s horror tastes!) that could be easily brought along on vacations. So, still a very loose definition, but hey, we had to start somewhere! We will select one title for each of the genres we most read.

Serena’s Picks

Fantasy Title: “The Witchwood Knot” by Olivia Atwater

At this point, Atwater is pretty much my go-to author for cozy fantasy. It’s a tough subgenre for me, as I’ve discovered I’m often quite picky and find many cozy fantasies to be….well…a bit too cozy. Yes, yes, I want to sink into all the lovely feelings and cushy vibes as much as the next person, but I still need a solid plot, good world-building, and, most of all, some actual stakes to the story being told. Atwater always comes through for me! Not only are her books simply lovely and a delight to read, the perfect fantasy story to crack open on a sunny, carefree summer day, but her stories are never short on all of the other elements to make a great book. For example, this one is somehow both cozy and also an excellent gothic haunted house story. Should these things work together? No! But does she manage it? Absolutely! There’s also always a lovely romance at the center of the story, and this one is no different.

Science Fiction Title: “Heavenbreaker” by Sara Wolf

I have a full review of this one scheduled to come out in about a week and a half, but when compiling this review, I couldn’t resist including it for this genre! When I think of “beach reads” for science fiction, books like Pierce Brown’s “Red Rising” series always come to mind. And this book is an excellent read-alike for that story! The story follows a woman bent on revenge who enters a tournament in which she must face off against the noble houses of her space station riding a massive mecha type robot ala “Pacific Rim.” The story features all of the classic science fiction themes such as scheming politics, thrilling but dangerous new technology, as well as half-way understood alien enemies. It was a blast of read, and I definitely recommend it for those looking for a fun science fiction adventure!

Mystery Title: “The Tainted Cup” by Robert Jackson Bennett

Ok, so this is a bit of cheaty pick, because there’s no denying that this is also a fully-fledged fantasy novel at its heart. Gigantic beasts are crawling out of the ocean, for heaven’s sake. Not to mention the wacky, dangerous plants and magical memory powers of the main character. But, aside from all of that, the actual plot of the story is solidly a murder mystery. So much so that readers will quickly discover that not only is it a mystery, but it’s the sort that is leaning heavily on the “Sherlock and Watson” vibes of its central two characters: a seemingly all-knowing detective and her dutiful assistant. There were all of the good parts of mysteries that one could want, with numerous red herrings and plenty of clues that readers can piece together to form their own conclusions. I’ve always loved this author’s straight fantasy titles, but I’m always thrilled to find an author who can also mix and match genres, and this is a perfect example of that!

Historical Fiction Title: “The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch” by Melinda Taub

Sorry, not sorry, I’m doing it again! Yes, my “historical fiction” pick does have the word “witch” right there in the title, so there’s no hiding the fact that yet again I’ve picked a story that crosses genres. But what can I say, I’m a fantasy reader, so many of my subgenres will including that as well! Plus, this is the sort of story that while it includes a healthy dose of the fantastical, it also is best appreciated by those who have read “Pride and Prejudice” and other Jane Austen novels. As the title implies, it’s essentially a retelling of that novel but now seen through the eyes of Lydia. What’s most impressive is the way the author managed to create this fantasy version of Lydia and her story but also neatly lay it alongside the original story in a way that wouldn’t change that novel at all. As it stands, both could have existed side-by-side. It’s all quite clever and I enjoyed it immensely!

Kate’s Picks

Horror Title: “This Delicious Death” by Kayla Cottingham

I try not to go TOO scary for beach read horror picks, as sometimes something too frightful can bring down the mood of a frothy vacation setting. So I figured that the gal pal road trip tale that also happens to involve some sentient zombies would be a good choice for this, because woo! Summer and road trips go hand in hand! And zombies are just icing on the cake, baby! What I loved about “This Delicious Death” when I read it was how fun and genuine it felt, as four teenage friends go on a road trip while being ‘ghouls’, or people who underwent a transformation due to a mysterious illness who crave human flesh, but are pretty much satiated by the synthetic stuff. That is, until one of the friends goes feral and kills someone. Cottingham has fun dialogue and a keen eye for zombie tropes that she reinvents, and this one is a fun ride about friendship and sticking together through thick and thin.

Thriller Title: “Whalefall” by Daniel Kraus

Talk about an addictive LITERAL beach read! Well, ocean read, I suppose, but still, it’s close enough. I was completely taken in by “Whalefall”, Daniel Kraus’s thriller about a diver being swallowed by a sperm whale and trying to find his way out before he either a) runs out of air, or b) is digested. You want pulse pounding action? It has that. You want suspense? UH, YEAH, IT HAS THAT. But it also has an interesting examination of a strained/toxic father son relationship, and a tenacity about the will to survive in even the more dire of circumstances. I had a hard time putting this one down when I read it last year, and I think that it would be a great read for vacations because it just flows perfectly and keeps the adrenaline pumping.

Graphic Novel Title: “Wash Day Diaries” by Jamila Rowser

A slice of life narration that examines hair care days of four Black women who are best friends is my choice for this year’s graphic novel beach read because it just feels cozy while also feeling poignant in some ways. As Kim, Cookie, Nisha, and Devene go through the steps to work on their hair on the day set aside to do so, we get to learn a lot about each woman through what they are experiencing in that moment, as well as getting to see the bonds that they have with each other. Slice of life stories are sometimes tricky to get a handle on, but Rowser does a good job of giving the reader a true sense of all of these women and how they all complement each other. It’s a breezy read that has heart and depth, and I think it would be easy to hop in and out during a vacation.

Non-Fiction Title: “I’m Glad My Mom Died” by Jennette McCurdy

One cannot deny how eye-catching this title is, but once you read it you will wholly understand why Jennette McCurdy may feel this way in her runaway hit memoir about fame, abusive parental relationships, mental health, and finding one’s way after trauma after trauma. All with a serious wit and dark humor to it (the cover alone perfectly encapsulates this tone, trust me). Like many I tore through “I’m Glad My Mom Died” when it came out, as McCurdy, who was a child actor on a Nickelodeon show and pushed to success by her stage mother, who was also an abusive and cruel narcissist, recollects some very painful and horrible memories with a candor and tone that makes it highly readable AND laugh out loud funny without minimizing the pain she had to endure for so long. This one also feels a bit timely with the docuseries “Quiet on the Set” coming out this Spring, as McCurdy also makes reference to her time on a children’s show that was run by an abusive showrunner. I know this doesn’t sound like a beach read BUT I ASSURE YOU IT IS.