5 New Books That Will Transport You to the Beach

After spending years away from his hometown, award-winning photographer Alejandro Miranda decides to return to Key West while on the mend from an injury. But his long-awaited homecoming means more than just returning to his relatives and the beloved Cuban restaurant they own — it also means finally facing the girl he left behind years ago. Full of heart and warmth, Oliveras’s latest book in her Keys to Love series is a delightful story of family, romance, and second chances.

TV host Sunny Hostin’s debut novel centers on Wall Street power couple Ama and Omar, who spend every summer in their gorgeous home in Oak Bluffs,  an exclusive Black beach community on Martha’s Vineyard. With no children of their own, the duo typically bring along their three goddaughters, who they’ve always taken care of, despite that they have no apparent connection to their family.

Following Omar’s death, Ama invites the three now-grown women to spend one last summer in Oak Bluffs, with the promise that she’ll share some answers and choose one of them to inherit the house by the end of the season. Summer on the Bluffs is the first in a planned series set in Oak Bluffs that will feature both new and returning characters.  

Jennifer Weiner returns with another engaging and twisty read to add to your TBR list. In her latest novel, two seemingly very different women, Diana and Daisy, develop an unlikely friendship after one receives several emails meant for the other. But what seems like a random coincidence becomes something far more complicated as their relationship develops and details of their connection come to light. At once suspenseful and heartfelt, That Summer goes far beyond your average beach read to explore friendship, trauma, and coming to terms with your past. 

In August 1983, the four adult children of rockstar Mick Riva are celebrating the end of the summer by throwing their infamous annual  party in Malibu. But as the evening unfolds, family secrets are revealed, forever changing the dynamic of the group. Moving back and forth between the past and the present day, Taylor Jenkin Reid’s latest book deftly explores what it means to be family and the bonds that shape you. 

Virginia Hume’s stunning debut novel follows three generations of women who spend their summers at a seaside town on the coast of Maine. While grandmother Maren has become fond of the community that her husband introduced her to after marriage, her daughter and granddaughter both find it snobbish and petty. Told in three timelines, set in 1944, 1970, and 2008, the sweeping family saga details each women’s experience with the home and the devastating secret that they must confront together.