Summertime Fine: 8 Books to Commemorate the Season

When Nik goes to a Dodgers Game with her short-time boyfriend, Fisher, she isn’t expecting anything but a day at the ball field. That is, until he proposes on the Jumbotron and she has to say no. After strangers Carlos and his sister get Nik out of the camera’s eye in the mayhem, she finds herself drawn to her rescuer. But with Fisher not taking the breakup well, Nik insists she only wants a summer fling.

Even those with a taste for a murder mystery need a little bit of a lighthearted take on the genre every once in a while. After the murder of her sister, Letty takes her 4-year-old niece, Maya, to a tourist trap in Florida to hide out. But the area seems to have more ties to her sister than she thought. This one strikes a great balance between the lighthearted nature of working with tourists and dealing with the death of her sister. It’s perfect for beachgoers who prefer a little bit of blood in their books.

When 15-year-old Ari, dealing with family drama and teenage loneliness, meets Dante at the community pool, they become fast friends as they bond over swimming. In Dante, Ari finds a friend and a similar soul, both of them dealing with self-consciousness and finding their place. Over the course of the summer, their relationship changes into something neither of them are prepared for.

When working at her family’s hat shop one night, Sophie has an encounter with the Witch of the Waste, who turns her into an elderly woman with a curse. In an effort to break her curse, Sophie finds her way onto the infamous wizard Howl’s moving castle as a cleaner, making friends with his fire demon, Calcifer, and his young apprentice. Underneath it all, though, Howl might be much softer than he first appears.

Nineteen-year-old Lucie is in Capri with her cousin Charlotte for a wedding when she meets George and immediately despises him. Five years later, Lucie is engaged when she runs into George again, this time in New York. Now, she has to confront the idea that she may not despise George at all despite the intertwining of their lives. Full of glamour and luxury, read this to get away from your day-to-day.

When actress Debra Moore arrives at Pasquale’s hotel in Porto Vergogna, he’s enamored by her and her story of meeting the man she loves there. But when he doesn’t show, and Debra starts showing signs of an illness, Pasquale sets off to find her missing beau. This drama-filled romp is as lively as it is lovely.

Every summer Belly and her family meet up with a family friend, Susannah, and her boys at a house on Cousins Beach. Now, she’s 16 and starting to get the attention of both Fisher boys. Caught in a love triangle in the heat of the summer, Belly must navigate friendship, fun, and a whole lot of firsts. This series is a great, lighthearted romp to keep your summertime vibes going.

After years as a pirate at sea, Amina al-Sirafi is ready to retire to family life. But when someone with a heavy wallet asks her to rescue a kidnapped girl, she can’t resist one last adventure at sea. Looks can be deceiving, though, and this cut-and-dry job isn’t nearly that simple. If watery escapades are your jam, you’re sure to love this one!