Six perfect beach reads to enjoy this summer

Lose yourself in a great book by the pool with our good holiday reads...

A really great book has a lot in common with a good holiday. It’s not just that it takes you someplace new, or introduces you to characters you’d otherwise never meet. It’s that, for a while, you leave your cares behind. You forget—at least ideally—about the work piling up at home.

You stop worrying about conversations you’ve been dreading or inconvenient appointments awaiting you. It’s not just that you’re in a different place. You’re a differentyou, one floating outside time.

When people talk aboutbeach reads, that’s what I think of. A story so immersive, so transporting that, for a while, you forget your cares.

And while the ideal beach reads, of course, vary from person to person, for me, there’s nothing quite so perfectly suited for holiday reading as a great love story.

While romance, as a genre, sometimes gets a bad reputation, I’ve always found the pages of my favourite love stories to contain some of the most hopeful, comforting, and enchanting writing I’ve ever had the good fortune to stumble upon.There is a vulnerability to reading someone else’s love story. It requires you to relinquish your cynicism and your embarrassment. You let go: You become that other you. It’s the experience of a holiday, in book form.

Whether I’m stretched out on a towel beneath the sun or curled up in an anxious ball on the couch, I find myself turning to romance whenever I want an escape.

So if you’re on holiday, or just badly need one, these beach reads will sweep you away…

Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes

A sleepy seaside town, top-notch banter, and a realistic love story that will have you smiling—what more can you ask for?

SHOP NOW: Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes, Amazon, £8.99

One Day In December by Josie Silver

To escape the heat of summer, try this wintry love story about a girl who falls in love at first sight—with her best friend’s new boyfriend.

SHOP NOW: One Day in December by Josie Silver, Amazon, £7.99

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

This is the sweet and steamy tale of a man who’s unsure he’s capable of love and the woman who proves otherwise.

SHOP NOW: The Bride Test by Helen Hoang, Amazon, £7.99

Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas

Sometimes you want a slightly more…extremeescape from reality. This historical romance following an estranged couple is absolutely delicious.

SHOP NOW: Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas, Amazon, £25.98

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Dramatic, salacious, and oh-so-romantic, this book follows a 1960s Hollywood starlet through her many love affairs—and to the greatest love of her life.

SHOP NOW: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Amazon, £7.99

Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

Chloe Brown’s fibromyalgia has cost her her social life. Now she’s ready to reclaim it, with the help of her building’s handsome, if irritating, superintendent.

SHOP NOW: Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert, Amazon, £8.99

Why not try Emily's latest release?

Beach Read by Emily Henry, published by Viking, is out in paperback 20thAugust

PRE-ORDER NOW: Beach Read by Emily Henry, Amazon, £7.99

And if you're looking to enjoy even more outstanding books this summer why not check out our pick of the best thrillers around and the best book club books to get conversation flowing in 2020?

Happy reading!