Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week’s prompt is: Beach/Beachy Reads (Share books you’d take to the beach OR books that take place at the beach.)
I don’t know if anyone else would call these books beachy reads, but I do! Because I am weird. Ha!
The Secret of the Amish Diary by Rachael Phillips
(A fun mystery that I consider a quick read.)
The people of Pleasant Creek are delighted to welcome Liz Eckardt to their picturesque country town as she reopens the Olde Mansion Inn bed and breakfast. But a new start and a simpler life aren’t the only reasons Liz is setting down roots in the heart of Indiana’s Amish community. She is quietly embarking on a quest to find answers about her late mother’s secret life growing up Amish.
Becoming the town’s new innkeeper helps Liz ingrain herself among the townsfolk while searching for the truth about her Amish relatives. That is until she finds herself in the middle of the mysterious murder of one of the inn’s guests. Is there a connection between the death of her troublesome lodger and the truth about her long-lost family?
Live and Let Chai by Bree Baker
(Takes black in a tourist beach town so a perfect beach read.)
Trouble is brewing in Everly’s new café. Can she bag the culprit?
Life hasn’t been so sweet for Everly Swan over the past couple of years, but now that she is back in her seaside hometown and the proud owner of a little iced tea shop and café right on the beach, things are finally starting to look up–until a curmudgeonly customer turns up dead on the boardwalk. With one of her hallmark glass tea jars lying right next to him and an autopsy that reports poison in his system, it doesn’t look good for Everly or her brand new business.
As the townspeople of Charm, formerly so welcoming and homey, turn their back on Everly, she fights to dig up clues about who could have had it in for the former town councilman. With a maddeningly handsome detective discouraging her from uncovering leads and a series of anonymous attacks on Everly and her business, it will take everything she’s got to keep this mystery from boiling over.
Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
(A middle grade read that takes place in summer and has a perfect Summer feel and storyline.)
Summer has a magic all its own.
When Portia sets out for a visit with her cousin Julian, she expects fun and adventure, but of the usual kind: exploring in the woods near Julian’s house, collecting stones and bugs, playing games throughout the long, lazy days.
But this summer is different.
On their first day exploring, Portia and Julian discover an enormous boulder with a mysterious message, a swamp choked with reeds and quicksand, and on the far side of the swamp…a ghost town.
Once upon a time the swamp was a splendid lake, and the fallen houses along its shore an elegant resort community. But though the lake is long gone and the resort faded away, the houses still hold a secret life: two people who have never left Gone-Away…and who can tell the story of what happened there.
Clueless at the Coffee Station by Bee Littlefield
(Just a good mystery and perfect for the beach to me.)
Betti Bryant knows she’s not supposed to be a barista five years after graduating from college, but her life is actually super adorable—except for the part where she has to endure her ex-boyfriend’s musical rendition of their breakup at the coffee shop’s Open Mic Night every Friday.
When an entire local art collection is stolen from the cafe during his performance, Betti sees her chance to persuade her panicked boss to cancel Open Mic Night, at least until the crime is solved. Instead, he announces plans to sell the beloved cafe to a real estate developer, who will demolish it. Betti believes her boss will change his mind once justice is served. So, armed with a list of drink orders from the night of the crime and the sleuthiest outfit she can find at the thrift store, she sets out to investigate the theft herself.
If she fails, she’s promised her sister she’ll accept whatever non-adorable entry-level corporate job she can get, abandoning her ideals about finding her own path in life. The Coffee Station will close forever.
The Fast Lane by Sharon Peterson
(A fun rom-com that involves a road trip, but not a beach. Still a nice, light read.)
He’s the only person who can give me a ride to my brother’s wedding, and he’s also the one man I absolutely CANNOT have feelings for. My brother’s best friend is strictly off limits… Isn’t he?
I should have known my mom would go totally overboard packing for my brother’s big day. But much like my last break-up, I’d been optimistic (in denial) that it would all work out for me. Now, I can’t fit into the car. “Don’t worry,” my brother says, “I asked Theo to give you a ride.”
I flush all over and almost drop my phone. This is a BIG problem.
With his neatly trimmed stubble, fierce protectiveness and an affinity for plaid shirts rivalled only by his love of hiking, I’ve always had a crush on Theo. As a teenager, I’d even declared my feelings in a tragically bad poem. The rejection almost ended our friendship, and I’ll be taking that crippling embarrassment to my grave.
He’s the last person I want to be alone with on a six-day road trip; especially since I swore off men after my last relationship went up in flames. It would be a terrible idea anyway; he only sees me as his best friend’s little sister.
But as we fight over the playlist and are forced to share a night together when his car dies, it’s not distance that makes my heart grow fonder, it’s close proximity. Two thousand miles of flirting has my heart racing in the fast lane. Is it all in my head, or does Theo feel the same?
Will this be our second chance to go the distance, or will everything blow up in my face in the middle of my brother’s wedding?
Murder in An Irish Village by Carlene O’Connor
(This one also doesn’t take place at a beach but it is a fun read with lovable characters and full of mystery.)
In the small village of Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland, Naomi’s Bistro has always been a warm and welcoming spot to visit with neighbors, enjoy some brown bread and tea, and get the local gossip. Nowadays twenty-two-year-old Siobhán O’Sullivan runs the family bistro named for her mother, along with her five siblings, after the death of their parents in a car crash almost a year ago.
It’s been a rough year for the O’Sullivans, but it’s about to get rougher. One morning, as they’re opening the bistro, they discover a man seated at a table, dressed in a suit as if for his own funeral, a pair of hot pink barber scissors protruding from his chest. With the local garda suspecting the O’Sullivans and their business in danger of being shunned—murder tends to spoil the appetite—it’s up to feisty redheaded Siobhán to solve the crime and save her beloved brood.
The Gardener’s Plot by Deborah J. Benoit
(A mystery is always a good beach read in my opinion.)
A woman helps set up a community garden in the Berkshires, only to find a body in one of the plot’s on opening day.
After life threw Maggie Walker a few curveballs, she’s happy to be back in the small, Berkshires town where she spent so much time as a child. Marlowe holds many memories for her, and now it also offers a fresh start. Maggie has always loved gardening, so it’s only natural to sign on to help Violet Bloom set up a community garden.
When opening day arrives, Violet is nowhere to be found, and the gardeners are restless. Things go from bad to worse when Maggie finds a boot buried in one of the plots… and there’s a body attached to it. Suddenly, the police are looking for a killer and they keep asking questions about Violet. Maggie doesn’t believe her friend could do this, and she’s going to dig up the dirt needed to prove it.
The Gardener’s Plot takes readers to the heart of the Berkshires and introduces amateur sleuth Maggie Walker in Deborah J. Benoit’s Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award-winning debut.
The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
(I loved this one. It’s a warm, fun, thought-provoking but also humorous book. It’s my favorite by L.M., honestly)
The Blue Castle is a heartwarming and enchanting novel written by LM Montgomery, the author of the beloved Anne of Green Gables series. The novel follows the story of Valancy Stirling, a shy and unmarried woman who has always lived under the thumb of her overbearing family.
When Valancy discovers that she has a serious heart condition and only a year to live, she decides to take control of her life and do all the things she’s always dreamed of but never had the courage to pursue. She starts by falling in love with a charismatic stranger and embarking on a new and exciting adventure. But as Valancy’s life takes unexpected twists and turns, she learns the true meaning of love, courage, and self-discovery. The Blue Castle is a charming and inspiring story about finding happiness and fulfillment in unexpected places and embracing life to the fullest.
By Book or By Crook by Eva Gates
(It’s been a while since I read this one but I remember it being a fast moving and light mystery.)
For ten years Lucy has enjoyed her job poring over rare tomes of literature for the Harvard Library, but she has not enjoyed the demands of her family’s social whorl or her sort-of-engagement to the staid son of her father’s law partner. But when her ten-year relationship implodes, Lucy realizes that the plot of her life is in need of a serious rewrite.
Calling on her aunt Ellen, Lucy hopes that a little fun in the Outer Banks sun—and some confections from her cousin Josie’s bakery—will help clear her head. But her retreat quickly turns into an unexpected opportunity when Aunt Ellen gets her involved in the lighthouse library tucked away on Bodie Island.
Lucy is thrilled to land a librarian job in her favorite place in the world. But when a priceless first edition Jane Austen novel is stolen and the chair of the library board is murdered, Lucy suddenly finds herself ensnared in a real-life mystery—and she’s not so sure there’s going to be a happy ending….
9. Meet Your Baker by Ellie Alexander
(Just a light mystery with a lot of baking.)
Welcome to Torte-a friendly, small-town family bake shop where the treats are so good that, sometimes, it’s criminal…
After graduating from culinary school, Juliet Capshaw returns to her quaint hometown of Ashland, Oregon, to heal a broken heart and help her mom at the family bakery. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is bringing in lots of tourists looking for some crumpets to go with their heroic couplets. But when one of Torte’s customers turns up dead, there’s much ado about murder…
The victim is Nancy Hudson, the festival’s newest board member. A modern-day Lady Macbeth, Nancy has given more than a few actors and artists enough reasons to kill her…but still. The silver lining? Jules’s high school sweetheart, Thomas, is the investigator on the case. His flirtations are as delicious as ever, and Jules can’t help but want to have her cake and eat it too. But will she have her just desserts? Murder might be bad for business, but love is the sweetest treat of all…
Hadley Beckett’s Next Dish by Bethany Turner
(A fun rom-com with a lot of back and forth witty banter between the two main characters.)
Celebrity chef Maxwell Cavanaugh is known for many things: his multiple Michelin stars, his top-rated Culinary Channel show To the Max, and most of all his horrible temper. Hadley Beckett, host of the Culinary Channel’s other top-rated show, At Home with Hadley, is beloved for her Southern charm and for making her viewers feel like family.
When Max experiences a very public temper tantrum, he’s sent packing to get his life in order. When he returns, career in shambles, his only chance to get back on TV and in the public’s good graces is to work alongside Hadley.
As these polar-opposite celeb chefs begin to peel away the layers of public persona and reputation, they will not only discover the key ingredients for getting along, but also learn the secret recipe for unexpected forgiveness . . . and maybe even love. In the meantime, hide the knives.
Fan-favorite Bethany Turner serves up a heaping helping of humor and romance with this thoroughly modern story centered on cooking, enemies, and second chances.
Have you read any of these or want to?
