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The “beach read.” It can be romantic, mindless and light — sometimes read on the beach, but not required. They’re the perfect genre to escape from all reality.
We asked Minnesota booksellers what beach reads are flying off their shelves and their personal favorites.
Magers & Quinn Booksellers, Minneapolis
Set in a Spanish beach town, Deborah Levy’s “Hot Milk” is a beach read for the cerebral set, a sensual and unsettling story of mothers, daughters and the female gaze. For romance fare, “Honey & Spice” by Bolu Babalola is a charming, sexy, fake dating campus romance set in a fictional UK college. The follow-up comes out this fall so it's the perfect time to jump in!
Finally, for readers who like to sprinkle a little crime into their beach days, local author Kathleen West’s “Making Friends Can Be Murder” is a diverting mystery about starting over and the importance of female friendships.
— Annie Metcalf
Drury Lane Books, Grand Marais
I’m recommending “The Listeners” by Maggie Stiefvater this summer as an engrossing, funny, fast-paced and historically fascinating story. A luxury hotel in 1942 West Virginia is tasked with housing Axis power diplomats.
As the halls fill with Germans, Italians and Japanese with unknown loyalties, the powerful female hotel manager must deal with her staff drafting off to war, disarming FBI agents and a rather silly state department man. Historical fiction with likeable characters, beautiful writing, and a clever love story makes a beach read for me!
— Gwen Danfelt
Hey Darling, Austin
Some of my personal favorite Beach reads would be “Before We Were Strangers” by Renee Carlino which is a beautiful second chance romance told from a Dual point of view, and it’s a book I constantly think about, Renee’s writing makes you feel like you are watching a movie.
“Left of Forever” by Tarah Dewitt which is one of the most utterly romantic books I have ever read, the yarning in this book is top tier and it is also a second chance romance (if you can tell they are my favorite). The story grips you from page one and makes you believe that soulmates do indeed exist.
“Done and Dusted” by Lyla Sage is also a quick read, with amazing ADHD representation, a delicious slow burn, brother’s best friend and the first book in the Rebel Blue Ranch series. Something about Lyla’s writing makes you feel like you know the characters personally and I love that.
Most popular beach reads that are selling here: “One Golden Summer” by Carley Fortune, “Problematic Summer Romance” by Ali Hazelwood, “Not Safe for Work” by Nisha J. Tuli, “Till Summer Do Us Part” by Meghan Quinn and “All the Missing Pieces” by Catherine Cowles.
— Trish Marin
Hearthside Books, Watertown
My favorite beach read is a science fiction adventure. “Of Monsters and Mainframes” by Barbara Truelove. It’s an amazing monster adventure told in the point of view of the spaceship. It’s so interesting and overall a good time!
— Charlotte Klimek
Red Balloon Bookshop, St. Paul
A few big movers in the store this summer for early readers have been “Beach Day: Three-and-a-half-Stories” by Ame Dyckman and Mark Teague which follows roommates Bat, Cat and Rat in three sweet and silly stories and the beautiful picture book, “Fireworks” by Matthew Burgess that shows a hot summer day leading up to a grand celebration of color and sparkle in the sky.
I have personally been really enjoying “These Summer Storms” by Sarah MacLean which is set on a Rhode Island private island and is like the show Succession but with all the yearning and steam from a veteran romance author like MacLean.
— Mallory Hayes
Cream & Amber, Hopkins
“She’s a Lamb!” by Meredith Hambrock is a hilarious, cringy, fast-paced romp set at a regional theater with a main character that will stop at nothing to get a lead role. Will she get what's coming to her? Read to find out!
— Katie Terhune
Tropes & Trifles, Minneapolis
“Not Safe for Work” by Nisha J. Tuli, is a workplace rivals-to-lovers romcom with incredible and *explosive* slow-burn tension. A corporate retreat, a single hotel room (of course), laughably cringey icebreaker activities, and some very creative uses for a breakout room. Also featuring: a joke about Romeo and Juliet that made us laugh out loud.
“My Best Friend’s Honeymoon” by Meryl Wilsner, is a tropical getaway where the only rule is: if you want it, you have to ask for it. Featuring two best friends (from Minneapolis!) who become WAY more, with queer joy on every page.
“All Superheroes Need PR” by Elizabeth Stephens, answers the hard-hitting question: How does a good-looking supervillain (AKA “The Pyro”) rebrand himself as a hero? Answer: He hires a phenomenal PR team to manage his image. And the first step is getting set up with the perfect heroine to fake date (for publicity purposes only, of course). No spoilers, but you can probably guess: smoldering ensues.
— Caitlin O’Neil
Birchbark Books & Native Arts, Minneapolis
I’m head over heels in love with “Sunny Side Up” by Katie Sturino, a laugh-out-loud rom-com about Sunny, a powerhouse of a woman, who decides to create her own line of swimsuits after being unable to find any cute plus-size suits. Laugh, cry, and aww as you read her hilarious and empowering story! The book that is flying off our shelf and is high on my TBR pile is “The Emperor of Gladness,” Ocean Vuong’s second novel.
— Nadine Abery
My beach read pick would be “Mermaid of Black Conch” by Monique Roffey. A haunting love story between a woman cursed to be a mermaid and fisherman who captures her. I have recommended this book to so many people, it’s so good! A series that is flying off our shelves would be the “Murder on the Red River” series by Marcie Rendon, a Birchbark local favorite Indigenous author. Follow Cash Blackbear as she helps solves murders throughout the Red River Valley. The series is 4 novels strong so far!
— Penny Weiland
TJ Klune books literally make my heart sing; “Under the Whispering Door” a tale of love, ghosts and a tea shop made me laugh, cry and feel that bittersweet happiness when it was all finished — leaving me wishing the book would never end. I see “The Truth According to Ember” by Danica Nava flying off our shelf as we prepare for her newest novel “Love is A War Song” to publish this month!
— Kate Porter
Buffalo Books & Coffee, Buffalo
“One Golden Summer” by Carley Fortune has been a popular summer read with customers and staff alike. Set in the quaint fictional Canadian lake town of Barry's Bay, it has impeccable lake/beach/summer vibes! A fantastic read — you’ll love Alice and fall head over heels for Charlie!
I just recently read “Till Summer Do Us Part” by Megan Quinn, my first read of her work and have recommended it to several others. It was laugh out loud funny and while the premise was silly, it was a fun and entertaining read — perfect for hot summer beach days. I’ll forever recommend anything written by my go-to authors: B.K. Borison, Hannah Bonam-Young, Carley Fortune and Jessica Joyce year round — beach or no beach!
— Ashley Loestetter
Black Garnet Books, St. Paul
I never thought I’d be calling a murder mystery “feel-good,” but “Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers” by Jesse Q. Sutanto proved me wrong! With the perfect amount of intrigue to keep you on your toes, comedy that will make you laugh out loud, and characters who will steal your heart, it’s the perfect story to curl up and read this summer!
— Joey
“The 7-10 Split” by Karmen Lee is a queer Hallmark movie in book! This book has a perfect amount of drama, wholesomeness, spice and romance! A great summer read for the beach!"
— Makkah
“Where the Rhythm Takes You” by Sarah Dass is the perfect YA summer beach read, taking you away to the shores of Tobago with a story full of heart, music and romance. Perfect quick, cozy read for anyone craving sun, second chance romances and a love that lingers.
—Jasmine
Content Bookstore, Northfield
At Content, we can barely keep Minnesota author Ellie Palmer’s “Four Weekends and a Funeral” in stock, it flies off the shelves so fast. I’m personally very excited about her sophomore novel “Anywhere With You,” which involves a charmingly chaotic road trip between two longtime best friends with chemistry to spare. It’s due out Aug. 5, just in time for the sunniest part of summer!
— Ellie Ray
Zenith Bookstore, Duluth
A big summer book for us is “Atmosphere” by Taylor Jenkins Reid (a favorite author of one of our owners, Bobby) — it’s still in hardcover, but surprisingly that's not a deterrent. People just can’t wait to read it! Our manager, Sarah, is excited to sell “Beta Vulgaris” by Margie Sarsfield this summer — a creepy literary journey into Minnesota’s beet harvesting industry, which has one of the best covers of the season!
— Sarah Brown
Paperbacks and Pieces, Mankato
My go to recommendation is the Whispering Pines series. Book one is “Family Secrets.” It’s based in a made-up village in Wisconsin that celebrates everyone’s differences. Each book has a murder/death, a hint of magic and slight smush. Shawn McGuire lives just across the river in
Wisconsin and we love having her visit us.
— Shannon Doberstein
Piragis Northwoods Company, Ely
Given our proximity to the Boundary Waters, it’s no surprise that our customers are clamoring for William Kent Krueger’s Cork O’Connor series. My personal recommendation is Kevin Wilson’s “The Family Fang,” a quirky novel about a dysfunctional family of artists. It’s rather reminiscent of a Wes Anderson film.
— Jordyn Stocks
Well Read Books, Elk River
For a fun, summery beach read I highly recommend Ashley Poston’s latest book “Sounds Like Love.” A small-town romance novel mixed with magical realism, the story is about a hit songwriter and a musician who unexpectedly find themselves with an unusual connection.
My favorite part is that each chapter starts with a popular song lyric which will have you singing along while you read!
— Sarah Russel
Bluebird Books, Detroit Lakes
One of our hottest books of the summer has been the highly anticipated “Atmosphere” by Taylor Jenkins Reid, which I really enjoyed and would be a perfect beach read. The book that’s living in my head is “The Names” by Florence Knapp.
I read it, then listened to it on libro.fm just to experience it all over again. It’s so original and poignant and it’s what I’m recommending to everyone right now
— Amy Erickson
A Novel Idea Book Shop, Willmar
Because all the books are very gently used, inventory varies day by day. I carefully curate the books that end up on the shelves for sale, so I can’t say that I have any particular book that flies off the shelf, as I usually only have one copy of each book.
General fiction usually is my fastest moving genre of books, though this summer, historical fiction is moving pretty quickly as well. I’m currently reading “Such A Lovely Family” by Aggie Blum Thompson and I can't put it down, there's many twists and turns.
I also highly recommend “The Quarry Girls” by Minnesota author Jess Lourey. It takes place in the late 1970’s when there were several serial killers in St. Cloud, and it's rich with local history. It's one of my favorites!
— Nicole Twedt
Lykke Books, New Ulm
“Say You’ll Remember Me” and all of Abby Jimenez’s books are are top 5 selling items this spring. Catherine Mack’s “Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies” is flying off our shelves this summer. It is a delightful mystery mixing suspense, humor, and Italian charm making it a perfect beach read. In it, the protagonist's Italian book tour turns perilous when someone tries to kill Connor, a con man from her past.
This debut is a refreshing blend of tension and humor, promising more exciting adventures with Eleanor Dash in the next book in the series, recently released “No One Was Supposed to Die At This Wedding.”
— Brie Taralson
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