10 Books to Read While Lying on the Beach (or If You Just Wish You Were)

Updated on 7/23/2014 at 9:00 AM

XOXO After Dark shares 10 light, fun, and romantic books perfect for Summer reading. So hit the beach with one of these novels, and for even more great — and free! — books to read, visit the site here.

It's the middle of Summer already! Have you spent it lying in the sun, drinking fizzy cocktails, and relaxing? Or are you sitting in your sub-zero-air-conditioned office, staring out the window, and wondering when you're actually going to get that vacation you need? Either way, we have what you need — the perfect Summer reads to get you all the way to Labor Day! Source: Shutterstock

The Summer I Dared by Barbara Delinsky

Life is slow on the Maine coast, where lobstermen follow the time-honored tradition of setting out with the tides, coming back at night to communal feasts. But what happens when there is a break in the pattern — a horrific boating accident that changes the lives of three individuals and everyone attached to them?

Summer Wind by Mary Alice Monroe

Dora is back at her ancestral home, Sea Breeze on Sullivan’s Island, for the Summer when a tempest begins to brew . . . both within the family itself and outside of their Summer home.

The Matchmaker by Elin Hildebrand

The Summer months in Nantucket are not just about oysters and chilled wine, as successful local matchmaker Mrs. Dabney Kimball Beech discovers when her first love and father of her child returns after 27 years abroad.

The Vacationers by Emma Straub

A Manhattan family in Mallorca: sunlit mountains, pristine beaches, and all the tapas one could ever want. But the two weeks bring up unexpected tensions, forgotten humiliations, and revivals of rivalries that could tear the Post family apart.

The Hurricane Sisters by Dorothea Benton Frank

The South Carolina low country is rich in history, and Summer especially always seems to bring out a certain magical quality. However, behind pristine gardens and clean brickwork lurk challenges that must be faced while hurricane season begins its course.

The House on Mermaid Point by Wendy Wax

Summer brings a series of surprises to unlikely friends Maddie, Avery, and Nikki: a mysterious former rock star with his own island in the Florida Keys, a decaying beachfront mansion, sudden tragedy, a houseboat with only one bathroom . . .

Nantucket Sisters by Nancy Thayer

Memories of golden days by the shore building sandcastles and creating grand plans for the future bonded Emma and Maggie as children, but as adults the duo become more and more aware of the repercussions of class (and a handsome Wall Street trader) on a lifelong friendship.

The Lake House by Marci Nault

A small lakeside community wary of change and outsiders is suddenly faced with two newcomers: Victoria, the prodigal daughter who returns after running off to Hollywood, and Heather, a jet-setting columnist determined to settle down into rustic obscurity.

A Certain Summer by Patricia Beard

It is Summer 1948, and the war has brought change upon the idyllic island colony of Wauregan, where only a few years ago, the inhabitants were proud of the strength of unchanging tradition. Now, Helen’s husband has been declared missing, but with the return of the other soldiers, two of whom vie for her favor, Helen must decide for herself what to believe.

Save the Date by Mary Kay Andrews

Cara is a florist in Savannah whose business is on the verge of becoming the go-to for society weddings when she is asked to create flower arrangements for a certain belle. Yet when the bride goes missing, Cara must put aside her disbelief in true love in order to find the bride and save her business at the same time.