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Our picks for the best beach reads of summer 2024
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If you’re heading out on vacation this summer, a good beach read is an absolute must. Whether you prefer to take along paperbacks or an e-reader like the Kindle, you’ve got thousands of engrossing options to choose from this year.
There are so many books out there that it can be hard to figure out where to start. Lucky for you, we’ve sifted through and read some of the best novels and stories available to bring you our picks for the best beach reads of 2024.
Our picks for the best beach reads of summer 2024
Whether you love to dive into high-octane spy thrillers or complicated meet-cutes, you’ll find something exciting to dig into. Grab your e-reader or a bookmark and get ready to chill beachside with a great story. These page-turners are on fire.
(Want to upgrade your summer reading experience with a new e-reader? Check out our picks for the best e-readers for 2024.)
“Kill For Me, Kill For You”
Amazon
This fast-paced psychological thriller is the perfect book for reading with your toes in the sand. You’re going to need it to keep calm with a story that ends up being beautifully stressful.
In Steve Cavanagh’s harrowing novel, two grieving women form an unlikely pact to get revenge. Wendy and Amanda meet by chance in New York City, only to discover they share a common torment: the men who devastated their families were able to walk free. Fueled by rage and loss, they make a secret arrangement to kill each other’s tormentors.
But while both women make their plans to move forward, the plot thickens in ways neither anticipates. Full of dizzying twists and shocking revelations, this book will keep you guessing until the final paragraph. Can the pair pull off the perfect murders?
“The Chaos Agent”
Amazon
Looking for plenty of action with a splash of romance and exotic locales? The latest entry in Mark Greaney’s Gray Man thriller series is perfect escapist fare. Assassin Court Gentry just wants a peaceful life with his lover Zoya when they’re dragged into a game of cat and mouse.
Someone is eliminating the world’s top AI researchers, and an old acquaintance wants Court’s help extracting a Russian scientist from the kill list. But merely being seen with him puts a target on Court’s back. Now they’ve got to stay a step ahead of another assassin with seemingly unlimited resources.
If you’re a big thriller fan or find yourself going back to the classic Bond books over and over, you’ll fall in love with this series. Give “The Chaos Agent” a read.
“People We Meet on Vacation”
Berkley via Amazon
This novel, by the author who literally wrote the book on beach reads (or at least a book titled “Beach Read”), is a romance that’s unlike the others you might have read. Even though it didn’t come out in 2024, it’s still an Amazon bestseller and a favorite among those who like to hit the sand with good reading material in tow.
The book follows Poppy and Alex, two best friends who took a trip together every summer throughout college, up until their falling out near graduation. After not speaking to each other for two years, Poppy reaches out to Alex proposing they take one more vacation together.
As they travel, memories and feelings from their past friendship begin to resurface. Poppy has always had unspoken romantic feelings for Alex that she hid to preserve their friendship. It soon becomes clear Alex feels the same way. If you’ve ever experienced a friendship that turned into something more, you’ll feel right at home here.
“Good Material”
Amazon
This exploration of heartbreak and self-discovery is perfect for your next beach vacation. Andy is reeling from his breakup with Jen while struggling to figure out where it all went wrong. Now homeless, career-less, and watching his friends move on with life, he’s determined to solve the mystery of their failed relationship.
We get both Jen and Andy’s sides of the story in a series of flashbacks. Their beginning as a couple contrasts sharply with the misunderstandings that led to their relationship’s end. The book is packed with touching looks at a love that went sour for so many sometimes inexplicable reasons. It’ll have you reflecting on your own relationships all the way through.
“Took a minute to get into, then it hit hard,” says one verified Amazon reviewer. “So real. So good.”
“Sugar, Baby”
Amazon
Agnes is a 21-year-old who lives at home and works as a cleaner. On the weekends, she goes out and spends money she doesn’t have while looking for ways to distract herself from the life she doesn’t want to live. When she meets Emily, the daughter of one of her clients, she discovers the world of “sugar dating,” or dating rich men for money. Immediately, Agnes is intrigued and hops down the rabbit hole.
When Agnes immerses herself completely in this new world of compensated dating, her mother Constance kicks her out. She then moves in with Emily and a group of other sugar babies, and navigates dangerous, toxic relationships that do little to fill the hole in her life.
It’s a difficult read, but an engrossing one that you won’t soon forget.
“It Ends with Us”
Amazon
It’s a good time to read this bestseller from Colleen Hoover: The movie adaptation starring Blake Lively is airing this June. In this romantic drama, Lily has worked hard to build the life and business she wants in Boston. When she feels sparks with Ryle, a gorgeous but complicated neurosurgeon, it seems too good to be true.
Ryle has a rule against dating, yet Lily becomes the exception. But as their relationship deepens, she wonders what made him so commitment-phobic. The reappearance of her first love — Atlas, a kindred spirit from her hometown — throws Lily’s new life into turmoil as well. Eventually, she must make a difficult choice that she’s not sure she’s prepared for.
“This Summer Will Be Different”
Amazon
This steamy romance is one that’s best enjoyed beachside. You’ll want to cool off after you read it.
Lucy travels to her best friend Bridget’s beach house on Prince Edward Island every summer. Each visit, she finds herself drawn more and more to Bridget’s younger brother Felix, no matter how much she tries to resist.
Their chemistry is off the charts, leading to secret trysts she wishes she could stop having. But with Lucy and Felix’s tangled history and family bonds at stake, their electric connection gets complicated. Their feelings start to deepen and they soon find it difficult to keep their affair a secret.
“The Housemaid”
Amazon
Need a twisty thriller you’ll be thinking about long after you head to the beach? “The Housemaid” will do nicely.
Millie is an ex-convict looking for a fresh start as a live-in housemaid for the wealthy Nina Winchester. At first, the job seems promising. Nina is friendly and welcoming when Millie moves in. But Nina’s behavior soon takes a disturbing turn. She gives Millie confusing instructions, sometimes failing to mention critical information like her daughter’s severe allergy. Millie soon suspects her new boss may be unwell, or that maybe there’s something else hiding beneath the surface.
There are so many secrets to unravel as the novel wears on.
“A Court of Thorns and Roses”
Amazon
We suspect you may have already heard of “ACOTAR” (as it’s known on TikTok). But if you haven’t given this 2020 novel a read yet, we recommend sitting down with it on the beach this summer.
In this formidable fantasy, 19-year-old Feyre is a hunter who kills a wolf in the forest, which angers a mysterious fae who swears revenge. Feyre is taken captive to the land of Prythian, ruled by immortal faeries. She learns her captor Tamlin is not a beast, but one of the faeries that once ruled her world.
As Feyre adjusts to her new home, her feelings for Tamlin go from hatred to intense attraction. An ancient evil threatens Tamlin’s world, and Feyre realizes she must find a way to destroy it if she wants a chance at being with Tamlin.
“One of Us Knows”
Amazon
Kenetria Nash, diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, gets a second chance when she accepts a job as caretaker to a historic Hudson River home. But as she settles in, she realizes she has no memory of how she got there in the first place.
When a storm traps her with strangers, including the man who ruined her past, Ken’s world is changed again. After the man turns up dead, she becomes the prime suspect.
To prove her innocence, Ken has to work with all of her alternate identities. Together, they battle to remember the truth about Ken’s past and the mysterious Kavanaugh Island before they lose everything.
“Just for the Summer”
Amazon
Justin is down on his luck when it comes to the dating scene. When he meets a woman, they break up and his partner finds a new soulmate. When he matches with a woman who claims the same fate, they joke about dating to “cancel out” their curses. That’s when nurse Emma moves to Minnesota for the summer to give it a shot.
Neither expects to actually fall for the other. But when Justin unexpectedly becomes a guardian to his siblings and Emma’s toxic mom causes drama, the pair begin to develop feelings for each other.
But all of this was supposed to be just for the summer. Will Justin and Emma stay together even though they swore they’d part at the end of the season? You’ll have to read to find out.
“The Women”
Amazon
Set during the Vietnam War (1965), 20-year-old nursing student Frankie McGrath enlists in the Army Nurse Corps. Frankie quickly becomes part of the chaos of war — a stark contrast to her sheltered upbringing in sunny California. She’s forced to figure out how to navigate life and death daily while getting closer to the soldiers she treats.
Soon, Frankie grows into a seasoned veteran. But the real battle proves to be returning home to a very different America than the one she left behind. As she reconnects with loved ones and immerses herself in the antiwar movement, she learns important facts about humanity and herself.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.