Nostalgia Reading Ripe for the End of Summer

Lina is stuck writing about weddings in her hometown on the Jersey Shore. Then she runs into her high school crush Sebastian and his new fiancée. 

Author Francesca Cocchi takes us down memory lane, alternating between the current story and flashbacks to teenage Lina’s perspective. 

It’s hard not to root for Lina, whether it’s for love, career, or just building a life she’s happier with. This summer will be just what she needs to get out of her own way.

Main character Adie Lou is facing divorce and a blasé career, so she decides a shift is in order. She returns to the summer cottage, a place right off Lake Michigan that has a special spot in her heart. 

Adie Lou has a plan. She’ll renovate the cottage and turn it into a bed-and-breakfast. Super easy, right? Of course, there will be plenty of uphill battles along the way. 

In the end, Adie Lou finds herself on the mend, stronger than ever. Impossible to put down, readers will want to visit the cottage themselves!

Sonia Feldman draws readers back into the whirlwind of girlhood. Focusing on a trio of friends, dynamics shift when two kiss and one feels themselves come alive in a way they haven’t before. 

Mina, the main character, reminisces on this summer when everything changed. The atmosphere is like reliving summer as a teenager. Everything is vibrant, ripe with possibility. 

This read is quintessential summer vibes, ready to pull readers down memory lane to visit their own teenage selves, back when friendship was all that mattered.

Caroline has to leave her NYC life and marriage to move back in with her mom in Peachtree Bluff. Ansley, her mom, welcomes her pregnant daughter and her 9-year-old granddaughter into her home with open arms. 

Before you know it, Ansley’s two other daughters, Sloane and Emerson, come to stay as well. Ansley finally had a quiet paradise all to herself after raising three kids. Now they’re all in a house together on the Georgia coast. 

Through this time, they’ll discover secrets, test boundaries, and fortify their relationships. This book is a wonderful summer read about the complexities of family set against the backdrop of the ocean.

Renley and Theo get thrown together for the summer when Theo is in need of a fiancé and finds himself next to Renley’s candy shop. Well, it’s kind of a candy shop. It will be once she fixes it up. 

That’s where Theo comes in. With humor and some simmering romance that definitely won’t lead anywhere, the two work on the candy shop renovation while dealing with all life has to throw at them. 

All in all, Renley and Theo’s story makes for a perfect read in the hammock on a summer day. 

Set in Maine, the characters of The Shampoo Effect are still romping around just like they did in the good old days. Now, they just don’t bounce back as fast and still have kids to care for in the morning. 

Caroline is new to the group, falling in love with one of them, and finds herself enjoying their company. That is, until secrets are uncovered and she’s suddenly pushed out by everyone. 

Really, they all just want to hold on to how things were for just a bit longer. With the essence of clinging to youthful freedom, this book will have readers invested until the very end.

Dolly and Stewart start off the way all great relationships do, and that’s by faking being in a relationship, of course. 

He’s a wealthy businessman looking to secure his way to the top. She’s a single mom just looking to help her family. They end up striking a deal, and they’re in for a summer of acting the part. 

It’s only when the acting becomes all too real that the characters find they may have a chance at something more. This book is a sweet romance story that hits just right during summertime.

The Weingolds and the Goldmans face the monumental decision of whether to sell The Golden Hotel. Once a booked-up hotspot of the Catskills every summer, The Golden Hotel has not aged well. 

With the offer of $12 million to buy the property, they’ll have to decide if hanging on to the property is worth it. The two families who own the hotel certainly have their own opinions about what to do, that’s for sure. 

Readers will certainly get a kick out of this fun book where family and business have no choice but to mingle at The Golden Hotel.