Five On Friday: Five Beach Reads to Throw in Your Bag Before Heading Out

 I am a lover of beach reads. Maybe it has something to do with growing up in California and Hawaii and then landing smack middle in the US with no water in sight. They are my connection to something I love...the ocean.

I have shelves full of books with soft calming views of some random beach, or the bright illustrated ones showing some tropical destination. I am not picky... So I felt it was the perfect time to list a few of the ones I am looking forward to stacking in my bag as I head out to the Westcoast in a few weeks. ( speaking of the West coast, I dropped a bit of musical fun at the end of all this...any anyone else remember this song? )

DON'T MAKE ME TURN THIS LIFE AROUND

BY CAMILLE PAGAN

I know you are not supposed to choose a book by its cover..BUT..look at it? It just draws you in with its eye-catching colors. But it isn't just the cover ...the story sounds wonderful...

It’s been thirteen years since doctors declared Libby Ross-Velasquez a goner. Yet here she is—cancer-free. So why doesn’t she feel more alive?

Sure, Libby’s husband, Shiloh, has been distant. One of their daughters has a serious health condition. And her father’s death hovers over Libby like a rain cloud. Still, this eternal optimist knows she’s the winner of the existential lottery.

But when her forced cheer isn’t enough to keep her family from catching her blahs, she decides to fly them all to Vieques. The Puerto Rican island is where she and Shiloh fell in love—and where she decided to fight for her life after her cancer diagnosis. Where better to put their problems into perspective?

Then a tropical storm strikes. Libby pretends everything’s fine, even as she fears she’s doomed her family. What she can’t see is that the worst disaster they’ve faced may be the best thing that ever happened to them. But first, they have to get through it.

LAST SUMMER AT THE GOLDEN HOTEL

BY ELYSSA FRIEDLAND

Looking for a book with Jewish representation? This book SCREAMS it... It is also number one on my summer TBR

In its heyday, The Golden Hotel was the crown jewel of the hotter-than-hot Catskills vacation scene. For more than sixty years, the Goldman and Weingold families - best friends and business partners - have presided over this glamorous resort which served as a second home for well-heeled guests and celebrities. But the Catskills are not what they used to be - and neither is the relationship between the Goldmans and the Weingolds. As the facilities and management begin to fall apart, a tempting offer to sell forces the two families together again to make a heart-wrenching decision. Can they save their beloved Golden or is it too late?

Long-buried secrets emerge, new dramas and financial scandals erupt, and everyone from the traditional grandparents to the millennial grandchildren wants a say in the hotel's future. Business and pleasure clash in this fast-paced, hilarious, nostalgia-filled story, where the hotel owners rediscover the magic of a bygone era of nonstop fun even as they grapple with what may be their last resort

MUCH ADO ABOUT NAUTICALING

BY GABBY ALLAN

Another one of those books with a cover that instantly caught my eye. I love cozy mysteries, so combining that and my love for a good summer read ...it was an easy choice.

After far too many years in the Los Angeles corporate world, Whitney Dagner has come home to Santa Catalina Island off the California coast to help her brother Nick run Nautically Yours, the family tourism business. Between gift shop shifts selling all manner of T-shirts and tchotchkes and keeping her feline Whiskers in fine fettle, she pilots the Sea Bounder, a glass-bottom boat showing tourists the underwater sights of aquatic plants, marine life--and a murder victim?

The self-proclaimed Master of the Island, Jules Tisdale was a wealthy man with business interests throughout Catalina who was about to be honored as Person of the Year before someone strangled him with his own tie and tossed his body into the water. That someone appears to be Nick, who had a raw deal from Jules and no alibi the night of his murder. To clear her brother's name, Whit will have to investigate Jules' shady associates and not exactly grief-stricken family members--with the unwelcome help of Felix Ramirez, police diver and Whit's ex-boyfriend who's looking to rekindle their relationship.

IT TAKES TWO TO MANGO

BY CARRIE DOYLE

Another cute-covered cozy mystery just waiting for me to read it. This is the first in a series of books from the author.

It's all fun in the sun until someone turns up dead

After Plum Lockhart's job as a travel magazine editor is eliminated in corporate cuts, she decides she's sick of cold winters in NYC and fruitless swiping on dating apps—what she needs is a dramatic change of scenery. On a whim, she accepts a job as a villa broker and moves to a beautiful Caribbean island.

However, paradise isn't as perfect as it seems: the slow pace of island life, the language barrier, and a cutthroat office rival make Plum question leaving her old life behind. But when a client is found dead in the jacuzzi of Casa Mango—a property Plum manages—she knows she's really in a jam. With a killer loose on the island Plum will have to deal with a stonewalling police chief, a string of baffling clues, and a handsome Director of Security to solve this deadly case!

THE SIREN

BY KATHERINE ST JOHN

I had a few beach reads leftover from last summer and Ro and I are having a reading challenge this month that is aimed at cleaning off our TBR. I had Lions Den on my shelf and it was the first thing I picked (most of my reading this month has been clearing off leftover beach reads). I don't know why I didn't read Lions Den last year because I absolutely loved it, there was so much more to it than I could possibly have imagined just by the blurb, so I instantly wanted to read St.John's next book The Siren.

In the midst of a sizzling hot summer, some of Hollywood's most notorious faces are assembled on the idyllic Caribbean island of St. Genesius to film The Siren, starring dangerously handsome megastar Cole Power playing opposite his ex-wife, Stella Rivers. The surefire blockbuster promises to entice audiences with its sultry storyline and intimately connected cast.

Three very different women arrive on set, each with her own motive. Stella, an infamously unstable actress, is struggling to reclaim the career she lost in the wake of multiple, very public breakdowns. Taylor, a fledgling producer, is anxious to work on a film she hopes will turn her career around after her last job ended in scandal. And Felicity, Stella's mysterious new assistant, harbors designs of her own that threaten to upend everyone's plans.

With a hurricane brewing offshore, each woman finds herself trapped on the island, united against a common enemy. But as deceptions come to light, misplaced trust may prove more perilous than the storm itself.

Let us know what beach reads you are reading this summer...I know I can make more space in my bag if needed!!

Now on to the music I promised...