5 Stellar Books for your Beach Bag

I’ve lived at the Jersey Shore my entire life so my beach bag has been a necessary summer accessory for as long as I can remember.  In it, are the necessities for a relaxing afternoon or even just an hour or two.  Towel, sunscreen, sun glasses, water bottle, and of course, a good book!

To me, there are few things more relaxing than hearing the waves crash against the sand as I lean back in my beach chair with a good book in my hands.  So I’ve taken my 30+ years experience as a beach reader and compiled a list of 5 stellar books for you to put in your beach bag.  I promise this isn’t a list of newest releases.  I consider the books on this list contemporary classics that will make you laugh, keep you turning the pages all afternoon, and perhaps, make you want to read them over again and again!

A Total Waste of Make-up by Kim Gruenenfelder

A Total Waste of Makeup is a light-hearted, subtly insightful, and above all else, a really entertaining book.  I read it several years ago, and I still think about parts of the story and laugh out loud.  It’s just that funny at times!

Charlize “Charlie” Edwards lives the happy, single, carefree life in LA.  She has famous friends, lives in one of the trendiest neighborhoods, and she works as the personal assistant to one of Hollywood’s sexiest stars.  However, as she turns 30 and prepares to be the maid of honor for her younger sister’s wedding, she begins to wonder if she’ll ever be able to find Mr. Right.

Yes, the theme is predictable like most chick lit books, but Gruenenfelder is hilarious!  As Charlie narrates her story, she’s also writing a book of advice for her great niece one day (because she’s convinced she’ll never have children and grandchildren for that matter of her own).  At times the advice is very poignant, and at others, it is laugh out loud funny.  In fact, they’re so funny that I have to share two of them…

“God has a sense of humor.  Don’t believe me?  Just look at a zebra, and tell me what was going on in his mind that day.”

“Never ask a single person if they’re ‘seeing anyone special,’ an unemployed person if they’ve found a job, or a married couple when they’re planning to have children.  You’re not making conversation.  You’re starting someone on the road to Prozac.”

Slightly cynical?  Yes, but both made me laugh out loud at the beach.

Check it out on Amazon!

Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews

Ellis, Julia, and Dorie are three women in their mid-30s who have been best friends since grade school. They decide to rent a house on the Outer Banks for the month of August as a girls getaway. Throw in Ty, the good looking landlord, and Maryn, a woman on the run from her troubles, and there are twists and turns along the way.

What I loved most about Summer Rental was it centered on a group of women in their 30s, not their 20s. As I’m halfway through that decade of my life, I love finding books with characters in the same age bracket. It’s a page turner with engaging characters throughout the entire book!

Check it out on Amazon.

And One Last Thing… by Molly Harper

From the first page, you’re thrust into the heart of the story when 30 year old Lacey Terwilliger mistakenly receives a bouquet of flowers from her husband that was intended for his mistress. Suddenly, the life she knew comes crashing down as she deals with the realization that her husband has been having an affair with his assistant. Lacey’s pain, rage, and embarrassment are characterized so well. In her fit of anger, she sends a mass email detailing her husband’s affair to his clients, friends, and family. As the email goes viral and becomes an Internet sensation, she escapes to her grandmother’s lakefront cabin to avoid the media frenzy and the craziness of the divorce.

While it’s a predictable theme in most chick lit books, she went to the cabin seeking solitude, but that’s when she meets Monroe, her sexy, new neighbor. However, it’s not as cut and dry as boy meets girl and they live happily ever after. Monroe has a rule to keep his distance from divorced women, and that suits Lacey just fine. However, in time they develop a friendship that eventually leads to intimacy, and in the end, Lacey ultimately has to decide if she can take a chance and love again.

As the reader, you’re in Lacey’s head for the entire book. You know what she’s thinking and why she’s doing what she’s doing, no matter how crazy it may be. (Skinning dipping in the middle of the night? You’ll know why! And you’ll laugh through the ordeal, which involves Monroe thinking she is committing suicide!) And that mass email is so carefully written as the typical wronged wife. However, as crazy as Lacey is at times, I found myself cheering and laughing as she said “one last thing.”

Check it out on Amazon.

A Barefoot Summer by Jenny Hale

The small town of White Stone, Virginia situated on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay is the perfect setting for a sweet story about first love with a second chance.  The people of White Stone welcome Libby home with open arms, but Pete, the man whose heart she broke when she escaped the small town for New York, keeps her at arms length.  As Libby spends the summer in her home town, she begins to question whether she made the right decision by leaving all those years ago.

I was dreaming about the summer breeze off the bay, sand beneath my feet, and delicious seafood for days after reading this book.  I’m always a fan of rekindled romance, and A Barefoot Summer is the perfect light-hearted summer love story. Plus, Pete is seriously swoon-worthy!

Jenny Hale has quickly become one of my favorite authors.  Check out some of her other summer-themed books that I reviewed here!

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

If there were a list of classic chick lit books, Something Borrowed would be at the top!  Since its release in 2004, it has always received stellar reviews.  However, despite its popularity, I was slightly hesitant to read it because the whole premise – the main character sleeps with her best friend’s fiancé – isn’t exactly the storyline I usually go for.  But back in the spring of 2011, the movie adaptation was set to be released and I had heard a lot of positive feedback from friends so I decided to take the plunge and read it. I’m so glad I did. Unlike other novels with an affair at its core, Ms. Giffin does a stellar job of turning the tables and made the reader sympathetic to the cheater or at the very least open to her situation.

Meet Rachel and Darcy. They’ve been best friends for years. Rachel is the perpetual good girl, who’s worked hard for everything she has in life, and Darcy, well, she’s that girl you know and sometimes scratch your head in wonder about how everything in her life has always fallen into place. However, on the eve of her 30th birthday, Rachel finds herself in bed with Darcy’s fiancé. While Rachel resigns herself to thinking it was a one-time, drunken mistake, the fling soon becomes a full blown affair. To make matters worse (as if it could), Rachel is not only Darcy’s best friend she is her maid of honor.

As the story follows Rachel, Darcy, and Dex, that’s Darcy’s fiancé, and their friends through the summer, the lines of right and wrong get blurred. As easy as it is to say cheating is wrong, Ms. Giffin makes a subtle but strong case that there are “no moral absolutes.”

When I first read Something Borrowed, I was 29, which was essentially the same age as Rachel and Darcy so I found myself relating to them and laughing alongside of them throughout the entire book. One of my favorite scenes was the night of Darcy’s bachelorette party. Darcy spent the night at Rachel’s apartment because she wanted to relive the days of childhood sleepovers. If you ever had a best friend that was like a sister to you, you’ll relate and feel the bond between Rachel and Darcy. They truly have a history filled with good memories, and that’s what makes Rachel’s situation all the more difficult and intriguing.

The focal point of the novel is a heavy one, but the story itself is another segment of growing up. We grow up learning right from wrong, but the truth of the matter is life isn’t black and white. Sometimes it takes us until we’re 29 going on 30 to fully learn the lesson and realize that there are always tough decisions to make. And of course, when it comes to matters of the heart, sometimes, we learn that a man should never be something borrowed.

Check out Something Borrowed on Amazon.  And after you read the book, I highly recommend watching the movie!

 

I hope you enjoy these books as much as I have!  If you read any of them, I would love to hear what you think.

 

Book Reviews – Author Spotlight… Jenny Hale

I’m so excited to share not one, not two, not three, but FOUR books with you that are perfect for long, summer days at the beach…or pool or wherever you like to relax!  One of my favorite, but somewhat unexpected parts of becoming an author is the connections I’ve made with other authors.  The wonders of social networking!

Not only did I discover another author, whose books I thoroughly enjoy, but we’ve also chatted here and there via Twitter over the past year.  Jenny Hale is such a talented writer, and today, I’m happy to share her four summer themed books with all of you!

Image credit: @jhaleauthor

A Barefoot Summer

The small town of White Stone, Virginia situated on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay is the perfect setting for a sweet story about first love with a second chance.  The people of White Stone welcome Libby home with open arms, but Pete, the man whose heart she broke when she escaped the small town for New York, keeps her at arms length.  As Libby spends the summer in her home town, she begins to question whether she made the right decision by leaving all those years ago.

I was dreaming about the summer breeze off the bay, sand beneath my feet, and delicious seafood for days after reading this book.  I’m always a fan of rekindled romance, and A Barefoot Summer is the perfect light-hearted summer love story. Plus, Pete is seriously swoon-worthy!

A Barefoot Summer on Amazon

Summer by the Sea

Summer by the Sea provides another terrific summer setting in the Outer Banks.  I felt like I was on a two week vacation as the story follows Faith and her sister with a sweet, heartwarming story about family and relationships. There’s forgiveness between sisters and blossoming love.  Such a great light and easy read!

Summer by the Sea on Amazon

Summer at Oyster Bay

Sometimes, leaving home is just what you need because when you return, you realize what matters most.  For Emily returning home to Oyster Bay is exactly what she needs after living a fast-paced city life for several years.  She develops an easy rapport with Charles Peterson, the new owner of the Water Edge’s Inn.  Just like A Barefoot Summer, the Chesapeake Bay area makes for the perfect setting as Emily shows Charles everything Oyster Bay has to offer.  However, when she learns Charles’s plans involve destroying the area she loves so much, Emily questions whether she’ll lose her home and Charles all at once.

Summer at Oyster Bay was the third book I read by Jenny Hale, and needless to say, I’m a big fan of her books. She has such a way of creating dynamic relationships between characters. But the best part is that the focus isn’t solely on romantic relationships, but also on ones between family members and friends, which makes all of her characters so relatable.

Summer at Oyster Bay on Amazon

The Summer House

The Summer House is Jenny Hale’s most recent book.  It’s literally hot off the press as it was released just last Friday.  Despite a busy weekend, I made sure I got a chance to read it so that I could share her newest novel with you today too.

The Summer House follows Callie and Olivia, two lifelong best friends, as they renovate and reopen a beautiful beach bed and breakfast called The Beachcomber in the Outer Banks.  Through an interesting course of events, Callie meets Luke Sullivan, a famous heartthrob and heir to his family’s real estate empire.  Just as Callie begins to see Luke isn’t the playboy the media makes him out to be, she and Olivia discover an old journal in The Beachcomber with secrets that could cause heartache for many.  As a hurricane approaches, emotions run high like the tide and relationships are put to the test.

I loved The Summer House!  While I was reading, I kept wishing I could take a trip down to North Carolina, enjoy some of the delicious seafood the characters kept eating, and stay at The Beachcomber!  Plus, I didn’t think it was possible, but Luke is even more swoon-worthy than Pete from A Barefoot Summer! 

The Summer House on Amazon

So whether you’re getting ready for vacation or planning your days at the beach, load up your Kindle with these four fabulous summer reads!  You won’t be disappointed!

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Summertime at the Jersey Shore

Some of my favorite childhood memories are from summer days at the beach. Squawking seagulls, rolling waves, ice cream men ringing their bells from the bulkhead, and lifeguard whistles comprised the soundtrack of my summers growing up. It may sound rather cliché, but through the craziness of my early 20s, I always found comfort in living – and raising my son – in the same place that held so many good memories for me. Each time I wiggled my toes in the sand, it took me back to a simpler time.


Whenever I read the opening paragraph of Chapter 1 from The Other Side of Later, I get a little pang of nostalgia. The first two sentences aren’t just true for Julia; they’re a direct reflection of my childhood as well. What’s funny is that I wrote The Other Side of Later before I had Baby D so I had no clue I would have a son someday as this opening paragraph came to life on my laptop screen. Now, the last part of the paragraph also rings true for me. I’m so happy I get to raise my son in the same place that holds so many great memories from my childhood.


As the summer goes on, I plan to share other little tidbits about The Other Side of Later and the places that provided me inspiration. I hope you enjoy reading about them, and I hope you’ll check out The Other Side of Later on Amazon.

Summer Reading Time!

At the end of the month, it will be Memorial Day weekend and I don’t know about you, but this warm weather we’ve been having has me thinking about the beach!  As I’ve been posting for the past few weeks, starting Thursday, May 25th I’ll be emailing a weekly newsletter with book review of some great summer reading books!  If you haven’t signed up yet, make sure you do by clicking here.

In the meantime, I thought I’d tell you about one of my favorite book series, The Callaways by Barbara Freethy.  The series revolves around a large, firefighting Irish Catholic family in San Francisco.  Jack and Lynda Callaway have the stereotypical his, hers, and ours family – his four boys, her two girls, and their set of fraternal boy girl twins.  Each book follows one of their now adult children.  While the ending of each book may be a bit predictable, there are twists and turns, mystery and suspense, and romance and passion thrown into each story.

On A Night Like This

So This is Love

Falling for a Stranger

Between Now and Forever*

All a Heart Needs

That Summer Night

When Shadows Fall*

Somewhere Only We Know

Each book is a standalone story, but one of my favorite parts about the series is that each subsequent book gives you little updates on how characters from previous books are doing.  I grew so fond of the series that I was a little upset when I finished book #8, but there’s good news!  Ms. Freethy has continued the series with the Callaway cousins.  I’ve read the first few and they’re just as good!  If you’re looking for books to put on your summer reading list, The Callaways series by Barbara Freethy is a must!

P.S. – Asterisks represent my favorites.  If you read the series, I’d love to know if you liked it and which books were your favorites!

Spring at the Jersey Shore!

It seems like everyone has their favorite season, but my favorite thing of all is the change of seasons!  Whether it’s the chill in the air in the fall or the first hint of a warm breeze in the spring, my excitement builds with the transition to a new season.  As the weather changes and the calendar flips to a new month, there are always things to look forward to.

The past week (with the exception of today…it’s such a rainy afternoon) has been absolutely beautiful at the Jersey Shore.  Spring certainly has finally sprung!  Yesterday, my parents, Baby D, and I (my husband took a much needed nap after being up with a teething Baby D all night) took a walk on the Ocean City boardwalk, and it almost felt like summer!  The sun was warm, the waves were crashing, and the seagulls were squawking.  The sweet salt air and sounds of amusement rides got me so excited for the upcoming season.

The warmer months is when my little corner of New Jersey really comes alive.  Bayfests, boardwalk vendors, ice cream stands, long days on the beach…..so much fun!  My goal is to share glimpses of my summer with you, and maybe entice you to put the Jersey Shore – the place, not the TV show – on your travel bucket list!

Have a great week!

 

Summer days at the beach…

Happy 4th of July!  Here at the Jersey Shore, Independence Day always signals that summer is in full swing.  The area is full of tourists – aka shoebies as us locals call them, days are warm and long, and beach days are plentiful.

The opening paragraph of Chapter 1 of The Other Side of Later always gives me a pang of nostalgia when I reread it.

Some of my favorite childhood memories are from summer days at the beach.  Squawking seagulls, rolling waves, ice cream men ringing their bells from the bulkhead, and lifeguard whistles comprised the soundtrack of my summers growing up.  It may sound rather cliché, but through the craziness of my early 20s, I always found comfort in living – and raising my son – in the same place that held so many good memories for me.  Each time I wiggled my toes in the sand, it took me back to a simpler time.

TheOtherSideofLater_summerdays

If you’re looking for another book to add to your summer reading list, check out The Other Side of Later on Amazon for only 99 cents!

Simpler Times

Who else is excited for warmer days, brilliant sunshine, and spring weather?  After a little tease of spring back in March, the past few chilly weeks have had me wishing for warmer weather.  When the weather gets warmer, I always start thinking about which books I’m going to toss in my beach bag or load on my Kindle for late spring and eventually summer days on the beach.  As I’ve mentioned before, The Other Side of Later is set in a small town at the Jersey Shore, where the beach is a part of life.  I hope you enjoy this sneak peek!

meme4b

Some of my favorite childhood memories are from summer days at the beach.  Squawking seagulls, rolling waves, ice cream men ringing their bells from the bulkhead, and lifeguard whistles comprised the soundtrack of my summers growing up.  It may sound rather cliché, but through the craziness of my early 20s, I always found comfort in living – and raising my son – in the same place that held so many good memories for me.  Each time I wiggled my toes in the sand, it took me back to a simpler time.

When my brother, Luke, and I were really young, weekends were family days at the beach.  Our parents, grandparents, neighbors – Mr. and Mrs. Johnson – and their children all congregated at the 17th Street beach by noon and we didn’t dream of rinsing off and packing up until well past 5.  We ate my mom’s peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, learned to body surf in the ocean with my dad, sat on our grandmother’s lap to get some much needed shade under her umbrella, and somehow, without fail, persuaded my grandfather to dig us a big hole to play in.

As we got older, summer jobs and social lives changed the routine.  Our work schedules didn’t always allow us to be at the beach on the weekends.  We didn’t dig holes and I certainly didn’t body surf once I graduated from one piece suits to bikinis.  Instead of my mom’s peanut butter sandwiches, my friends and I would walk to Loretta’s, the neighborhood diner, for lunch, and breaks from the sun were few and far between as we took turns paddling away from shore in the Johnsons’ ocean kayaks.

The activities changed, but seagulls still squawked, waves still crashed against the sand, ice cream men still ran their bells, and the lifeguards still blew their whistles.  The sounds were exactly the same each time I climbed the steps over the bulkhead and onto the beach.

The Other Side of Later is available on Amazon for only 99¢!