Beach Reads for Adults 2024

1985. Anita de Monte, a rising star in the art world, is found dead, her tragic death is the talk of the town. 1998. Raquel, a third-year art history student is preparing her final thesis. Students of colour, like Raquel, are the minority on College Hill, and the pressure to work twice as hard for the same opportunities is no secret. As she attempts to straddle both worlds, she stumbles upon Anita's story, raising questions about the dynamics of her own relationship, which eerily mirrors that of the forgotten artist.

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A captivating novel about two women, centuries apart, fighting to be heard - one of whom may be the real author of Shakespeare's plays. Told in dual intertwining timelines, this sweeping tale of ambition, courage and desire centres two women who are determined to create something beautiful despite the prejudices they face. As Emilia alters the course of her life, and the world, she blazes a trail. Centuries later, will Melina face the same terrible fate - to have her work celebrated, but only at the price of letting another take credit?

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It's 2017 at the University of Arkansas. Millie Cousins, a senior resident assistant, wants to graduate, get a job, and buy a house. So when Agatha Paul, a visiting professor and writer, offers Millie an easy yet unusual opportunity, she jumps at the chance. But Millie's starry-eyed hustle becomes jeopardized by odd new friends, vengeful dorm pranks, and illicit intrigue.

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Daphne always loved the way Peter told their story. How they met, fell in love, and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. Too bad it turned out to be more of a prequel, a complication to Peter's actual love story, the one that ends with him dumping Daphne before their wedding to begin a relationship with his lifelong best friend, Petra. Scruffy and chaotic, Miles is entirely the opposite of buttoned-up Daphne, and they mainly avoid one another until one night, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship. Miles decides he will convince Daphne to give Waning Bay a real shot. Miles believes Daphne deserves the chance to build a life here, her own life. As she begins to fall for the town, Daphne wonders what this summer is supposed to mean.

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Jen has dumped Andy, and he's handling the breakup in exactly the way all his friends and family might have expected: very, very badly. Crashing at his mother's house and obsessively photographing his hairline, Andy embraces the rites and rituals of every breakup-the ill-advised decision to move onto a houseboat, the forced merriment of a lads' night out, the accidental late-night text to the ex-all resulting in a never-ending shame spiral. Even as Andy tests the waters of a new relationship, he finds himself drawn back to Jen, revisiting old texts and emails, trying to figure out what truly went wrong.

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From an international drag superstar and pop culture icon comes his most revealing and personal work to date--a deeply intimate memoir of growing up black, poor and queer in a broken home and discovering the power of performance, found family and self-acceptance.

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Print run 30,000.

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Cal Hooper took early retirement from Chicago PD and moved to rural Ireland looking for peace. He's built a relationship with a local woman, Lena, and he's gradually turning Trey Reddy from a half-feral teenager into a good kid going good places. But then Trey's long-absent father reappears, bringing along an English millionaire and a scheme to find gold in the townland, and suddenly everything the three of them have been building is under threat. Cal and Lena are both ready to do whatever it takes to protect Trey, but Trey doesn't want protecting. What she wants is revenge.

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Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: they'll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other's out, and they'll both go on to find the love of their lives. It's a bonkers idea - and it just might work. But what if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?

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"One dark evening on New York City's Upper West Side, two strangers meet by chance. Over drinks, Amanda and Wendy realize they have much in common, especially loneliness and an intense desire for revenge against the men who destroyed their families. As they talk into the night, they come up with the perfect plan: if you kill for me, I'll kill for you. In another part of the city, Ruth is home alone when the beautiful brownstone she shares with her husband, Scott, is invaded. She's attacked by a man with piercing blue eyes, who disappears into the night. Will she ever be able to feel safe again while the blue-eyed stranger is out there?" -- Provided by publisher.

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It's 1953, and for Nick Taylor, WWII veteran turned company lawyer, oil is the key to the future. His work for American Oil allows him to provide every comfort for his family, including Last House, a secluded country escape. It's 1968, and America is on the brink of change. When the Movement shifts in a more radical direction, each member of the Taylor family will be forced to reckon with the consequences of the choices they've made for the causes they believed in.

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Former college sweethearts reconnect decades later after each has married, raised a family and forged careers and embark on an intense affair that forces them to confront the moral responsibilities of their love for their families and each other.

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After Lucy is found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savvy's blood, everyone thinks she is a murderer. Lucy and Savvy were the golden girls of their small Texas town: pretty, smart, and enviable. It's been years since that horrible night, a night Lucy can't remember anything about, and she has since moved to LA and started a new life. But now a true crime podcast's host Ben Owens has decided to investigate Savvy's murder for his show's second season. Lucy is forced to return to the place she vowed never to set foot in again to solve her friend's murder, even if she is the one that did it.

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Midsummer, the Dorset coast. Guests gather for the opening of The Manor hotel, the new jewel on the Dorset coastline. The champagne is flowing, the guest list sparkling, the sun setting on an unforgettable summer solstice. But under the cloak of celebration, something dark is stirring. The Manor has a secret history; built in the shadows of an ancient wood. Now old friends and enemies are creeping out of the shadows. And they'll soon discover what other deadly secrets come out at night. Print run 300,000.

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When Eileen Merriweather's car unexpectedly breaks down on the way to the annual book club retreat, she finds herself stranded in the quaint town of Eloraton - the town of her favourite romance series - perfectly frozen in the late author's last unfinished story. Elsy is sure that's why she must be here: to help bring the town to its storybook ending. Except there is a character - a grumpy bookstore owner with mint-green eyes, an irritatingly sexy mouth - who does not want her finishing this book. Which is a problem because Elsy is beginning to think the town's happily-ever-after might just be intertwined with her own. Author of "The Seven Year Slip." Print run 30,000.

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"Years after a breakdown and a diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder derailed her historical preservationist career, Kenetria Nash and her alters have been given a second chance they can't refuse: a position as resident caretaker of a historic home. Having been dormant for years, Ken has no idea what led them to this isolated Hudson River island, but she's determined not to ruin their opportunity. Then a surprise visit from the home's conservation trust just as a Nor'easter bears down on the island disrupts her newfound life, leaving Ken trapped with a group of possibly dangerous strangers--including the man who brought her life tumbling down years earlier. When he turns up dead, Ken is the prime suspect. Caught in a web of secrets and in a race against time, Ken and her alters must band together to prove their innocence and discover the truth of Kavanaugh Island--and their own past--or they risk losing not only their future, but their life"-- Provided by publisher.

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Born a German Princess, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was beautiful, headstrong, and fiercely intelligent - not precisely the attributes the British Court had been seeking in a spouse for the young King George III. Thrust into her new role as a royal, Charlotte must learn to navigate the intricate politics of the court as she must instead fulfill her destiny as Queen.

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"In a gorgeous history that spans continents and millennia, Aarathi Prasad weaves together the complex story of the queen of fabrics. Through the scientists who have studied silk, and the biology of the animals from which it has been drawn, Prasad explores the global, natural, and cultural history (and future) of a unique material that has fascinated the world for thousands of years"-- Provided by publisher.

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"The acclaimed New York Times bestselling memoir of the author’s struggle to understand her own sociopathy and shed light on the often maligned and misunderstood mental disorder" - Amazon.ca

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Four freshmen arrive at college from completely different worlds. As their college years fly by, their bond intensifies and the four become inseparable. But as graduation nears, their lives are forever changed after a desperate act leads to tragic consequences. Ten years later, it soon becomes clear that they are facing their own crossroads. True to their promise, they agree to take a time out from lives headed in wrong directions and embark on a journey of self-discovery, forgiveness, and acceptance. Author of "Meant to Be." Print run 25,000.

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Chief of Police Ed Kapenash is about to retire. Blond Sharon is going through a divorce. But when a 22-million-dollar summer home is purchased by the mysterious Richardsons, Ed, Sharon, and everyone in the community are swept up in high drama. When the Richardsons' house burns to the ground and their most essential employee goes missing, the entire island is up in arms. Print run 750,000.

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Lucy is the tourist vacationing at a beach house on Prince Edward Island. Felix is the local who shows her a very good time. The only problem: Lucy doesn't know he's, her best friend, Bridget's younger brother. Lucy and Felix's chemistry is unreal, but the list of reasons why they need to stay away from each other is long, and they vow to never repeat that electric night again. It's easier said than done. When Bridget suddenly flees Toronto a week before her wedding, Lucy drops everything to follow her to the island. Her mission is to help Bridget through her crisis and resist the one man she's never been able to. But Felix's sparkling eyes and flirty quips have been replaced with something new, and Lucy's beginning to wonder just how safe her heart truly is.

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"Women can be heroes." When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances "Frankie" McGrath hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different choice for her life. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path. As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed and politically divided America.

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