The Perfect Books to Bring Along Your Next Picnic
Step up your next picnic with these stories that are bound to pull your emotions in every direction. From sizzling summer romances to suspenseful adventures, this list has a wide array of genres and a broad cast of characters that will hopefully satisfy any story cravings. Life’s not a picnic without a fun read.
In this page-turner, Nantucket sweetheart Lizbet Keaton is searching for a new start after a bad breakup from longtime boyfriend. After beginning the new general manager of the Hotel Nantucket, she hopes she and her staff can win over billionaire owner Xavier Darling and popular Instagram tastemaker Shelly Carpenter and bring their hotel back on the map. Although the hotel appears like a peaceful getaway, its staff deal with complicated pasts and the hotel’s tragic reputation. Can they revive the Hotel Nantucket back to success?
For fans who want a more thrilling read, in this stunning debut, a single word changes everything for this seemingly perfect family. Agneta and Stellan Broman are with their family during this early summer in Stockholm. The story sets off when the landline phone rings and a single word— “Geiger”— is uttered. Agneta hangs up and kills her husband of fifty years. Then disappears without a trace. Sara, a police officer who grew up next to the Bromans, is called by a colleague who is investigating the murder. The investigation leads Sara down a dark journey connecting history and ideologies that will reveal the truth about Sara’s own childhood.
In this modern-day fairytale, city-girl Alexis has undeniable chemistry with the hot carpenter who’s ten years younger, Daniel Grant. Her wealthy parents want her to carry on the family legacy by becoming a world-renowned surgeon, but Alexis is fine with being an ordinary ER doctor. Even more so when she discovers what’s really important the more time she spends with Daniel and the tight-knit town he lives in. Will Alexis get her happily ever after with so many differences between them?
For readers who want some adventure this summer, this book takes us to 1925, Washington D.C. Clara Johnson can talk to spirits, a gift and curse that’s left her indebted to the crafty spirit world. A powerful spirit offers her the chance for freedom, and Clara seizes the opportunity. The task, to steal a magical ring from the wealthiest woman in the District, will be no easy feat. She enlists an unlikely team to help her in the heist: a handsome jazz musician able to hypnotize and an aging actor who’s able to change his face. As they race along DC’s renowned Black Broadway, discord within the spirit world starts leaking into the human one, possibly costing Clara’s life and the fate of an entire city.
Eva Mercy, single mom and bestselling erotica writer, unexpectedly meets Shane, reclusive, award-winning novelist, at a New York literary event and the chemistry between them is undeniable. Probably because they spent one week, fifteen years ago, madly in love. And while they pretend not to know each other, they’ve been secretly writing to each other through their books. These next seven days is their second chance to rekindle their relationship, but first Eva has a couple questions she needs answered.
Since they were children, Serena, Michelle, Kenya, and Lynette have been sister friends forever. This year is an important turning point for all of them. Serena questions why she hasn’t found love yet. Michelle, ready to walk down the aisle, hesitates when an old flame strolls back into her life. Kenya is happily married with the exception of her husband’s ex-wife not allowing their family to live in peace. Finally, Lynette is dating for the first time in over a decade after divorcing her cheating husband. While the ladies search for love and hold onto the love they already have in their lives, their friendships will be tested like never before.
Bio: Emily Hoang is a writer and editor, who is obsessed with haunted houses, ghosts, and dreams. More info can be found on her website.