Chapter #21: Books We Read on Vacation

Hello, summer reading!

Feeling My Shelf is a bi-weekly newsletter about books, life, and well, life with books. Grab your favorite caffeinated beverage and get comfy. First up, some recent reads.

The Sacrifice by Rin Chupeco

An island oasis in the Philippines, rumored to be haunted, attracts a Hollywood production crew. Most locals refuse to venture there, but the visitors convince Alon, a local teen, to be their guide. Alon tells them to leave. Stupidly they don’t listen. Soon the crew starts having “visions” and things quickly turn deadly. It’s a creepy and suspenseful read with touches of colonialism and folklore. Also, it had some fun twists!

The Perfect Find by Tia Williams

After seeing the trailer for the movie adaptation of this book (arriving on Netflix June 23!), I knew I needed to read it as soon as possible. Happy to say that I was not disappointed! It follows a former fashion editor desperate for a second chance who goes to work for her rival and ends up entangled with said rivals twenty-something-year-old son. Scandalous! But such a funny and swoony read!

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

Titular character Clover is a 36-year-old death doula in New York City. While Clover's great at her job, the extended time spent around the soon-to-be dead renders her more than awkward around the living. She has no friends her own age, no romantic prospects, and is never far from a good book. Soon Clover bonds with a client that encourages her to put herself out there and heal from her own grief. It's a fantastic, slow-burn that explores all the ways we process death. One of my favorite lines: “Grief is just love looking for a place to settle.”

I also read Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good by Tina Turner, which gives a peek into the spiritual life of the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll. It’s a deeply personal, quick read with lessons on how to find your own happiness and turn “poison into medicine.”

Summer! The perfect time to lose yourself in a good book—on vacation, by the pool, and sipping [insert your preferred chilled beverage]. We’re just days away from the hottest season, and I’m eager to dive into books that scream “out of office.” Both directly and indirectly.

I believe that any book can be a “beach read.” Somehow the term has become synonymous with light, fluffy reads (which I love, don’t get me wrong), but a dark and twisty thriller is as perfect for vacay as a contemporary rom-com. That’s why my summer reading list features a little of both!

Plenty of seaside reading is in my future, and in my bag at various points throughout the season, you’ll find the following:

Going Dark by Melissa de la Cruz - A YA thriller about an influencer who goes missing after a “European trip-of-a-lifetime” with her boyfriend.

Summer on the Bluffs by Sunny Hostin - Set in Oak Bluffs, a historic town on the Massachusetts island of Martha's Vineyard, this novel follows a wealthy woman who’s trying to determine which of her three goddaughters will inherit her prized cottage.

Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron - A second-chance romance set at a destination wedding in Tanzania.

Once More With Feeling by Elissa Sussman - Another second-chance romance featuring two former pop stars who had a career-destroying fling way back when and reunite for a Broadway show.

Long Past Summer by Noué Kirwan - A successful attorney is caught in a legal battle between her former best friend and first love—who also happens to be her ex-best friend's ex husband. 

Rogue Justice by Stacey Abrams - The sequel to While Justice Sleeps following a law clerk who becomes entangled in yet another political crisis (featuring a blackmailed federal judge and a secret court) that threatens national security. One of my most anticipated reads for 2023!

Based on your ideal summer plans!

If you love a good family vacation…Dial A for Aunties by Jessie Q Sutanto features a group of meddling Asian aunties who come to the rescue when Meddy accidentally kills her blind date.

If you like group trips with friends…Happy Place by Emily Henry is about a separated couple who pretend to still be together while on a weeklong vacation with their friends.

If you like relaxing in the great outdoors…The Counselors by Jessica Goodman is set at an elite summer camp in small-town Vermont that turns deadly.

If you like road-tripping to a music festival…The Idea of You by Robinne Lee follows a whirlwind romance between a megastar boyband member and a 40-year-old single mom.

Currently on my nightstand is my June Book of the Month pick, She Started It by Sian Gilbert, which is about “a group of young women whose Caribbean bachelorette party takes a sinister turn.”

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