Today’s #TBT is near and dear to my heart because today is my birthday! Yay me! I tell you this, not to solicit birthday wishes and free cake but to give you a little insight into the way my brain works. It went down like this: Thursday is July 4th…my birthday…” until I get ‘em in they birthday suit” (said in my best Ludacris voice to the tune of Usher’s Yeah)…I can’t believe I just typed that…geez, I need a vacation…somewhere tropical where I can wear a bikini…ah, National Bikini Day is July 5th…I’ll make a list of books that are set on a beach! Boom! Now you know my brain is filled with obscure song lyrics from back in the day and they set the pace for most of the articles I write.
We have the broad stroke solid stand-by books that will never fade into the summer sun; books like Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, Summer Sisters by Judy Blume, Tessa Dare’s Spindle Cover series, Elin Hilderbrand and Mary Kay Andrews are set or have poignant moments on or around the beach. I’d like to offer up a few others for your consideration:
Heaven and Hell by Kristen Ashley
Is there a Kristen Ashley fan among us that can’t feel the sand under our bottoms when we think of Lexi and Ty from Lady Luck? That scene on the beach, when he tracks her down to apologize after being such an exceptional ass and breaking her heart. Oh lord, the feelings behind that scene. Alas, I’d like to focus our Kristen Ashley beach love on Heaven and Hell. When sweet Kia catches the eye of superstar Sam, all of the darkness she’s endured for so long, suddenly gets a blast of light, if she can trust him…and if he can trust her with his darkness, too. We also get Luci and Hap in this tale. Luckily, they get their hard-earned HEA in Ashley’s novella, The Stars Aligned. Heaven and Hell is not a KA book to be missed.
On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves
Tracey Garvis Graves’ On the Island is literally set on an island, you don’t get much beachier than that! I remember when this book came out, there was a bit of commotion about the age difference. Thirty-year-old Anna is seventeen-year-old TJ’s tutor when they end up stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash in the Indian Ocean. As time passes and TJ gets another year older (phew, he’s legal now!) working hard to simply survive their situation, turns into something more. This is a story of survival but also one of love with an epilogue that will make your heart flutter.
Dangerously Sweet by Angela Evans
Some of my favorite beach set romance novellas come to life as part of Roxanne St. Claire’s Barefoot Bay World. Barefoot Bay is located on the barrier island of Mimosa Key off the Gulf of Mexico. After a hurricane devastates the island, a group of four women work together to build Casa Blanca Resort & Spa. This tropical paradise, set in a small, quaint town with quirky year-round inhabitants attracts many a wealthy vacationer. There is a multitude of books (mainly novellas) written by a vast cast of authors set in Barefoot Bay. These books are the perfect bikini wearing beach read. One of my favorites in the series comes from Angela Evans. Her book, Dangerously Sweet pairs up undercover cop Dex with bakery owner Amelia. (see how I worked this back around to the possibility of cake?!!?) It packs a lot of chemistry and intrigue in a tightly written novella filled with suspense. The Barefoot Bay world never lets me down.
