10 Books You Need To Take With You On Your Holidays

Well, maybe not all ten. Unless you have a kindle and a two week holiday planned; in which case, go nuts!

I’ve divided these up into thriller and non-thriller, your best options for lazy sunny-day beach reading.

Thrillers:

Something In The Water by Catherine Steadman

Mark and Erin are the picture-perfect couple; attractive, successful and deeply in love. On honeymoon in Bora Bora, they make the most of the beautiful weather and go scuba diving, where they make a shocking discovery. If they tell no one what they found, their dream trip can carry on and their lives can go back to normal but can they let their morals slip away that easily? This is getting really good reviews and sounds like an ideal beach read…just maybe avoid the sea for a bit afterwards. This is also the latest Reese Witherspoon book club pick!

Skin Deep by Liz Nugent

Irish author Nugent has built an almost cult following over the last few years for her thrillers that focus on a “why’d he/she do it?” rather than a “whodunit?”, making her stand out in a sea of Gone Girl style thrillers that currently saturate the market. Skin Deep is a psychological thriller about Cordelia Russell, an Irish ex-pat living in Nice, far beyond her means. All is not as it seems with her; her whole life is a pretence but Cordelia will do whatever it takes to keep going, regardless of who she hurts.

The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy

This is about a group of new mums who call themselves “the May Mothers”, as all of their babies were born in the same month, who meet up twice a week at a neighbourhood bar for some downtime. One night something goes badly wrong and one of their babies is snatched while they are out having fun, and so the race is on to find out who took the missing baby and why, revealing some unpleasant secrets along the way. If you liked The Couple Next Door or Big Little Lies, this will be just your cup of tea!

The Favourite Sister by Jessica Knoll

Jessica Knoll’s latest thriller features two highly competitive, successful sisters whose ruthless schemes will result in murder.

A new New York-based reality tv series is announced and the makers need five beautiful, fierce women to compete in outrageous tasks, vicious social media spats and petty grievances to win Goal Diggers. The last thing they’re expecting is that the series will feature murder, however. This sounds just the right side of trashy!

Non-Thrillers:

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

Another book club choice (this time Oprah’s!), this has been described as both a tragic and a hopeful novel. Celestial and Roy have only been married for a year when Roy is arrested for a crime he didn’t commit and is sentenced to twelve years in prison. Celestial finds herself incapable of holding on to the love they once shared. She becomes closer to Andre, the best man at their wedding. After five years, Roy’s conviction is overturned and he returns to their home, ready to try and resume their lives together.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

Based on the true story of Lale and Gita, two Slovakian Jews who met in Auschwitz and fell in love. Lale was given the awful job of tattooing the prisoners marked for survival but used his position to help other Jews survive. Although it’s a heartbreaking storyline and a devastating time in history, it’s also uplifting and shows the best of humanity in the very worst of circumstances.

When Life Gives You Lululemons (also known as The Wives, depending on where you are in the world) by Lauren Weisberger

A sequel of sorts to The Devil Wears Prada, except that this features Emily, Miranda Priestly’s other assistant (and let’s face it, a much more interesting character than Andy). Emily now works as an image consultant based in New York but has recently lost some high-profile clients and doesn’t understand how social media works. She needs a change, so when she’s offered a job in Connecticut, for world famous supermodel, Karolina Hartwell, she jumps at the chance. Karolina is also newly married to a senator with JFK-esque ambitions. Unfortunately, he’s a very public philanderer and Karolina has a DUI. They need all the help they can get and Emily is just the woman for the job!

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

How would you live your life if you found out as a child the date you would die? Siblings Varya, Daniel, Klara and Simon visit a local gypsy woman in their New York neighbourhood in 1969. They’ve heard she can predict your future but none of them are expecting the news each receives – a specific date in the future when each one will die. The prophecies inform their next five decades; the author takes us on an epic trip, starting  with the flamboyant 1980’s gay scene of San Francisco, to a Las Vegas magician’s show, to an army doctor’s office post 9/11, all the way to the present day and an animal research centre. This is an thrilling and heartbreaking read that you’ll become quickly absorbed in.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Pachinko follows one Korean family through the generations, beginning in the 1900’s with Sunja, who takes comfort in the arms of a man she is not married to. To her hard-working but poor family’s shame, her lover refuses to help and so she agrees to marry a young minister and move to Japan with him. This is the dramatic story of a family in exile from their homeland, caught in a troubled time in history. If you enjoy well written historical fiction, you’ll love Pachinko.

Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering

A coming-of-age story about toxic love, this is slightly more on the YA side of things but often, they’re the most enjoyable beach reads. Sometimes we can’t help loving that person that’s really wrong for us; the person that treats you badly but keeps drawing you back in. Lucy and Stephen meet in college and begin an intense relationship that puts Lucy’s education and other relationships in jeopardy. Both of them are keeping secrets to themselves; the chapters are narrated by both characters for a well-rounded look at their dangerous relationship. Described as a thrilling, sexy read about ruthless ambition and shocking betrayal, this is a soap-opera in a novel!

Now that you’ve got your beach reads sorted, check out Chloe’s guide to books for those still stuck on the Royal Wedding  and a guide to the virtual book clubs you need in your life!