Best Cape Cod Beach Reads for 2024
By Ann Scott 6/28/24
Plan to lose yourself in the clutches of a great beach read this summer. These novels, written by Cape Cod authors, are best enjoyed in the salty air, beside calming waves, on a warm bed of beach sand and slathered in sunscreen. What better way to way to relax and enjoy the beautiful summer weather!
Here are some Beach Read recommendations:
“Pieces of Blue,” by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Lindsey Hill has just bought the Mau Loa, a rundown Hawaiian hotel, to help her children deal with the grief over their father, Paul’s, death. Paul was a burgeoning tech giant and a bit of a saint, who dies in a surfing accident. He’s a tough act to follow, but in this alluring setting, the hotel turned money-pit plays host to a hot grieving widower who happens to also be an excellent handyman. Poignant and fast-paced, this summer read is a real charmer.
“The Edge of Summer,” by Erica George
This young adult book features a Cape Cod marine biology internist, Coriander, whose dream is to save the whales. She is recovering from a tragedy over the summer when she meets a local lifeguard. Erica George worked with the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown on research for this book, which also inspires to inform readers in the effort to save these creatures from entanglement.
“The Summer Place,” by Jennifer Weiner
This book, described as “a love letter” from Weiner to the Outer Cape and to “the power of home,” tells the story of a family coming together one last time for a daughter’s wedding, and before putting their beach house on the market. Along the way to the big day, there are multiple and life-changing revelations.
“Songs in Ursa Major,” by Emma Brodie
Emma Brodie is a Martha’s Vineyard native, and this Joni Mitchell/James Taylor inspired love story is set in the 1970’s on a similar island, when a woman gets her shot at fame, after her band fills in for a singer injured in a motorcycle accident. The two artists begin a romance as the female singer endures the sexism of the music industry.
“Summer Love,” by Nancy Thayer
With themes of friendship and reflection, Thayer’s 35th novel alternates between two summers, both set in her own beloved island home and muse, Nantucket. Four 22-year-old housemates share a run-down hotel in the nineties and then reunite in 2020, when their grown children are experiencing their own romantic adventures.
“The Celebrants” by Stephen Rowley
Experience five gatherings of college friends who stick together over four decades, featuring a public relations power couple, an art dealer, a woman in the music industry and a parent. Two weeks before graduation they all head to a Big Sur vacation home to grapple with the overdose death of a friend and plan to stage their own living funerals. Over the years, they meet in Puerto Vallarta, New York City and back in Big Sur as one of them faces a terminal illness.
“The Five-Star Weekend” by Elin Hilderbrand
A true beach read by a best-selling Nantucket author, this novel features the story of recently widowed food influencer Hollis Shaw, who invites four friends, each from different times in her life to her summer home to shop, celebrate mid-life, and learn how to move on.
“Painting the Light,” by Sally Cabot Gunning
A Brewster historical fiction author, Gunning’s set this novel in 1898’s Martha’s Vineyard. Ida Pease finds herself in a difficult marriage, until her husband is lost at sea. Ida was one of the first women to study at the Museum School in Boston and is now left to manage the family sheep farm, find the light, and as Gunning puts it, “take control of her life.”
Reading a book at the beach on Cape Cod combines the joy of a good story with the tranquility of the ocean, making it a perfect summer activity. Take breaks to walk along the shore, swim, or simply enjoy the surroundings.
Check out one of these beach reads at your local library or bookstore on Cape Cod and then read our fabulous beaches on Cape Cod to find an ideal place to delve into your own summer beach read.
Contributing Author Ann Scott is the 9th Executive Director and Head Librarian of the Nantucket Atheneum. www.nantucketatheneum.org
The Nantucket Atheneum is a private non-profit that proudly curates print and digital materials; maintains an archival collection of historic artifacts, cares for its regal 1847 building and garden, and delivers more than 1,300 programs and classes a year to both seasonal and year-round members.
