Once you’ve read ten books with about the same plot and about the same characters, it gets boring. Sometimes I just want to sit down and read a predictable book (we all do it), and sometimes I want something refreshing that doesn’t make me want to fall asleep or troll Twitter for hours. So, without further ado, here are 5 books that are unique and awesome summer reads that will make you want to go outside, put a blanket down, and just chill.
Also, stay tuned until the end of this blog post to get my FREE summer reading log printable!
Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts
No. Not the film with Natalie Portman in it… the actual novel it was based off of.
I have such fond memories of this book. My grandma gave it to me one summer saying I should give it a go. Of course I ignored her, and the book collected dust on a shelf until one summer I took it with me on a family camping trip. I can see myself on the ground reading this book and seeing the blue sky in the background.
Where the Heart Is follows a seventeen-year-old girl named Novalee who is seven months pregnant and gets left at a Walmart in Oklahoma by her baby daddy. She even ends up living at the Walmart she gets dropped off at for a while. The book follows Novalee for quite a few years and shows the important milestones in her life, including the birth of her child and her attempt to settle down in the town she got dropped off at initially.
This is honestly such a heartfelt novel that really makes you look at your own life and evaluate your past and what you want for the future. I definitely recommend.
Check out Where the Heart Is by clicking here
On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves
Oh my goodness. This book is a journey. Actually, when I first picked this up I thought I wasn’t going to like it, but I was so wrong.
This novel follows Anna, who is a thirty-year-old English teacher. She’s hired to tutor a sixteen-year-old boy named T.J. by his family while vacationing in the Maldives. Pretty cool gig, right? That’s what Anna thought until she and T.J., while traveling to meet up with T.J.’s family, gets stranded on an island in the middle of the ocean for literally YEARS.
This is a great summer read that will keep you in suspense the whole time. And sometimes you’ll just be like, WTF.
Here’s
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Now here me out, I know this is a dense and complicated book, but it’s a good one and in my opinion the best time to read it is during the summer when it’s not dark outside and you’re less likely to get creeped out.
The basic plot follows a guy named Shadow after he gets out of prison and meets a wide array of eclectic characters as he journeys across the United States. Oh, and all those mythological beings, gods, goddesses, and the like? They’re real.
This book will definitely get you to think about religion, mythology, culture, and the parallels that connect it all. Go read it, you won’t regret it.
Take another look at this book by clicking here
Heaven and Hell by Kristen Ashley
Kristen Ashley writes a lot of adult romance novels, and she writes them well. She has so many books out there that there’s something there for everyone to pick up and read. My summer recommendation though, and a good entrance into her novels is Heaven and Hell.
This novel is about a recently widowed woman named Kia who goes on her dream vacation to Europe because her now dead husband tried to kill her for life insurance money with his girlfriend, but he got killed instead and left Kia with a nice lump of cash. While in Italy she meets a very famous ex-football player named Sam and, well, you can imagine the rest.
This books is more than just a romance novel. It talks about abuse and guilt in a way every woman can relate to. Plus it helps that Sam is hot… just saying.
Here’s the link
Racing the Sun by Karina Halle
Ahh, an adult version of The Lizzie McGuire Movie. Finally, something that gives you the same feeling that Lizzie riding on the back of that Italian guy’s scooter did (except this time it’s a motorcycle, definite step up).
Karina Halle writes some of the best wanderlust novels out there, and Racing the Sun is a total summer hit.
So what’s this book about? Well, twenty-four-year-old Amber has been traveling the world when she finally ends up broke in Southern Italy. She lands a job teaching English to some kids at their home and in the process meets the kids’ much older brother Derio… cue the Lizzie McGuire music, please.
This is a summer read that will make you want to pack up your bags and go to Italy because hey, sometimes being broke over there works out in the best of ways.
Get some of your own Lizzie McGuire magic by clicking here
So there ya go, a list of 5 books that you should read that won’t bore you out of your mind. Here’s to a good summer full of reading!
And for sticking with me through the post, here’s my summer reading log that you can access for FREE- just click this link right here: https://jasmine-edits.com/summer-reading-log-printable/
Ciao!
Jasmine-Edits 