Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week a new theme is suggested for bloggers to participate in. This week’s prompt is Books on My Summer 2023 To-Read List!

Hello Readers! We already feel like we’re deep into summer here in Texas. We have an excessive heat warning as I’m writing this. But summer doesn’t officially start until Wednesday, the 21st. Whether you’re heading into summer or winter, I hope you have a great selection of books to dive into!

Today, I’ll be sharing the books on my Summer TBR. When I took a look back at My Spring TBR, I was thrilled to see I read all 10 books I had planned! Which means the pressure is on for my Summer TBR. 😃 I recently shared my #20BooksOfSummer23 Challenge, so you’ll see some repeats, but I did pick up another ARC and I tried to pick a few books off my Backlist Challenge, as well, since I’ve only read one book from that list so far this year. 😬 Although, I have been reaching my goal of reading 2 backlist books a month, just not the ones I picked.

Let’s see what I have planned to read this summer (in no particular order)!

1

The Summer Girl by Elle Kennedy

Synopsis:

College student Cassie Soul hasn’t spent an entire summer in Avalon Bay in years, not since her parents divorced and her mother spitefully whisked her away to Boston. Now that her grandmother is selling the boardwalk hotel that’s been in their family for five decades, Cassie returns to the quaint beach town to spend time with family, ring in her twenty-first birthday… and maybe find herself a summer fling.

On her first night in town, she finds the perfect candidate: Tate Bartlett, Avalon Bay’s fun-loving golden boy.

Tate, sailing instructor and lovable player, is no stranger to flings. In fact, he’s always down for a good time. But the moment he meets Cassie, he knows she’s not the girl you play games with. Cassie is gorgeous, hilarious, and, frankly, the coolest person he’s ever met. The last thing he wants to do is risk breaking her heart, and so he reluctantly puts her in the friend-zone… only to realize he made a huge mistake. Soon, his attraction to Cassie becomes impossible to ignore. He wants that fling now. Big-time.

And maybe even something more.

As Cassie and Tate walk the line between friends and lovers, they’re about to discover that their situation is the least complicated part of this equation. Because Avalon Bay is full of secrets—and their relationship might not survive when those secrets come to light.

Elle Kennedy’s next spicy and emotional romance in the blockbuster Avalon Bay series.

Goodreads
Expected July 18, 2023

Very excited to get to the third book in the Avalon Bay series. The first book was my introduction to Elle Kennedy, and I fell hard for it. It’s always fun to return to characters and settings I know. This will also fulfill the prompt on My Popsugar Challenge: A book with “Girl” in the title.

2

The Love Proposal by Camilla Isley

Synopsis:

The moment you stop looking, that’s when Prince Charming will come knocking on your door!

Summer Knowles does not want a boyfriend. Relationships have caused enough problems in her life. As bridesmaid at her sister’s wedding, she’s going to avoid all things romantic – especially the brawny, hipster best-man who has commitment-phobe written all over him!

When Archie Hill meets Summer, he immediately thinks bridesmaid-and-best-man-with-benefits! They have one week together and may as well make the most of it. But what if one week just isn’t enough…

As wedding fever takes hold, can a sworn-off-men bridesmaid and a die-hard bachelor learn a thing or two about happy-ever-after?

A friends-with-benefits, wedding date rom-com, perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood!

Please note that this title was originally published as You May Kiss the Bridesmaid.

Goodreads
Expected July 22, 2023

Isley, an indie author I like to read often, has signed with Boldwood Books and several of her backlist books are being re-released with edits and new covers. This is another one of hers I haven’t read yet, so I decided to request the ARC. I enjoy how her characters overlap throughout some of her books, but can still be read as standalones.

3

The Roommate Pact by Allison Ashley

Synopsis:

All of the fun, none of the heartache…as long as they stick to the agreement.

The proposition is simple: if ER nurse Claire Harper and her roommate, firefighter Graham Scott, are still single by the time they’re forty, they’ll take the proverbial plunge together…as friends with benefits. Maybe it’s the wine, but in the moment, Claire figures the pact is a safe-enough deal, considering she hasn’t had much luck in love and he’s in no rush to settle down. Like, at all. Besides, there’s no way she could ever really fall for Graham and his thrill-seeking ways. Not after what happened to her father…

Just as things begin to heat up way before the proposed deadline, Graham’s injured in a serious rock-climbing accident—and he needs Claire’s help to heal. She’ll do whatever it takes to nurse him back to health…even if it means moving into Graham’s bed and putting up with his little dog who hates her. But with this no-strings arrangement taking a complicated turn, keeping “for now” from turning into “forever” isn’t as easy as they’d planned.

Goodreads
Expected August 1, 2023

I was invited to read this romance and the early reviews are glowing, so I jumped at it. It sounds super cute!

4

Tilly in Technicolor by Mazey Eddings

Synopsis:

Tilly Twomley is desperate for change. White-knuckling her way through high school with flawed executive functioning has left her burnt out and ready to start fresh. Working as an intern for her perfect older sister’s start up isn’t exactly how Tilly wants to spend her summer, but the required travel around Europe promises a much-needed change of scenery as she plans for her future. The problem is, Tilly has no idea what she wants.

Oliver Clark knows exactly what he wants. His autism has often made it hard for him to form relationships with others, but his love of color theory and design allows him to feel deeply connected to the world around him. Plus, he has everything he needs: a best friend that gets him, placement into a prestigious design program, and a summer internship to build his resume. Everything is going as planned. That is, of course, until he suffers through the most disastrous international flight of his life, all turmoil stemming from lively and exasperating Tilly. Oliver is forced to spend the summer with a girl that couldn’t be more his opposite—feeling things for her he can’t quite name—and starts to wonder if maybe he doesn’t have everything figured out after all.

As the duo’s neurodiverse connection grows, they learn that some of the best parts of life can’t be planned, and are forced to figure out what that means as their disastrously wonderful summer comes to an end.

Tilly in Technicolor is Mazey Eddings’s sparkling YA debut about two neurodivergent teens who form a connection over the course of a summer.

Goodreads
Expected August 15, 2023

I mean, who could resist this cover?! Super cute and fun for the summer.

5

The Reunion by Kit Frick

Synopsis:

From the author of I Killed Zoe Spanos comes a YA thriller in the vein of The White Lotus and Karen M. McManus’s The Cousins following a doomed family reunion gone wrong at a posh Caribbean resort, where old grudges and dangerous secrets culminate in murder.

Eleven Mayweathers went on vacation. Ten came home.

It’s been years since the fragmented Mayweather clan was all in one place, but the engagement of Addison and Mason’s mom to the dad of their future stepbrother, Theo, brings the whole family to sunny Cancún, Mexico, for winter break. Add cousin Natalia to the mix, and it doesn’t take long for tempers to fray and tensions to rise. A week of forced family “fun” reveals that everyone has something to hide, and as secrets bubble to the surface, no one is safe from the fallout. By the end of the week, one member of the reunion party will be dead—and everyone’s a suspect:
The peacekeeper: Addison needs a better hiding place.
The outsider: Theo just wants to mend fences.
The romantic: Natalia doesn’t want to talk about the past.
The hothead: Mason needs to keep his temper under control.

It started as a week in paradise meant to bring them together. But the Mayweathers are about to learn the hard way that family bonding can be deadly.

Goodreads
Expected August 29, 2023

A young adult White Lotus?! Yes, please! Perfect summer reading.

6

The Traitor by Ava Glass

Synopsis:

Tension, danger and pace, pace, pace … Emma Makepeace is being tracked by a deadly traitor in the second novel in the Alias Emma series.

LONDON. EARLY MORNING.

A body is found in a padlocked suitcase.

Investigator Emma Makepeace knows it’s murder. And it’s personal.

She quickly establishes that the dead man had been shadowing two oligarchs suspected of procuring illegal weapons in the UK. And it seems likely that an insider working deep within the British government is helping them.

To find out who the traitor is, Emma goes deep undercover on a superyacht owned by one of the oligarchs.

But the glamorous veneer of the rich hides dark secrets. Out at sea, Emma is both hunter and prey, and no one can protect her.

Never has the turquoise sea and golden sands of the Rivera seemed so dangerous.

As the hunt intensifies, Emma knows that she is in mortal danger. And that she needs to find the traitor before they find her …

____________

PRAISE FOR THE CHASE . . . 

‘Alias Emma by is one of those wonderful thrillers that you read in a day and know you’ll remember for years.’ James Patterson
‘A thrilling read … I could not have loved it more!’ Lisa Jewell
‘Totally addictive … Once you start reading, you won’t stop’ Lisa Gardner
‘Thriller with a capital T’ Jonathan Kellerman

Goodreads
Expected September 19, 2023

Ava Glass’ debut Alias Emma (My Review) was one of my surprise highlights last year. I can’t wait to read the follow-up.

7

Don’t You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane

Synopsis:

Internationally bestselling author Mhairi McFarlane delivers a funny, romantic, heartfelt novel perfect for fans of Josie Silver or Sally Thorne, and anyone who loves Bridget Jones! 

You always remember your first love… don’t you?

If there’s anything worse than being fired from the lousiest restaurant in town, it’s coming home early to find your boyfriend in bed with someone else. Reeling from the humiliation of a double dumping in one day, Georgina takes the next job that comes her way—bartender in a newly opened pub. There’s only one problem: it’s run by the guy she fell in love with years ago. And—make that two problems—he doesn’t remember her. At all. But she has fabulous friends and her signature hot pink fur coat… what more could a girl really need?

Lucas McCarthy has not only grown into a broodingly handsome man, but he’s also turned into an actual grown-up, with a thriving business and a dog along the way. Crossing paths with him again throws Georgina’s rocky present into sharp relief—and brings a secret from her past bubbling to the surface. Only she knows what happened twelve years ago, and why she’s allowed the memories to chase her ever since. But maybe it’s not too late for the truth… or a second chance with the one that got away?

Goodreads

This backlist book has been waiting on my shelf for awhile. I’m hoping I can finally read it this summer. This will also fulfill the prompt on My Popsugar Challenge: A book with a song lyric as its title.

8

Somewhere Close to Happy by Lia Louis

Synopsis:

Lizzie has just received a letter from her first love, Roman. The thing is, Roman went missing 12 years ago.

A laugh-out-loud funny yet heart-breaking novel about first love and second chances, with a satisfying mystery at its heart.

Lizzie James is happy. She has a steady office job (with a steady stream of tray bakes), has had the same best friend since secondary school, and she sees her family every Thursday night for take-away and TV. Granted, some members of her family she’d rather not see, and they definitely don’t want to see her after what happened back then… but on the whole she’s happy. Or somewhere close to it, anyway.

Until a letter arrives one day from her best friend, Roman. A letter dated 12 years ago, the exact day he went missing.

It brings all her painful memories flooding back: the new school she had to go to when she was ill, losing her beloved granddad, Hubble, and then losing her first love. As Lizzie uncovers the secrets of the letter, she starts to discover what really happened the year her life fell apart – and all avenues lead back to Roman.

Who sent her the letter, and what happened to Roman?

Perfect for fans of Cecelia Ahern, Jojo Moyes, Giovanna Fletcher and Kate Eberlen’s Miss You. This is a novel you won’t soon forget.

Goodreads

Another backlist book that I’ve been wanting to read, I’ve loved everything I’ve read by this author.

9

The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

Synopsis:

A woman struggling with burnout learns to embrace the unexpected—and the man she enlists to help her—in this new New York Times bestselling romance by Helen Hoang.

When violinist Anna Sun accidentally achieves career success with a viral YouTube video, she finds herself incapacitated and burned out from her attempts to replicate that moment. And when her longtime boyfriend announces he wants an open relationship before making a final commitment, a hurt and angry Anna decides that if he wants an open relationship, then she does, too. Translation: She’s going to embark on a string of one-night stands. The more unacceptable the men, the better.

That’s where tattooed, motorcycle-riding Quan Diep comes in. Their first attempt at a one-night stand fails, as does their second, and their third, because being with Quan is more than sex—he accepts Anna on an unconditional level that she herself has just started to understand. However, when tragedy strikes Anna’s family she takes on a role that she is ill-suited for, until the burden of expectations threatens to destroy her. Anna and Quan have to fight for their chance at love, but to do that, they also have to fight for themselves.

Goodreads

This one has also appeared on multiple TBRs. Fingers crossed I can get to it. I would love to mark this series completed.

10

The Switch by Beth O’Leary

Synopsis:

Eileen is sick of being 79.
Leena’s tired of life in her twenties.
Maybe it’s time they swapped places…

Eileen, newly single and about to turn eighty, would like a second chance at love, but her tiny Yorkshire village doesn’t offer many eligible gentlemen. Then in bustling London, Eileen’s twentysomething, overachieving granddaughter Leena is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work.

Once Leena learns of Eileen’s romantic predicament, she proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen will live in London and look for love. Meanwhile Leena will rest and take care of things in rural Yorkshire.

But trading places isn’t as easy as either of them expected. Will swapping lives help Eileen and Leena find themselves…and maybe even find love?

Goodreads

The only published book by O’Leary that I haven’t read, I’m excited to pick this one up!

Do we share any books on my Summer TBR? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Wandering!