Beach Reads – 2018 Trip to Rosemary Beach

For me the best part of going to the beach is reading on the beach. There’s something so relaxing about getting lost in a good book and then looking up and seeing the ocean.

Here are the books I read and enjoyed last week, when Hubby and I were at Rosemary Beach (note – these are all Amazon affiliate links):

Melanie Karsak’s Bitches & Brawlers is the fourth in her Steampunk Red Riding Hood series, which just keeps getting better and better. Clemeny’s emotional conflict gets really ramped up in this one, and I can’t wait to see what happens next. Btw, the bitches of the title refers to female werewolves. Five stars – Melanie is quickly becoming a one-click author for me. Now if only Amazon would let me post this review…

Bless Her Heart is another great, funny book from Sally Kilpatrick. I love Ellery and all its quirky characters, and as always, Sally’s themes of self-acceptance and the importance of (hilariously) busting out of one’s comfort zone shine through. My only complaint is that I wanted one more chapter to see what happened with the characters later. But don’t worry, this is a fun and satisfying story as it is. Four stars.

To continue with my theme of readings books with B-words in the title, my next read was Royally Bad by Nora Flite. I won this book at RT 2017 in Atlanta and just now got to read it. It’s a perfect beach read, engaging and entertaining. I loved the characters for the most part, and wow, anyone with family drama just needs to visit the Badds to help them feel better.

[POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT] My main criticism is how the heroine essentially abandons her mother once she’s forced to stay at the Badd estate. Yes, the hero checks on the woman, but at the beginning of the book, she seems to be a lot more dependent on the heroine than the occasional check warrants. The heroine also doesn’t seem to be nearly as worried as she should be.

Other than that subplot issue, which is why I give it 3.5 stars, the book is fun, the sex hot, and the relationship believable. I’ll be checking out the next book in the series.

I acquired Leanna Renee Hieber’s book Darker Still while at the Steampunk World’s Fair. I honestly can’t remember if it was a purchase or a gift, but it’s been hanging out on my TBR shelf for way too long. It’s intense and compelling from the very first page to the last. The mysteries are intriguing and layered, and each of the characters is unique and well-written. I love how the author has crossover characters between series, which makes reading her books feel like visiting old friends.

As you can probably guess from its slightly battered appearance, I picked up Beautiful Creatures at a used bookstore. It sat on my shelf for a couple of years, and I decided to finally read it, finishing it on the car ride home. It’s definitely YA with enough teenage angst to maintain that extra level of tension, but the world-building and setting are gripping and the characters engaging. I’m 50/50 on whether I’ll pick up the next one.

So, those were my fiction beach reads. What’s your favorite beach book? Please let me know in the comments.

Happy reading!