It's June, which can only mean one thing: Beach read season has begun. We have you covered with this list – and with this one, offered up by author John Searles, too.
Searles stopped by the third hour of TODAY on June 6 to share his summer reading recommendations, which range from a novel that brings on "delicious drama" to a book-to-movie historical read.
Searles is the author of thrillers "Her Last Affair", "Strange But True", "Help for the Haunted" and more.
Best beach read
"Lies and Weddings" by Kevin Kwan
The author of "Crazy Rich Asians" returns with a brand new novel, bringing, once again, "delicious drama.
"The plot centers around a seemingly rich bachelor who is actually broke. His scheming mother launches a plan for his to seduce a woman with money in order to save the family from ruins. It’s funny, fast-paced, features a volcanic eruption because…well.. why not? A perfect poolside read," Searles says.
Best summer love story
"Summer Romance" by Annabel Monaghan
Don't bother with a hardcover on the beach. Bring Annabel Monaghan's "light-hearted love story," just out in paperback.
" Ali Morris is a newly single mom who works as a professional organizer, though her own life is a total mess. When she takes her dog for a walk one day, the pooch has an accident and pees where it shouldn’t…. on a man’s leg. She’s mortified but it just so happens the guy her dog marked its territory on happens to be very, very cute. So… guess what happens?"
Yes, you guessed right.
Best thrilleryou g
"The Hunter's Daughter" by Nicola Solvinic
"The Hunter's Daughter" is by a debut author, but "you’d never know it from how skillfully she weaves this very dark and creepy tale," Searles says.
"The book opens when a female detective lieutenant kills a man in the line of duty… Something about the tragedy reawaken repressed memories from her childhood and we quickly learn that she is the daughter of a notorious serial killer. But wait! There’s more: Soon, someone begins copying her father’s crimes," he says. Read on for the rest of the mystery.
Best book to screen
"Young Woman and the Sea" by Glenn Stout
"Young Woman and the Sea" will have you seeking out a pool near you, if only to capture a tiny portion of what our protagonist manages. In 1926, Trudy Ederle set out to swim the English Channel,
"Back then, people said a woman couldn’t do it. Ugh. But Trudy proved them wrong. She made her own very scandalous two-piece bathing suit and her own pair of waterproof goggles and, well, dove in. This is a thrilling real-life read that is so compelling it feels like fiction," Searles says.
Pride Month read
"The Guncle Abroad" by Steven Rowley
"Everybody’s favorite gay uncle, Patrick O’Hara, is back," Searles says, in this sequel to the Read With Jenna pick "The Guncle." Patrick travels overseas with his niece and nephew with a mission to help them understand love. "A a Guncle myself, I have to say I LOVED this book!" he says.