I just spent the last week in my hometown in Oregon working on my next book and working my way through this summer’s most anticipated beach reads. While I still have several books to go, so far I’ve really enjoyed The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren and The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth.
Both Sally Hepworth and Christina Lauren are authors I discovered more recently. As soon as I read Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren I was hooked on their romantic stories that have a more realistic feel than other books I’ve read in the same genre. The Mother-in-Law was suspenseful without being too dark, which makes for a good story and page-turning beach read for me.
I also am finishing up The Friends We Keep by Jane Green. Green is one of the handful of women writers I’ve always drawn inspiration from in addition to Emily Giffin, Elin Hilderbrand, and Liane Moriarty. Whenever these women have books hit shelves, I am always first in line at the bookstore to pick up my copy.
For the first time since its publication, I finally re-read my own book, Waiting at Hayden’s, as well. I know it seems crazy, but after it was released I was too nervous to look at it again. Putting a book out into the world has been one of the most nerve-racking experiences as well as one of the most rewarding.
I shared a bit about the experience in this blog post here, but at the point an author commits to sharing her story with the world she has to completely let go of control. Readers are known for judging and evaluating books critically and while I’ve been fortunate to have had mostly wonderful reviews of Waiting at Hayden’s, I think every author can relate to holding her breath quite a bit in the beginning, hoping people love the story as much as you did while writing it. To each and every person who has reached out and shared their experience reading this love story I can’t thank you enough. I loved getting to spend time again with Charli, Jack, and Gianna when I was home and was relieved that I still loved the story as much as I did the day I started writing it.
Below are my most anticipated beach reads of summer 2019. Let me know in the comments below what you’re reading! I love getting recommendations to add to my TBR list.
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