Sure, one of the highlights of my Cape Cod vacation was spending quality time with my family, but coming in a close second?
I read two full, hardcover (and two paperback) books on vacation!!! (Yes, this requires three exclamation points).
Instead of listening to audiobooks as I navigate traffic on my commute, I sat and – gasp – actually turned the pages of a real book.
It felt wonderful.
I’ve missed reading. Sure, my audiobooks allow me to get wrapped up in stories, but they pale in comparison to a good page-turner…especially when you’re laying on the beach.
So every time Dr. G. took the kids out in the water last week, or when we got back to the beach house and the kids took a nap, I grabbed my book and greedily absorbed every moment I could of reading.
Lucky for me I had some excellent beach reads with me … perfect for a week on the Cape. Here’s the one that stood out for me:
“Summer Secrets” by Jane Green
Jane Green is one of my favorite chick lit writers (LOVE “Tempting Fate” and “Babyville”) so I was so excited for “Summer Secrets” to come out – especially since part of it is set in Nantucket.
Here’s the premise: 20-something Londoner Cat is a hard-partying journalist who discovers the father she never knew is living in Nantucket. After her destructive behavior (read: she’s clearly an alcoholic) results in a disastrous trip to visit her new family, Cat returns home in worse shape than ever. Fast forward a decade or so, and Cat is divorced with a preteen daughter and is in a totally different place in her life, trying to hold on to her newfound sobriety while undoing some of the pain she caused long ago.
So while I guess you could call it a beach read, it’s not as light and fluffy as some others are; in fact, it’s pretty dark at times. And I personally had some trouble both identifying and sympathizing with alcoholic Cat, especially in the beginning. I wanted to shake her and get her to stop behaving so badly!
But I couldn’t stop reading it, and eventually I found myself really and truly rooting for Cat, which speaks volumes about Jane Green’s storytelling skills and her ability to turn a challenging, almost unlikable, character into a compelling one.
Plus I’m a sucker for any story set on Nantucket.
So definitely throw this one in your beach bag if you’re looking for a more “serious” — but totally engrossing and entertaining — read this summer.
What book do you have in your beach bag? What are you excited to read this summer?
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for the purposes of my review but, all thoughts and opinions are (as always) my own. Like I said, she is one of my favorite authors and I was already planning to buy it.