Top Ten Tuesday is a listicle created by That Artsy Reader Girl. It was created from a love of lists, books and creating bookish friends. Each Tuesday she assigns a new topic for others to join in with. Here is where you can learn more information about Top Ten Tuesday. Ad/Affiliate – Some of these books have affiliate links, you can read my disclaimer here.
This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is a cover freebie, with the following description. Pick any topic related to book covers. You can make up your own topic or pick one from the list of previous ones! I was wondering whether to go for specific colour-themed or maybe flower book covers. Instead, I have gone for summer-themed book covers as I haven’t written about that before, and I’m going on holiday to Spain soon! It turns out that there are a lot of summer-themed book covers on my TBR list, as well as Christmas-themed covers, so I’ll do that in December as well.
1. The Great Outdoors by Kayla Olson
StoryGraph synopsis:
Sadie Whitlock has always been praised for being the most prepared person in the room, the one who’s thought of everything—and every backup plan—for any given situation. She knows exactly what she wants, exactly what she loves, and goes to great lengths to make sure her life runs perfectly as planned.
So when her laidback boyfriend, Caden Rawlins, breaks up with her for being “too high-maintenance,” it comes as a total blindside: it’s the first time anyone has ever treated her tendency to overprepare as a personality flaw. Eager to prove him wrong, Sadie promptly signs herself up for a three-week-long guided wilderness adventure in the High Sierras of California: camping, hiking, rappelling, and kayaking. It’s the most miserable, uncomfortable situation she can think of.
Sadie’s a five-star resort girl at heart, and although the wildness initially scares her, she has a great tour guide: August Thorn. Thorn lives for adventure and is a risk-taker by nature, the perfect person to lead nine hikers through the wilderness for three weeks. But he has his own issues to hide from, and as he and Sadie grow closer, she starts to realise the great outdoors might not be so bad after all.
2. Let’s Kiss and Tell by Joss Richard
StoryGraph synopsis:
Lucy Reid is a sex columnist whose views on relationships aren’t exactly optimistic. Instead, she empowers her readers to embrace their sexuality and challenge the belief that you need a partner to be happy. That is, until her editor tells her that their readers are all in relationships . . . and the team thinks it’s time for something (or someone) new. To buy herself time, Lucy impulsively claims she’s just started a new relationship that she can write about. Enter Marshall Oakley.
Marshall Oakley is the new Senior News Writer at Lucy’s company. When the two meet at a work event, Marsh reveals that Julia, his ex of nine years, is getting married, and he needs a plus one to keep his family off his back. They agree to pretend to be in a relationship until the wedding—Lucy will be able to write about finding “the one” only to break up and prove to her readers (and her bosses) that relationships don’t solve everything, and Marshall gets a no-strings date to show off to his friends, family, and his ex.
But as they spend more time together, the lines blur, and each begins to reevaluate their previously held views on love. As fear gives way to misunderstandings, can they find the courage to rewrite their story with a happily ever after?
3. Head First by Claire Kershaw
StoryGraph synopsis:
Andi has learned to love her predictable life in Ohio. But when her marine biologist sister needs emergency surgery, Andi agrees to take Millie’s place on the trip of a lifetime: scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef. There’s just one problem: Andi must pretend to be Millie the entire time.
But when Andi arrives in Cairns, she is horrified to learn that Hugh Harris – Millie’s professional rival and extremely vocal social media critic – is also on board. And he’s very handsome. Perfect.
Somewhere between the sunsets and the beauty of the underwater world, Andi begins to question the mundanity of her life at home and whether she is capable of being the woman Hugh believes her to be.
4. The Barefoot Bookshop on the Beach by Rebecca Raisin
StoryGraph synopsis:
When Harper sees an ad for what must surely be the most idyllic job in the world, she’s almost tempted. But she can’t possibly leave her bookshop job in London, or her burgeoning career as a successful Bookstagram influencer… That is, until a casual remark about a debut author lands her in deep trouble.
So she applies. After all, now she’s got nothing to lose. Except maybe her heart, she realises, as she lands on the beautiful island of Ésperé in the Seychelles and finds herself seemingly surrounded by beautiful men. Including the hotel owner, moody but heartbreakingly handsome Xavier.
But inter-staff relations are strictly forbidden. And Harper has enough on her plate, with a member of staff missing and a wily band of expats to contend with. Plus, she’s determined to make the bookshop and new start the success they deserve to be… Even if – under the blazing sunshine – the romance novel superfan in her can’t help but hope the boss of the hotel might not be quite the grump he seems…
5. Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch
StoryGraph synopsis:
A summer in Italy turns into a road trip across Tuscany in this sweeping debut novel filled with romance, mystery, and adventure. Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is get back home. But then Lina is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires Lina, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept from Lina for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything she knew about her mother, her father–and even herself. People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more.
6. One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune
StoryGraph synopsis:
Good things happen at the lake. That’s what Alice’s grandmother says, and it’s true. Alice spent just one summer there at a cottage with Nan when she was seventeen—it’s where she took that photo, the one of three grinning teenagers in a yellow speedboat, the image that changed her life.
Now Alice lives behind a lens. As a photographer, she’s most comfortable on the sidelines, letting other people shine. Lately though, she’s been itching for something more, and when Nan falls and breaks her hip, Alice comes up with a plan for them both: another summer in that magical place, Barry’s Bay. But as soon as they settle in, their peace is disrupted by the roar of a familiar yellow boat, and the man driving it.
Charlie Florek was nineteen when Alice took his photo from afar. Now he’s all grown up—a shameless flirt who manages to make Nan laugh and Alice long to be seventeen again, when life was simpler, when taking pictures was just for fun. Sun-slanted days and warm nights out on the lake with Charlie are a balm for Alice’s soul, but when she looks up and sees his piercing green gaze directly on her, she begins to worry for her heart.
Because Alice sees people—that’s why she is so good at what she does—but she’s never met someone who looks and sees her right back.
7. Summer People by Sally Blakely
StoryGraph synopsis:
One week. No drama. And absolutely no dating each other.
After graduating college, five friends make a pact. Every summer, they’ll meet for one week at the same beach house on the California coast to relive the golden days of college. There’s just one rule: no dating within the group.
Simple enough, except Everett and Sutton already broke the rule before summer even began… and couldn’t seem to stop. What started as a one-time fling turned into an annual habit neither of them could quit, until the night everything fell apart.
Five years later, Sutton has no interest in seeing Everett ever again. Until one of their friends, newly divorced and looking for an escape, calls everyone back to the beach house. She expects awkward silences and forced smiles, but nothing could prepare her for Everett–still infuriating, still magnetic, and still capable of unravelling her with a single glance.
As the week stretches on and every re-lived tradition, shared meal, and outing brings a flood of sun-soaked memories that feed the spark between her and Everett, Sutton begins to wonder if the promise that broke them apart was worth keeping in the first place… and if breaking it again will ruin the delicate balance their friend group has finally started to reclaim.
8. Summer Days and Summer Nights by Stephanie Perkins
StoryGraph synopsis:
Maybe it’s the long, lazy days, or maybe it’s the heat making everyone a little bit crazy. Whatever the reason, summer is the perfect time for love to bloom. Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories, written by twelve bestselling young adult writers and edited by the international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins, will have you dreaming of sunset strolls by the lake. So set out your beach chair and grab your sunglasses. You have twelve reasons this summer to soak up the sun and fall in love.
Featuring stories by Leigh Bardugo, Francesca Lia Block, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Brandy Colbert, Tim Federle, Lev Grossman, Nina LaCour, Stephanie Perkins, Veronica Roth, Jon Skovron, and Jennifer E. Smith.
9. The Greek Holiday by Maeve Haran
StoryGraph synopsis:
Four old university friends, Dora, Penny, Nell and Moira, reunite to relive that first hippy-dippy trip together to a beautiful, unspoilt, romantic Greek island looking for sun, sand and sea.
But it’s not just about going back to when they were young. Maybe they do have dreams like Shirley Valentine, because, ultimately, they’re all looking for something to help them through some difficult times in their lives – whether it’s with their career, family or relationships.
What they discover in Kyri is an opportunity to reinvent, be themselves, contribute to a community who wants their help, at the same time as having fun, being happy and even finding love. But, crucially, they discover the most valuable lesson of all – understanding the true importance of female friendship.
10. Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan
StoryGraph synopsis:
Benefits of a summer romance: it’s always fun, always brief, and no one gets their heart broken.
There aren’t enough labelled glass containers to contain the mess that is Ali Morris’s life. Her mom died two years ago, then her husband left, and she hasn’t worn pants with a zipper in longer than she cares to remember. She’s a professional organiser whose pantry is a disgrace.
No one is more surprised than Ali when the first time she takes off her wedding ring and puts on pants with hardware—overalls count, right?—she meets someone. Or rather, her dog claims a man for her in the same way he claimed his favourite of her three children: by peeing on him. Ethan smiles at Ali like her pants are just right—like he likes what he sees. The last thing Ali needs is to make her life messier, but there’s no harm in a little Summer Romance. Is there?
Have you read any of these books with summer-themed book covers?
Caroline ♡
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