Sizzling East Coast Reads for Your Summer Road Trip
By Hannah McKinnon
Add these titles to your summer TBR! Regardless of where you’ll be vacationing, these summer reads selected by author Hannah McKinnon will immerse you into fabulous stories of families, friendships, secrets, and complicated pasts—all set on the East Coast.
The Darlings, Hannah McKinnon
I’m starting out with my own contribution to this list: The Darlings. Set on the shore of Chatham, Cape Cod, the Darling family gathers for a family wedding, led by three generations of resilient women. Mother, Cora Darling, has been keeping a secret from her grown children all their lives. Grandmother, Tish Darling, wants to spill it; it’s for everyone’s own good, after all. Granddaughter, Andi Darling, has no idea just how much this secret will change her life and that of her siblings, and how it will impact their sense of identity and place in the family. During three heartbreaking and beautiful summer weeks on the breezy shores of coastal New England, as a wedding looms, the Darling family will navigate both the truth of their family history and what it means to belong.
All the Days of Summer, Nancy Thayer
Heather Willette is at a crossroads. At middle-age, she has lived what appears to be a full life in Concord, Massachusetts with her husband and son, but her marriage is collapsing and her role as mother is waning as her son, Ross, graduates college and heads out into the world. It’s time to take control of her life, so she decides to rent a cottage in Nantucket for the summer. Now, however, Ross, has announced that he is no longer interested in running the family business, as expected. Worse, he, too, is headed to Nantucket with her, the girlfriend Heather has never warmed to, to work for her family’s construction business.
Kailiee Essex has big plans for a future with her boyfriend, Ross, that start now. But with his mother, Heather, moving to her island home for the summer, this can only spell trouble. Kailee has too much riding on this summer. Nantucket has its own island magic to work, but when an unexpected change interrupts their plans, both women must take determined steps toward a future they desperately want. This sparkling summer read explores the complexity of family when it comes to expectations and loyalty, and the ways in which we find common ground.
The Five-Star Weekend, Elin Hilderbrand
Queen of summer beach reads, Elin is my uncontested seasonal go-to, faithfully reserved for my beach vacation each year. Set against the crisp blue Nantucket sky, we meet Hollis Shaw, a wife and mother in the midst of navigating a midlife tragedy. Something has to give. When she organizes a weekend reunion of five people from different seasons of her life, the outcome is hardly harmonious. As the five invitees arrive resplendent with their own baggage, both past and present, Hollis may finally have a chance to unpack and examine some of her own.
The Summer of Songbirds, Kristy Woodson Harvey
Pack your bags for a trip back in time to and into the cabins of Camp Holly Springs. After meeting at camp, friends Daphne, Lanier, and Mary remain the closest, even in their thirties. But when each experiences personal loss and hardship, these ties are threatened. Can returning to Camp Holly Springs, the place where it all began, help them navigate what each of their respective futures hold? Exploring the sisterhood of lifelong female friendships and how the places we grow up shape us into the people we become, Summer of Songbirds takes us on a heartfelt coming-of-age journey.
The Audrey Hepburn Estate, Brenda Janowitz
Inspired by Audrey Hepburn’s Sabrina, this modern-day love story moves gracefully between past and present and explores family secrets and a sizzling love triangle. Upon learning of its imminent demolition, protagonist Emma Jansen returns to the majestic Long Island estate where she grew up. The estate holds not only touchstone moments of her childhood but, as Emma comes to learn, a long-kept secret within her family. There she is reunited with two men from her past, Leo and Henry. With real-life details from Hepburn’s own ties to the Dutch Resistance of World War II, secret identities, and stolen art, readers will find themselves swept into a suspenseful tale rich with heart and history.
The Seaside Library, Brenda Novak
To teenagers Ivy, Ariana, and Cam, Mariners Island was not just a vacation destination for summer tourists; it was the idyllic place they grew up together. But despite its rugged coastal beauty, there are painful memories from the past that drive the teens apart: a young girl has gone missing, and Cam is named a prime suspect. Both Ariana and Ivy find themselves torn between telling the truth and protecting a friend. Twenty years later, Ivy remains on island at the beautiful old library her family owns. When Ariana returns, so do the memories that haunt her, along with old feelings for Cam. The case has been reopened with new evidence. With the summer sun looming overhead, so too does the truth about what really happened that fateful summer night. Finally, the three friends reunite to face a past that bound them and the truth that may set them free.
The Beach at Summerly, Beatriz Williams
Emilia Winthrop may be the descendant of Winthrop Island’s founders, but she has grown up at Summerly, the Peabody family’s estate, as the caretaker’s daughter. It’s 1946 and the island is readying itself for its first summer out from under the shadow of war. Having spent years caring for her ailing mother, a new love is burgeoning between Emilia and one of the Peabody sons, Shep, who has survived. But the arrival of the Peabody boys’ eccentric Aunt Olive opens the door to a world Emilia has not imagined. Olive is cultured and political and has been in and out of several fascinating marriages, a far cry from Emilia’s quiet life on the island. But the sudden arrival of an FBI agent changes everything: Agent Sumner Fox requires Emilia’s assistance. Someone is sharing secret intelligence from somewhere inside Summerly. Nothing is as it seems. Eight years later, Summerly is closed up, and reluctant Emilia is called in by the CIA from her job at Wellesley College. Her help is required once more, this time because there is to be a swap for an imprisoned American spy and the traitor she helped convict all those years ago. Suddenly Emilia’s carefully reconstructed life is threatened again as she is forced to confront the choices she made that fateful season at Summerly.
Hannah McKinnon is the author of nine novels, including The Lake Season, Mystic Summer, The Summer House, Sailing Lessons, The View from Here, Message in the Sand, and The Darlings. She graduated from Connecticut College and the University of South Australia. She lives in Connecticut, with her family, a flock of chickens, and two raggedy rescue dogs.