readers advisory for all discussion

I’m looking for a few books to take on vacation. Something to read on the beach but not “beach reads”. I need something that’ll have me hooked.

I love books that have me wondering “ok what the f is going on??” I also enjoy books that go back and forth between perspectives and especially between different time periods. But not a requirement. My favorite genres are historical fiction and psychological thriller.

I want to relax and enjoyed the sunshine. Nothing terribly depressing or too heavy. No political themes. No dead babies. No doom and gloom endings.

I LOVED The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton, for example.
The Thirteenth Tale
Before I Fall

But I’m fairly open.

Thanks in advance. :)
Erin

For a gripping historical fiction with alternating points of view, Code Name Verity is amazing.

broken monsters by Lauren buekes was so good I finished it in a night. multiple perspectives and it integrates social media in a very cool nom cheesy way.

Thanks adding both! They have been on my to-read list. Appreciate the suggestions.

Don't be put off by its size: THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO. I read it in 3 days, and then I finished the 2 sequels in less than 2 weeks. What if we could hear everyone's thoughts? Never-ending suspense. Huge cliffhangers that make you immediately start the next book. So good.

MEDDLING KIDS: basically a modern Scooby Gang for grown-ups. Soooooooo good!!!!

FINGERSMITH: a Victorian orphan pickpocket con romance. I threw the book across the room TWICE. And immediately went to pick it up and apologize.

A MONSTER CALLS but you will need to bring a box of tissues on the beach. Short, beautiful, heartbreaking, and then HEALING.

If you want to know what it's like to remember every single moment of your life since you were a kid (including being able to feel allllll the emotions and experience alllll the senses allllll over again), read AND SHE WAS.

I’ve read the Chaos Walking series and looove it!! :) Thanks for the suggestions

In the Woods by Tana French!! Psychological mystery, absolutely amazing. I've read the first two and they are both absolutely unputdownable!!

I also really liked The Kind Worth Killing if you want something a little bit lighter and easier to read, but still a great page turner. It's told from two points of view / time periods and has one of the best twists ever imho.

Edit: just saw you liked historical fiction! Not necessarily a page turner but Pachinko is probably the best historical fiction I've read since Memoirs of a Geisha.

Erin wrote: "I’m looking for a few books to take on vacation. Something to read on the beach but not “beach reads”. I need something that’ll have me hooked..."

i hope you have a lovely vacation, erin.

there are two historical fiction books that popped right into my mind, The Signature of All Things, by elizabeth gilbert. this read was so lush and enjoyable. and Galore, by michael crummey was wonderful!

i'm not a huge reader of thrillers, but if you haven't tried louise penny's 'three pines/armand gamache' mystery series, it's one i highly recommend. Still Life is the first in the series. the mysteries are usually pretty good, but the books are so enhanced by the settings and cast of characters.

a few 'nice' reads, i can suggest - which aren't all doom and gloom, and would be great for holiday reading: Rules of Civility, The Keeper of Lost Things, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Straight Man, and The Bean Trees.

this is kind of a left field recommendation, but The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet was so, so good! like you, i love historical fiction. i don't read a lot of scifi, but i try a new one every now and then -- becky chambers' book just delighted me from cover to cover, and is a great escapist read for vacation time.

happy reading! :)

Thanks for the suggestions, all! So appreciated! A few of these are on my to-read list. I’ll def check the others out as well. Thanks again

All the ugly and wonderful things is one of my absolute favorite books. It is a little weird and disturbing and makes you question your own integrity but stick with it because it is AMAZING!

I'd recommend *Dark Matter* as unputdownable thriller (with science-y background, though)

I am a very distracted reader, but I literally could not put down You. Read it while walking to metro, while eating, everything. It's a very creepy psychological thriller!

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren. I recently read it and i LOVED it. It's a very addicting read. It does go back and forth in time but it's a contemporary romance dealing with heavy themes like grief and death..
Hope this helped :)

I loved Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford. It is a dual-timeline historical fiction with a satisfying ending.