Kelli’s Top 7 Summer Beach Reads

The dog days of summer are here and that means lazy days lounging by the pool or outside with a fave book if you’re lucky enough to grab a few spare minutes to yourself. I’ve read a lot of books so far this year so I thought I would give you a quick rundown of my fave beach reads. As usual I love to hear what you’re reading too, so leave your suggestions in the comments below and enjoy.

Fifty Shades Of Grey Trilogy – E.L. James

Most of the women I know have already read this erotic trilogy but if you haven’t it’s definitely tops on my beach reads list. It tells the story of the young, rich and impossibly handsome Christian Grey who has a penchant for things kinky and his obsession with the innocent Ana Steele. It might not be a literary masterpiece but it is definitely hot and is guaranteed to spice things up in your own bedroom.  Tune out the critics and adjust your expectations because this is one trilogy that I couldn’t put down!

Bared To You – Sylvia Day

If you loved Fifty Shades and are going through Christian Grey withdrawal have no fear, because Gideon Cross is here to save you. This book, touted by many as the next Fifty Shades, is very similar, but maybe a bit, dare I say, dirtier. If you like super hot leading men and lots of sex in your book, you’ll love Bared to You. My full review is here.

The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series – J.R. Ward

This series was recommended to me by my friend Michelle and I have since gotten countless others hooked on the tales of these incredibly hot vampires. With 10 books in the series already, the Black Dagger Brotherhood are a group of vampire warriors trained to protect their race from a group of undead humans called ‘Lessers’. Very hot, very sexy vampire warriors. Each book in the series focuses on a different character. I’ve devoured the first nine books in record time, often reading one in as little as two days. I have the 10th book but I’m afraid to start knowing that I have to wait until March of 2013 for the 11th.  The best part is that the first 9 books are available in paperback and you can pick them up for under $10 each. But if you like hot, sexy vampires (these are erotic reads) then I would suggest picking up a box set because you’re not going to want to wait to hit the bookstore before picking up the next one!

Savages – Don Winslow

Savages is about three lifelong friends who find themselves in over their heads when they piss off the head of a Mexican Drug cartel. I whipped through this book in 1 day, not realizing that I couldn’t put it down. Winslow’s easy but captivating writing style had me turning page after page. A prequel to Savages, The Kings of Cool, was just released and I will definitely be picking that one up. A major motion picture adaptation of the book has also been made and hits theatres this weekend with the one of the best theme songs ever (Till I Collapse by Eminem featuring Nate Dogg, if you’re interested). As usual, I recommend reading the book before seeing the movie.

The Lucky One – Nicholas Sparks

Not gonna lie, after seeing the trailer for this movie (over and over and over) with my inappropriate cougar crush Zac Efron in it I wanted to read the book. It wasn’t a page turner for me but I liked the story and the characters. This is the first Nicholas Sparks novel I’ve read and I liked it but not sure if I would run out to buy another, but The Lucky One makes for a good, easy beach read. Especially if you picture Zac Efron as lead character Logan Thibault while reading it. The Lucky One tells the story of a young marine who finds a picture of a mystery woman while serving in Iraq and is convinced that the picture has become his good luck charm. Five years later he sets off to find the woman in the picture, only to find her and fall in love with her. But what will happen when she realizes that he’s had her picture for all those years? Read it and find out.

The Hunger Games Trilogy – Suzanne Collins

Again, I’m sure many of you have already read this trilogy that tells the story of teenager Katniss Everdeen as she’s sent into The Hunger Games where she has to kill other kids in order to save her own life, but if you haven’t you definitely should.  The novel is solidly written and the characters perfectly complex and the movie is almost as good as the book. Catching Fire, the second book in the series was just as amazing as the first for me, but I wasn’t a fan of ‘Mockingjay‘ the third and final book in the series. The best part of the trilogy is that if you have teens or tweens in the house you can all read and enjoy them.

Divergent – Veronica Roth

If dystopian youth dramas are your thing then you’ll love Divergent.  I read this as a follow up to The Hunger Games  and I loved it.  The debut novel by Veronica Roth who wrote it when she was only 22 years old tells the story of a futuristic Chicago where society is divided into five factions. When each individual turns 16 they’re forced to choose which faction they want to live in – meaning they might have to abandon their family.  Beatrice ‘Tris’ Prior is the young unlikely heroine and the book details how her one choice can change everything. The sequel, Insurgent came out this Spring but I didn’t love it as much as I did Divergent (full review of Insurgent here). A third installment is due out late 2013.

So here are my beach read suggestions, did your favourite books make the cut?  I’d love to hear yours too so leave me suggestions in the comments below!