Looking for a book to cuddle up with this summer — hopefully somewhere relaxing?
Bestselling author John Searles dropped by the 3rd Hour of TODAY on June 18 to provide some recommendations. Next summer, check out Searles’ upcoming book. Set in the world of women’s magazines in the 1960s, “Single Girls” is like “Mad Men” meets “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”
Below, find his book recommendations for this summer.
Best summer read
Go ahead and order yourself that basket of fish and chips because this London love story has it all. Coralie lives in a wonderful home with her loving husband and child, and yet, she can’t help but feel like she’s missing something: herself.
“While most romcoms end at the happily ever after, this one goes beyond to examine a relationship and how people change over time,” Searles says.
Written with an effortless balance of humor and heart, “Consider Yourself Kissed” will move you.
Best book to screen
Now adapted into an Amazon Prime limited series starring Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks, “The Better Sister” centers on two estranged sisters, Chloe and Nicky, whose lives converge after the murder of Chloe’s husband.
When the police start questioning suspects, Chloe and Nicky must join forces and confront the secrets they tried to bury in the past.
Full of twists and turns, author Alafair Burke points out the importance of keeping your enemies close — and your sister closer.
Best summer romance
Searles calls this book “playful and lighthearted,” and perfect for a day by the pool.
Rejections are a part of any writer’s life, and no one knows that better than Ziya Khan. On the eve of her 30th birthday, Ziya throws her novel and her dreams into the trash.
However, when Ziya wakes up, she’s surprised to find a gorgeous man standing in her kitchen. His name is Aashiq, and he’s the living incarnation of her muse.
As Aashiq encourages Ziya to make the most out of life, she soon rediscovers the joy of writing but that also means Aashiq’s job is almost done, forcing her to choose her art or her heart.
Best mystery
Ghostwriter Olivia Dumont spends her days hiding the fact that she is the only child of Vincent Taylor, the famous horror writer accused of killing his siblings.
After fifty years of silence, her father is ready to talk about what really happened that night in 1975 — but only if Olivia helps him write it.
Searles describes “The Ghostwriter” as an outlandish good time that will keep you guessing until the very end.
Best travel read
Originally published as a New Yorker story, Susan Choi developed this haunting tale into what Searles notes as one of the most compelling books of the summer.
“It’s a beautifully written novel that begins with a young girl walking on the beach with her father at night,” Searles says. “The next thing she knows, she wakes up on the beach and her father is gone. She has no memory of what happened.”
Shifting perspectives across decades and continents, “Flashlight” is a captivating investigation of the ways in which we are shaped by what we cannot see.
