25 Best Summer Reads for 2022

woman reading by the pool

25 Best Summer Reads for 2022

Tomorrow is the FIRST DAY OF SUMMER!!! Is there anything better than lying on a hammock by the lake or sitting with your toes in the sand at the beach? Actually yes…doing it with a book you can’t put down. Here are 25 of the best summer reads for 2022!   Not all of them are new releases.  Some are blasts from the past you might have missed.

Have a fabulous summer!

(Click on the title to get more information!)

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

BY: Alma Cuervo

(Yes, I’ve recommended it before…yes, it’s that good!)

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo:  Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

 

The Upstairs Wife

By: Rachel Hawkins

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20 Must-Read Books for 2021

book wrapped in cream colored wrapping paper with pinecone and holly on it.

Nothing is better than getting wrapped up in a good book.  The characters become friends and you stay up late flipping the pages and telling yourself you’ll read just a few more.  Books make the perfect Christmas gift… or a little treat for yourself to get you through the hectic holidays.  Here is my recommendation for 20 Must-Read Books for 2021:

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, and this post contains affiliate links. It does not cost you anything extra.  Using these links will help MyTravelingKids continue to help you create unforgettable family memories

20 Must-Read Books for 2021

When We Believed in Mermaids (***Top Pick)

By: Barbara O’Neal

When We Believed in Mermaids:

Her sister has been dead for fifteen years when she sees her on the TV news…

Josie Bianci was killed years ago on a train during a terrorist attack. Gone forever. It’s what her sister, Kit, an ER doctor in Santa Cruz, has always believed. Yet all it takes is a few heart-wrenching seconds to upend Kit’s world. Live coverage of a club fire in Auckland has captured the image of a woman stumbling through the smoke and debris. Her resemblance to Josie is unbelievable. And unmistakable. With it comes a flood of emotions—grief, loss, and anger—that Kit finally has a chance to put to rest: by finding the sister who’s been living a lie.

After arriving in New Zealand, Kit begins her journey with the memories of the past: of days spent on the beach with Josie. Of a lost teenage boy who’d become part of their family. And of a trauma that has haunted Kit and Josie their entire lives.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (***Another Top Pick)

By: Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

I Found You

By: Lisa Jewell

I Found You: In the windswept British seaside town of Ridinghouse Bay, single mom Alice Lake finds a man sitting on a beach outside her house. He has no name, no jacket, and no idea how he got there. Against her better judgment, she invites him inside.

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April Product Roundup

Hello April and WELCOME SPRING!!! I love sharing new products I’ve started using! Time for the April Product Roundup!  Here are some great products I’ve found.  Enjoy.

Juice Beauty

WHY TRAVELERS WILL LOVE THEM

Since our skin can absorb up to 60% of what is placed on it, we need to be very careful about the products we wear.  Juice Beauty uses certified organic ingredients, so I feel comfortable if my daughters uses them.  I love that they purchase the majority of their ingredients from local West Coast USDA Certified Organic farms. I also like that they don’t use inexpensive fillers and they never test on animals.

WHAT PRODUCTS DID WE GET?

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15 Cookbooks that Inspire Travel

One of the best things about travel is the FOOD! Eating local cuisine can tell you a lot about the culture.  Being Portuguese, I know that lots of love goes into our food and that the best memories are made around a dining room table.  Since we’re not using our passports right now, a great way to “travel” is to discover new places through their food.  I love to gather my family in the kitchen, put on some music, and start giving everyone a task of chopping, measuring, stirring, and tasting.  Here are a few of my favorite cookbooks.

Here are 15 cookbooks that will inspire you to travel the world:

PORTUGAL: Taste Portugal 101 Easy Portuguese Recipes (Volume 1)

(I can’t wait to buy her second book!)

by Maria Dias

SPAIN: Catalan Food: Culture and Flavors from the Mediterranean

by Clarkson Potter

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10 Books to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions

January equals a new year and with that come new year’s resolutions.  We all have habits we want to create and vices we want to stop.  Unfortunately, studies say that about 80% of New Year’s resolutions are broken by the second week of February!  It helps if you learn new strategies that will reinforce the habit you’re trying to create.  I know it helps when I find books on the subject and spend some time every few days reading up on it.  Here are some books that may help you with your New Year’s resolutions.

Enjoy!

Prayers for Calm:

Meditations, Affirmations, and Prayers to Soothe Your Soul

By: Becca Anderson

Prayers for Calm is the perfect inspirational gift or encouragement gift. This book will help you:

Slow your racing mind in this fast-paced world.

Calm your thoughts enough to see the big picture in overwhelming situations.

Assert control over your mind and believe in yourself.

Overcome nagging worries and fears that hold you back from life.

Deepen your connection to spiritual serenity.

Discover meditative mantras and actualizing affirmations to reduce your anxiety.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS BOOK:

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15 Books that Make the Ultimate Christmas Gift

Christmas is the perfect time to share your favorite stories with friends and family.  Maybe it’s the former language arts teacher in me talking, but I think there’s nothing better than getting lost in a good book.   My favorite moments during summer are afternoons spent with the girls on the hammock as we each get lost in our own chapters. Looking for a good book for someone this Christmas?  Look no farther than this list of 15 books that make the ultimate Christmas gift. These books are full of characters you wish you could meet, lives you’re thankful you didn’t live, and endings that wish would never come.  Pick some up as gifts or as a gift for yourself that you can enjoy after the craziness of this holiday season.

Enjoy!  Happy shopping!!

Where the Crawdads Sing

By: Delia Owens

Where the Crawdads Sing: For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So, in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life – until the unthinkable happens. Click link to purchase.

That Night

By: Chevy Stevens

That Night: Toni Murphy was eighteen when she and her boyfriend, Ryan, were wrongly convicted of the murder of her younger sister. Now she is thirty-four and back in her hometown, working every day to forge and adjust to a new life on the outside. She’s doing everything in her power to avoid violating her parole and going back to prison. But nothing is making that easy – not Ryan, who is convinced he can figure out the truth; not her mother, who clearly doubts Toni’s innocence; and certainly not the group of women who made Toni’s life miserable in high school and who may have darker secrets than anyone realizes. Before Toni can truly move on, she must risk everything to find out the truth and clear her name. Click link to purchase.

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Books that Make the Ultimate Christmas Gift


Christmas is the perfect time to share your favorite stories with friends and family.  I’m always looking for good recommendations and I love to tell people about my favorites.  Maybe it’s the former language arts teacher in me talking, but I think there’s nothing better than getting lost in a good book.   My favorite moments during summer are afternoons spent with the girls on the hammock as we each get lost in our own chapters. Looking for a good book for someone this Christmas?  Look no farther.  These books are full of characters you wish you could meet, lives you wish you could live, and endings that wish would never come.  Enjoy these Books that Make the Ultimate Christmas Gift!  Happy shopping!!

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

By: Jan-Philipp Sendker 

In The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be…until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago, to a Burmese woman they have never heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with her father’s past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and passion that will reaffirm the reader’s belief in the power of love to move mountains. Click link to purchase. 

The Mermaid’s Chair

By: Sue Monk Kidd

In The Mermaid Chair, Jessie Sullivan is summoned home to Egret Island to cope with her eccentric mother’s seemingly inexplicable behavior, she is living a conventional life with her husband, Hugh, a life “molded to the smallest space possible.” Jessie loves Hugh, but once on the island, she finds herself drawn to Brother Thomas, a monk about to take his final vows. Amid a rich community of unforgettable island women and the exotic beauty of marshlands, tidal creeks, and majestic egrets, Jessie grapples with the tension of desire and the struggle to deny it, with a freedom that feels overwhelmingly right and the immutable force of home and marriage. Click link to purchase

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