The Best Books To Read on Vacation

In this clever, surprising, page-turner, the world’s most lethal assassin gives up the violent life only to find himself under siege by mysterious assailants. What’s a reformed hit man to do?

It’s 2017 at the University of Arkansas, and Millie Cousins — a super-senior resident assistant — just wants to graduate and get a job. So when visiting professor Agatha Paul offers Millie an easy yet unusual opportunity for them to help each other further their own interests, Millie naturally jumps at the chance. But Millie’s starry-eyed hustle quickly get put in jeopardy and both Millie and Agatha are forced to question just how much of themselves they are willing to trade to get what they want. Acclaimed author Kiley Reid’s fresh and provocative story about desire, consumption, and bad behavior.

In the wake of tragedy, a group of friends makes a pact that will cause them to reunite a decade later and embark upon a life-changing adventure together — from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Meant to Be. In this tender portrayal of grief, love, and hope, Emily Giffin asks: When things fall apart, who will be at our sides, helping us pick up the pieces?

A year in the life of the unforgettable Catalina Ituralde, a wickedly wry and heartbreakingly vulnerable student at an elite college, forced to navigate an opaque past, an uncertain future, tragedies on two continents, and the tantalizing possibilities of love and freedom.

Evie Porter has everything a nice Southern girl could want: A doting boyfriend, a house with a white picket fence, a tight group of friends. The only catch: Evie Porter doesn’t exist …

Jasmyn and King Williams move their family to the planned Black utopia of Liberty, California hoping to find a community of like-minded people, a place where their growing family can thrive. Jasmyn expected to find liberals and social justice activists striving for racial equality, but Liberty residents seem more focused on booking spa treatments and ignoring the world’s troubles. Then Jasmyn discovers a terrible secret about Liberty and its founders. Will the truth destroy her world in ways she never could have imagined?

A stunning novel about loss, isolation, folklore, and the joy and dissonance of finding oneself by exploring life outside one’s community. With shimmering prose tempered by sharp wit, Whale Fall tells the story of what happens when one person’s ambitions threaten the fabric of a community, and what can happen when they are realized. O’Connor paints a portrait of a community and a woman on the precipice, forced to confront an outside world that seems to be closing in on them.

Maya has returned to Princeton for her college reunion — it’s been a decade since she graduated, and she is looking forward to seeing old faces and reminiscing about her time there. This visit is special because Maya will also be attending the graduation of her little sister, Naomi. But what should have been a dream weekend becomes Maya’s worst nightmare when she receives the news that Naomi is dead. As Maya pieces together what happened in the months leading up to her sister’s death, she begins to realize how much Naomi hid from her …

A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters.

Nora Eldridge is a reliable, but unremarkable, friend and neighbor, always on the fringe of other people’s achievements. But the arrival of the Shahid family — dashing Skandar, a Lebanese scholar, glamorous Sirena, an Italian artist, and their son, Reza—draws her into a complex and exciting new world. Nora’s happiness pushes her beyond her boundaries, until Sirena’s careless ambition leads to a shattering betrayal.

Vera Wong is a lonely little old lady who lives above her forgotten tea shop in the middle of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Then one morning, Vera trudges downstairs to find a curious thing — a dead man in the middle of her tea shop. In his outstretched hand, a flash drive and Vera sort of … swipes it. Why? Because Vera is sure she would do a better job than the police possibly could. Vera knows the killer will be back; all she has to do is watch the increasing number of customers at her shop and figure out which one among them is a killer …

A gripping novel about the whirlwind rise of an iconic 1970s rock group and their beautiful lead singer, revealing the mystery behind their infamous breakup — from the author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Malibu Rising, and Carrie Soto Is Back.

As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide in New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton’s atmospheric novel.

Life is full of twists and turns you never see coming. But what if you did? On a long-distance flight a woman suddenly stands and walks down the aisle making predictions about how and when passengers will die. Some dismiss her, some are delighted with her prophecies, others are appalled. Then a few months later, the first prediction comes true … Intricately plotted, with the wonderful wit Liane Moriarty has become famous for, Here One Moment brilliantly looks at friends, lovers, and family and how we try to find certainty in a fragile world.

1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Muhammad Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the smalltown of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing … A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each, Chris Whitaker has written a novel about what lurks in the shadows of obsession and the blinding light of hope.

From the award-winning author of Goodbye, Vitamin: How far would you go to shape your own destiny? An exhilarating novel of American identity that spans three generations in one family and asks: What makes us who we are? And how inevitable are our futures?

From the acclaimed author of The Longest Ride and The Notebook comes an emotional, powerful novel about wondering if we can change — or even make our peace with — the path we’ve taken.

A novel of family, secrets, ghosts, and homecoming set on the seaside cliffs of Maine. Enthralling, richly imagined, filled with psychic mediums and charlatans, spirits and past lives, mothers, marriage, and the legacy of alcoholism, this is a deeply moving novel about the land we inhabit, the women who came before us, and the ways in which none of us will ever truly leave this earth.

A forbidden affair erupts volcanically amid a decadent Hawaiian wedding in this outrageous comedy of manners. In a globetrotting tale that takes us from the black sand beaches of Hawaii to the skies of Marrakech, from the glitzy bachelor pads of Los Angeles to the inner sanctums of England’s oldest family estates, Kevin Kwan unfurls a juicy, hilarious, sophisticated and thrillingly plotted story of love, money, murder, sex, and the lies we tell about them all.