With the summer season upon us 041BOOKS columnist Lauren Hewitt rounds up some more summer reads reminiscent of beach side cocktails.
Ali Smith
Although my book isn’t strictly about ‘summer’, it does take readers to the heat and light of Africa.
In terms of my genre, I think of it as classic chick lit – strong and sassy female characters and relationships with other friends and families playing a key role, along with a slow-burning love story, all told in a light-hearted and warm way (and no smut!) 
I was inspired by my love of southern Africa, particularly the Eastern and Western Capes of South Africa and Zambia. The setting for my book is largely around a school in Zambia, and I have taken inspiration from my visits as my husband and I do actually sponsor a little boy there.
Karen Louise Hollis
Starting Again in Silver Sands BayBecki is fifty and a single mum to eleven-year-old Jemima, after being widowed five years ago. Dan is forty-eight and a single dad to eleven-year-old Freddie, after his wife left him five years ago. They have both given up on love. But when they all go to Silver Sands Bay on the Lincolnshire coast for the summer, will they be able to put the past behind them and find love
I was inspired by my childhood holidays at our family caravan in Ingoldmells on the Lincolnshire coast in the 1970s and 1980s. Lots of happy memories so I thought I’d revisit a fictionalised version in 2023 and see how two single parents would get along.
Angela Pearse
I’ll Meet You in Florence is a sweet and spicy romantic comedy between two opposites – happy-go-lucky interior designer Jenna and reclusive musician Seth. Their chance encounter during a London housesit takes an interesting turn when Seth decides to follow Jenna to Florence with a “business” proposal in mind.
As an expat Kiwi, I’m used to hot summers. I enjoy being outside in the fresh air, going swimming and eating lots of ice cream, all of which feature in this story. If you’re looking for a fun holiday read with comedy, spice and romance (plus plenty of gelato) then I think you’ll enjoy this.
Julia Sutton
I was inspired to write this book while on holiday in Majorca.
Straight-laced Rose loves books, swimming and the folk choir. So when her gregarious best friend arrives home from a ten year around-the-world trip, her safe, comfortable existence is thrown into disarray.
Rose is persuaded to take on the role of Matron of Honour, but not for a traditional church wedding: the ceremony is to take to take place on a Mediterranean beach. She is promised sun, sea, sand and a rousing good time.
But how will she cope with her fear of flying, mosquitoes, men, and everything else that takes her out of her comfort zone? Will she survive a ten day holiday with an over-excited bride to be, a bossy bridesmaid and a moody, enigmatic best man?
Take a dip in the ocean and relax in the sun with Julia Sutton’s ‘Cocktails, Wedding Bells and Summer Madness’ – a dazzling summer romance that combines love, laughter and friendship.
Carmen Radtke
I recently moved to Italy for the foreseeable future. I’m literally just around the corner from Tuscany. Every time I watch the sunshine stream over the lush hills that are green even during a heatwave, and the cypresses, and medieval castles, it feels like stepping into a painting.
One of my favourite places is Montepulciano. You enter through a gate in imposing city walls that encircle the historic centre. Cobbled streets, wine tasting everywhere, and not a single neon light in sight! There’s usually a light breeze and cooler shade in the narrow alleys, so you can soak up summer without melting into a puddle. People from all over the world flock to Montepulciano. They drink coffee and Aperol spritz, eat gelato and fall in love with the place.
What better setting is there for a cozy mystery that features a jewelry designer and her great-great-aunt, a flapper who died in 1929? With every visit, I could see those two there, especially ghost Adriana, who in her life had never left the United States. She (and the plot for Ghost Takes A Vacation) fit right in, including her tendency to get tipsy from inhaling alcoholic fumes.
Ghost Takes A Vacation is the second cozy ghost mystery in the Genie and Adriana Darling series. Like all of my books it can be read as a stand-alone.
Alexandra Wholey
What inspired me to write A Summer Wedding in the Highlands?
This book is the third in the Honeybee Cottage series, set in the fictional village of Mossbrae in the Inner Hebrides, and I was inspired by All Creatures Great and Small, wanting to write a cosy small town romance. In this one, I was also inspired by the tv series Monarch of the Glen and had Ardverikie Estate in mind for Capercaillie, where Eilidh and Angus get married. I also love weddings and had a summer wedding myself.
Jennifer Bibby
The Cornish Hideaway has been through quite a journey, moving from Renaissance Tuscany to modern day England during its lifetime. My brooding hero Angelo and Freya’s love for painting, which are at the core of the book, are the two things that have remained unchanged. It wasn’t until I went on holiday to St Ives in 2014 that I was inspired to set my story in Cornwall and Polcarrow was born. I fell in love with the rugged landscape that hugged the beaches, the bright blue sea and the artistic community, plus the fact that Cornwall feels like its at the end of the world, perfect for two people running away. Setting the story during a long, hot summer complimented the simmering romantic tension that was brewing between Freya and Angelo.
This is probably not the place to confess that summer isn’t my favourite time of the year! I’m not a massive fan of the hot weather to be honest. However, that said, I do really enjoy the longer days, the evenings softening slowly as the sunsets, and spending time outside with a good book.
Lauren Hewitt is a freelance writer and aspiring author. The avid reader is also a homeschooling and homesteading mom and blogger who collaborates with publishing houses and independent authors ad shares her views on books and promotes authors on her blog and social media pages (Instagram Blog TikTok)
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