20 of the Best Beach Reads That Aren’t Romance
We love a good beach read, and we don’t always require that a good beach book have plenty of romance! A great beach book can be a thriller, a memoir, or even sci fi as long as it has a good pace and we don’t want to put it down. If you are looking for a new book other than a romance to put in your beach bag this summer, here is our list of some books we consider to be great beach reads not romance.
This post is all about great beach read books that are not romance books. Our book list includes novels in several genres that are fast paced, fun, gripping, or just simply fantastic to read at the beach or at the pool.
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What Are Beach Reads
This can be completely subjective, of course, but generally speaking, a “beach read” is a book that is fun to read, fast paced and completely addictive. This isn’t a heavy, detail oriented book, but more of a guilty pleasure. Often times a “traditional” beach read is set among beach houses in Cape Cod, on a private island, or during a beach vacation in exotic locations like Puerto Rico. They are books that make it easy to escape from reality, and equally easy to follow the plot – even if you are sunning on a very busy beach or lazily hanging out by the pool.
Traditional Beach Reads
“Traditional” beach reads are typically romance or love story focused and often take place in a beachy setting. If Elin Hilderbrand is the queen of the beach read with her Hotel Nantucket series, Emily Henry is the heir apparent since Hilderbrand is retiring after her 2024 book is released. Both of these authors are synonymous with summer romance novels!
Non Romance Beach Reads
The following list of books are all hard to put down, excellently paced, great beach reads that don’t have anything to do with romance. We have read each of the following books (save one, which is on our beach read list for this year) and enthusiastically recommend each of them as great non-romance, summertime beach reads.
We have a variety of different genres listed so there is a little bit for everyone. Scroll through to see your favorites. Our comments about each book can be found below each display and, when appropriate, we will link our full review.
Thriller Books – Beach Reads
We absolutely LOVE to read or listen to a great thriller and we consider these fast paced, plot driven, super fun books to be amazingly great beach reads. When we are recommending beach reads for guys, we talk about thrillers since they often want to steer clear of romances.
Here are some of the best thrillers we recommend for your next beach read:
Simon and Vicky couldn’t seem more normal: a wealthy Chicago couple, he a respected law professor, she an advocate for domestic violence victims. A stable, if unexciting marriage. But one thing’s for sure … absolutely nothing is what it seems. The pair are far from normal, and one of them just may be a killer. When the body of a beautiful socialite is found hanging in a mansion in a nearby suburb, Simon and Vicky’s secrets begin to unravel. A secret whirlwind affair. A twenty-million-dollar trust fund about to come due. A decades-long grudge and obsession with revenge. These are just a few of the lies that make up the complex web...and they will have devastating consequences. And while both Vicky and Simon are liars, just who exactly is conning who?
This is one of the best thrillers we have read lately! Absolutely loved it. Very twisty but easy to follow with each character point of view. We listened to this via audiobook and really enjoyed this format. It would be a fun book to read on a trip to the beach or at the pool for sure.
Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor. I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband. I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late. But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am. They don’t know what I’m capable of…
We had an absolute BLAST reading this thriller. No wonder it is so popular, this story about a down & out girl who lands her dream job as a live-in caregiver is so addictive and twisty and WOW. Loved it. Perfect beach read thriller!
A kidnapped little girl locked in a stranger’s van. No help for miles. What would you do?
On her way to Utah to see her dying mother, college student Darby Thorne gets caught in a fierce blizzard in the mountains of Colorado. With the roads impassable, she’s forced to wait out the storm at a remote highway rest stop. Inside are some vending machines, a coffee maker, and four complete strangers.
Desperate to find a signal to call home, Darby goes back out into the storm . . . and makes a horrifying discovery. In the back of the van parked next to her car, a little girl is locked in an animal crate. Who is the child? Why has she been taken? And how can Darby save her? There is no cell phone reception, no telephone, and no way out. One of her fellow travelers is a kidnapper. But which one?
Trapped in an increasingly dangerous situation, with a child’s life and her own on the line, Darby must find a way to break the girl out of the van and escape. But who can she trust?
Ok so this book is set in a winter setting, not warm weather at all BUT it is a break neck, can’t even catch your breath, complete blast of a thriller. We ate it up and loved it.
Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by. Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection. But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?
We loved this quirky book, and we loved it more for the character involved rather than the thriller aspect, but we included it in the thriller category because it does have that element. It is an easy, quick read that is great to add to your reading list this summer.
It's something parents do every morning: Rachel Klein drops her daughter at the bus stop and heads into her day. But a cell phone call from an unknown number changes everything: it's a woman on the line, informing her that she has Kylie bound and gagged in her back seat, and the only way Rachel will see her again is to follow her instructions exactly: pay a ransom, and find another child to abduct. This is no ordinary kidnapping: the caller is a mother herself, whose son has been taken, and if Rachel doesn't do as she's told, the boy will die.
The Chain is one of the most unique thrillers we have ever read, and the first half of this book is particularly spectacular. You WILL NOT be able to put it down.
Fiction Books that make Great Beach Reads
Fiction books is a term that covers a wide spectrum of books, so we have general fiction, historical fiction, & sci-fi included in this list. These books cover the range of feel good, endearing stories, to laugh out loud funny books, to some seriously weird eyebrow raisers. The only thing that is consistent is that when we read them, we thought they would make great summer reads.
After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago. Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors—until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova. Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late.
This charming book with one of the most unique and interesting characters is a great beach read! We listened to it last year and loved the audiobook version! It is funny and touching, with good pacing and a satisfying ending. Even saying all that, we consider this book in the category of being a great beach read with substance.
hemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results. But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.
We were a bit late to the game in terms of reading the New York Times best seller Lessons In Chemistry, but we enjoyed it. We do think the overall message was a bit heavy handed, but we recommend this one as a great non-romance beach read. Check out our full Lessons In Chemistry book review for our full discussion on it.
Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. But in terms of caretaking and relating to two children, no matter how adorable, Patrick is, honestly, overwhelmed. So when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick's brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian. Despite having a set of "Guncle Rules" ready to go, Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat-stalled acting career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a six- and a nine-year-old. Quickly realizing that parenting--even if temporary--isn't solved with treats and jokes, Patrick's eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility, and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you're unfailingly human.
This book perfectly captures the confident, sassy, hilarious, and quirky (although they would hate to be called quirky) friend or uncle that cracks us up with their classic one liners but has a heart of gold. Such a good beach read!
Linus Baker is a by-the-book case worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He's tasked with determining whether six dangerous magical children are likely to bring about the end of the world. Arthur Parnassus is the master of the orphanage. He would do anything to keep the children safe, even if it means the world will burn. And his secrets will come to light.
THE MAGICAL CHILDREN. That is all I need to say. WE LOVED THEM. They were the best part of this book for us. Another story that went a little too heavy on its message, but overall, this was so endearing we can’t resist it. A great beach read!
At forty years old, she has an enviable life: a successful career, stunning looks, a beautiful house in the suburbs, two healthy children, and most importantly, an ideal husband, whose wealthy background allows her to transcend her own social class. After fifteen years together, she is still besotted with him. But she’s never quite sure that her passion is reciprocated. Determined to keep their relationship perfect, she meticulously prepares for every encounter they have, always taking care to make her actions seem effortless. She watches him attentively, testing him to make sure that he still loves her just as much as he did when they first met. Until one day she realizes she may have gone too far . . .
This is the one book we have put on our beach read list this year, so we are adding it here too. The main character is OBSESSED with her husband, and sometimes we just love to read about someone who is solidly on the crazy train.
Opal is a fiercely independent young woman pushing against the grain in her style and attitude, Afro-punk before that term existed. In early seventies New York City, just as she’s finding her niche as part of a flamboyant and funky creative scene, a rival band signed to her label brandishes a Confederate flag at a promotional concert. Opal’s bold protest and the violence that ensues set off a chain of events that will not only change the lives of those she loves, but also be a deadly reminder that repercussions are always harsher for women, especially black women, who dare to speak their truth. Decades later, as Opal considers a 2016 reunion with Nev, music journalist S. Sunny Shelton seizes the chance to curate an oral history about her idols.
THIS BOOK IS CRIMINALLY UNDERHYPED. It is rock & roll & revolution all mixed together in the heat of summer. Another book we put in the category of great beach reads with substance. Told in an documentary filmmaker or interview style similar to Daisy Jones & The Six, this was one of our top 10 reads a couple of years ago, and with good reason. So Good!
Christened Reginald Dwight, he was a shy boy with Buddy Holly glasses who grew up in the London suburb of Pinner and dreamed of becoming a pop star. By the age of twenty-three he was performing his first gig in America, facing an astonished audience in his bright yellow dungarees, a star-spangled T-shirt, and boots with wings. Elton John had arrived and the music world would never be the same again.
Me by Elton John is our absolute favorite celebrity memoir. He is candid and funny, and his life is truly remarkable, so it is almost voyeuristic to get a glimpse into the real life world of rock & roll. It is a great book and a great summer read.
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company. His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species. And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone. Or does he?
Typically, when we think of the kinds of books that we consider beach reads, we usually don’t think of sci-fi books. Andy Weir books are the exception. Project Hail Mary is a book that we wish we could experience for the first time, all over again. Think of it as an interstellar road trip book. We LOVED IT and think it absolutely qualifies as a great beach read, non romance category. It is also a book we consider to be a great recommendation (along with the thrillers) as one of the great beach reads for guys. We read the physical book, but have heard rave reviews on the audiobook version, so you can’t go wrong with either one. We also recommend The Martian by Andy Weir as a great summer book as well.
Malibu: August 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over—especially as the offspring of the legendary singer Mick Riva. The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention, and who has also just been very publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. Oh, and maybe Hud—because it is long past time for him to confess something to the brother from whom he’s been inseparable since birth. Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can’t stop thinking about promised she’ll be there. And Kit has a couple secrets of her own—including a guest she invited without consulting anyone. By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come rising to the surface.
Although her masterpiece is Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, when we think of a summer beach read from Taylor Jenkins Reid, we think of the family drama in Malibu Rising, which we read last summer. Along with Daisy Jones (mentioned above) any of these would make great beach reads, although some are more romance based than others.
Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena’s a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks. So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I. So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn’t this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That’s what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree. But June can’t get away from Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June’s (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.
Yellowface is a juicy scandal kind of book, which is totally a beach read kinda thing, and it doesn’t have anything to do with romance! Check out our Yellowface Book Review to find out more of our thoughts on it.
Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect; and to 15-year-old Bee, she is her best friend and, simply, Mom. Then Bernadette vanishes. It all began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle -- and people in general -- has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic. To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, and secret correspondence -- creating a compulsively readable and surprisingly touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an absurd world.
We thought this one was expertly paced and really hilarious – particularly the first half. We adored Bernadette! This is a great summer read.
Korede is bitter. How could she not be? Her sister, Ayoola, is many things: the favorite child, the beautiful one, possibly sociopathic. And now Ayoola's third boyfriend in a row is dead. Korede's practicality is the sisters' saving grace. She knows the best solutions for cleaning blood, the trunk of her car is big enough for a body, and she keeps Ayoola from posting pictures of her dinner to Instagram when she should be mourning her "missing" boyfriend. Not that she gets any credit. Korede has long been in love with a kind, handsome doctor at the hospital where she works. She dreams of the day when he will realize that she's exactly what he needs. But when he asks Korede for Ayoola's phone number, she must reckon with what her sister has become and how far she's willing to go to protect her.
Honestly, we thought this campy, short little book was hilarious and perfect for summer. You can easily finish it in a day or on a quick getaway to the beach or your backyard to soak in some sun.
In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the OASIS, a vast virtual world where most of humanity spends their days. When the eccentric creator of the OASIS dies, he leaves behind a series of fiendish puzzles, based on his obsession with the pop culture of decades past. Whoever is first to solve them will inherit his vast fortune—and control of the OASIS itself. Then Wade cracks the first clue. Suddenly he’s beset by rivals who’ll kill to take this prize. The race is on—and the only way to survive is to win.
When we think of 80’s nostalgia, Ready Player One comes to mind – we love to recommend this book. Its one of our all time favorites! A great caper book, this historical fiction story is a fun, completely addictive, amazing book that is an incredible read. If you haven’t read it yet, READ IT and thank me later!!
Horror Books as Beach Reads
We put horror into its own category because. a lot of fiction readers don’t like to read horror. We love a good horror book, and for some reason, we love them not only during spooky season, but also during the summer.
The year is 1988. High school sophomores Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fourth grade. But after an evening of skinny-dipping goes disastrously wrong, Gretchen begins to act…different. She’s moody. She’s irritable. And bizarre incidents keep happening whenever she’s nearby. Abby’s investigation leads her to some startling discoveries—and by the time their story reaches its terrifying conclusion, the fate of Abby and Gretchen will be determined by a single question: Is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil?
Speaking of campy, if you are looking for a horror book to read this summer, you can’t get much better than a Grady Hendrix book. They are horror but not TOO scary, and most have a good dose of camp and hilarity. A healthy dose of awesome 80’s high school nostalgia goes with My Best Friends Exorcism and it is a good summer choice.
When Edgar Freemantle moves to the remote island of Duma Key to escape his past, he doesn't expect to find much there.But Duma has been waiting for him, and something in the view from his window urges him to discover a talent he never knew he had.Edgar Freemantle begins to paint. And as he paints, the island's secrets begin to stir. Secrets of children lost in the undertow, of a ghost ship riding the distant horizon - and a family's buried past reaching long hands into the present.
If you love to add another Stephen King book to your reading collection every summer, we can’t recommend Duma Key enough! It is so underrated. It focuses on the human condition between the main character & his best friend, as well as being incredibly scary with awesome horror elements. It is so incredibly good, and its setting really captures the whole summer vibe as well.
Non Romance Beach Reads
We love making these book lists of some of our favorite books, and this list of beach reads we love to recommend that aren’t romances is no exception! If you haven’t tried a different type of genre for your beach vacation book, this year is the perfect opportunity to try a new novel idea. Tell us your favorite book recommendations for a great beach read that isn’t a romance book!
More Books To Explore
You will be sure to find some great books to read this summer with this list! If you want to find more books in these series, or other books by these authors, check out our books from the blog storefront.
If you are looking for more book recommendations, check out our book section of the blog. We have posts for Stephen King Fans, Sarah J. Maas fans, YA books for adults, book reviews and more!
Fellow book nerds! Let’s be friends on Goodreads & TikTok.
We hope you have a great reading summer!
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[…] (even has some spicy scenes!) and would make a great summer read. We actually feature it in our post of non romance beach reads, so go check that out for some more […]