13 Best Beach Reads, According to Our Editors 2021

We asked authors who are *chef's kiss* at writing beach reads to recommend their favorite books for curling up with under an umbrella, boat drink in hand. If you couldn't bear the thought of picking up a book(opens in new tab) over the past 15 months, you're not alone. Like so many other pre-pandemic hobbies that previously brought us joy, our reading habits were disrupted as we traded subway commutes and Wi-Fi-free plane rides for daily doomscrolls on the couch. At last, it feels like we can breathe a collective sigh of relief as we return to some semblance of normalcy (whatever that means!) just in time for a very hot, very vaccinated summer oceanside with an excellent book. For a dose of much-needed escapism, Marie Claire asked 13 authors who reign supreme over The Beach Read—Jennifer Weiner, Jasmine Guillory, Elin Hilderbrand, etc.—to recommend their personal favorites. You know the ones: the light, introspective, thrilling page-turners that pair best with a cold drink, toes scrunched in the sand. Discover their picks then order them for yourself, below.