Hedayat Reda The term “beach read,” one that every Marie Claire and Cosmo now uses, was coined in the Victorian. With steamships and railroads opening up the possibility for monied society folk to vacation by the sea, publishers used this cultural shift to promote backlist titles, eventually developing entire lists of recommended books for lighter reading so that people could cultivate a summer reading mood.
In the late ’90s and early 2000s, my family vacationed in Alexandria every summer during July and August.
Both of my grandmothers were avid readers. Depending on the destination of choice that summer—Agami for my father’s side, Rowad for my mother’s—the type of beach read I would see adorning tables and hiding on shelves varied distinctly.
My maternal grandmother was a fan of Harlequin romances—those books with steamy covers where you knew the heroine and hero would have to traverse impossible odds and overcome their own personalities to end up together. At age eight or so, this type of read terrified me. Why were all these women so sexualized? What was so great about these men? I didn’t have the vocabulary to articulate what bothered me about those books, but I avoided them like the plague, hiding them under beds and at the backs of the bookshelves that lined my room. In a twist of fate, fifteen years later, I would become exactly the type of person drawn to this genre—albeit its more modern equivalent.
At Shishi’s, it was Agatha Christie and mysteries in general. She owned every book the Dame published, and I would watch my mother carry them from one Alexandria house to another, immersed in the worlds of Poirot and Miss Marple.
That thing they say about becoming your parents is undeniably true. From the beginning of university onward, I spent every summer making my way through our extensive Agatha Christie collection. I think I have fewer than ten left.
Mysteries and romances have become my go-to beach reads—the ones I look forward to relaxing with the most.
Accordingly, here is my curation for Flair’s 2026 Summer Beach Reads. Have fun escaping and exploring the fun and footloose corners of your imagination.
Ellie Palmer: Married with Benefits
Who doesn’t love a mutually beneficial arrangement that ends in romance? Whether it’s the classic “I’ll pretend to be your boyfriend to make someone jealous if you tutor me” or, in this case, “Let’s get married and you can live in the house I’ve inherited if you share your health insurance.” In this trope-filled read, Lainey Davis and Elliot Hodges discover what happens when feelings interfere with business. Ellie Palmer’s latest.
Jess Kidd: Murder at the Spirit Lounge
The second installment in the Nora Breen Investigates series is perfect for the superstitious and divination-inclined. Famous medium Dolores Chimes loses her life during a reading gone awry, followed by those all of those unlucky enough to have attended, except Detective Rideout. Before this potential sixth victim can make the ghostly killer’s list, Breen must intervene and solve the mystery. Stay tuned for a creepy ride.
Devon Daniels: Star-Crossed Summer
A Hollywood starlet who has made it big and her former co-starand first love–both on-screen and off—are reunited ten years later in a seaside South Carolina town. Forced to reckon with what broke them apart and a secret Scarlett has kept all these years, they must decide whether their love can be rekindled—and whether it can survive time, distance, and change.
Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé: The Heirs
A house full of prodigies and a murdered billionaire father: the stage is set for another whodunit. Adopted and rigorously trained to achieve greatness, Octavius, Fola, Bilal, Perdita, and Romeo are all suspects. But they’re not the only enemies the titan made along the way. Will the father’s death be unveiled? Who has the most to lose? Read on to discover the truth.
Annabel Monaghan: Dolly All The Time
Pretending is dangerous. One minute you’re fake-kissing at a high-society benefit; the next, you’re asking yourself some very real questions. In this Annabel Monaghan novel, Dolly Brick helps Stewart Whitfield salvage his image. But playing the knight in shining armor comes with unexpected feelings she never bargained for. Can you predic the outcome?
Andrea Bartz: We Were Never Here
Emily and Kristen are best friends. On a trip to the mountains of Chile, a backpacker Kristen was flirting with ends up dead—in self-defense, allegedly. But this isn’t the first trip to end this way. Emily can’t believe it’s happened again. Can lightning strike twice?
As Emily grapples with what the truth means, Kristen tries to keep her close. A thrilling take on friendship, obsession, and what happens when murder gets between them.
John Searles: Single Girls
Historical fiction has never been so glamorous. Set in the magazine world of Cosmopolitan, this fictionalized account of Helen Gurley Brown’s early years at Cosmo features champagne-glass hot tubs, Park Avenue call girls, and plenty of ambition. Above all, it is the story of how a group of women navigated gender roles and workplace dynamics, reinventing the term “single girl” in the process.
Alice Feeney: My Husband’s Wife
Six months after inheriting a mysterious estate and learning she is terminally ill, Birdy arrives to find a cryptic question waiting for her: if you could know the date of your death, would you want to?
Months later, Eden Fox returns from a run to discover another woman living in her house—one who claims to be Eden Fox herself.
As secrets, lies, and an unexplained death unravel, four intertwined perspectives race toward a series of twists that challenge everything the characters think they know about identity, truth, and each other.
I’ve already download my faves onto my kindle.
Let us know what was your favourite read and why?
