Sun, sea, exploring, sangria (not really, I’m more of a Cava girl) and plenty of books was what my most recent holiday consisted of, and it was truly fantastic.
Naturally, I packed seven physical books, bought two more at the airport (oops) and then took my Kindle away with me for good measure too. And it’s a good job I did, because I would’ve been googling the nearest bookstore otherwise.
Kindles are so good for holiday reading, but I personally believe you can’t beat a physical book in your hand on holiday. If it gets a bit sandy or suncreamy, so be it. Crinkled pages sometimes add to the charm of a novel.
With that said, here are the top three books of the eleven I managed to read on my holiday (including transfer time and flight, obviously) and I hope you choose one of these as your next bookish pick.
3. Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston
Sounds Like Love, out June 17, is a love story with a great twist. At first, I was a little concerned it was going to be your run of the mill, wishy washy romance novel, but as soon as the twist came, I was totally hooked and adored the story.
Joni Lark has a dream job, living in LA as a songwriter – but she’s struggling to write anything as she feels an emptiness inside. When she returns home to North Carolina, everything changes for her.
Her life is tipped upside down in more ways than one, but can a mysterious man who seems to be a figment of her overworked imagination help change things for her? The perfect beach read with heart, and way more than just romance involved.
2. Never Flinch by Stephen King
Never Flinch was released the day I flew, so it felt only right to grab myself an airport exclusive soft cover of it – and I’m so glad I did. Is this Stephen King’s best work ever? I’d be inclined to say no. However, it was so quintessentially King that I absolutely adored every second of reading it.
King’s crime-style novels don’t hit the spot for me as much as his horror, but this book focused on Holly, originally from Mr Mercedes series, and it was world-building, fun, and towards the end, very fast-paced and intriguing.
Also, the author’s note at the end made me quite emotional, showing that King is in touch with the politics of his country, and is on the right side of history when it comes to women’s rights and bodily autonomy.
1. The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig
Recently, I wrote about IT being my favourite novel of all time, and how I was worried that I’d never read another book that made me feel the same way again.
This book did genuinely come pretty close, and for that, it takes the top spot of books I read while I was away.
It follows five high-school best friends bound by an oath to always protect one another who have to meet up as adults when something terrible happens to one of them.
When they were younger, they found a mysterious staircase to nowhere in the woods, and one of them climbed up and never came back. Twenty years later, they return, and find what lies beyond the staircase.
This is one of the goriest books I’ve ever read (which is saying something). It was so descriptive and spooky, and gave the same energy as IT, boasting the ‘a group of friends return home to right a supernatural wrong that occurred when they were teenagers’ trope. Not your usual chick lit beach read vibe, but I was here for it!