Absolutely not.
No thanks!
If I want to read a book with a good romance in it, I want one I can root for that is not obviously just a brief thing!
So what Noel means by ''Vacation Romances'' is this: reads where the meeting (usually) takes place on some kind of vacation/trip, but it's not a come-and-go trip, the love interest is someone that they'd be able to be around or see again outside of just however long the vacation was 🙄.
I understand that there might not be a big difference to most but for me, I love to cheer on a romance that doesn't feel like a fling. And most summer romances seem to be flings...
So on that note...
The vacation romances Noel would absolutely suggest and really enjoyed so much she had to buy a copy!
Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett
*Jenn Bennett writes wonderful romcoms, but this one is a very good one to read during summer with a nice cup of iced sweet tea! It's like You've Got Mail with Tom Hanks and the reverse of Philadelphia Story! *
Classic movie buff Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online by “Alex.” Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush.
Faced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life—or worse?), Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. Or that she’s landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she’s being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth—a.k.a. her new arch-nemesis. But life is whole lot messier than the movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between hate, love, and whatever-it-is she’s starting to feel for Porter.
And as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is Alex…Approximately.
GOODREADS | AMAZON
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
*One of my favorite romantic reads! From the setting in Paris, to the love interest! 😍 It's the first in a series, though I still need to read the next two books!!*
Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris--until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend.
But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?
GOODREADS | AMAZON
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
*Probably my most favorite romcom! I discovered this read after a blogger friend reviewed it, its synopsis and cover caught my attention and I was at the bookstore...and the next thing I knew it was in my hand and I was reading it. The only book that I've bought before reading it or knowing for sure if I would love it or not!*
Olive is always unlucky: in her career, in love, in…well, everything. Her identical twin sister Ami, on the other hand, is probably the luckiest person in the world. Her meet-cute with her fiancé is something out of a romantic comedy (gag) and she’s managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a series of Internet contests (double gag). Worst of all, she’s forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who just happens to be the best man.
Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.
Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of... lucky.
GOODREADS | AMAZON
Austenland by Shannon Hale
*Any fan of Jane Austen needs to read this over the summer! And then go watch the movie!!*
Jane Hayes is a seemingly normal young New Yorker, but she has a secret. Her obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, is ruining her love life: no real man can compare. But when a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane's fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become realer than she ever could have imagined.
Decked out in empire-waist gowns, Jane struggles to master Regency etiquette and flirts with gardeners and gentlemen;or maybe even, she suspects, with the actors who are playing them. It's all a game, Jane knows. And yet the longer she stays, the more her insecurities seem to fall away, and the more she wonders: Is she about to kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?
GOODREADS | AMAZON
The Geography of Lost Things by Jessica Brody
*This is on my TBR for this summer actually, it's surprisingly hard to find a copy at my library but I managed and it should be coming soon! (Yes, I still can't afford to buy books often lol, so library it is!) Honestly, I've had my eye on this book for a while on Goodreads because it sounds really good to me: I love road trips, the cover is lovely, and the plot sounds super good too! Now...have any of you read it and what did you think of it??*
In this romantic road trip story perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen and Morgan Matson, a teen girl discovers the value of ordinary objects while learning to forgive her absent father.
After Ali’s father passes away, he leaves his one and only prized possession—a 1968 Firebird convertible—to his daughter. But Ali doesn’t plan on keeping it. Not when it reminds her too much of all her father’s unfulfilled promises. So when she finds a buyer three hundred miles up the Pacific coast willing to pay enough money for the car to save her childhood home, Ali can’t wait to get going. Except Ali has no idea how to drive a stick shift. But guess who does?
Ali’s ex-boyfriend, Nico. And Nico has other plans.
He persuades Ali that instead of selling the car, they should “trade up” the items they collect on their trip to eventually reach the monetary amount Ali needs. Agreeing with Nico’s crazy plan, Ali sets off on a unique adventure that is unlike anything she ever could have expected.
And it’s through Ali’s travels, through the strangers she meets and the things that they value—and why they value them—that Ali eventually comes to understand her father and how his life may not have been as easy and carefree as she previously thought. Because just like the seemingly insignificant objects Ali collects, not everything is exactly as it appears.
GOODREADS | AMAZON
Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett
*While I have not read this Jenn Bennett book yet (my library hold got delayed so it may be another week or so sadly), everyone has insisted this is a perfect summer romance read. And I personally have not been disappointed by Jenn Bennett's books yet, so I'm still looking forward to reading it soon!*
Ever since last year’s homecoming dance, best friends-turned-best enemies Zorie and Lennon have made an art of avoiding each other. It doesn’t hurt that their families are the modern-day Californian version of the Montagues and Capulets.
But when a group camping trip goes south, Zorie and Lennon find themselves stranded in the wilderness. Alone. Together.
What could go wrong?
With no one but each other for company, Zorie and Lennon have no choice but to hash out their issues via witty jabs and insults as they try to make their way to safety. But fighting each other while also fighting off the forces of nature makes getting out of the woods in one piece less and less likely.
And as the two travel deeper into Northern California’s rugged backcountry, secrets and hidden feelings surface. But can Zorie and Lennon’s rekindled connection survive out in the real world? Or was it just a result of the fresh forest air and the magic of the twinkling stars?
GOODREADS | AMAZON
Beach Read by Emily Henry
*This is very much on my 'Must Read This Summer List/TBR'', I haven't heard a lot about this book but one of my friends suggested it big time to me and insisted I had to read it this summer! And honestly, the description sounds like something I would love!*
A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters.
Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.
They're polar opposites.
In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block.
Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She'll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he'll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.
GOODREADS | AMAZON
What's your perfect summer read??
Lots of love & Thank you for reading!!
~Noel
