There is nothing I love more than a great beach read on vacation. It’s honestly one of the only times I actually start and finish a book — no interruptions, no half-read chapters on the nightstand, just me, a beach chair, and a story I can fall completely into. After the whirlwind of wedding planning, your honeymoon is that moment times ten. Trade the seating chart for sunshine, soak up the romance both on the page and in real life, and let yourself actually rest. Whether you’re lounging poolside, toes in the sand, or winding down after a day of adventures, these are the books I’d toss in your beach bag right next to the sunscreen.
I’ve organized this list by the kind of read you’re in the mood for, because sometimes you want swoony and funny, and sometimes you want the kind of love story that quietly wrecks you. Either way, there’s something here for you.
When You Want a Classic Rom-Com
Beach Read by Emily Henry Two rival authors, one who writes romance and one who writes literary fiction, end up in neighboring beach houses for the summer with matching cases of writer’s block. They dare each other to swap genres. What follows is funnier, steamier, and more devastating than either of them planned. This is the book that made a whole generation fall in love with the genre, and it absolutely holds up.
It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey Hollywood it-girl gets exiled to a sleepy Pacific Northwest fishing town and meets the gruffest, most irresistibly attractive sea captain you’ve ever encountered. The banter in this book is genuinely some of the best in the genre, the kind that has you reading lines out loud to whoever is sitting nearby. Coastal vibes, opposites-attract tension, and deeply satisfying heat.
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood Olive panics and kisses a stranger to convince her best friend she’s moved on. That stranger turns out to be the most intimidating professor in her PhD program. The fake-dating setup is pitch-perfect, the banter is relentless, and Ali Hazelwood writes academic chemistry — the literal and metaphorical kind — better than anyone. This one is pure serotonin from start to finish.
The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez Larissa chose the wrong ride home after a concert. The man she should have ended up with was standing right there that night — but she didn’t choose him, and now he’s her boyfriend’s best friend. Chris has been quietly in love with her ever since, watching from the sidelines, unable to say a word. Abby Jimenez takes an impossible situation and makes you feel every inch of it, and Chris is the kind of romantic hero that makes you set the book down just to breathe.
First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison Aiden Valentine hosts Baltimore’s most beloved romance hotline, which is awkward, because he’s quietly stopped believing in love. Then a little girl calls in asking for dating advice for her mom, the clip goes viral, and suddenly Aiden and Lucie Stone are the love story all of Baltimore is rooting for. Sleepless in Seattle energy meets a very modern grumpy-sunshine setup, and B.K. Borison writes banter the way other people write oxygen. The kind of book that makes you laugh out loud on the plane and not care who’s watching.
When You Want Slow Burn, Longing, or a Second Chance
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry Poppy and Alex have been taking one perfect summer trip together every year for a decade. Then one vacation changed everything, and they haven’t spoken in two years. Friends-to-almost-lovers, gorgeous travel settings, and an emotional payoff that genuinely delivers. If you only read one Emily Henry on your honeymoon, make it this one.
Every Summer After by Carley Fortune The book that launched a thousand summer reading lists, and for good reason. Percy and Sam spent every summer together growing up until one night changed everything. Now, fifteen years later, she’s heading back to the lake. Read this before One Golden Summer if you can, though honestly either order works. It’s a masterclass in longing, and the Prime Video adaptation drops this summer.
One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune Alice spent one summer in Barry’s Bay at seventeen and never quite got over it. Now she’s back with her grandmother, camera in hand, when a yellow speedboat pulls up and a very grown-up Charlie Florek walks back into her life. Carley Fortune is the reigning queen of summer romance right now, and this is her best one yet. The lakeside setting is almost a character on its own. Pack this one.
Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune (Coming May 5, 2026 — preorder now) Frankie gets left, not at the altar but close enough, and her complicated best friend George has exactly one proposal: go on the honeymoon anyway. Together. One week in the misty rainforests and beaches of Tofino, two people who have always been too much alike to get out of their own way, and a friendship that might be about to become something else entirely. Named one of the most anticipated books of 2026 by the New York Times. This one is going to be everywhere this summer.
Sunk in Love by Heather McBreen Roslyn and Liam have been quietly headed toward divorce for months when her grandparents invite the whole family, including Liam, on a ten-day Hawaiian cruise to celebrate their vow renewal. Neither of them has told anyone they’ve split. What follows is forced proximity on the open ocean, family hijinks, and two people who have to decide whether what they had is actually gone. A little sad, a little spicy, and a lot of things at once. The perfect read for newlyweds who want to be reminded that love is a choice you make every day.
When You Want Destination Vibes
The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas Catalina told a small lie about having a boyfriend that spiraled into a much bigger problem. Now she needs a date for her sister’s destination wedding in Spain, fast, and her tall, infuriating coworker is the only one willing to help. The slow burn here is genuinely excellent, the Spain setting is lush, and the tension between these two will have you reading past midnight.
The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren Anna and West have been quietly separated for years. Then a loophole in his inheritance forces them to show up at his wealthy family’s tropical compound still playing happily married. Fun, swoony, and full of that particular chaos that Christina Lauren does so well. This is the escapist read that earns the name.
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle After losing her mother, Katy travels alone to Positano for the trip they’d always planned together. What unfolds on the Amalfi Coast is part healing, part magic, and completely transporting. This one is quieter and more emotional than most on this list, and it will absolutely make you cry on the plane. Pack tissues, and also maybe book a trip to Italy.
The Name Game by Beth O’Leary Two strangers, both named Charlie Jones, both show up on the same tiny remote British island for the same farm manager job and the one apartment that comes with it. So they share it. Enemies-to-lovers on a windswept island with a cast of locals who become found family, and a twist that genuinely caught me off guard. Cozy, charming, and exactly the kind of book that makes you want to escape somewhere with no cell service.
When You Want Big, Sweeping, Can’t-Put-It-Down
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid Reclusive Hollywood legend Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her life, her seven marriages, and the love story at the center of it all. She chooses an unknown journalist to tell it, and the reason why is everything. This is the kind of book that ruins you for other books for a little while. Addictive, devastating, glamorous, and one of the best stories written in the last decade. If you haven’t read it yet, your honeymoon is the perfect moment.
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid I just finished this one over spring break, and I am not okay. Joan Goodwin leaves her life as a physics professor to become one of the first women scientists in NASA’s Space Shuttle program, and finds an entirely unexpected love story in the process. TJR writes love with a particular kind of ache, and this one hits different. Dual timeline, devastating ending, and the one I keep telling everyone to read right now.
Into the Blue by Emma Brodie AJ Graves meets Noah Drew at a video store in the summer of 2000 and they forge the kind of bond that feels like it was written into the universe. Then he disappears without a word. Seven years later, she’s cast in the same Hollywood production, and he’s the one waiting on set. A decade-spanning love story about two people who keep finding their way back to each other even when everything conspires against them. The April 2026 Reese’s Book Club pick, and already one of the most talked-about love stories of the year. Pack this one for the long flight.
A Gardin Wedding by Rosey Lee Martha Gardin thought she finally had everything figured out, until her future mother-in-law makes her question all of it. Part wedding drama, part family reckoning, part love story, this one is deeply felt and impossible to rush through. Perfect for the reader who wants a little more weight to her beach read.
Heart the Lover by Lily King In her senior year of college, Jordan falls into the orbit of two brilliant best friends, Sam and Yash, and what unfolds is a love story she’ll spend the next three decades trying to make sense of. Lily King writes with the kind of precision that makes a single sentence stop you cold. This one spans from a campus in the 1980s all the way to a reckoning in middle age that will absolutely wreck you. One of Harper’s Bazaar and Vox’s best books of 2025. Fair warning: pack tissues. This is the one you’ll be thinking about long after you get home.
When You Want the Fake Dating Situation
Just For The Summer by Abby Jimenez Justin is convinced he’s cursed: every woman he dates immediately finds her person right after they break up. Emma has the same problem. Their solution, dating each other to cancel out the bad luck, is the kind of delightfully unhinged premise that Abby Jimenez somehow makes feel completely real. Set against a lakeside summer backdrop, and genuinely laugh-out-loud funny
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center Hannah Brooks is a professional bodyguard hired to protect a famous actor from a persistent stalker. When he heads home to his Texas ranch, she has to pose as his girlfriend to keep her cover. Funny, warm, and full of the kind of heart that Katherine Center is known for. This one makes you feel good in a very specific and necessary way.
Cover Story by Mhairi McFarlane Bel is a journalist who can’t stand her new intern Connor from the moment he walks in. Then they’re forced to fake a relationship to go undercover on a massive story, and suddenly all that animosity gets very complicated. Sharp, funny, and set in the world of investigative journalism, this one has enemies-to-lovers and fake dating working together at full tilt. Emily Henry called Mhairi McFarlane “so ridiculously talented” and she’s not wrong.
Till Summer Do Us Part by Meghan Quinn Scottie invented a husband to fit in at her very married, very male workplace. One small problem: now her boss wants her and her “husband” to see the best marriage counselor in the Northeast. Enter Wilder Wells, an improv-obsessed millionaire who treats the whole disaster like a fun exercise in saying yes — right up until he says yes to an eight-day marriage camp in the Catskills with all of Scottie’s coworkers watching. Hilarious, chaotic, and undeniably spicy. This one is for the reader who wants to laugh out loud and swoon in equal measure.
Now all you need is somewhere beautiful to read them. If you’re still figuring out where to go, we rounded up the 10 most luxurious honeymoon resorts worth every penny — from an overwater villa in the Maldives to a treehouse in the Costa Rican rainforest. Either way, pack at least three of these.
