5 Books I Want To Read This Summer

I know what you're probably thinking: "Melissa, you're a writer and you only plan to read five books this summer?!"

If you're a mom too, you're probably not thinking that. You know how little time there is to kick back and read between work, chores, and kids (heck, even if you're NOT a mom, you know how little time there is to read between work & chores). And to be honest, my attention span for reading these days is sooooo short, even for books I'm excited to read (fun fact: I have started about five books already in the last 6 months. Guess how many I've finished? It's absolutely NOT the books' faults, either). For me, reading is often an all-or-nothing event: I either do nothing but read until the book is done, or I struggle to get through a book at all. I'm at a time right now where I avoid reading because I feel too guilty taking the time to read because the house is a disaster and my garden needs work. And then I find it hard to read in the evening, because most of my books are on my phone, so it looks like I'm just scrolling Facebook or something 😒.

Anyway, I love reading. And it's summer. So I'm going to do my best to take some time to read some books this summer! Here are five that I've found so far that I'm definitely checking out!

1. Wild Hearts by Stephanie Klein- When Dustin Luray takes over his family’s ranch after his father’s murder, he’s reunited with old flame Cara. He needs her forgiveness, and he needs more than just answers to his father’s death. Cara won’t forgive so easily, though, after he left without even saying goodbye a decade ago. But when their friends & neighbors are also being murdered by the same killer responsible for Dustin’s father’s death, their ‘second chance for love’ turns into a fight for survival.

2. Cut and Run by Amy Elizabeth- The first of the Aspen Eyes trilogy. When Rebecca’s sketchy boyfriend turns up dead, she needs to disappear. She runs off to Wyoming to work on a ranch, figuring no one would ever think to look for her there. She is enjoying her small-town life- except that her boss, Alec, is trying her best to make her quit ASAP. But she’s too desperate for the job to leave it. After talking to Alec’s father, though, she realizes he’s not as terrible as she thought, and she’s drawn to him and his family’s business. Just when Rebecca feels safe in her new home, she begins getting threats and realizes she’s being stalked. When he finds her, she realizes how far her new community will go to protect her.

3. Something Wilder by Christina Lauren- Lily Wilder dreams of buying back her family’s ranch, which her deadbeat, treasure-hunting dad sold off years ago. She uses his old, hand-drawn maps to guide tourists on treasure-hunting trips. It keeps the bills paid, but doesn’t get her any farther ahead on buying the ranch. Then old flame Leo shows up, looking for treasure and a new shot at love. Lily is NOT interested. Until things go wrong during the trip, and they realize the treasure might not be just a gimmick. They must work together & confront their past…and it may open doors to righting past wrongs.

4. Shadows of the Mountain by Bev Pettersen- This is the first book in the Mustang Mountain series. I’ve been wanting to read this for a while, but haven’t gotten around to it yet. I’ve read several of Bev Pettersen’s other book and really enjoy them- they have all the things I love in a book: romance, mystery, danger, and horses. A former Navy SEAL is hired to protect the president’s daughter on a three-day trail ride in the mountains. But then assassins attack, and he needs to work with the “beautiful but suspicious trail guide” to lead the bad guys away from their target. As they work together, they begin to trust each other, and even fall in love. But the stakes are high, and they may not even make it off the mountain alive…

5. The Love of My Life by Rosie Walsh- This one is not ‘horsey’ in any way (or I assume it isn’t), but I saw on Bookstagram and it looked really good. When renowned marine biologist Emma suffers a serious illness, her obituary-writer husband, Leo, copes by reading & writing about her life…only to discover the woman he loves doesn’t really exist. Everything she’s told him and their daughter about herself has been a lie- even her name. She needs to prove to Leo she is the woman he thinks she is- but first she’ll have to tell him about the other love of her life.

All of them are available on Amazon, and I have them as Kindle editions. I know not all of them are brand new, but they have some similarities to my work-in-progress, Rescue. Hey, a writer's gotta check out the competition, right? Also, it'll give me a chance to cheer these other ladies on, and maybe even help you find a summer read or two for yourself!

Are you going to check out any of these books this summer? Or do you already have your summer reading list ready? I'd love to hear about it! And if you've already read any of the books on my list, I'd love to know what you thought of it. You can comment here, on my Instagram, or on my Facebook page. Happy reading!