My favorite beach reads are what people used to call (maybe still do?) ‘chick lit’ – female protagonists, sometimes a romance element but also focused on other relationships or workplace drama, and most importantly- lots of descriptions of beautiful places, clothing, etc etc. Think Crazy Rich Asians, Lauren Weisberger’s book, and all of those wonderfully ridiculous YA books from Alloy Entertainment in the early aughts- Gossip Girl, The A-List, etc.
Would love specific book recs, authors, better search terms or subreddits to explore. I power through these and want to get a big stack for upcoming vacations.
Adjacent genres are totally great too. E.g. Curtis Sittenfield and Elin Hildebrand scratch the same itch. I’m not HUGE on books squarely in the romance genre for whatever reason. I prefer when the stories are not as focused on the romantic relationship as the primary plot focus. Also not big on romantasy (when it comes to fantasy I’m more of a doorstopper girl).
And seriously- anything with absolutely stupid, ridiculous, designer name dropping. When a new character comes in, I want to know what they are wearing, head to toe. Gratuitous descriptions of hotel rooms, brunches, the specific liquor someone is drinking or fragrance they are wearing, celebrity name-dropping or descriptions of an unnamed celebrity where it’s so obvious who it is supposed to be? I love it.
Thanks so much 💖
by space0pera_
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How to Kill Men and Get Away With It – Katy Brent
Cover Story by Susan Rigetti!
{{Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen}}
Candace Bushnell
Shopaholic series
A Wolf Apart by Maria Vale is technically shifter romance (and book 2 in a series; it can be read as a standalone as there’s enough info to catch up), but it’s more about soul searching and getting back to one’s roots. It has a ton of top tier brands and luxury stuff mentioned (and it’s well researched, no millionaires wearing Rolex), but it’s seen often as meaningless for the main character (but necessary for his position). Main character is a male wolf shifter, which is also not typical for MF romance.