Fleur’s Summer Reading List:
Pulse-Racing Beach Reads To Turn Up The Heat

If you thought your summer couldn’t get *any* hotter, leave it to Fleur to turn up the temps with the most exciting beach companions. Because relaxing is one thing, but being bored? That just won’t do.

If you’re looking for romp bursting with sultry suspense, a delicious dose of drama, and plenty of sexy twists and turns, these intoxicating must-reads will get your pulse racing and put you in the mood for a dalliance of your own. Beautiful people behaving badly, long-awaited affairs, a case of murder or two—this summer reading list checks all the boxes. Better yet, they’re all set in the most atmospheric vacay-worthy locales. So lick your finger, turn the page, and prepare for a fictional escape worth getting lost in.

Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan

While you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, you can certainly judge it by its title. And this one definitely doesn’t disappoint. We follow the jet-setting, uber privileged Lucie Churchill from the lush island of Capri to the posh parties of East Hampton, where she can’t avoid running into her one-kiss vacation fling, George. Woven with extravagant backdrops, designer name-dropping, and a tangled mess of moneyed half-truths, it’s a sumptuous read that delivers a healthy serving of satire, all while driving a love story full of social class drama and second chances. Sex and vanity to be expected, of course.

Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum

This sinfully addicting beach read is a cocktail of fun you may have to finish in one gulp. We meet the rich, fabulous, effortlessly manipulative Jen Weinstein and Lauren Parker, the social queens of a tiny town on Fire Island, along with their husbands and their coterie of frenemies. That includes the single and mingling Rachel, who may have her eye on the hot new tennis club instructor—or someone else’s spouse. At the center of all the country club gossip, backstabbing, and adultery, however, is a murder mystery that could give White Lotus or Desperate Housewives a run for its money.

The Club by Ellery Lloyd

Take a wickedly thrilling trip to the most exclusive members’ club across the pond, where A-listers and aristocrats rub elbows (and then some) in the privacy of their five-star suites. But amidst all the glitz and glamour, the three-day opening weekend of Island Home (an elite retreat inspired by the real-life Aman Resorts and Soho Houses of the world) boils with tension—until it explodes. Sex, drugs, and secrets abound, but not even blackmail compares to the body count. It’s a sizzling whodunnit wrapped up in the realm of luxury—Agatha Christie, eat your heart out.

It’s Hot in the Hamptons by Holly Peterson

There’s nothing like a summer in the Hamptons to make you yearn for more. After all, everyone in the wealthy enclave of the East End has it all: money, status, and a rotation of lovers on speed dial. Including the husbands of Caroline and Annabelle. And they put up with it, until the two friends decide to indulge in a little extramarital bliss of their own to get even. But through the saucy no-strings-attached affairs and her husband’s shady business dealings, Caroline ends up with more than she bargained for…including a lost love from her past.

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey

Set against the backdrop of a small beach town in the Pacific Northwest, this equal parts playful-and-spicy page-turner is the perfect summertime read. It’s got everything: a spoiled socialite, a surly sea captain, a simmering enemies-to-lovers storyline. When Los Angeles It Girl Piper is cut off from her family’s credit cards and is forced to move to a shabby small-town apartment to manage a local bar, she meets Brendan, a grumpy fisherman who is anything but welcoming. When their burning dislike for each other turns into burning desire, sparks fly by the seaside.

The Invitation by Lucy Foley

Set off on a glamorous getaway to the Italian Riviera aboard a yacht owned by a courtly Contessa. It’s the peak of the 1950s, and Hal, a post-war journalist, is taking an unexpected trip to the glittering Cannes Film Festival during its golden age. But he can’t stop thinking about Stella, the mysterious woman he fell for in Rome, who disappeared just as quickly as she stepped into his life. As luck (good or bad) would have it, she reappears during his journey, but her baggage is bursting with dark secrets, which only make Hal’s passion for her grow. You’ll dive right into this spellbinding affair, thick with the allure of European excess and filled with waves of romance more powerful than the Mediterranean Sea.

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

A slow burn summer romance awaits in this will-they-won’t-they tale, which proves that opposites really do attract. Poppy and Alex are best friends who met in college and, despite the fact that they live in different places (and have totally different personalities), they keep up their friendship by embarking on once-a-year vacations together over the next decade. Their attraction to each other is hard to ignore, but they’re careful not to cross any lines and risk ruining their close, but platonic, relationship. Until one ill-fated trip ruins it anyway. After years of not speaking, Poppy convinces Alex to go away with her one more time…and it might be their last chance to let loose everything they’ve been holding back.