E N D O F S U M M E R B E T W E E N T H E L I N E S
As summer begins its slow fade toward autumn, there’s still time for one more escape. For me, the perfect late-summer read sweeps me away to another time and place—full of romance, beautiful settings, family secrets, and just enough mystery to make me miss my bedtime. If that sounds like your idea of a getaway, here are six recent historical fiction releases that deserve a place in your beach bag.
🌊 Under the Stars
BEATRIZ WILLIAMS
A windswept New England island, a long-buried family mystery, a legendary shipwreck, and a second chance at love—Beatriz Williams once again proves she’s the queen of glamorous historical fiction. Rich with coastal atmosphere and generations of secrets, Under the Stars is the kind of novel you’ll happily lose an entire afternoon to.
Perfect beach escape because: It has everything you want from a summer novel—ocean breezes, old estates, romance, family intrigue, and just enough mystery to keep the pages turning.
Amazon ★ 4.3 · Goodreads ★ 3.74
If you enjoy: Elin Hilderbrand, Kate Morton, or family sagas with a touch of romance.
🏖️ The Island Club
NICOLA HARRISON
Welcome to Balboa Island in the 1950s, where tennis matches, cocktail parties, and carefully kept appearances hide lives that are far more complicated than they seem. Three women discover that friendship—and the courage to reinvent themselves—may be life’s greatest luxury.
Perfect beach escape because: California sunshine, seaside glamour, friendships, romance, and hidden secrets make this an easy novel to sink into while relaxing by the water.
Amazon ★ 4 · Goodreads ★ 3.68
If you enjoy: Elin Hilderbrand, Kristin Harmel’s lighter novels, or stories centered on women’s friendships and reinvention.
⚓ Our Last Vineyard Summer
BROOKE LEA FOSTER
Returning to Martha’s Vineyard to settle a family estate, three sisters discover that old loves and long-kept family secrets are waiting just beneath the surface. Nostalgic, heartfelt, and wrapped in the beauty of an island summer, it’s a novel about family, forgiveness, and finding your way home.
Perfect beach escape because: Martha’s Vineyard, sailing, beach cottages, summer romance, and family drama practically define the perfect vacation read.
Amazon ★ 4 · Goodreads ★ 3.68
If you enjoy: Elin Hilderbrand, Nancy Thayer, or stories where the setting feels like another character.
🚀 An Infinite Love Story
CHANEL CLEETON
Against the exhilarating backdrop of America’s Space Race, one woman refuses to believe the man she loves is truly gone. Blending romance, suspense, and the optimism of the 1960s, Chanel Cleeton delivers another sweeping story about hope, courage, and impossible choices.
Perfect beach escape because: It captures the excitement of a remarkable era while delivering the emotional pull and romance that make Cleeton’s novels so hard to put down.
Amazon ★ 4.1 · Goodreads ★ 4.09
If you enjoy: Beatriz Williams, Kristin Harmel, or historical romance with a touch of suspense.
🌺 A Happier Life
KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY
When Keaton inherits a historic Southern cottage on the North Carolina coast, she uncovers journals that reveal another woman’s remarkable life decades earlier. Past and present weave together in a warm, uplifting story about family, friendship, and unexpected second chances.
Perfect beach escape because: Coastal Carolina charm, hidden journals, romance, and Southern hospitality make this the literary equivalent of a relaxing week at the shore.
Amazon ★ 4.5 · Goodreads ★ 4.19
If you enjoy: Patti Callahan Henry, Mary Alice Monroe, or Southern women’s fiction with historical threads.k because: By the final chapter you’ll be listening a little harder to your own walls.
🎭 Masque of Honor
SHARON VIRTS
Virginia’s grandest ballrooms, elegant country estates, dazzling gowns, political ambition, forbidden love, and one infamous duel that changed history forever—Masque of Honor transports readers into America’s own Regency era, where reputation was everything and one reckless decision could alter generations.
Perfect beach escape because: Lavish parties, romance, scandal, unforgettable characters, and a richly realized historical world make this an immersive escape that’s equal parts page-turner and love story.
Amazon ★ 4.6 · Goodreads ★ 4.22
If you enjoy: Bridgerton, Poldark, or the novels of Georgette Heyer—but long for an authentically American setting rooted in true history.
However you spend these last golden weeks, I hope one of these stories keeps you reading well past your bedtime. Happy escaping—and if you fall for one of them, come tell me about it on the next Between the Lines.
