This is our second “Beach Reads” collaboration with Cape Atlantic Book Co. of Cape May, and this week it’s all about the top “top sellers”. During a visit to the store’s Washington Street Mall location, we got the scoop on the “who’s who” of the NY Times Best Sellers List and which of these popular selections are really worth the read.
1. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
Award-winning author of the national bestseller “The Financial Lives of the Poets” returns with with critics have hailed his “most purely enjoyable novel yet.” This tale is especially near and dear to the hearts of historical fiction fans and is set in 1962 on the Italian coast, south of Genoa. A beautiful blond American actress, 22-year-old Dee Moray, mysteriously arrives alone and by boat to the dock of Porto Vergogna. Her charmed entrance into the village entices Pasquale Tursi, an even younger proprietor of the “Hotel Adequate View.” An “almost-love” affair ignites only to be short-lived…but is rekindled in Hollywood fifty years later.
2. The Summer Girls by Mary Alice Monroe
Set on Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina, this trilogy explores the complex relationships and delicate ties between three half-sisters scattered across the country and a grandmother determoined to re-establish their family bond. Historic Sea Breeze is Marietta Muir’s ancestral summer home. The girls once adored vacationing here, but have not returned in years. The Muir family is one of Charleston’s oldest and the blood of their pirate captain ancestor runs strong…Will Marietta’s promise of ancient family loot lure the sisters back to Sea Breeze one final time?
3. Joyland by Stephen King
Amazon’s “Book of the Month” in June of this year, “Joyland” has been referred to as a “stunning” novel from this infamous best-selling author. Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, this story details the experience of college student Devin Jones as he works as a carny for the summer. Devin is unexpectedly faced with the legacy of a vicious murder and the fate of a dying child. Needless to say, the course of his life will be altered forever…
By Megan Kummer