When it comes time for summer travels, it’s always a smart idea to bring along a book (or five) to pass the time. Whether you’re traveling the globe, hitting the road for a cross country adventure or simply planning a relaxing staycation, these five books will transport you to new places this summer.

A Wedding on the Beach by Holly Chamberlin

Escape to picturesque Maine with Holly Chamberlin’s breathtaking new women’s fiction novel, A Wedding on the Beach. At 42, Bess Culpepper has finally found the love of her life and plans to bring her close friends together for her upcoming wedding. But when her friends and their significant others arrive in Maine, something doesn’t feel right and Bess begins questioning the friendships she has nurtured for so long. A story of friendship and fidelity, can Beth get through the tension, keep her friends close and marry the love of her life?


Honestly, We Meant Well by Grant Ginder

As a mother and wife, Sue Ellen Wright knows when her family is in distress. So she whisks her family away to the Greek island of Aegean for a month in hopes of restoring the balance of her family. This humorous new novel from Grant Ginder is a touching story about starting over and the importance of family.


Into the Jungle by Erica Ferencik

Lily takes a job teaching in Bolivia to escape her life in the foster care system and group homes but when the job falls through, she decides to stay. She meets and falls in love with Omar, who has just moved to the city from a remote village where he was a hunter. At the news that Omar’s young nephew has been killed by a jaguar, he gives Lily an ultimatum. Stay in the city or venture into the jungle to face dangers she never anticipated.


Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes

Linda Holmes’s debut novel takes readers to some of the best locations on the East Coast this summer. Evvie Drake is still heartbroken over the loss of her husband, holing up in her home in Maine to grieve. Meanwhile, her late husband’s best friend Dean is struggling to find his place in New York City now that he fears his baseball career is over. When the two connect, Dean decides to stay in the apartment attached to Evvie’s house to avoid the media’s questions about his career. As the two get to know one another, they find that they were exactly what each other needed after all.


Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok

When Sylvie flies to the Netherlands to spend time with her dying grandmother, no one expects her to disappear without a trace. Her sister Amy can’t accept the fact that Sylvie is missing so she goes to the Netherlands to try to find her. Instead, what Amy finds are family secrets that will change their family forever.

(This post is sponsored by Kensington Book Corp.)