It’s almost time for summer reading season so start now by stocking up your tote bags with these fantastic reads. From debut time travel romance to some fan favorites returning with new novels, these books will take you to beachside spaces and far off places. This is the May 2024 must-reads from BookSparks CEO, Crystal Patriarche.

The Ministry of Time

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

A civil servant is offered a new job as a “bridge” for a government project involving time travel. This means she’ll host someone in her home who has travelled across space-time. Commander Graham Gore was supposed to die on an ill-fated journey to the Arctic in 1845, but he’s now in the home of a woman who shows a little too much calf and using things like a washing machine. As he adjusts to the future, he and the bridge grow closer, and eventually, she’s fallen completely in love with him. When the true nature of the project is revealed, she must come to terms with her own heart and the fate of the future.

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Long After We Are Gone

Long After We Are Gone by Terah Shelton Harris

When King Solomon dies, it’s up to his four children to keep their family home from being turned into a luxury resort. As the siblings come together, so do their individual problems and secrets. From a brother married to a woman, but in love with a man, to another whose anger has landed him in prison, to a seemingly successful sister embezzling money and the oddball youngest who has never felt like she fit in, each must grieve their father’s death and honor his wishes while managing their landslide of troubles. This story is about injustice, legacy, family and love.

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The Guncle Abroad

The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley

Five years after Patrick stepped in to be his niece and nephew’s caregiver after their mother passed, his guncle services are needed again. His brother is getting remarried and the kids are not that thrilled, so riding the high of a rock solid professional life–and maybe avoiding a less than stellar personal life–he ventures to Italy for the occasion. As he helps his niece and nephew navigate their feelings, battles for supremacy with their soon-to-be-launt (lesbian aunt) and tries to keep his sister from flirting with every guest in sight, he must come to terms with his own growth while trying to save the day again.

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This Summer Will Be Different

This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune

Lucy is a tourist traveling to Prince Edward Island. Felix is a hot local she hooked up with. He also happens to be her best friends brother. Every year she travels to PEI and every year she can’t resist ending up in Felix’s bed. But it’s just a vacation fling. That is until Bridgett badly needs her and Lucy is forced to spend more intimate time than she was intending with Felix and resisting him becomes nearly impossible.

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Make sure you also check out all of these “Books for Fans of Carley Fortune” >>

Exhibit

Exhibit by R.O. Kwon

Jin is a young photographer, married to her college sweetheart. Lidija is a ballerina on hiatus after an injury. When the two women meet, they are ignited by their shared love of art and divulge so much more. As they become more entwined, the women share secrets, desires and fierce ambition they’ve never spoken aloud to another. It ignites something in Jin like she’s never known, but also invites a looming curse her family has warned her about.

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under the palms

Under the Palms by Kaira Rouda

Paige is the new president of the Kingsley empire, but the promise of succession is still in sight for the sons of Richard Kingsley. As she calls the family together for a Laguna Beach retreat, secrets, deception, revenge and legacy are bubbling in each of their minds. The women in the family are holding on to a truth that could cement their power and give them the upper hand, but no one is safe in the bid for the family dynasty.

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Lies and Weddings

Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan

From the beloved author of Crazy Rich Asians comes the next book about the super wealthy and the troubles they face. Rufus Leung Gresham has a big title coming his way and is the son of a former Hong Kong supermodel. However, his inheritance has been depleted to nothing and his family’s entire fortune rests on him making a wise choice in who he marries. Presented with the daughters of barons, oligarchs and beyond, their future is riding on him. However, he’s hopelessly in love with the humble girl next door and must decide whether he’ll follow his heart or his family’s wishes.

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If this book is already an automatic buy for you, check out our round of “Books for Fans of Kevin Kwan” >>

Lovers and Liars

Lovers and Liars by Amanda Eyre Ward

The three Peacock sisters have lived fairly separate lives since their childhood, but now they are coming together and bringing the lies they tell each other (and themselves) with. Sylvie is marrying a wealthy Englishman after the loss of her previous husband. Her successful, lawyer sister Clea is suspicious and determined to expose the groom. And Emma is just pretending she can afford this trip, a financial truth she can’t even reveal to her husband. When their toxic mother arrives, each sister is thrown into survival mode as they lie, scheme and pretend their way through the event.

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