It’s that time of year again when every magazine, newspaper and newsletter offer suggestions on summer reading. So why should this blog be any different?

Summer is the perfect time to spend some time vacationing or just relaxing. Sit in the sun, lie on a chaise poolside, rest by the ocean or a lake, or under the shade of a tree, sip a cool drink, and read a book—hard cover, soft cover, audio or digital.

Mysteries remain one of the most popular genres for summer reading. Why? Because they entertain us. They also engage our intellect in a satisfying manner. Romances provide us with a happy ever after ending, good escape reading. If you like reading for enjoyment, it’s the way to go.

Lots of good summer reading on the bestseller list.

However, there are excellent authors who write for small independent presses and provide us with quality fiction but don’t get as much publicity because they are not with the big publishers.

For adult readers, I suggest my mystery novel

Death Promise, a romantic mystery thriller published by Encircle and available on Amazon and other booksellers in both print and ebook editions. Also from Encircle is my latest mystery, Blood Family, my 5^th Kim Reynolds mystery.

For readers of young adult fiction I suggest WITCH WISH from Black Opal Press, also available from most booksellers.

Intrigue Publishing is offering my adult romantic mystery THE INHERITANCE as a free read on Audible.

If you enjoy historical romance, I suggest SINFUL SEDUCTION from Luminosity, set during the American Revolution, or HIGHLAND HEART, historical romance set in England and the Scottish Highlands in 1745 at the time of the second Jacobite Rebellion.

Books I have recently read that I enjoyed and will recommend are:

Helene Wecker’s THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI, a very original historical fantasy set in New York in 1899. A sequel has just been published and I look forward to reading that as well.

For mystery, I can recommend several novels.

BAIT AND WITCH by Angela M. Sanders features a librarian who comes into her magic abilities. I especially enjoyed the clever humor. A sequel will be published soon.

THE GHOST AND MRS. McCLURE by Alice Kimberly was the first in a series of haunted bookstore mysteries—also clever and entertaining.

A mystery thriller I just read and consider well-written is
THE QUIET GIRL by S. F. Kosa, a first novel.

For those who enjoy short story collections, I recommend SMALL CRIMES IN THE BIG CITY by Steve Slavin. If you liked Seinfeld, you’ll love this clever book.

For romance, I’ve been reading Lisa Kleypas’s Ravenel series and Mary Balogh’s latest Regency romances. Both are excellent writers in this genre.

For non-fiction, I recommend MARCEL’S LETTERS: A FONT AND THE SEARCH FOR ONE MAN’S FATE. This is a powerful and touching real-life book.

Each of the books I’ve recommended are ones I have read and reviewed in Goodreads.

There are many fine writers who should be added to this list. As a reader and/or writer are there any authors and/or books you would like to recommend for summer reading?

You are most welcome to recommend your own books as well so others will become aware of them!