Beneath the Book Club: It’s beach-reading season and time to choose our June book!
- Sara Vanden Berge
- May 29
- 3 min read
Updated: May 30
Summer is here and it’s time to escape into a great book!
It’s also time to choose Beneath the Book Club’s June read.
These are all new releases that I think everyone will enjoy.
Book 1: The Tenant by Freida McFadden
4.0 on Goodreads, No. 1 on Amazon charts
WHAT GOODREADS SAYS: “There’s no place like home…
“Blake Porter is riding high, until he's not. Fired abruptly from his job as a VP of marketing and unable to make the mortgage payments on the new brownstone that he shares with his fiancé, he's desperate to make ends meet.
“Enter Whitney. Beautiful, charming, down-to-earth and looking for a room to rent. She's exactly what Blake's looking for. Or is she?
“Because something isn't quite right. The neighbors start treating Blake differently. The smell of decay permeates his home, no matter how hard he scrubs. Strange noises jar him awake in the middle of the night.
“And soon Blake fears someone knows his darkest secrets...
“Danger lives right at home, and by the time Blake realizes it, it'll be far too late. The trap is already set.
“No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden knocks at your door with a gripping story of revenge, privilege and secrets turned sour…”
Book 2: The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs
3.9 on Goodreads, Editor’s Pick in Best Mystery, Thriller and Suspense
WHAT GOODREADS SAYS: “Three wives wanting a new life, three husbands in their way…
“After 30 years of friendship, Pam dreams of her perfect retirement with Nancy, Shalisa, Marlene, and their husbands—until their husbands pool their funds for an investment that goes terribly wrong, and their dreams of beachfront condos and a sunny, carefree retirement vanish.
“The golden years are looking as dreary as their marriages.
“But when one husband dies in a freak accident, the other three women are shocked to see his widow rebound with a huge life insurance payout and a new life in Florida.
“In the aftermath, the women discover that their husbands have identical, seven-figure life insurance policies. A new dream forms, and this time, it involves a hitman.
“Meanwhile, their husbands have a secret retirement plan of their own. So, when things begin to go awry, they fear their own scheme may have backfired…with deadly consequences.
“The husbands scramble to stay alive, but they may not be fast enough to outmaneuver their wives.
“What follows is a high-stakes tale of cat and mouse, both laugh-out-loud funny and unbearably tense, while ultimately a bighearted look at marriage, friendship and middle-age.”
Book 3: All That Life Can Afford by Emily Everett
3.8 on Goodreads, A Reese’s Book Club pick
WHAT GOODREADS SAYS: “A young American woman navigates class, lies, and love amid London’s jet-set elite.
"I would arrive, blank like a sheet of notebook paper, and write myself new.
"Anna first fell in love with London at her hometown library—its Jane Austen balls a far cry from her life of food stamps and hand-me-downs. But when she finally arrives after college, the real London is a moldy flat and the same paycheck-to-paycheck grind—that fairy-tale life still out of reach.
“Then Anna meets the Wilders, who fly her to Saint-Tropez to tutor their teenage daughter. Swept up by the sphinxlike elder sister, Anna soon finds herself plunged into a heady whirlpool of parties and excess, a place where confidence is a birthright.
“There she meets two handsome young men—one who wants to whisk her into his world in a chauffeured car, the other who sees through Anna’s struggle to outrun her past. It’s like she’s stepped into the pages of a glittering new novel, but what will it cost her to play the part?
“Sparkling with intelligence and insight, All That Life Can Afford peels back the glossy layers of class and privilege, exploring what it means to create a new life for yourself that still honors the one you’ve left behind.”
Okay book clubbers, which one will we read?
Vote for your favorite on Beneath the Surface News’ corresponding Facebook post.
I’ll announce the book with the most votes on Sunday, June 1, and we will host our online discussion on Friday, June 27.
Just in time for beach-reading season! I’m so excited to dive into Beneath the Book Club’s June pick—there’s nothing better than losing yourself in a great story with the sound of waves in the background. For anyone who loves heartfelt, emotional reads, I highly recommend checking out my-passion. It’s an amazing site where you can read romantic novels online for free, and there’s something for every mood—whether you’re into slow burns or steamy twists. Definitely worth bookmarking for summer reading sessions on the sand!