🌴 Romanceopoly Summer Kick-Off! Book Recs + Our Official Buddy Read
Summer Town is Open | Book Recs + Our Buddy Read Pick!
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#25: 🌴 Romanceopoly Summer Kick-Off! Book Recs + Our Official Buddy Read
Hey readers! ☀️
We’ve officially rolled into Sunset Bay, the summer town on your Romanceopoly 2025 board! Whether you're soaking up the sunshine or curled up in your reading nook with the AC blasting, we've got summer-themed prompts ready to help you knock off more squares and discover your next favorite book.
Let’s dive into your recs.
Sunset Bay Book Recommendations
Here’s a quick look at the books I mentioned, in case you want to add them to your TBR:
Beachside Café – Set by the water or on vacation
Ride the Wave by Katherine Reilly
➤ Former surf champion. Reluctant journalist. Portugal. Forced proximity. Spicy.
The Lighthouse – Pirate as a main character
➤ Pirate witches, captured naval officer, magical sea monsters. Yes please.
Breezy Pier – Summer vibes / beach read / travel
Destination Weddings and Other Disasters by M.C. Vaughn
➤ Beach wedding + enemies to lovers + ziplining. Totally a rom-com.
Sunset Bay Marina – Book that's been on your TBR for a while
A Bad Day for Sunshine by Darynda Jones
➤ New sheriff, missing girl, small-town chaos, and a hot U.S. Marshal.
Full Moon Adventure – Adventure romance
Digging Dr. Jones by Olivia Jackson
➤ Accidental artifact curse, jungle quest, archaeologist with abs.
You can complete these any time from July 1 through September 30. Don't forget to log them on your board and tag us if you’re sharing on social!
Did you miss last week’s Insider? Check it out here:
Our Summer Buddy Read: Starlight Cinema Square
This prompt on the Romanceopoly board is all about reading with someone else. Whether it's a bestie, a group chat, or the entire Romanceopoly community, the goal is simple: read together and have fun chatting about it.
We’ve picked an official book for this prompt as our buddy read and it’s a perfect summer rom-com.
Denim & Diamonds by Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland
The book comes out July 27, available on Kindle Unlimited! And you can read it anytime during the Sunset Bay dates.
This one has everything:
💘 Small-town charm
👕 Cinnamon roll lumberjack energy
🍸 Bar mishaps
🛏️ Forced proximity
🌀 A big emotional twist
She’s a burned-out NYC exec sent to a wellness retreat in Maine. He’s a ridiculously hot bar owner wearing flannel. And there’s a taxidermy moose head involved.
You can share your thoughts in the YouTube comments, or join our post on Instagram to chat as you read. And if Denim & Diamonds isn’t your vibe, pick any book and read it with someone. It can be anything: a fantasy, dark romance, historical, whatever fits your mood. It all counts!
Grab Denim & Diamonds on Amazon
PS: This month we’re also doing something a little special behind the scenes… Paid members will get exclusive access to our Summer Reading Reset Guide. A seasonal slow-down tool with rituals, reflection prompts, a printable tracker and more.
New Releases of the Week
Don’t miss these 6 releases for the week of July 7 - 13, 2025
The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam by Megan Bannen
An immortal demigod and a grumpy inventor get trapped in a magical portal and maybe fall in love. It's a cozy romantasy full of forced proximity, bickering, and dragon-filled charm. Basically a magical rom-com that leaves you smiling.
Soul Gazer by Maggie Rapier
A cursed heroine. A silver-tongued pirate. And a mythical island that might save them both. This romantasy has a marriage of convenience, high-stakes betrayal, and so much tension. Did I mention she blackmails him into marrying her?
Scotch on the Rocks by Elliot Fletcher
She’s his brother’s ex-fiancé. He’s the small-town hero who’s always loved her. Now years later, they're finally facing those forbidden feelings with messy family drama, emotional baggage, and a dreamy Scottish backdrop.
The Woman in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware
Lo Blacklock is back and this time she’s at a luxury Swiss hotel wrapped up in a late-night emergency with a woman claiming to be a billionaire’s mistress. What follows is a cat-and-mouse thriller across Europe. Classic Ruth Ware suspense!
Wildflowers by Kylie Scott
What if the hot, grumpy neighbor kidnapped you to save your life because the world is ending? This one is survival romance with forced proximity, emotional tension, and a little apocalypse chaos. Totally unhinged. Totally addictive.
Terror at the Gates by Scarlett St. Clair
Lilith is an outcast thief. Zahariev is the morally gray ruler of Nineveh. When a cursed dagger throws them together, they’ll have to navigate enemies-to-lovers tension, dark power, and mafia-fantasy politics.
Catch up on this week’s Novel Hour Live show
This week Victoria from Bibliolifestyle and I chatted about the perfect beach reads recommendations, what we’re watching, more new releases and the latest announcement of a Berkley and Penguin Young Readers merger imprint called Berkley XO.
Join us every Thursday at 12PM EST for our Novel Hour show on Youtube.
Let’s Chat:
Tell me in the comments:
Which Sunset Bay prompt are you doing first?
Are you joining the Denim & Diamonds buddy read or picking your own?
What’s your ideal summer romance vibe right now?
Happy summer reading, and I’ll see you in the next update from Sunset Bay! ☀️📚
xo,
Francesca
P.S. If you're an author or brand and think you might be interested in advertising on our Substack, you can find more info here.
Sharing our love for books as Under the Covers Book Blog since 2011, running the Romanceopoly yearly reading challenge since 2019 and hosting the Reading Under the Covers podcast since 2020. Launched Mysterylandia in 2025.
I'm off to a good start on my summer reads, but always glad to get some new ideas for the prompts. You remind me, I need to post up my Spring results. :)
Happy Summer Reading in Sunset Bay!