18 of the best books to read on vacation in 2023

The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand

Read The Five-Star Weekend for… a captivating, sunshine-filled story about friendship, love, and self-discovery from the bestselling author of The Hotel Nantucket.

In this bestselling beach read for 2023, Hollis Shaw seems to have the perfect life: she’s the creator of a popular food blog and married to Matthew, a dreamy heart surgeon.

Although the book is brimming with summer vibes, it begins with loss, exposing the cracks in Hollis’s marriage and relationship with her daughter, Caroline.

When Hollis hears about something called a “Five-Star Weekend”, she decides to host her own to get her life back on track, bringing together four friends from different stages in her life.

I adored this vacation read – if you did too, I shared the best books to read after The Five-Star Weekend for more like this.

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

Read Tom Lake for… a hazy evocation of slow, dreamy sunny days under cherry trees in Ann Patchet’s latest book.

In this new novel that’s perfect for laid-back summer reading, the wonderful narrator (who reminded me of Elizabeth Strout’s Lucy Barton) shares with her three daughters the story of her time as an actress in her twenties.

I loved escaping into the pages of this peaceful book – Patchett creates a world that’s hopeful, cozy, and reassuring, painting a masterful picture of motherhood, family, and the moments that make us.

Gripping books to read on vacation

Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Daniel Silva

Read Portrait of an Unknown Woman for… a thrilling high-stakes search for the greatest art forger who ever lived. You can also add the just-released sequel, The Collector, to your reading list.

I think this gripping thriller would be a perfect vacation read for 2023 – I flew through it in just a few days. It’s also one of my choices for the best books for men in 2023.

As Book 22 in the Gabriel Allon series (which is fine to read as standalone), the story opens with renowned spy and art restorer Gabriel Allon settling into his quiet retirement in Venice.

However, when London art dealer Julian Isherwood requests his help in investigating the origins of a lucrative sale of a supposedly centuries-old painting, Gabriel is pulled back into the dangerous world he thought he’d left behind.

On a Quiet Street by Seraphina Nova Glass

Read On a Quiet Street for… a twisting and gripping thriller in idyllic suburbia. Pick this up as one of the best new thrillers for 2023.

Suspecting her husband of keeping secrets, Cora is determined to catch him in the act. Her neighbor Paige, who tragically lost her son last year, agrees to help. Meanwhile, their new young neighbor Georgia seems to be concealing something.

Brighton Hills on the coast of Oregon offers an unparalleled blend of luxury and natural beauty. The residents of the community look out for each other, but perhaps a little too attentively… and that means that secrets will never stay hidden for long.

Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune

Read Meet Me at the Lake for… one of the best romance books for 2023, about summer days and rekindled love by the bestselling author of Every Summer After.

Fern Brookbanks isn’t where she thought she’d be in life at thirty-two. Instead of living in the city, she’s back home running her mother’s lakeside resort.

Fern has also wasted far too much of her adult life thinking about Will Baxter: a man she spent just twenty-four hours with in her twenties.

Although he promised to meet her one year later, he never showed up… at least, not until nine years later, with a suitcase in tow.

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Bramer

Read The Collected Regrets of Clover for… a heartwarming and life-affirming book about Clover, an end-of-life doula who, in caring for others at the end of their life, has forgotten how to celebrate her own.

After her beloved grandfather passes away while she is traveling, Clover Brooks dedicates her life to guiding people through their end-of-life journey with peace and dignity.

However, while spending so much time granting other people’s final wishes, Clover realises that she has ignored her own life – until the final words of a feisty old woman send her on a trip across the country.

Darling by India Knight

Read Darling for… India Knight’s modern-day retelling of Nancy Mitford’s classic The Pursuit of Love. I recently discovered this gem of a book and fell utterly, hopelessly in love with it. 

In this delightfully charming, funny, and witty comfort read, Teenage Linda Radlett feels herself destined for greater things – and a love story that she absolutely won’t find in her family’s sprawling farmhouse in Norfolk.

When she moves to London to become a model, Linda achieves a fresh start: but life is unromantic, dark, and complicated.

But one day, feeling at her lowest, she spontaneously boards the Eurostar train to Paris where love and transformation await. The novel isn’t without its tragedy (there’s one page you might want to rip out), but overall, I adored it.

Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper

Read Better Living Through Birding for… a journey into the world of Central Park birder Christian Cooper’s avian adventures and lessons learned from a lifetime of looking up.

As a self-described “Blerd” (Black nerd), Christian Cooper is an expert birder who devotes every spring to observing the migratory birds that stop to rest in Central Park.

While watching the birds one morning in May 2020, a routine encounter with a dog walker resulted in a viral video that highlighted the difficulties of being a gay, Black man in America today.

Equal parts memoir, travelogue, and primer on the art of birding, this is Christian Cooper’s much-needed story of the wonderful world of birds and all they can teach us if we only look up.

We Should Not Be Friends: The Story of a Friendship by Will Schwalbe

Read We Should Not Be Friends for… a warm and funny memoir that follows the course of an improbable and life-changing friendship over forty years.

I adored Will Schwalbe’s 2013 celebration of the comfort of reading, The End of Your Life Book Club. Now in 2023, Will has shared a rare and joyful view of male friendship, starting with the first time he met Maxey as a junior in college.

While Will was nerdy and creative, Maxey was physically imposing, loud, and a star wrestler who was determined to become a Navy SEAL. But thanks to a little-known secret society at Yale, the two forged a bond that transcended their differences and would remain throughout each others’ lives.

Strong Female Character by Fern Brady

Read Strong Female Character for… a new memoir of womanhood and neurodiversity that’s soaring up bestselling lists (you should believe the average rating on Goodreads).

Like Fern Brady, I’m also autistic, but Strong Female Character is one of the best books for anyone to read in 2023. It’s fiercely witty, heartbreaking, and oh-so-required.

This is the Scottish comedian’s memoir of finally being diagnosed with autism, years after telling her doctor that she had it, ending up at a psychiatric facility when neither her parents nor school knew what to do with her, and never becoming the “right kind” of woman.

For more of the best books to read on vacation in 2023, you might also like…

• The best beach reads for 2023 to help you unwind
• The best new romance books for 2023
• The best thrillers to read in 2023
• 20 of the best books for women to read in 2023