We are wrapping up our second week of school and the “official” end of summer hits Monday with the Labor Day holiday. Last week was brutally hot with heat indexes over 100 degrees. No recess for my elementary schooler, which you know had to be brutal for the teachers too! We got a lovely break this week with low humidity and temps in the mid 80s. Next week looks like there might be a few days creeping back up into the 90s. 

While I’m dreaming of fall and beautiful weather, I propose some armchair travel. Let’s pretend we have millions of dollars and can travel all we want–which we can do IN BOOKS. I started by looking up the average temperatures in the following places and then searched for books set in those locations. 

So…pack your bookish bags, friends, and join me on a virtual bookish trip!  I’ve marked the ones I have read* and once again, I’ve added more titles to my TBR.  

Side Note: a few of these titles aren’t exactly set in the following locations, but close enough to give me those same armchair travel vibes! 

First stop: San Diego, California where average highs this time of year are in the 70s and lows are in the 50s.

Books I’ve Read:

*The Mothers by Britt Bennet – “Set within a contemporary black community in Southern California, Brit Bennett’s mesmerizing first novel is an emotionally perceptive story about community, love, and ambition. It begins with a secret.”

*Fake It Till You Bake It by Jamie Wesley – This romantic comedy was so much fun! It was the perfect blend of steam and humor and I could not put it down. I love the enemies to lovers and fake dating tropes so much and it was all handled perfectly here. And the cupcakes. Oh my gosh! So many great details. A wonderful escape. 

Books I Added to My TBR: 

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren 
The Beautiful Strangers by Camille Di Maio

Next up, I’d like to visit Lake Tahoe, a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, on the border of California and Nevada.

Books I’ve Read:

*Pretty Things by Janelle Brown – This book. Woooo-weeee. I think I spent the entire book muttering to myself, “whoa. I didn’t expect that!” Strong character and plot development. Twists and turns throughout that by the time I finished late at night I was exhausted (in a good way). Put this on your to-read this.

*The Sweetheart List (Sunrise Cove #4) by Jill Shalvis – This is book 4 in the Sunrise Cove  series (set near Lake Tahoe), but what is so wonderful about Shalvis is that her series are all standalone, so while they may be set in the same place, the characters are new each time so you can read these in any order.  

This book has all the cat-nip things I love in romance novels: second chance at love, loveable characters, witty dialogue, a beautiful setting and of course, a little bit of steamy romance. What I was not expecting and loved oodles and oodles was the found family theme. It warmed my heart. It reminded me a little of Virgin River–it gave me those same happy reading feelings. And there is the most wonderful dog in this story that I wish I could adopt.

Books I Added to My TBR: 

The Family You Make by Jill Shalvis
Howling Bloody Murder (Beanie and Cruiser Mystery #1) by Sue Owens Wright

Let’s pop over to Colorado’s Rocky Mountains: 

Books I’ve Read:

*The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco (Book Club Mystery #1) by Laura DiSilverio – “Amy-Faye Johnson’s book club, the Readaholics, enjoys guessing whodunit in mysteries like The Maltese Falcon. But when a murder happens in their midst, they discover that solving crimes is harder than reading about them…”

Books I Added to My TBR: 

A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains by Isabella Lucy Bird – many years ago my grandmother gave me a copy of this book and I was just too young to appreciate it so there it sat on my shelf. I’d love to give this a go now!

And for my last stop, how about Mackinac Island? 

Books I’ve Read:

*Lending a Paw (Bookmobile Cat Mystery #1) by Laurie Cass – “With the help of her rescue cat, Eddie, librarian Minnie Hamilton is driving a bookmobile based in the resort town of Chilson, Michigan. But she’d better keep both hands on the wheel, because it’s going to be a bumpy ride…” There are 11 books in this delightful series! 

Books I Added to My TBR: 

Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny

My Kind of You (Trillium Bay #1) by Tracy Brogan

All Fudged Up (Candy-Coated, #1) by Nancy CoCo

Where would your bookish travels take you? 

Wishing you many happy reading experiences!