This day doesn’t get much better. I’m at the beach, with friends, and it’s a glorious 90 odd degrees with a perfect white beach and incredible surf. I pull my beach chair up to the line where the tide washes in, sink my feet into the wet sand, kick back in the rusty old chair and read. And read. And read until I’m sunburnt and parched, BUT I had to finish Mary Kay Andrews’ new release Summer Rental while I had all the elements just right. (Not that this is necessary to enjoy her latest beach book manifesto on good living–but it doesn’t hurt.) Once again, Mary Kay Andrews nailed what is right and fun about a novel–escapism. This time the vehicle is an ancient beach house perched on  a dune in Nag’s Head, NC (The house is as much a character as the people who rent it for August.) She writes about real, scarred and authentic characters (houses too) and the crazy circumstances they knot themselves into–albeit with a little condensing courtesy of a fantastic writer. This book goes on top of my summer reccomend list and I hope you’ll enjoy as much as I did. Although, thanks to chapter ten, I’m now on the hunt for a fried grouper sandwich which may or may not be a good thing for my waistline. Thanks, Mary Kay.