Classic Beach Reads Novels & Stories

A young psychologist, Maria Reyes, fresh out of college, decides to take her first freelance case to build her résumé. Feeling bold and free on her graduation night, she let herself loose after getting charmed by an alluring mysterious man. One drink leads to another and another, and she finds herself drowning in passion in his bed. She reads him like a map and falls for his scars before she even asks for his name. But the morning brings the brutal truth, Darian Wolfe is her father's enemy, a ruthless businessman, an heir to the empire sworn to destroy her father's legacy. She vanishes before he wakes, unable to face what has been done. Weeks later after being able to set up her new office, the past begins to blur until her first patient walks through the door. It's him, Darian Wolfe. Her expression freezes when she sees him. He walks around her office uninvited. He takes a seat without a word. The silence between them is thick with everything unsaid. And then, he looks unblinking in her eyes. "I have a lot to... unpack, Dr Reyes," he says, with a dark smile. "Let's start with a woman I met two weeks ago at a bar," he says, pulling out a red panty from his pocket.

Right after I am done with a meeting, I scroll through social media and come across a warning post with my company's location tagged. The title reads, "Avoid this place! Anyone who comes here is a sucker. The company is so stingy that it can't even provide decent snacks." The photos show the Starbucks drinks and five-star desserts I just asked my assistant to distribute to everyone. I frown and tag everyone in the group chat, asking for suggestions about the teatime snacks. A Gen Z intern, Alice Grimes, immediately sends a voice message, "No offense, Ms. Knox, but these mass-produced desserts are full of trans fats. Even dogs wouldn't eat them. A good company would hire Kitchelin chefs to cook on-site. Now that's called having true respect for employees." I laugh in disbelief. My company spends 50 dollars per person on daily tea time, which is considered top-tier in the industry. So, I reply, "Since it's hard to please everyone, we'll cancel teatime from now on and convert it into a cash allowance for everyone." Less than five minutes later, there is a new update in the social media post. "Guys, you won't believe this. I made a reasonable suggestion, and the petty boss just cut our teatime perk! This is how a typical capitalist behaves. They can't handle any honest feedback."

On the wet sand beside the seashore, the strong, tall man was laying with a cigarette in his hand. His bike parked a few feet away from him. The environment there was serene and noiseless as no one was allowed then on the beach that he owned. It was not a big deal for a billionaire like him. He had a lot more than that. Wealth, power, the respect he had all of them but lacked the most important thing that couldn't be bought with money. He lacked inner peace. He inhaled the vinous smoke as the corner of his lips twitched in a sad smile. His eyes deceived him being moist and a lone tear slipped down his face on the sand. The sand sucked the water as soon as it fell on it, and he wondered if his pain disappeared in thin air like that. He breathed out a puff of smoke through his nose and mouth. Looking up at the sky with the sad smile plastered on his face he spoke up, "Why so hatred for me, ya Rab?" Miles away from him the girl with a cuddling baby in her arms uttered looking up at the sky, "I express my deep gratitude to You for sending this angel to me, Ya Rab."

My boyfriend's childhood friend declared herself the ultimate 'socialite fraud buster' the very first time we met. She would not stop lecturing me at the dinner table. "Women really shouldn't overdress. If Sean hadn't told me himself that you were his girlfriend, I would've written you off as just another one of those fake socialites I've exposed." My boyfriend nodded along eagerly. "You really do dress too flashy. Just listen to Gina and tone it down a little." I could not be bothered to engage, so I excused myself to the restroom, but I ended up overhearing Georgina Lawson's little 'fraud assessment' from right outside the door. "Sean, this woman's walk, the way she talks… All of it screams training. She's a classic case of a fake socialite. She's only with you for your money! That watch, the limited-edition bag, that sports car worth tens of millions... What doctor could possibly afford all that?" Fury burned through me, and I finally reached my limit. I turned around and called my father, the richest man in the city. "Dad, wire me 50 million dollars. I'm buying out a little fraud-busting studio that targets 'fake socialities' to teach her that rich people have children too!"

The classic Cinderella story told with a wild twist; Ella's trusty rat friends unleash the plague in the castle and around the kingdom resulting in Ella and her stepsister along with some friends made along the way to find a cure for the illness.In 18th century Briarglen, the crown Prince is looking for his future wife and Queen. The King throws a grand ball inviting every maiden in the kingdom to attend. At the ball, Drizella meets a handsome palace guard whom she bonds with over the love of botany. Meanwhile indoors, her sister Anastasia is destroying their stepsisters' dress, leaving remnants behind in the castle halls. The King notices Anas behavior and banishes her from the castle.Driz and Ella receive bouquets from their suitors inviting them to the castle for dates. While in the castle, they witness the first victim of the plague fall ill and areforced to quarantine inside the castle with no connection to others.Meet Malcolm and Maddie, the head servant and maid of the castle whom the King has aspecial bond with. After they fall ill, the King becomes determined to find the one responsible and have their head.Learn what is happening in the Tremaine household while the girls are stuck in the castle and learn the truth about the evil stepmother and the reason for Ana's change in behavior.After the girls do not return home, Ana takes it upon herself to rush to the castle regardless of the repercussions to find out what is happening. While there, she helps to discover a cure to the plague and regains her acceptance to the castle.Discovering the true source of the outbreak, the culprit is revealed and served with the proper punishment.

For twins Ethel and Elise, the line between dream and nightmare was always thin—and on Paron Island, it has been completely erased. Their idyllic gap year, a sun-soaked mosaic of beach bonfires and reckless abandon, is shattered in an instant. A "project," as the panicked news reports cryptically call it, has gone horrifically wrong, releasing a pathogen that reanimates the dead with a singular, gruesome purpose: to feed. The sisters' bond, once defined by shared secrets and sibling rivalry, is now their only anchor in a world drowning in blood. Driven by a raw, primal instinct to protect each other, they join forces with a few other fortunate—or unfortunate—souls who survived the initial onslaught. Together, this makeshift family must navigate the ruins of their former paradise, where every shadow hides a potential threat and every human sound could be a lure. Ethel, the more cautious sister, finds a hidden strength in strategy, while Elise's impulsive nature becomes both a weapon and a liability. But their fight against the decaying hordes is only the surface of the terror. Whispers of a coordinated presence, of supplies that go missing too conveniently, and of strangers who seem to know too much, point to a more insidious truth: the island's collapse was not a random tragedy. They are being hunted by something that thinks, that plans, that wears a human face. As their hope for rescue dwindles, Ethel and Elise are forced to confront the ultimate horror—that in the midst of an apocalypse, the most monstrous creatures of all are still human.

While preparing for the SATs at the library, my brother is accidentally shot and injured, causing him to bleed profusely. I pass by this scene but turn a blind eye and quicken my pace to leave. This is because in my previous life, when I saw him, I rushed him to the hospital in a panic. He had intracranial hemorrhaging, and he urgently needed surgery. I quickly called my mom, the top neurosurgeon in the city, begging her to come to the hospital as soon as possible. However, she thought I was jealous that she had taken my adopted sister to the beach instead of spending time with me. She also believed I had fabricated the story about my brother's injury, and thus refused to return. By the time my dad and the rest of the family hurried to the hospital, it was too late for rescue efforts—my brother had passed away. The whole family blamed me for his death. They were convinced that I had deliberately misled my mom and delayed his critical treatment. When my mom returned from out of town, she lost her composure and pushed me down the stairs, watching coldly as I bled to death. After opening my eyes again, I had returned to the day my brother was shot at the library.

"Babygirl?" I asked again confused. "I call my submissive my baby girl. That's a preference of mine. I like to be called Daddy." He said which instantly turned me on. What the hell is wrong with me? " *** Iris was so excited to leave her small town home in Ohio to attend college in California. She wanted to work for a law firm one day, and now she was well on her way. The smell of the ocean air was a shock to her senses when she pulled up to Long beach, but everything was so bright and beautiful. The trees were different, the grass, the flowers, the sun, everything was different. The men were different here. Professor Ryker Lorcane was different. He was intelligent but dark. Strong but steady. Everything the boys back home were not. *** I moaned loudly as he pulled out and pushed back in slowly each time going a little deeper. "You feel so good baby girl," he said as he slid back in. "Are you ready to be mine?" He said looking at me with those dark carnal eyes coming back into focus. I shook my head, yes, and he slammed into me hard. "Speak." He ordered. "Yes Daddy, I want to be yours," I said loudly this time.

I ditched a shot at studying abroad to help my boyfriend, Gavin Censori, launch his startup. Stuck it out with him through seven brutal years. Then boom—success hit, and so did the ghosting. On Valentine's Day, he hit me with the classic "work's crazy" excuse. Instead of showing up, he had some random delivery dude drop off a box of cosmetic samples. Samples. Later that night, his secretary Rebecca popped up on my feed, flexing hard. Caption: [With a boss like this, why go home early?] Pic: A box of high-end makeup. Same brand. Hers weren't samples. I dropped a comment: [You're doing great at your sidechick job. Gold star.] Gavin called instantly, losing it. "What's your problem? She's just an employee! I bust my ass making money for you, and you're always jealous!" I laughed. Didn't even yell. Just dumped him. Seven years, and I'd never touched a dime of his. Joke's on him—his precious startup? Secretly bankrolled by me. Fast-forward three years. Business summit. He rolled in wearing a tailored suit. The second he spotted me with a bag of bottles, his smirk kicked in. "Didn't like those cosmetics I gave you, huh? Now look at you—reduced to bottle collecting?"