2016 Bliss, Beauty and Books “Poolside Picks”

Last year I ran my list of “Blissful Beach Bag” picks and this year I will be  sharing my weekly “Poolside Picks”.  Each week I will be featuring a new book that I think is a must have for the sand and sun!  Some will be feature as a giveaway with a fun beauty product as well so keep your eyes peeled for that.  Summer reading is my favorite time of year because the sun is shining, the plots are juicy and the books are just so glossy and colorful.  Today I am starting with a beach read expert author Mary Kay Andrews.  She always takes us to fabulous getaway locations and her covers are amazing.  I have a set of these books to giveaway as well as a Beautycounter SPF lip balm, another beach bag essential.  So let’s dive in 🙂 (pun intended)

The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews

One of the queens of summer beach reading this book from the cover alone is sure to be the perfect necessity to keep you company poolside.  (A full review will come later from me.)

via Goodreads

Some people stay all summer long on the idyllic island of Belle Isle, North Carolina. Others come only for the weekends-and the mix between the regulars and “the weekenders” can sometimes make the sparks fly. Riley Griggs has a season of good times with friends and family ahead of her on Belle Isle when things take an unexpected turn. While waiting for her husband to arrive on the ferry one Friday afternoon, Riley is confronted by a process server who thrusts papers into her hand. And her husband is nowhere to be found.

So she turns to her island friends for help and support, but it turns out that each of them has their own secrets, and the clock is ticking as the mystery deepens…in a murderous way. Cocktail parties aside, Riley must find a way to investigate the secrets of Belle Island, the husband she might not really know, and the summer that could change everything.

Told with Mary Kay Andrews’ trademark blend of humor and warmth, and with characters and a setting that you can’t help but fall for, The Weekenders is the perfect summer escape.

 

Mary Kay Andrews

And as a bonus a #FBF from her bestseller, Beach Town, from last summer, now in paperback!

via Goodreads

Greer Hennessy needs palm trees.

As a movie location scout, picture-perfect is the name of the game. But her last project literally went up in flames, and her career is on the verge of flaming out. Greer has been given one more chance, if she can find the perfect undiscovered beach hideaway for a big-budget movie. She zeroes in on a sleepy Florida panhandle town called Cypress Key. There’s one motel, a marina, a long stretch of pristine beach and an old fishing pier with a community casino-which will be perfect for the film’s explosive climax.

There’s just one problem. Eben Thibadeaux, the town mayor, completely objects to Greer’s plan. A lifelong resident of Cypress Key, Eben wants the town to be revitalized, not commercialized. After a toxic paper plant closed, the bay has only recently been reborn, and Eb has no intention of letting anybody screw with his town again. But Greer has a way of making things happen, regardless of obstacles. And Greer and Eb are way too attracted to each other for either of them to see reason.

Between an ambitious director and his entourage-including a spoiled “It Boy” lead actor-who parachute into town, a conniving local ex-socialite, and a cast of local fangirls and opportunists who catch the movie bug, nothing is going to be the same in Cypress Key. Now Greer is forced to make some hard choices: about the people and the town she’s come to care about, and about her own life. True love is only for the movies, right? Can Greer find a way to be the heroine in her own life story? Told with inimitable heart and humor, Mary Kay Andrews’ Beach Town is the perfect summer destination.

 

Beautycounter Protect Lip Balm

Protect Lip Balm SPF 15 is packed with natural moisturizing ingredients, providing powerful hydration and protection from the sun’s dangerous UVA/UVB rays. Formulated with non-nano zinc oxide, our Lip Balm with sunscreen glides on easily. A combination of natural and organic ingredients—including cocoa and shea butter, coconut oil, and acai fruit oil—works to soothe lips, leaving them smooth, hydrated, and protected.

 

To enter this beach giveaway either comment below or follow me on Instagram and comment on the post there.  Winners will be picked at the end of the weekend!  Open to US residents only.  Happy Memorial Day weekend readers!  We get one extra day to read 🙂

 

*Thanks to St.Martin’s Press for providing copies for giveaway.