Beach books: Summer sizzlers USA Today

Beach books: Summer sizzlers

Share this story: Digg del.icio.us Newsvine Reddit FacebookWhat's this?By Deirdre Donahue, USA TODAY
These five frothy novels by and about women won't challenge anyone's neurons, but they're sexy fun. USA TODAY takes their (quickened) pulse.
•Daddy's Girls
By Tasmina Perry (Touchstone, 470 pp. $24.95, on sale Tuesday)
Sizzle factor: * * * * * (out of five)


READ AN EXCERPT: Get inside 'Daddy's Girls'
Heroines: Evil British Lord Oswald Balcon's quartet of gorgeous daughters: a lawyer, a decorator, a magazine editor and a model/actress/celeb.

Settings: The toniest precincts of Manhattan, L.A. and London.

The story: On Christmas Day, Daddy is found dead in the family castle's moat. Girls traces the enormously active love lives of the four sisters while delving into who bumped off Lord Oswald.

Why it's hot: It's a celeb soap opera in which the rich and famous obsess about their love lives 24/7. No workaholics here, only sexaholics.

A taste: "The Honorable Serena Balcon lay back … wriggled out of her pink Dior hot pants, and congratulated herself with a lazy swig of a mojito."

•Just Sex
By Susan Kay Law (Berkley, 330 pp., $14, in stores)
Sizzle factor: * * *


READ AN EXCERPT: Get inside 'Just Sex'
Heroine: 42-year-old Minnesota stay-at-home mom Ellen.

Settings: Minneapolis and a tropical resort called Sizzle.

The story: Midwestern good girl discovers her toadish CEO husband of two decades has been enjoying recreational sexcapades with other women because it's "just sex." Have an affair, he urges. So Ellen really does get her groove back.

Why it's hot: This modest, middle-aged matron with her homemade cookies and solid moral values is a magnet for hot, younger men. If only.

A taste: "It was the wildest thing she'd ever done. The staggering shock of it sent her heart pounding."

•Party Girl
By Anna David (HC/HarperCollins, 275 pp., $24.95, in stores)
Sizzle factor: * * * *


READ AN EXCERPT: Get inside 'Party Girl'
Heroine: Quick-witted girl journalist Amelia, who has a nose for cocaine and bad scenes at work and play.

Setting: It's swimming pools and movie stars in decadent L.A. as Amelia plies her craft as a cub reporter tracking the stars.

The story: Debauchery is followed by detox, followed by media stardom, followed by redemption through sobriety. Slip this EZ read to Lindsay/Britney/Paris!

Why it's hot: Mere mortals vicariously hobnob with the glam set while feeling morally superior. Fun

A taste: "I'm kissing a household name and thinking about a guy who won't even deign to call me back."

•How To Be Cool
By Johanna Edwards (Berkley, 310 pp., $21.95, in stores)
Sizzle factor: * * *


READ AN EXCERPT: Get inside 'How To Be Cool'
Heroine: Former high school geek Kylie, who loses 75 pounds and becomes a consultant on being cool.

Setting: Chicago.

The story: Almost 30, Kylie is a successful gal who advises social outcasts on how to upgrade their social skills. A sexy magazine writer is in pursuit while a high school reunion looms. Payback time?

Why it's hot: Princes turn into frogs while frogs turn into princes.

A taste: "Our lips meet and I can't explain it, the way it feels to kiss him."

•Second Chance
By Jane Green (Viking, 374 pp., $24.95, in stores)
Sizzle factor: * * *


READ AN EXCERPT: Get inside 'Second Chance'
Heroines: Three British school girls who grow up to become a movie star, an illustrator and an animal activist.

Settings: London, L.A., Connecticut, rural England.

The story: Think The Big Chill with lots of tea and posher accents. Marriages dissolve, tensions emerge and the paparazzi swarm while a young studly carpenter generates sexual frisson.

Why it's hot: London is the second-most-expensive city in the world, yet money woes and squalling kids never intrude because love and good pals conquer all.

A taste: "There is chemistry in the air, a static that is almost palpable."