We’re celebrating a lot of books this week, with 5 great summer fiction reads today, and 5 more great reads on Thursday. In honor of the swiftly-approaching summer, we want to applaud the following books for their ability to draw us to new worlds while we thaw out from the winter in our own.

Here are 5 River North-recommended summer reads for 2012:

1. End of the Trail, by Vickie McDonough
   If you haven’t read the Texas Trails series yet, hop on it! The final book comes out in June and we are so excited for it. (If you like book giveaways, you should be too. Keep an eye on our Facebook page to hear more about how you could win a copy when the book releases in June.)

2. Wedded to War, by Jocelyn Green
   Jocelyn has done a marvelous job ministering to military wives through her writing (Faith Deployed and Faith Deployed Again) and her website, www.faithdeployed.com. In July, she’ll write about women interacting with war again, but this woman is Charlotte Waverly and the war is the American Civil War. Learn more about the research Jocelyn has done in her monthly posts leading up to the book’s release, such as Women’s Fashion During the Civil War.
3. Pearl in the Sand, by Tessa Afshar
   If you’ve read this already, then you know that Tessa’s first book does an amazing job of captivating us with Rahab’s untold story, just as Tessa does an amazing job captivating us with anything she writes. (Have you seen her Facebook posts?)
4. Harvest of Rubies, also by Tessa Afshar
   You will probably be itching for Tessa’s next book within a few minutes of finishing Pearl in the Sand. Lucky for all of us, Harvest of Rubies comes out just in time for summer reading. Releasing in May 2012, Harvest tells the story of a skilled scribe working in the Persian court whose only limitation is her gender. As a woman, she earns a unique place through her intelligence, but one she can only hold onto for so long. Tessa will be on the blog next week telling us some of the behind-the-scenes of Harvest of Rubies.
5. My Hands Came Away Red, by Lisa McKay
   When facing several sticky summer months with few things more interesting squirrels, s’mores, and backyard sprinklers, there is something wonderful about entering a book that surrounds you with snakes, monkeys, and a horizon view that looks towards Australia. Lisa’s book follows eighteen-year-old Cori through remote Indonesia on an adventure that isn’t anything like Cori expected. If you’re looking for adventurous place to read someday (plus a few island pictures to inspire your view of this book!), check out our post on some of our favorite vacation reading spots.

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