Books Set in Hawaii
Our journey through the 50 states continues with a stop in Hawaii!
Book Club Pick – Hawaii
Aloha Hideaway Inn by Elana Johnson
What is Aloha Hideaway Inn about?
She’s got big plans for her tropical bed and breakfast, but the new high-rise resort in the bay is throwing a wrench into everything. So Stacey Stapleton does what any savvy businesswoman would do—she goes to spy on the resort stealing her business and ruining the beautiful Getaway Bay skyline.
Her undercover operation doesn’t do more than show her how flawless the Sweet Breeze Resort is—and that the owner is as handsome as he is smart. But she doesn’t like him, not one little bit.
Fisher DuPont is charming, charismatic, and he’s left no stone unturned in his fancy schmancy beach resort. And he knows Stacey came to spy on him. He’s as intrigued by her as he is attracted to her, and the spark between them crackles whenever they get close.
When a tropical storm hits the bay, she and her guests have to take refuge in the high-rise hotel she hates. She’s warmed up to the man, and the more time she spends with him – and the more she kisses him – the easier it is to admit that he’s not a monster.
Can Stacey and the Aloha Hideaway Inn survive strange summer weather, the arrival of the new resort, and falling for her enemy?
Elana Johnson on Literary Escapes Podcast
Want to know more about Elana and her books? Listen to this conversation on the Literary Escapes Podcast!
coming 6/6
More Sweet Reads Set in Hawaii
Enjoy this additional selection of books set in Hawaii, spanning cozy mystery, sweet romance, and historical fiction. Perfect for easy reading, these delightful tales promise happy, hopeful endings.
Which one will you choose for a literary escape to Hawaii?
That One Time in Hawaii by Ella Beachley
Genre: Sweet Romance
Engaged to her best friend? Check. Perfect job? Check. Dumped two days before her wedding . . .
When her fabulous life comes to a screeching halt, Natalie Reddington escapes alone on her nonrefundable honeymoon, with plans to do nothing but wallow. But before she can even get a tan in Hawaii, a kayaking trip changes everything.
Joel Thompson only wants to figure out how to be happy again after hitting rock bottom two years ago. The last thing he needs is to fall for a tourist. Especially one who is high-maintenance and leaving in ten days.
Their romance blossoms as Joel helps Natalie rediscover her passions and find herself again, but the clock is ticking down to the end of Natalie’s stay in the tropical island paradise.
Will rumors of a possible promotion entice her back to the career she loves, or will she take a risk and follow her dreams with the man who might be her forever?
Simmer Down by Sarah Echavarre Smith
Genre: Romance (note – this one is spicy with several open door scenes and some foul language)
Nikki DiMarco knew life wouldn’t be all sunshine and coconuts when she quit her dream job to help her mom serve up mouthwatering Filipino dishes to hungry beach goers, but she didn’t expect the Maui food truck scene to be so eat-or-be-eaten—or the competition to be so smoking hot.
But Tiva’s Filipina Kusina has faced bigger road bumps than the arrival of Callum James. Nikki doesn’t care how delectable the British food truck owner is—he rudely set up shop next to her coveted beach parking spot. He’s stealing her customers and fanning the flames of a public feud that makes her see sparks.
The solution? Let the upcoming Maui Food Festival decide their fate. Winner keeps the spot. Loser pounds sand. But the longer their rivalry simmers, the more Nikki starts to see a different side of Callum…a sweet, protective side. Is she brave enough to call a truce? Or will trusting Callum with her heart mean jumping from the frying pan into the fire?
(Like food truck romances? Our book of the week for Idaho also features feuding food truck owners!)
A Blind Date for the Marine by Jess Mastorakos
Genre: Sweet Romance
Blind dating for the digital age. What could go wrong?
When my best friend asks me to test his new dating app, I’m not sure it’s a good idea. After all, I’m moving out of the country in six months. What’s the point?
What I didn’t expect was to immediately hit it off with a bookish charmer on the app at the same time as someone pretty similar in real life. Two women? Why couldn’t this happen when I wasn’t about to leave?
Now that I thought about it, BookishDreamer from the app reminds me a lot of Claire from the real world… wouldn’t it be crazy if they were the same person?
Nah. What are the odds of that?
Mai Tai One On by Jill Marie Landis
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Six months ago, if anyone would have told Em Johnson she’d end up divorced, broke, and running the dilapidated Tiki Goddess Bar on the magical North Shore of Kauai she would have told them to shove a swizzle stick up their okole.
As if all that isn’t bad enough, when an obnoxious neighbor with a grudge is found dead in the Goddess luau pit, suspicion falls on Em and the rest of the Goddess staff. With the help of a quirky dance troupe of over-the-hill Hula Maidens, Em and the cast of characters must band together to find the killer and solve the mystery before the next pupu party.
Aloha Alibi by Jasmine Webb
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Most people flee to Hawaii for gorgeous weather, white-sand beaches, and cocktails at sunset. Charlotte Gibson, however, is fleeing for her life after a vengeful mobster leaves a severed finger on her doorstep as a warning. Message very much received.
That’s how Charlotte—Charlie to everyone except her mom— finds herself on Maui with six dollars to her name, living with a mother who can’t stop giving her advice on how to land herself a husband. But when a businessman is murdered and his company offers a reward to whoever finds the killer, Charlie sees an opportunity: with that kind of cash, she could afford her own place and start a new life here away from the people who want her dead. After all, how hard can hunting down a murderer be?
Teaming up with a couple of old ladies with more spunk than Betty White, Charlie is sure she’s on the right track to snag the reward money. However, the infuriating-but-smoldering-hot cop trying to keep her away from his case has other ideas. Throw in a day job at an ice cream shop, corrupt local politicians, and a best friend trying to act as the voice of reason, and Charlie has her work cut out for her.
Will she be able to find the killer, or is Charlie’s time in paradise going to go straight to hell in a handbasket?
A Song for the Stars by Ilima Todd
Genre: Historical Fiction Romance
Hawaiian Islands, 1779
As the second daughter of a royal chief, Maile will be permitted to marry for love. Her fiancé is the best navigator in Hawaii, and he taught her everything he knows—how to feel the ocean, observe the winds, read the stars, and how to love.
But when sailors from a strange place called England arrive on her island, a misunderstanding ends in battle, and Maile is suddenly widowed before she is wed.
Finding herself in the middle of the battle and fearing for her life, Maile takes John Harbottle, the wounded man who killed her fiancé, prisoner, and though originally intending to let him die, she reluctantly heals him. And in the process, she discovers the man she thought was her enemy might be her ally instead.
John has been Captain James Cook’s translator for three voyages across the Pacific. He is kind and clearly fascinated with Maile’s homeland and her people—and Maile herself. But guilt continues to drive a wedge between them: John’s guilt over the death he caused, and Maile’s guilt over the truth about what triggered the deadly battle—a secret she’s kept hidden from everyone on the island.
When Maile is tasked with teaching John how to navigate using the stars so he can sail back to England, they must also navigate the challenges of being from very different cultures. In doing so, they might also find the peace that comes when two hearts become one.
Molten Death by Leslie Karst
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Retired caterer Valerie Corbin and her wife Kristen have come to the Big Island of Hawai’i to treat themselves to a well-earned tropical vacation. After the recent loss of her brother, Valerie is in sore need of a distraction from her troubles and is looking forward to enjoying the delicious food and vibrant culture the state has to offer.
Early one morning, the couple and their friend – tattooed local boy, Isaac – set out to see an active lava flow, and Valerie is mesmerized by the shape-shifting mass of orange and red creeping over the field of black rock. Spying a boot in the distance, she strides off alone, pondering how it could have gotten there, only to realize to her horror that the boot is still attached to a leg – a leg which is slowly being engulfed by the hot lava.
Valerie’s convinced a murder has been committed – but as she’s the only witness to the now-vanished corpse, who’s going to believe her?
Determined to prove what she saw, and get justice for the unknown victim, Valerie launches her own investigation. But, thrown into a Hawaiian culture far from the luaus and tiki bars of glossy tourist magazines, she soon begins to fear she may be the next one to end up entombed in shiny black rock . . .
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