When I heard there was a tropical paradise in Florida called Peacock Beach, where hundreds of literal peacocks freely roam a neighborhood and its beach, I assumed it was the setting of a sun-soaked fantasy novel — maybe the sort where jeweled birds deliver postcards and the shoreline glitters with enchantment. But it turns out Peacock Beach is a very real place, very charming, and very much the perfect spot to discover that some fantasies do come true. I embarked on a trip to this whimsically named coastal reading nook last September, and I brought along the best selection of books to turn my stay into a full-blown reading retreat. These four unforgettable books kept me company on one of the most storybook-sounding beaches to ever actually exist.
Peacock Beach
Peacock Beach is a real slice of Florida shoreline where turquoise surf, soft white sand, and gentle waves meet a community that could double as a realm for wandering mythical birds and the humans who live in peace with them. Nestled in the Harbor Heights area of Cape Canaveral, this neighborhood includes a public beach that charms with restful stretches of sand, quiet surf, and enough space to unfurl a towel to watch the ships in the distance or lose yourself in sunlit reading.
But the real magic isn’t only in the sea breeze or tide pools; it’s right there peering at you from a rooftop, dune, or side street. The first thing you see when you arrive is the charming “Peacock Crossing” signs that caution drivers. The neighborhood is home to wild flocks of them: males with iridescent blues and greens display their beauty atop low fences, and females (peahens) roam the lawns. It’s the kind of place where you could swear you stepped into a storybook — perfect for humans who need to be reminded that sometimes, real life can feel just as magical as fiction.
The Books I Read While I Was There
Bury Me Deep by Christopher Pike
If ever there were a book that felt tailor-made for a sunny stretch of beach-y shoreline, it’s Bury Me Deep. Pike drops readers into a Hawaiian setting pulsing with sun, surf, secrets, and the kind of offshore mysteries that make you glance at every anchored boat like it’s up to something naughty. Determined to make the most of her week-long vacation with her friends, our heroine signs up for scuba lessons — fun, normal, very “vacation brochure” — until the fun turns deadly and the ocean becomes less “tropical paradise” and more “watery whodunit.” Between mysterious sightings beneath the waves, suspicious boys who seem a little too calm about nautical danger, and a killer lurking where the water gets deep, this YA thriller turns the beachy vibes into a pressure-filled scuba tank of suspense.
Hate Wrecked: A Stranded Island Romance by J. R. Rogue
If you’ve ever daydreamed about getting marooned on a deserted island with someone you absolutely can’t stand (at first), this is your catnip. This book takes the classic Second Chance trope and drops it onto an isolated tropical island, complete with survival struggles, charged banter, and the slow, simmering realization that the person you’d happily throat-punch on day one is the same person you want beside you when the storms roll in. It’s romance at its most elemental — two people, one island, zero escape routes, and enough tension to power a lighthouse.
The story begins when bodyguard Rowan Finn’s assignment goes off the rails: A yacht trip with Riley Williams (the woman who once broke his heart) ends in disaster, leaving them stranded on a remote Pacific atoll. No rescue, no civilized snacks, no contact with the rest of the world — just sand, surf, the urgent need to survive… and her. What starts as a forced alliance slowly turns combustible. Old heartbreaks surface, buried regrets stir, and the emotional undercurrent between Rowan and Riley becomes as turbulent as the waves around them. As they scavenge the island, ration food and water, and batten down for storms, they also wrestle with memories and mistrust. When they uncover human remains and a dark secret hidden in the island’s history, the plot shifts: Survival becomes a fight not just for their lives, but for the truth.
Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts
Bluff House, which sits above Whiskey Beach, is more than 300 years old, and to Eli Landon, it’s home. Eli is a Boston lawyer who’s had an intense year of public scrutiny and police investigations into the murder of his soon-to-be ex-wife. While his grandmother is recuperating elsewhere after a nasty injury, he takes sanctuary at Bluff House in her stead.
In his isolated state, one woman becomes a constant presence: Abra Walsh. She’s a woman with many jobs here at Whiskey Beach — resident housekeeper, jewelry maker, yoga instructor, and massage therapist — and helping Eli clear his name and find his way again is her newest gig. But just as they become entangled in each other’s lives, the small community gets caught in a net that stretches back for centuries, including a man intent on destroying Eli Landon once and for all.
Survival in Paradise: The True Story of Surviving a Tropical Storm and Remote Deserted Island in the Middle of the Indian Ocean by Gordon Brace
Sometimes, nothing beats nonfiction. In 1981, Gordon Brace, his wife Elisabeth, and three friends attempted to be the first to cross the Indian Ocean in a single-engine game fishing motorboat, a journey spanning 4,000 sea miles from Sri Lanka to Kenya. Things did not go as planned. This is the true story about a shipwrecked group surviving 82 days on one of the most remote and uninhabited tropical islands in the archipelago, as told by Gordon himself.
Sunsets & Endings
I hope you all find your own fantasy adventure in real life, just like I did. And when you do, remember to pack the appropriate stack of books. Happy reading!
Do you prefer to embark on your escapism through video games? Check out my article: Books To Read If You Love These AAA Video Games.
Browse our bookshelf on Bookshop.org for more curated reads from the Bookstr team.
