Amanda Eyre Ward is whisking readers away to sparkling Mediterranean waters and ivory cliffs this summer. Once there, though, her characters’ lives aren’t all monument tours and seaside relaxation. “In the summer I like to read complicated books – set in Greece,” laughs Ward.
In the far-flung destinations of her 2020 novel The Jetsetters and this year’s Arrivals and Departures, the Perkins family navigates challenges that hit close to home. Ward finds Charlotte, Lee, Cord, and Regan a decade older than they were on The Jettsetters’ final page.
“I had left them in a precariously hopeful place,” she recalls. Ward hadn’t planned on seeing these characters through their next chapters, but as she picked up their threads again, their deeply woven pasts took her writing down new paths. Still hopeful but still stumbling, this dysfunctional but loving family reemerges in a standalone story that sees them supporting each other through scams, sobriety, and the spotlight of reality TV.
“I always, for better or worse, see everything like a tourist,” the author says. Whether her stories take place in Austin, in Athens, or on the deck of a cruise ship, Ward’s world traveler perspective peeks through in her unexpected observations and faithful inquisitiveness. Arrivals and Departures follows the troubled cast through dream travel destinations with a humor and curiosity that doesn’t ignore underlying darkness. Under a picturesque summer sun, their messy lives ask honest questions about love. “I love books that portray how difficult it is to get to the light, but it’s possible,” the author says.
Where They Read: Barton Springs
“I quickly cool off, and then go back to my towel that I try to get in the shade with a stack of books,” Ward says. “I try not to bring my phone to the springs, and I’m unreachable and happy as can be.”
What to Read Next
If you’re looking for a beach-bag grab of lighthearted romance set in a coastal destination, Ward recommends Just Friends by local BookTok phenom Haley Pham, which came out this March.
Amanda Eyre Ward celebrates the release of Arrivals and Departures on June 28 at First Light Books.
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This article appears in June 26 • 2026.
