Book Review: "Here Beside the Rising Tide" by Emily Jane

Happy Pub Week to this whimsical, wacky book! Thanks so much to Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for the advance copy.

“Life was a losing battle, really. Everything else out there in the vast beyond was so lifeless and empty. Mostly, a person had to look away. But there came a moment, or many moments, when a person had to extract their proverbial head from the sand and set aside their screens and remove their headphones and stand witness.”

When she was 10, Jenni and her new best friend Timmy were having an incredible summer on Pearl Island. They spent countless hours on the beach and in the water, setting off fireworks, and simply enjoying the freedom of not having any responsibility. They even helped a strange sea creature make its way back to the ocean. But suddenly, Timmy disappeared one day when they were in the water, and no one knew what happened.

Now, at 40, Jenn is the bestselling author of a smutty romance/action series. She’s also in the midst of a divorce from her self-help-book-addicted husband, with their two children caught in the crossfire. Her next book is overdue and she needs to escape, so she rents a beach house on Pearl Island for the summer, hoping she can keep her soon-to-be-ex at bay.

One night a familiar-looking boy comes out of the water. He says his name is Timmy, and he needs Jenn’s help to save the world. And things get totally crazy: shark attacks, sea monsters, even the return of the adorable sea creatures from their youth. At the same time, Jenn is attracted to a sexy contractor while trying to finish her books.

This is part sci-fi, part coming of age novel. It’s definitely all over the place, but it has such an enormous heart. I felt like it ran a bit longer than it needed to—there were lots of excerpts from Jenni's books and her husband’s self-help books that I could’ve done without. But Emily Jane drew me in with her storytelling for sure.

Book Review: "Holiday Tides" by Laura Langa

I was looking for a little bit of joy to brighten up the craziness of the last week. And then I found it: an enemies to lovers, second chance holiday romance? In a beach town? Ho Ho Ho, indeed!!

It’s been a long time since Summer was back in Wilks Beach, but it’s finally her turn to live in her grandmother’s cottage—being the youngest of six kids means you have to wait a while. It’s not long before she discovers that Nick, her high school rival, is back in town, too. He made her teenage years miserable, and Summer is determined not to let his handsome charm win her over.

Nick is thrilled to see Summer, and is saddened that the feeling is far from mutual. But seeing as he works for his adopted brother’s renovation company, and Summer’s cottage is old and in desperate need of repair, Nick is more than happy to help her out. And then she’ll owe him.

When they graduated high school, they were both headed to college and then medical school. Summer is a pediatrician now, but why is Nick back in town working construction? Why does he smell so darn good? And why is he all she thinks about, although the memories of their rivalry still stick in her craw?

Ironically, Summer loves Christmas more than anyone. Can her first Christmas back in Wilks Beach be made holly jolly by the handsome surfer in a Santa wetsuit? And are his feelings for real this time?

This was all kinds of adorable. I’m a sucker for banter, and this book has it at full-strength. I really loved the setting and the characters, and I’ll be waiting for Laura Langa’s first full-length Wilks Beach romance this summer!

Book Review: "Book of the Month" by Jennifer Probst

This was a fun summer read as the season ends, meteorologically, at least. My thanks to Jennifer Probst, Get Red PR Books, and Blue Box Press for the complimentary advance copy.

Aspen’s first novel was an overnight success. But after writing two more books, all readers can still talk about is her first. Is she washed up already? Destined to be a one-book wonder?

What made her first book so good and so meaningful was that it was based on her own heartbreak and anguish and rage. But since she has barely dated since the breakup that inspired her to write, her subsequent books haven’t connected emotionally with her readers. She needs to write another hit. Fast.

Hoping a change of scenery will help, she travels to the Outer Banks to stay with her sister for the summer. Aspen believes that if she can find a man to romance her and then break her heart, she’ll tap into her literary mojo once again. And she finds the perfect man: Brick Babel, a handsome local with a reputation for hot sex and then emotional destruction. (There’s even a support group for women dealing with the aftereffects of dating him.)

Despite the fact that everyone—including her sister—warns her about Brick, she’s determined. It doesn’t help that he rejects her every advance. But when she offers him money to save the tour business he inherited, in exchange for some love and heartbreak, he reluctantly agrees. Yet when the sparks start flying for real, it becomes more difficult to distinguish truth from fiction.

I love fake dating romances, so this hit the spot. I didn’t always love Aspen’s character, but Brick and the supporting characters were so good, even Dug the dog. Crazily enough, I’ve yet to read any other of Jennifer Probst’s books, so I’m ready for more.

The book publishes 10/22.

Book Review: "Seven Summer Weekends" by Jane L. Rosen

“It only takes one decision to change the entire direction of your life.”

When Addison’s career at a NYC advertising agency implodes on a Zoom call, and the fallout becomes quite public, she doesn’t know what’s next. But then she finds out that her aunt—whom she hasn’t seen in a number of years—has left Addison her house on Fire Island, which comes with an artist’s studio and a guest house.

While the idea of a beach house is appealing, for practical Addison, it’s not really realistic. She decides to spend the summer there and make the decision whether to sell the property, which could help her buy an apartment in the city. When she arrives, she’s a little overwhelmed but she feels freer for the first time in a long while.

Her aunt had invited people to stay in the guest house, even though she knew she was dying. The visitors help Addison get to know her aunt a bit better, and understand why she left the house to her. Her aunt and her parents stopped speaking to one another a long time ago: what caused that rift?

As Addison falls in love with the island and her neighbors, she’s also dealing with her handsome next-door neighbor. They’re attracted to one another, but his moods are so unpredictable, she can’t figure out what to do with him. (She loves his dog, though.)

This book really made me smile, and there are some emotional parts that hit home for me as well. It’s funny, I don’t love summer weather, but I sure do love summer books, and this one was great.

Book Review: "Sandwich" by Catherine Newman

In case you’re wondering, this book is not about sandwiches (although the characters do eat a bunch of them). Am I craving a sandwich now? Yes. Yes I am.

There’s something about a family vacation. Rocky’s family has been going to Cape Cod every summer for two decades, and now that her kids are grown, she’s looking forward to spending time with them. They stay in the same rental cottage every year, and they all have so many memories—laughs, triumphs, tears, tragedies—through the years.

Rocky and her husband, Neil, are part of the sandwich generation, halfway between their adult children and their aging parents. They truly love each other, but lately their relationship has been experiencing some friction, in part because of Rocky’s menopause-related mood swings, and partly because of Neil’s ability to wall himself off from emotional or stressful situations.

When a secret is revealed to Rocky, it triggers memories of a particularly sad time in her life, memories which she has borne alone. That is part of the tension she feels toward Neil, but if she didn’t share, how could he have known?

This is a quiet, character-driven book that is so full of funny and emotional moments. It draws so much of its power from not only the beach trips, the conversations, the random meals, but also the glimpses of how the passage of time affects each of us. I really thought this was beautifully written.

“This is how it is to love somebody. You tell them the truth. You lie a little. And sometimes you don’t say anything at all.”

Book Review: "Same Time Next Summer" by Annabel Monaghan

Growing up, Sam used to spend every summer at her family’s Long Island beach house. It was an idyllic time—she learned to surf, and she fell in love for the first time with Wyatt, whose family lived next door. Wyatt and Sam spent nearly every minute together, until a discovery changed everything and he broke her heart.

Thirteen years later, the beach hasn’t been much of a refuge for Sam, but she comes to visit with her fiancé, Jack, to look at a possible wedding venue. Her life is much more organized and together now, as Jack, a handsome doctor, thrives on routines. She tries not to be thrown when she learns that Wyatt is in town, too, but he’s still a significant part of her family despite all that happened in the past.

While she tries to focus on her future, Sam keeps getting stuck in the past, since not much has changed. Wyatt still plays guitar in the treehouse, and still makes her heart race. She can’t help but relive the memories—the good and bad.

The book alternates between past and present, switching narration between Sam and Wyatt. It’s a familiar story with a few twists, and Monaghan’s writing is evocative and emotional. In a theme that has been quite familiar for me this year, I absolutely loved Monaghan's first book, Nora Goes Off Script, so my expectations for this book were very high. And while I enjoyed it, I just felt as if it moved really slowly as both the past and present storylines unfolded.

Book Review: "The Beach Trap" by Ali Brady

Romance, family drama, house renovations, and a beautiful beach setting—could you ask for more? If this sounds up your alley, check out The Beach Trap.

Kat and Blake became inseparable best friends at camp the summer they were 12 years old. But as the summer ends they make a shocking discovery: they’re half-sisters, and Blake hasn’t seen their father in years. Devastated by this betrayal, Kat breaks off all contact with Blake.

Fifteen years later, their father dies and leaves both of them the family’s beach house in Destin, Florida. Blake wants to sell it as soon as possible because she needs the money to care for her grandfather, but Kat wants to hang onto the place that held so many memories for her.

The house is run down, so the sisters—in a rare moment of agreement—decide that they will renovate it and at the end of the summer, Kat will buy Blake out. But while Blake does most of the work, Kat, a popular social media influencer, wants complete creative control, which causes more friction between the former friends.

Meanwhile, both embark on summer romances, although Blake finds a man with family secrets of his own. Can the happiness they’ve found last more than the summer? Will the sisters be able to find their way through their past resentments and hurt in order to rebuild their relationship? And what will happen to the house?

This was such an enjoyable read. It had everything I love in a book—even an adorable dog—and I was immersed from start to finish. It’s definitely a bit steamy, but it’s also poignant, funny, and sweet.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the advance copy in exchange for an unbiased review!

Book Review: "Sunset Beach" by Mary Kay Andrews

Sunset Beach has a little family drama, a little unsolved mystery, a little romance, and a beach setting. Not bad, eh?

Drue has had a bad run of luck. She was about to turn pro as a kiteboarder when a knee injury ended things for her. Her mother just died, leaving her broke and homeless, and then her estranged father turns up at her mother’s funeral.

Her father comes bearing a job offer at his law firm and news that she has inherited her grandparents’ condo on Sunset Beach. The last thing she wants to do is take a handout from her father but she’ll need money to rehab the condo, which has seen years of neglect.

Then she discovers her father’s new wife—his much younger new wife—is her former best friend turned worst enemy. And she’s the law firm’s office manager to boot. She wants to make Drue’s life miserable enough so she’ll quit, but Drue refuses to give her the satisfaction.

When Drue learns of a case the firm was handling, in which a young woman who was working as a hotel housekeeper was murdered, and thinks it was settled unfairly to the victim’s family, she decides to do some digging on her own. And when she finds what appears to be the official police files of a decades-old missing persons case in the condo’s attic, she can’t resist looking into that as well. But will she discover her father was at fault in either of these? Does this amateur investigative work put her in danger?

I’ll admit I thought was going to be a lighthearted, beach-related romp, but that’s what I get for reading a book without seeing what it’s about! I enjoyed this, though; obviously you have to suspend your disbelief when you have a neophyte investigating cases, but Mary Kay Andrews’ writing had a relaxed, compelling vibe and she threw in some good twists and turns.

Sunset Beach was an enjoyable read which gave me the beachy feel without tracking sand in the house!!