Reviews

The Beach Reads Book Club by Kathryn Freeman

oliviasbookishworld's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

This is a book club I want to join! Good friends, lots of laughs, and good books. I don't want a book that will make me cry or make me think too hard. I am all about reading fun, entertaining books with HEA endings.

This book doesn't disappoint. It was entertaining, thoughtful, sweet, had a great group of friends and had the HEA ending that is a must in all the books I read.

_gayatri's review against another edition

Go to review page

hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

codym's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

this was nothing like i had expected but it was so good. at the start i was a bit iffy but i loved how it ended and i loved both of the characters and how they ended up. honestly i have no complaints

megkarey's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Couldn't put it down 

cosiedupwithabook's review against another edition

Go to review page

lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

booksandbeautifulthings18's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny hopeful reflective relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

jamice's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

This was a fun read. I really liked the characters in the book club and the friendships that were formed between all the women and Matt and his family over the year. The romance between Matt and Lottie was a slow burn and kind of took a back seat at times, but I didn’t mind, because I loved the vibe of the people in the book club. I also kind of wish I had a book club in real life that serves alcohol and desert. Lol

mc7196's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

The concept and structure of the book was really interesting and engaging, unfortunately, I found the central relationship to be quite lackluster. When her book club gets too serious and uptight for her, Lottie decides to form her own club focusing on fun rom coms, or 'beach reads.' Lottie decides to run the book club at a small indie book store. The book store's new owner is a tall, dark, and handsome mans who just moved to this coastal area with his family to run the store together.

I really enjoyed the concept, as well as how the book started off building upon each book club read. The chapters would start off with the club's current book, and their discussion on it before flowing into more plot. I think the author could have integrated it more into the book though. Not every chapter started off with a book, and especially towards the later half, the plot started diverging from the book club structure. I found this to be a missed opportunity where the author could talk about each club read and tie it into the plot with lessons learned, or parallel plots, or something along those lines.

My biggest complaint with this book was that I found there to be no chemistry between Lottie and Matt. Their conversations are e x t r e m e l y awkward, and instead of the spark being shown through their actions/dialogues, we're simply just told they have a literal physical spark-- they feel an electric zap when they touch. But I just found their entire dynamic to be really dry and rife with miscommunication. The book emphasized how well Matt was able to understand her, and yes, maybe on a fundamental personality level, but most of their interactions were Matt and Lottie misinterpreting each others actions and taking the completely wrong message away?? It just seemed like the two were not on the same wavelength at all.

On another note, this book has made me realize that my type is DEFINITELY confident guys. Matt's lack of confidence and his constant belief that he's constantly disappointing others was just too angsty for me. His relationship with his family was also really confusing. I didn't really get why there was tension, and it definitely felt like some arbitrary roadblock put by the author to show 'character development.'

Additionally, Henry is such a dick I don't get why Lottie let him trample over her and why she / other people thought she would even entertain the thought of him?

I think this book had a lot of potential to become a fun quick read, but unfortunately, it just fell very flat for me.
--
Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

elissa919's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

shiannefouts's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

2.5 stars, maybe. Too many mismatched parts, and the issues between Matt and his family seemed overwrought and unimaginative.