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A review by fringebookreviews
Sandcastle Beach by Jenny Holiday
4.0
✨If a group of elderly matchmakers were trying to set me up, I simply wouldn’t refuse.✨
I took a chance with this one because I’d loved another Jenny Holiday book and wanted to try another of hers. I really liked the premise of the meddling oldies because that’s exactly my life goal when I’m 72. However, this book just didn’t feel like a romance to me until halfway through, which in a 400 page book. I was invested in the relationship, but I got bogged down before I could truly root for the two.
Part of my problem is probably that I haven’t read the first two in the series and wasn’t in love with the main characters. Normally I enjoy guessing relationships and seeing them in the background of the other books in the series, so I did miss out on that. I also maybe missed out on the size of the town, because I got major small town vibes, but it’s gotta be bigger than I’m imagining. I just can’t see a theater being economically viable, or a grant award of that size being available.
The book was pretty long, and spanned a good chunk of time—there were “6 months later” breaks and such. The time jumps just made the book a little too lengthy and a little too slow burn for my taste. I also just don’t like the spurned-in-highschool-so-there’s-a-decade-old-grudge-that-the-other-person-has-no-clue-about trope. Seriously Ben had no clue why Maya was so angry, and it was barely even his fault. This bit reminded me of The Dating Plan, but not as all-consuming which was a relief.
I also found some repeated words that just drove me nuts. One, I have never, and I mean never, called my Converse All-Stars “Cons,” like seriously never. If I’m going to abbreviate them, it’s gotta be “Chucks.” I was just irrationally angry every time I read “Cons.” Also there were like three chapters where Maya said “hooboy” 100 times and hadn’t said it before those random chapters—the frequency was rather alarming. I do say “hooboy” now though, so who’s the real winner here?
I know I'm listing my grievances, but I did enjoy a majority of this book! I enjoyed the background characters and once the two got together, I definitely had a good time. I enjoyed the second half more than the first for that reason. Thank you to Forever for this advanced review copy! Review is honest and opinions are my own.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
I took a chance with this one because I’d loved another Jenny Holiday book and wanted to try another of hers. I really liked the premise of the meddling oldies because that’s exactly my life goal when I’m 72. However, this book just didn’t feel like a romance to me until halfway through, which in a 400 page book. I was invested in the relationship, but I got bogged down before I could truly root for the two.
Part of my problem is probably that I haven’t read the first two in the series and wasn’t in love with the main characters. Normally I enjoy guessing relationships and seeing them in the background of the other books in the series, so I did miss out on that. I also maybe missed out on the size of the town, because I got major small town vibes, but it’s gotta be bigger than I’m imagining. I just can’t see a theater being economically viable, or a grant award of that size being available.
The book was pretty long, and spanned a good chunk of time—there were “6 months later” breaks and such. The time jumps just made the book a little too lengthy and a little too slow burn for my taste. I also just don’t like the spurned-in-highschool-so-there’s-a-decade-old-grudge-that-the-other-person-has-no-clue-about trope. Seriously Ben had no clue why Maya was so angry, and it was barely even his fault. This bit reminded me of The Dating Plan, but not as all-consuming which was a relief.
I also found some repeated words that just drove me nuts. One, I have never, and I mean never, called my Converse All-Stars “Cons,” like seriously never. If I’m going to abbreviate them, it’s gotta be “Chucks.” I was just irrationally angry every time I read “Cons.” Also there were like three chapters where Maya said “hooboy” 100 times and hadn’t said it before those random chapters—the frequency was rather alarming. I do say “hooboy” now though, so who’s the real winner here?
I know I'm listing my grievances, but I did enjoy a majority of this book! I enjoyed the background characters and once the two got together, I definitely had a good time. I enjoyed the second half more than the first for that reason. Thank you to Forever for this advanced review copy! Review is honest and opinions are my own.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5