Review of BEACH VIBES by Susan Mallery

About the Book

ISBN-13:9781335402530

Publication date:03/18/2025

Pages:384

While Beth is proud of her Malibu beach shop, Surf Sandwiches, she’s even prouder of her charismatic brother Rick, who rose from foster care through surgical residency. She makes subs, he saves lives. Life takes a turn for the happy after she finds out Rick is dating her new best friend, Jana. Then Jana’s handsome brother adds even more sparkle to Beth’s days…and nights.

But when she catches Rick with another woman—like, with-with—her visions of an idyllic family future disappear in one awful instant. Either she betrays her brother, or she keeps his secret and risks losing the man she loves and her best friend.

My Thoughts

All the feels are within the pages of this wonderful story! Beth, a recent divorcee, owns a sandwich shop on the beach and needs a friend. Jana, a single mom, works in a medical office but aspires to do more with her life. When the two meet doing volunteer work together, there is an instant bond and a firm friendship begins. The story gets complicated when Jana starts dating Rick, Beth’s brother, and Beth is infatuated with Teddy, Jana’s brother. Sparks fly between both couples as the infatuation quickly turns to romance. The dilemma is that Beth knows that Rick is two-timing Jana and doesn’t know how to tell her without creating a rift in their friendship and in her relationship with Teddy. This story is one about finding love but it is mostly about loyalty, friendship, loss and finding a way to forgive in an impossible situation. It’s about moving forward, grabbing hold of dreams and reaching beyond what you think you are capable of. There are so many different layers to the story. I particularly enjoyed Beth’s mentor relationship with one of her employees Kai. Beth, who had never been encouraged to do more than run the sandwich shop, is a great mentor for Kai and ends up being a good example for him to attend college classes. The children in the story stole the show and my heart, including Jana’s young daughter Linnie and Teddy’s three motherless children. I enjoyed how the author wove a really tangled story and then showed us a masterfully written conclusion that brought all of the loose threads together. The characters are believable and relatable and I even found myself giving advice to them and wishing hard for Rick to get his well-deserved comeuppance. The plot is absorbing, well-paced and well crafted with the author’s signature humor and emotional depth. With the complex family dynamics and the appealing characters, this book was a real winner for me from beginning to end!
Disclaimer
I voluntarily received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own honest opinions.

About the Author

SUSAN MALLERY is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of novels about the relationships that shape women’s lives―family, friendship, romance. Library Journal says, “Mallery is the master of blending emotionally believable characters in realistic situations,” and readers seem to agree―40 million copies of her books have sold worldwide. Her warm, humorous stories make the world a happier place to live. She’s passionate about animal welfare, which shows in the many quirky animal characters she has created.Susan grew up in California and now lives in Seattle with her husband and adorable poodle. Visit her at SusanMallery.com.

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