Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley books for an ARC. The Beach Trap is available on June 14, 2022.
Even though I am a new self-proclaimed fan of romance, I find that I am still holding on to my old biases, so I am actively making an effort to try new things. This time last year I would have passed on this premise, but after falling for romance, and discovering that I am a Berkley Books superfan, The Beach Trap was an instant request for me.
Recap:
In this dual perspective novel, Kat and Blake are sisters, but they don't meet for the first time until they both accidentally end up at the same summer camp. They become instant best friends, but tragedy strikes Kat's family and she must leave camp early. The truth about Kat and Blake are revealed and their relationship was never the same since. 15 years later Kat and Blake must face each other for the first time to handle a beach house inheritance. Now, they must learn to work together, and in the process they might even learn to be sisters.
Thoughts:
- This book is 70% about the relationship between Kat and Blake, and 30% about their summer romances. If you are looking for a straight romance this is not the book for you. But if you enjoy a good book about what it means to be family, with some romance thrown in then you will love this book.
- This is a fast read. If you enjoy Emily Henry, or other Berkley Books then you will enjoy this book.
- I don't have siblings, so I can't speak a lot on whether or not the relationship between Kat and Blake are accurate. But, I can say that it was fun reading their interactions and their growth.
-The romances in the story were sweet, but there was not a lot of depth to them (which makes sense since that isn't the focus here).
- I preferred Blake's point of view chapters over Kat's. I felt like her storyline and her romance made the most sense. Blake is the "other" daughter, she didn't grow up with the money or connections that Kat did. Kat is an influencer who cares very much about her image. I hoped that there would be more to Kat underneath the perfect image she always tried to portray, but that didn't come until her character developed towards the late middle to end. There were moments where Kat said really mean and awful things to Blake. It was hard to support her when she didn't have any redeemable characteristics.
-Overall, fans of romance, sisters, and beaches will enjoy this book.
4 stars
This looks cool! Like The Parent Trap, except there's a beach house and romanced the sisters are older and there's no trap of parents . . . so not like The Parent Trap, never mind.