The Beach Reads Book Club by Kathryn Freeman

Book Review Jun 26, 2021

My review

4/5 stars

I was approached to read this book via NetGalley, and boy am I glad I was. The title instantly made me think of the kind of books that I take with me on holiday for lounging by the pool, and that's exactly what I got. I thought it was a lovely touch that the book club was set up to read the type of books you read at the beach and that's the type of book it ended up being - it felt very well-rounded.

It was quite a fast-paced book, with the general rule being that each chapter centred on a particular month's book club meeting, meaning that a year was covered without much effort. The pace was nicely balanced with a good level of detail and depth that meant it never felt like the story had been sacrificed for pace.

Lottie and Matt were both very likeable lead characters; I felt invested in them both from very early on. Lottie was independent and charming, while Matt was very clearly a family man with an internal struggle to overcome. The banter that existed between them from their first meeting was fun to read and helped build a natural chemistry. This chemistry, as in a lot of the books that were read by the book club, developed into some fairly steamy scenes later in the story, but they never felt cheesy, overplayed or misplaced.

Speaking of steamy scenes, Audrey's obsession with the raunchier side of the book club's chosen reads was hilarious; that combined with her "I'm old so I don't care" style of sass easily made her my favourite book club member. That said, they were all great additions to the story - each was given their own full and rounded life story to tackle in the course of the book - none of them seemed to be there simply to bulk out Lottie or Matt's story.

A nice little bonus for this book is that the chosen book club book for each month served as another recommendation for my ever-growing TBR pile. The short synopsis of each and seeing them through the eyes of the book club readers only served to intrigue me further.

All in all, I really enjoyed this quick, easy read and would recommend it to anyone looking for a light, fun book for beach (or the park, or wherever else they are choosing to relax in the sun) this summer.

*I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book blurb

When Lottie Watt is unceremoniously booted out of her uptight book club for not following the rules, she decides to throw the rulebook out the window and start her own club – one where conversation, gin and cake take precedent over actually having read the book!

The Beach Reads Book Club soon finds a home for its meetings at Books by the Bay, a charming bookshop and café owned by gorgeous, brooding Matthew Steele, and as the book club picks heat up, so too does the attraction between Matt and Lottie.

If there’s anything Lottie has learned from the romances she’s been reading, it’s that the greatest loves are the ones hardest earned.