Member Reviews
Thank you Social Butterfly PR, and Jennifer Probst for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Three sisters run their own wedding business, Sunshine Bridal. One of the sisters, Avery, is contacted by her high school best friend to be her wedding planner. Even though Avery is swamped with work, she agrees to be her wedding planner. Avery is so excited to spend the summer with her best friend. That is until she shows up with her brother, Carter, in tow. The dislike between the two seems mutual. Carter is determined to one up Avery on everything. Are they going to survive the summer together working on Ally’s wedding?
Oh my goodness, this book was so good! I was immediately hooked as soon as I started reading it! I love a good enemies to lovers romance, and I love books with wedding vibes. That characters were funny, relatable, witty, and the banter was so fun! I also loved the dual POV between Avery and Carter. I would highly recommend this one!
❤️❤️❤️❤️ out of 5
I love JP and should have trusted earlier that she would be able to shake up my contemporary blues! The hero was sex on legs for me- he loved kids and was good for them, is there anything sexier?
Our heroine is a wedding planner and is asked by her best friend from college to plan her wedding in only a couple of months. The bride’s brother who raised her, firmly disapproved of our heroine and her wild college ways and being the control freak that he is insists on overseeing all aspects of the wedding planning.
First off I loved the hero! A child lover, a little bit stern and a control freak all wrapped up in a hot but nerdy package- someone pass me a fan! The heroine is a workaholic (I can totally relate) and the hero challenges her at every point which was exactly what she needed! The only issue I had with this was an issue around the timeline but otherwise I loved it!
Somehow Love on Beach Avenue is the first book I've read written by Jennifer Probst, but it definitely won't be the last. I love a good enemies-to-lovers story, and Carter and Avery's story hit all my happy spots.
Avery Sunshine, along with her sisters Taylor and Bella, run their family business Sunshine Bridal. Sunshine Bridal is a thriving wedding business and they are booked solid when Avery agrees to take on her BFF Ally's wedding with only a few months until the wedding. As Ally is moving to Cape May for the summer to be with Avery every step of the way, Avery is ready and willing to take on the wedding on her own. However, when Ally gets called away early, Avery must work with Ally's older brother Carter to make all of Ally's dreams come true for her wedding day.
Carter Ross still remembers Avery as the friend who got Ally in trouble when they were in college and really doesn't seem to want to let her forget it when they first see each other again. I didn't love Carter when we first met him. Rather than come in with an open mind after not seeing Avery for years, he kept giving her a hard time at first, and made her life harder for too long. He also seemed to not believe in love when we first met him. However, when he was around his sister, Avery's niece Zoe and his dog Lucy, he was completely different. I started changing my mind about Carter the more time he spent with Avery. He seemed to become softer and a bit more open with each passing day.
I really enjoyed seeing Carter change as the story progressed. I really felt like their early bickering was almost their form or courting. They really did have pretty amazing chemistry even when they weren't getting along at first. I liked they had more of a slow burn before getting together, especially since there was so much animosity between them in the beginning. I had all the happy feels the more time spent with Carter and Avery as a couple. I totally fell for them as a couple, even knowing they had some challenges ahead based upon their different thoughts on relationships. I had all the happy sighs by the time I finished reading Love on Beach Avenue.
Love on Beach Avenue was a wonderful start to this new series from Jennifer Probst. I can't wait to read both Bella's and Taylor's stories in the future. I really enjoyed this first book and can't wait to read more books by Ms. Probst.
Rating: 4 Stars (B+)
The first book in a new series is always a shot in the dark. Wedding planner romance? I wasn't quite sure if it would be too cheesy. I was definitely surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Avery and her sisters run their family wedding planning business and they're damned good at it. Her best friend, Ally, from college is getting married and has asked Avery to take her own as a client. She agrees with no hesitation but what she doesn't know is that the wedding planning comes with Ally's super protective, a$$h*le of an older brother, Carter. He's taken it upon himself to help pull off the wedding of Ally's dreams and he won't let anyone stand in the way--including Avery. He fights her at every turn on everything. I actually had no clue how it would even be possible for any sort of attraction to come up between Avery and Carter because the intense loathing between them was SO strong. Jennifer Probst pulls it off, though, and damn are those intense feelings of irritation and loathing turned around into intense feelings of attraction and desire. What a fiery start to a new series. Absolutely loved it!
I have enjoyed every Jennifer Probst book I’ve read, so when I was offered an opportunity to read Love on Beach Avenue, I figured it was a no brainer. Unfortunately, I didn’t read the blurb, which might have made me hesitate. I am not a fan of romances involving wedding planners. However, I am sure many of you are far more romantic than I am and love wedding planners romances.
The romance between Avery and Carter took a very long time to get going. The enemies to lovers trope here rendered both characters extremely unappealing for at least a fifth of the novel. Their childish and petty behavior seemed like it would take a long time to redeem. As the novel went on, Probst made them likable, showed their vulnerabilities, and did make me feel better about them. Their romance and push-and-pull went on far too long for me. In fact, I think Love on Beach Avenue was too long, period.
As always, Probst’s writing is good. I loved the setting of beachtown Cape May and also loved Lucy the Yorkie. While I might give the next book in the series a pass because middle sister, Bella, didn’t seem very intriguing, I am looking forward to prickly, quirky artist sister, Taylor’s story. Although it would be cool if we didn’t already know who the romance would be with.
Love on Beach Avenue is definitely for Jennifer Probst fans, especially if you enjoy romances about wedding planners.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
You would think with the last name Sunshine everything would be well sunshine. Jennifer Probst, however has a devious, clever and oh so funny way of showing us three sisters managing a wedding planning business showing their true colors. We have first Avery, the eldest of the sisters who in some ways is the mama bear among this trio. On the outside she is perky, funny, serious but is lacking that feel of happiness she see's in her clients. Planning weddings are her thing but when it comes to her best friend's brother she is starting to doubt herself in everything she does. Now Carter as MOH is a wonderful concept and boy the way Jennifer Probst creates him is funny. One minute he is serious, an expert at all wedding things and then the next he is well flustered when it comes to feelings towards Avery. These two when they are together is comedy all the way but man once they let go of all the planning and just learn to have fun is where they are awesome. All in all being the first book in this wonderfull series have to say it was great. Cannot wait to see what Jennifer Probst does with Taylor and Bella adding little Zoe was a great spoonful of fun. Loved it.
"I received an eBook copy from the publisher for the purpose of an honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own."
5 Can They Find Love With Each Other Stars!!
I’m a huge fan of Ms. Probst and if it has her name on it, I’m going to read it. So when I read the blurb for this first book in her new series, it struck a chord with me. It’s enemies to lovers, sisters, on the Jersey Shore and it’s about wedding planning…one of my secret job wishes!
Avery and Carter have known each other for years with his little sister Ally is her BFF. The only problem when Carter is determined to give his sister the best wedding ever is that these two do not get a long…and that’s putting it mildly so imagine a hell of their own making being forced together for days and hours at a time.
And even as much as Carter may not trust Avery to give Ally the wedding of her dreams, as they work through the plans, there are very heated exchanges, but I could see little changes within Carter the closer they got to the big day. Carter went into this planning with the memories of who Avery was when she was younger…what he didn’t count on his how she’s changed both internally and externally! They’re both strong headed too so there’s some definite moments that I was sure someone was going to hit somebody!
Leave it to Ms. Probst to fill this book moments of banter that had me chuckling, moments that made me want to go to the Shore and just swooning when Carter and Avery got out of their own way! I loved the way Avery and her sisters, along with Gabe, ran a business that made dreams come true…even if some of the couples included a true “bridezilla!”
This is a perfect start to a new series and I cannot wait for the next book!
Love on Beach Avenue est le tout premier tome de la saga Sunshine Sisters et j'ai déjà hâte de découvrir les histoires de Bella et Taylor. Jennifer Probst nous offre une romance comme je les aime avec deux héros qui vont se détester, se chamailler et pourquoi pas s'aimer. C'est une romance fraîche qui vous donne le sourire et qui vous fait passer un bon moment de lecture.
Avery Sunshine ne vit que pour son travail à Sunshine Bridal. Organiser des mariages , c'est toute sa vie et si elle travaille avec ses soeurs Bella et Taylor mais aussi son assistant Gabe, il est évident qu'elle passe sa vie à organiser les plus beaux jours de leur vie pour des mariages. Elle sait gérer l'urgence et nous le verrons dans de nombreux mariage. Les incidents ou les troubles de dernière minute ne lui posent absolument pas problème mais devoir faire face au témoin de sa meilleure amie Ally ne sera pas de tout repos. D'autant plus qu'ils se connaissent et qu'elle a été sévèrement jugée pour des erreurs de jeunesses. Elle n'est plus cette jeune femme insouciante et maintenir son entreprise à flots est sa priorité. Elle n'a aucune vie sociale car elle n'a aucun moment de répit et donc sa vie amoureuse est aux abonnés absents. J'ai aimé ce personnage car sous les apparences , on sent qu'elle ne veut qu'une chose: trouver le grand amour et vivre un bonheur à deux.
Ce n'est pas avec Carter qu'elle pourra espérer souffler un peu car à chaque proposition faite à Ally, il intervient et botte en touche. Il va clairement lui taper sur les nerfs mais notre héroïne gardera toujours en tête que tout cela est pour que sa meilleure amie ait son mariage parfait. Un jeu va donc s'installer entre nos deux héros et ce dernier va engendrer des tensions encore plus intenses car Ally va rejoindre Jason, son futur mari , pour des problèmes familiaux. Le doute va donc peu à peu s'immiscer dans l'esprit de notre héroïne car les piques de Carter pourraient avoir leur part de vérité. Avery est une professionnelle mais elle sait se faire apprécier de tous et les commerçants avec qui elle travaille n'ont que des éloges à offrir à son sujet. Ces tensions cacheraient elles autre chose? Et si nos héros succombaient? Quel risque prendraient ils?
Carter Ross a endossé les responsabilités de grand frère à un très jeune âge . Il a toujours fait en sorte que sa soeur réussisse sur tous les terrains et c'est pour cela qu'il est très protecteur à son égard. Il n'a pas voulu qu'elle fasse des erreurs adolescentes qui auraient pu avoir des répercussions terribles plus tard et c'est sans doute pour cela qu'il a jugé durement notre héroïne. Ce n'est pas quelqu'un qui croit en l'amour et pourtant son amour pour sa soeur est incommensurable. Il ferait tout pour elle même accepter ce mariage rapide avec Jason. Il ne doute pas de l'amour que ce dernier porte à sa soeur et il mettra tout en oeuvre pour qu'elle soit heureuse. On va donc se demander à quel jeu il joue avec Avery car ses propos seront parfois blessants. Il a sans aucun doute gardé un image erronée de celle qui est devenue une organisatrice hors pair. Il ne montre jamais ses émotions mais on va comprendre plus tard pourquoi. On espère simplement qu'il n'ira pas trop loin car il pourrait faire du mal à quelqu'un de bien.
Bref, je me suis régalée avec cette romance où nous retrouvons le scénario classique de personnages qui se détestent dans un premier temps . On va donc s'asseoir bien confortablement pour se délecter de cette comédie romantique qui saura nous charmer, nous donner le sourire, nous faire rêver et nous attendrir et comme le dira un de nos héros "L'amour est la liberté ultime. Il vous pousse à donner le meilleur de vous même, vous met au défi dans les pires situations, et remet en cause votre force. Mais il vous offre la plus belle des récompenses car les risques sont les plus élevés".
j'ai trouvé l'intrigue vraiment très agréable, un moment hors du temps avec Avery et Carter, ils ne nous laissent jamais souffler et on se prend très rapidement au jeu de leurs paris pour savoir qui va avoir raison. Carter connait bien sa sœur et ce qu'elle veut pour son mariage, Avery sait organiser tout ça d'une main de maitre et inévitablement ils ne vont pas toujours être d'accord. Les mots coulent facilement et on ne peut que sourire en les voyant se battre mais surtout se rapprocher inexorablement. Une très chouette romance qui nous met en joie !
A lighthearted fun enemies to reluctant friends to lovers romance that was funny, sad and feel-good with a happily-ever-after full of promise and love. Planing her bestfriends wedding should not have to include pandering to her brother that hates her and seems to want to do her job for her, better even than she does it. Rolling over though is not part of her make up and she will plan the perfect wedding despite his interference. Falling for him was not on the agenda! Hoping he can open up to love and giving her his heart is going to be an uphill battle and she may not come out on top. Five star read for me ❤
Carter & Avery aren't off to a great start, but this romance quickly heats up as Avery's wedding planning business is tasked with the wedding of Carter's sister.
Carter doesn't trust in Avery's ability to pull the event off - his college memories of her don't hold much promise- and Avery is determined to deliver in spades.
The pull between the two is back and forth, but when they finally get out of their own way, it's well worth it.
I love this beginning to The Sunshine Sisters and am looking forward to Book 2!
I received an ARC via NetGalley and am delighted to leave this review.
Avery Sunshine and her sisters run a business together call Sunshine Bridal. With wedding season approaching they are gearing up for the busiest time of the year. When Avery's best friend springs a summer wedding on her and asks her to plan it for her, she can't help but say yes. When she finds out that Ally's brother is coming and helping with the wedding planning she is not happy. He has never liked Avery.
With the wedding in a couple of months there is no time for problems, but Carter questions every one of her suggestions. Ally has to head back to Texas due to a family emergency and leaves Carter in Cape May to help Avery. Tempers flare between the two over all decisions. Both are shocked when a spark flickers between them.
Carter does not believe in love and Avery is looking for forever. Will Carter be able to put secrets from his past and open his heart.
*** Advanced copy provided in exchange for an honest review. ***
*I received an ARC from netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.**
Avery and her sisters own a successful wedding planning business on the Jersey Shore. When Avery's best friend Ally decides to get married, who else would she pick to coordinate her wedding ? This ensures that Ally's PITA older brother, Carter is going to be underfoot.
Enemies to Lovers is my favorite trope. It's a slippery slope because you run the risk of making one of the characters enough of an insufferable ass as to become unlikable. That's what happened to me with Carter. I really wanted to be patient with this character, knowing what he had gone through. I don't know if I'm getting old, but I just couldn't get into him. He refused to be vulnerable throughout the book, he denied his feelings, he was only nice to his dog. Sigh.
I want to see what's going to happen with the other books to determine how I feel about te whole series, but this one wasn't a favorite.
Avery’s best friend from college, Ally is getting married and has hired Avery to plan her wedding. Carter, who is Ally’s brother and Man Of Honor happens to be the bane of Avery’s existence. I mean what could go wrong? Love On Beach Avenue (The Sunshine Sisters #1) was such a charming and entertaining enemies to lovers romance. And what a fantastic start to this series and I’m truly looking forward to reading the next two books about Avery’s sisters, Bella and Taylor.
Love On Beach Avenue was one of those books that had those all around feel good moments that I adore. I loved that it was set in a quaint, relaxing beach town called Cape May which I seriously wish that I could escape to. Carter and Avery had great chemistry, and I really enjoyed their push and pull and hysterical banter. And after all the pent up sexual tension, I couldn’t wait for these two to get it on and it was definitely worth the wait! Although Carter was confident and arrogant at times, there was also a sweet and tender side to him. That along with his Clark Kent features, made him so sexy and irresistible. And Avery with her smart, talented, sophisticated and tenacious personality, was the perfect woman for him.
The storyline was engaging, filled with a lot depth and not only had excellent main characters but the secondary characters shined as well. Love On Beach Avenue was a relaxing, light hearted and wonderful must read five star book!!
Love, man do we need lots of that now! This book brought me the beach and a huge dose of Happily Ever After’s. Wedding planning is stressful but the end results in a day of beautiful memories for the future, so yeah a book filled with the planning of HEA’s.
Now the characters that Jennifer has given us are both head strong and passionate. Both Avery and Carter demand to be heard and take no short cuts to get what they want, which gives us a thoroughly entertaining and romantic book. Their banter their passion for being right and fighting what is a steamy connection, will shine a light in your heart. They bring the beach to you!
Love on Beach Avenue is book and leaves you with and inkling of what is to come next in the series, hooking you instantly. The Sunshine sisters and Beach Avenue are going to rule our hearts for a while to come. A hit for 2020!
Carter, the hero, was quite the contrary, controlling, used to getting his way type of guy. At least when it came to interacting with Avery, his baby sister’s college bestie, who she’s hired to plan her upcoming nuptials. She seems to push all his emotional elevator buttons at the same time without even trying. These two war with words so much you have to wonder if any sharp objects should ever be left in the same room with them. Honestly, they could come off rather childish, immature, and petty with the manner and how often they always were trying to outdo each other. Let’s just say, I’d like to have given them both some time out in a corner facing the wall somewhere, especially Carter, the provoker most of the time. Not surprisingly, we learn some past history and circumstances between this party of three that sheds light and perspective in this enemies to in love story line.
Avery always seems to come up with the perfect game plan when it comes to weddings. She’s got a knack, connections, and a posse of two other sisters plus a handsome assistant to pull off every itty bitty detail and nightmare scenario that might pop up. She doesn’t have time to breathe yet still hopes to find her dreamboat man one day and set sail for her own HEA. Carter, of course, couldn’t have been more inclined never to say I do. Hence, the inevitable relationship angst. But you know what they say about never...Never say never, my fellow romance book loving friends.
It is likely safe to assume the other two sisters will be featured in upcoming sequels. Bella’s story should be a good one. Single mom with a tragic loss, yet love is patiently waiting in the wings with a handsome, young, dapper gentleman. The other hot tempered, wild child sis has some groveling to do up front if she hopes the Mr. Right she wronged a long time ago will forgive and forget her head full of puddin’ mistake.
If you are looking for a beach backdrop romantic read while sunning on the beach, this feels like it would fit right in. Brace yourself though for some impetuous, back and forth bickering and knucklehead actions, along with the realization a closed mind keeps from having an open heart. Also, thinking you always have to win..makes you the biggest loser.
Having read this genre before, it had a very familiar feel to it, complete with the broken heart and inevitable groveling. However, I’m glad they finally stopped throwing the gauntlet down and gave in to love instead of animosity.
Title: Love on Beach Avenue, Series: The Sunshine Sisters (Book 1), Author: Kristen Probst, Pages: 315, Pub. Date: 5/1/20, stand-alone but part of a series, despise turns to lust/love, back and forth bickering, wedding planner heroine, wishy-washy/afraid to love/jerk at times/handsome computer expert hero, slow burn, a few smexy scenes late in book, no cheating, no love triangle, no OW/OM drama.
Book 1 - Love on Ocean Avenue
Book 2 - Temptation on Ocean Drive (Bella's HEA)
(I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not given any payment or compensation for this review. There is no relationship or affiliation between this reviewer and the author, publisher, or NetGalley.)
I enjoyed this book. Avery Sunshine and her sisters own and run Sunshine Bridal. They are wedding planners. Do they all believe in happily ever after? To an extent, they do. But Avery definitely wants the whole package, she just hasn’t found it yet. And her best friends brother, Carter, definitely is not the man for her. Or is he? Carter is in town to help his sister plan her wedding. Carter only remembers Avery from her collage days she spent with Ally. And he didn’t really approve of her then. However, she is now a grown woman, who is running a business. Avery and Carter go head to head planning this wedding. Carter feels he knows his sister best, so he is always putting in his two cents trying to override Avery. While doing all of this, the chemistry just gets hotter. Finally, to the point that they can no longer deny their feelings for one another. Avery ends up getting in to deep, knowing how Carter feels about love and marriage. And Carter tries to deny his feelings for Avery. After the summer ends, so does their relationship. Avery lays it all out and Carter just can’t let his walls down. After a swift kick in the butt by Ally, Carter thinks differently. But is it to late? This is a fun book with some great banter between sisters and between Carter and Ally. A sweet little girl and a little dog with a sassy personality. What more could you want? Grab your copy today.
What happens when a cynic who doesn’t believe in love and a wedding planner with hearts in her eyes and believes in happy ever after have to work together to plan a wedding? Sparks fly. Carter, who became his sister Ally’s guardian when he was 18 and she was 10, agrees to spend the summer helping her plan the wedding of her dreams. What he didn’t count on was having to work with none other than his sister’s wild college friend who got Ally in more trouble than her cared for. It became a battle of wills and a test in patience. Avery agrees to plan Ally’s wedding in Cape May in just four short months. Everything about her life and work is organized and planned to the minute. So when Carter puts up roadblocks and detours along the way, Avery can’t help but start to wonder if she needs to change her outlook.
I’ve long enjoyed Jennifer Probst’s books and this first book in the “Sunshine Sisters” series did not disappoint. Avery and Carter both had eye-opening experiences in this story. They were relatable and well-rounded. They were sweet and saccharine, argumentative and agreeable. But one thing was clear, they both taught each other a few important life lessons. I can’t wait to see who’s next in the series... Bella or Taylor?,
2.5 Stars
This was just okay, I will say that I really had to push myself to finish the book and if it wasn't an ARC I probably wouldn't have.
For me it just fell flat - it was slow moving and I kept thinking that I must be further on in the book, but no. Carter and Avery were just okay - there was nothing that made me really like either one or even root for them, and it kinda felt very forced in the romance department. All in all, it was fairly predictable and felt a little tired.
I found all the wedding aspects and the food the most enjoyable part.
Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake Romance, for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Avery & Carter’s story was okay. It’s always hard writing reviews for books that weren’t really for me. I didn’t care for either the hero or the heroine so it was hard to rate above three stars.
I voluntarily reviewed this book.