Thank you to @readforeverpub and @netgalley for a copy of this book. I love this series and was so excited to read Law and Maya’s story. We saw a lot of their dislike in the previous books and it was good to figure out why there was animosity between them. With enemies to lovers being my favorite trope, I felt the hate was very one sided. I thought Maya acted a bit immature and was frustrated with her at times. I love seeing the other characters from the series playing a part in this book.

Sandcastle Beach was my first in what is apparently a series by Jenny Holiday. But, this did not stop me from instantly being sucked into this fun romance book that takes enemies to lovers to a whole new level. Maya runs the small town theater, but is secretly nearly bankrupt. Benjamin (Law to everyone else) owns the town bar, but is ambitiously pursuing opening a new restaurant. For years Maya and Law have been sworn enemies, despite many mutual friends and happy town gatherings. Then, the town announces a competition for a grant to a business owner and both Maya and Law see it as an opportunity to make their entrepreneur dreams successful. What they don’t account for is how tangled their lives are about to become. I couldn’t help but love the seaside town they reside in and want to drop by the bar for some of the beer that Law keeps on tap. Sandcastle Beach makes for a delightful summer read (or winter to dream of sunny warm days) and shouldn’t be missed when it releases in March 2021.

A sincere thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Special thanks to Read Forever for providing our copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.

This is another great addition to Matchmaker Bay. I just loved everything about it & hope this series is set to continue. I just get to know these characters & this is so enjoyable. Definitely, a must-read.

I could live inside Jenny Holiday's books forever! The Moonflower Bay series has been one of my favorites. True romantic comedies!

** I received and ARC in exchange for an honest review.**
I love a good enemies to lover. In the prio book, i liked these two snipping at one another. I had high hopes for this story but must say that it was just an okay read. Most of the story was very good but the big moment at the end seemed too convenient for me and that diminished my enjoyment of the book.

I've found a new favorite romcom author in Jenny Holiday!

While I appreciate the recent trend of romantic comedies often dealing with weightier issues, there is something to be said for a heartwarming, humorous, and low-stakes romance where you can just swoon, giggle, and hold your breath for the inevitable happy ending. This is how I felt about Sandcastle Beach. Rivals Law and Maya were adorable and had smokin' chemistry from page one. Law is a sexy book boyfriend and Maya is a strong and likeable main heroine. What kept them apart was basically sheer stubbornness but that was fine with me and precisely the book I needed in my world at this moment in time. ! I plan to go back and read the first book in the series as well as Holiday's other novels. I wonder who will be next in this series - Rohan and Michelle. perhaps? Here's hoping.

Thank you to Forever Pub for a gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I was REALLY looking forward to this story because Maya and Law had such an amazing enemies to lovers vibe going on in the previous books! It's my favorite trope and I was ready to dive into witty banter, shenanigans, sexual tension, etc. However, it was a really slow burn without much going on between the two of them for most of the book. The "hatred" also felt very one sided so it didn't really feel like a true enemies to lovers storyline. Jake and Nora's story was quite steamy but this one was scaled back a lot with nothing much happening until about 75% in. I did like that it featured an interracial couple and touched briefly on racial issues.

Overall cute but not my favorite in the series.

Maya Mehta and Benjamin "Law" Lawson have been fighting for more years than anyone can remember. It started when they were teens (at least she was) and has carried on into their twenties. As any character in the book (or any reader of the other two books in this series) could fairly easily tell, these two were meant for each other.
Maya Mehta needs the new grant that the town is offering. She has created a theater group that is just months away from failing. She's hooked a former boy band-er to come and be in her next play but the money would SO come in handy in renovating her falling-apart theater.
Law needs the grant the town is offering. He is third generation operating the family bar and he's ready to expand into a restaurant as well. But he doesn't want to mortgage (and possibly lose) the bar.)
Mirroring the play that Maya is putting on, <i>Much Ado About Nothing</i>, the two find that their squabbling might just be hiding a bigger attraction than either of them realize. The story does get a little hokey in places but previous readers of the series will be familiar with the level of sweetness and be prepared for it. This is my favorite book in the series so far and I am already ready to read the next one.

Three stars
This book comes out March 9th
Follows Paradise Cove
ARC kindly provided by Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

I love Jenny Holiday's fun, smart contemporary romance novels, and Sandcastle Beach didn't disapoint. A classic enemies to lovers story, actress and theater company owner Maya and bar owner Law have been at each other's throats for years to the annoyance and entertainment of their group of friends. When the local chamber of commerce announces a local business grant for $100,000, they know they are each other's biggest competition. Maya needs the money to save her struggling, while Law plans on expanding his bar food into a full-fledged restaurant. Throw in a former boy band and the a cast of quirky friends, and you have a fun, sexy read. It's a bit of a slow burn, so the actual romance does take awhile to.unfold. it's also the third in a series, and while it can be read alone, other characters will make more sense if the books are read in order.

The book is a must read for 2021. Small town romance, enemies to lovers. Adorable I love it!!!!!! I read this book first and I loved it so much I went and read the other two.

I love the Matchmaker Bay series, and Sandcastle Beach is my favorite installment. I LOVED this book, and the characters and setting were a the perfect escape.

Maya came back to Matchmaker Bay after college, founded a community theater, and began sparring with Benjamin “Law” Lawson. She loves her town, her friends and her job, but the theater is in dire financial straits. Not only does she need to win the town’s new business development grant for her theater to survive, she also books a former boy band star for the lead in her summer production.

Law wants to expand his bar and add a lunch spot in town, but wants the business development grant to reduce his financial risk. He also spends his time bickering with Maya over parking spaces, the annual Mermaid festival, and Premier League Soccer. Sure, he stocks her favorite wine at the bar and puts it aside just for her. And who wouldn’t invite her over to watch soccer, it’s just a friendly thing to do. But when Maya’s boy band cast mate wants to be more than her friend, he flips. No one gets to give Maya a hard time except for Law! As they become closer and confide in each other, it’s clear to everyone (except them) that they belong together.

Sandcastle Beach is a master class in how to execute the perfect slow burn, enemies to lovers story. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense that the couple would really get together after continually hurling insults at each other, but Jenny Holiday does a great job of showing the underlying affection between the two (even if their characters don’t realize it).

This book is not as angsty as the earlier books in series, which was a plus for me. I loved the tone, the town, and the witty banter. I would also love to eat a grilled cheese sandwich at Lawson’s Lunch! Read Sandcastle Beach today, it’s a much needed escape from the real world.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love, love, love this series! I have been waiting since book 1 for Maya and Law to get together and they finally did, in the most Maya/Law/Matchmaker Squad way possible. Maya and Law, the turning from hate to love was really well done and had me zipping through the book to see what happens next. And when they finally get to that first big point, hot! Also, the new arrivals seem great and I cannot wait to get their stories next.

4.5 stars rounded up! Sandcastle Beach by Jenny Holiday is a really sweet slow burn frenemies-to-lovers romance. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys reading small town romances.

The third book in the Matchmaker Bay series finds long-standing frenemies Maya and Law competing against each other to win the town's new business grant. While they battle it out to prove who is the most community-minded entrepreneur in town, the town matchmakers use the grant as an opportunity to show Maya and Law that the only thing they've been fighting all these years is mutual attraction.

I had a lot of fun spending time in Matchmaker Bay and I can't wait to see what Jenny Holiday comes up with next!

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever and Jenny Holiday for the chance to read this digital ARC!

Maya and Law together-FINALLY !! Everyone knew that was coming after all of their spicy bickering in the earlier books. I mean...what's hotter than a hate to love storyline? I enjoyed this book but it was probably my least favorite in the series. It took a looonnnnng time for any action and I started to lose a bit of steam by the time they finally get together. The end of the book made up for any issues I had, though- I love the way Holiday tied the story up in a pretty little snarky and adorable bow.


Thanks to NetGalley and Read Forever for a gifted copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

Oh my, what a truly delightful story! Lots of laughs and, of course, a perfect HEA. The characters-both main and supporting-are so much fun! I loved visiting once again with the endearing Sandcastle beach crowd and I’m definitely looking forward to the next in the series.

Jenny Holiday delivers another winner filled with bickery banter, small town antics, and a romance that everyone can see except for the hero and heroine. If you're a fan of Much Ado About Nothing, Jenny's given us our own Beatrice and Benedick, in this rivals-to-lovers story.

In Sandcastle Beach, Maya Mehta is the town's theater director; Benjamin "Law" Lawson owns the local bar, and their feud goes back years. The theater's seen better days and Maya's gotta come up with a plan to infuse it with cash for repairs, staff salaries, and raising the curtain for another season. When a former boy bander turned actor joins her production of Much Ado About Nothing, Maya's got a shot at filling every seat this season. But winning a local business grant wouldn't hurt either. There's just one thing standing in her way, Law has his eye on that grant, too.

Sandcastle Beach is slow burn, low angst, but it's romantic in its own way. Despite their on-going competition, Law is actually the most supportive friend Maya has, the one who understands her business dilemmas, the one who lets her use his secret WiFi, the one who stocks a wine at his bar, just for her.

Of the three heroes in the series so far, I expected Law to the cool dude with moves, but the truth is, he's so taken with Maya, he has no game whatsoever, and it's completely adorable.

One note on structure, the time jumps in the first three chapters make for a little bit of a bumpy start, but I think part of that is just catching readers up on the players/events of the first two books.

Maya is ready to do anything to save her small town theater. Even if it means battling it out with her nemesis Ben Lawson. The two of them are arch enemies doing anything to annoy each other. But can hate turn into love? Things begin to heat up between the two of them that no one saw coming.

This book was a cute and fun read. I love the love/hate relationship trope and Maya and Ben were fun to read about. This was a nice escape and would be a perfect beach read!

I think Jenny Holiday was my author of the year in 2020. I read three of her books, two of which are in this Matchmaker Bay trilogy, and all of them were wonderful. 4.5-5 stars across the board. Seriously, this series is perfect. I knew I had to start 2021 with a winner and this finale did not disappoint.

I’m glad I still have another series to read by Holiday but I’ll miss this setting! Matchmaker Bay (actually called Moonflower Bay) is an adorable Canadian beach town... just the kind of small town romance-filled setting I love to read about. This book follows Maya and Law (Ben). I loved them both and definitely saw this romance coming from a mile away. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Holiday writes low-drama romances without a stupid miscommunication or something to ruin everything, which I SO appreciate. The two were basically enemies, always bickering, even if one of them didn't know why they were fighting so much in the first place. This turned into a months-long friendship and then later romance.

I'm really sad to leave this location behind! It's very charming and that's a major reason I'm not ready to go, but there are at least 3 new characters that totally could get their own books! Two women move to town in this installment and Maya's brother also returns home. I would love to learn more about any combination of these people in more books ;)


Overall, this was yet another winner by Jenny Holiday. A lot of Forever Romance authors end up on my auto-buy list but she is way at the top.

Jenny Holiday is usually a solid 5 star read for me. Her voice works well for me as a reader, her characters hit the right notes for me, and her steamy scenes are the perfect blend of spice and sass. I'm rounding up to 5 stars for this one, because I truly did enjoy it, devoured it in one sitting, and I will enthusiastically recommend it to other readers.
The only reason I have to round up, versus it being a solid 5, is that these two characters needed to talk sooner. There were other conflicts and areas of personal growth they could have completed to round out the story. But overall, this was predicably excellent, starring two extremely stubborn leads.

I loved this story and I was waiting for these two characters for a while now. It was perfect and I look forward to more from this author. I recommend this book, series, and author.