Thank you Penguin Random House International for my e-ARC in exchange for the honest review.

Kat and Blake met at the summer camp and became best friends. Until they discovered that they were half sisters and their friendship crumbles. Fifteen years when they’re father died, they discovered that he left them a joint inheritance, that family beach house in Destin, Florida.

Kat has been in miserable life after she found out that she has a half sister and that was her best friend. When their lawyer read the will her father leave before he passed, when she heard the lawyer that she own the half of the beach house and Blake is the other owner. Kat was looking at her mom if she was going to be shock because Kat was hiding that secret for fifteen years but when she saw her mom didn’t get any reaction, she knows that moment that her mom know about Blake and she was devastated about that.

Blake’s life was so hard. She’s not rich. She doesn’t have parents, she only have her grandparents. When her mom died, her dad left her. She wants to sell the beach house for his granddad, so she can help him, now that he as Alzheimers. She really cares and love her granddad. She’s doing everything she can to renovate the beach house so that it will sell at the higher price.

I liked Noah. I love how he make jokes to Blake. He’s so nice, he loves Max (the dog). He’s also sweet because he always brings lunch for Blake while she was renovating the beach house. After Noah told his story to Blake, like all the truth he thinks that she will leave him but no, she understands him and stay beside him.

Kat and Blake grew up living very different lives but had one thing in common, their father. As Blake deals with his abandonment, Kat struggles with trying to live up to his standards while doing her own thing. After his unexpected death, the sisters are thrown together with their inheritance of a dilapidated beach house. Having not spoken since they were 12 years old, these two must try to either work together while moving past their hurt or war with each other.

I enjoyed this story and liked the growth shown by all of the characters. Of course, the romance was almost instant in nature but that is the norm in a contemporary novel. This was a fun, fast, perfect-for-summer read.

This was smart and funny and sad and inspiring. Had a brief thought of Parent Trap but not for long. Loved the characters and was rooting for them the whole way.

The Beach Trap is a fun, summer story about two sisters, raised separately, who are forced to come to terms with the fact that they’re family when working together to refurbish a shared inheritance property.

I’ve seen this described as a “reverse parent trap”, which I guess is accurate, but to me that implies bringing two people together for romantic reasons. This story is about building family bonds and creating connections between two people emotionally damaged by the same man. I found it funny and heartwarming!

As an Atlanta resident who (like one of the sisters) also spent her fair share of time at the Florida Gulf Coast, the descriptions of this area and its attractions were fun Easter Eggs for me. If I know you in real life, this might be interesting to you too!

This is the author’s debut, and I’m interested to see more from her in the future. This is the perfect, accessible book for your beach or pool bag this summer season!

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkeley Publishing Group, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I have to admit I didn't know what to expect with this book. I do love messed up family dynamics and home renovation stories, but sister relationships...? I'm so glad I went in without expectations because I got to be blown away! This is a heartwarming and occasionally very funny WF book, but it also gives you two amazing romances. Blake is easy to love and feel for from the start. Kat is not so much, but that means she gets a very satisfying arc. The book walks a line between reminding you that family is blood, but it's also what you make of it. If you love stories with messy characters, complicated families, and incredible romance, you definitely need to pick this one up.

A must read book of Summer 2022! Seriously, this book has EVERYTHING! Romance, family secrets, friendship, fashion, home renovation, Jewish representation and more - what's not to love!

When half-sisters Blake & Kat jointly inherit a beach house, they are horrified at the thought of having to spend any time together - they are truly the furthest thing from sisters in their minds! But when circumstances beyond their control force them together, the claws begin to retract a bit and they start to find out that blood truly is thicker than water.

An easy five stars for me and I highly recommend throwing this in your beach bag this summer!

The Beach Trap by Ali Brady is my new
favorite beach read! The highly anticipated book
by co-authors Bradeigh Godfrey and
Alison Hammer lives up to all the hype around
bookstagram!
Kat Steiner and Blake O'Neill meet at Camp
Chickawah when they are 12 years old and
become instant bff's despite their differences.
But when Kat's grandfather suddenly dies and
her dad arrives to take her home, Blake
recognizes him. He's her dad. The one that
abandoned her when her mother died. Fast
forward to 15 years later and the girls are all
grown up. And Kat's father has left both girls the
family beach house in his will. They haven't even
communicated since that day at camp and the
beach house in Florida is a ramshackle mess!
Can they overcome their hate for each other and
their father to make the place marketable? They
are in for a summer that's as unpredictable as a
beach wave!
I loved this book so much. It immediately
engaged me (haven't read a book in a day in a
long time!) and the dialogue felt so natural. The
characters were all likable - even when bitchy or
moody- but not at the expense of sappiness. I
would definitely call this book a rom-com, but so
many I've read can be cliché and overwritten.
Predictable to a fault. The Beach Trap was none
of that and the ending was very satisfying. Now if you will excuse me - I am going to go try a peanut butter and brown sugar sandwich !!

The Beach Trap is the perfect beach read. Heartfelt, a bit of women's fiction, chick-lit and romance all rolled into one.

The novel is about two sisters (half sisters) and what it means to be family. Loved the part that focused on the remodelling of the beach house and of course the two love stories even though they weren't actually the main focus of the novel.

I ended up enjoying the novel, there were some parts that were slower than others, and I was surprised how emotional it was at times, but overall it was well done.

The Beach Trap was a heartfelt book about two half sisters who are brought together years after finding out about their connection. Kat and Blake are polar opposites when they meet at sleep away camp when they are 12, but form a quick bond. That is until tragedy strikes and they discover they are actually half sisters. When their father passes away 15 years later and leaves them both half of a summer house in Florida, they are forced to face each other. Blake is in need of money for her grandfather’s care and decides to remodel the house so they can sell it and Kat is angling for a dream influencer opportunity for her Instagram account which staging the renovated house can help her land.

Blake and Kat both came to Florida with very different intentions and plans to stay out of each other’s way, but I liked how over time they both wanted to form connections with the other. The road was bumpy and it felt authentic to see their struggles along the way to even calling the other their sister. The relationships that they both formed, Blake with Noah and Kat with Henry, felt right for their characters and the journeys they were on. Parts of the book were a little slow for me, but I liked how the end came together and I loved the Jewish representation in the book.

I came for the summer beach vibes but stayed for the heartfelt sisterhood.

THE BEACH TRAP follows childhood friends Kat and Blake whose relationship crumbled when they realized they were half sisters. Years later, the estranged sisters find themselves co-owners of a dilapidated beach house inherited from their late father.

In this reverse Parent Trap situation, the women are forced to confront their past as old wounds heal and fresh wounds surface. Kat and Blake each know a completely different side of their father and have distinctly different ideas about what should be done with their beach house.

Written by debut writing duo Ali Brady (Bradeigh Godfrey and Alison Hammer), this big-hearted story is so much more than a summer romance. Of course there were summer love interests but I appreciated that there were unpredictable surprises along the way. Most of all, I loved the growth of the sisters individually and collectively as they learned to navigate their complicated family dynamics.

The Destin beach setting makes for a perfect summer read and will remind you of the familial ties that bind us all.

RATING: 4.5/5 (rounded up)
PUB DATE: June 14, 2022

Many thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review will be posted to www.instagram.com/kellyhook.readsbooks on June 16 in collaboration with the Berkley blog tour.

This was a solid 3.5 for me.

I loved the start of this book - it gave me Parent Trap summer camp nostalgia and I could have read several chapters about this time in the characters' lives - so precious!

Once we go to present day each chapter was split between the two FMC's perspectives, and while I really loved Blake's story, I found myself so disgusted with Kat that I was tempted to skip over her chapters entirely. I imagine the authors meant for Kat to be unlikable, but damn did I want to strangle her. Even when she semi-redeemed herself, it was hard to like her, so that was my biggest problem with this book. Maybe I should just stop reading books about social media influencers bc they irk me, but SOOO many books are using this as the main character's job these days! whyyyyyyyyyyy

Some other things I enjoyed: Blake! seriously loved her, really enjoyed the romance sub-plot and the setting in Destin was very immersive and made me feel like I was on vacation. And Blake again, she was just the kind of character I constantly wanted to hug.

Ok and finally, my biggest and last gripe. WHY, please please tell me why no one in this book could say whether Mars or Jupiter is closer to earth? This should be common knowledge and if it's not then the Georgia and Florida education systems are in worse shape than I could have ever imagined.

Summer on the sand, sisters separated by circumstances, serious DIY and sexy love interests all add up to a great beach read.

I really enjoyed this summer contemporary. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I came to really care for and appreciate both protagonists points of view. The choices made and actions of the characters seemed realistic which can sometimes be an issue in contemporary romances, but wasn't the case here. I'm excited to see what this writing duo will come out with next

This is a happy ending story of two half sisters. They only find that out when they are twelve. Of course the start out liking each other at camp, then hating each other. When their father dies and leave them a delapidated beach house, they must come back together to figure out what to dowith the house and their lives. The house is challenging, but learning how to be sisters is even harder.. A really enjoyable read..

I loved this story! It’s fun and funny and moving, and the messages are wonderful. This is the story of Kat and Blake, estranged half-sisters who inherit a dilapidated beach house together and have to face their shared past while renovating the home. The story is told from both sisters’ points of view, and each has a strong and unique voice.

I like that both women learn a lot about themselves and grow over the course of the story. Their individual journeys are as important and interesting as their journey together. It’s also really interesting how their relationship and experiences with their father were so vastly different and really affected so many aspects of their life, from their feelings of worthiness to their relationships with others. I love that both women learn so much about themselves and each other as they deal with anger, resentment, jealousy, and so many other feelings about the past, their father, and each other.

The story examines all kinds of relationships and the different ways these connections change and define people. Family pressures and expectations, budding romances, new friendships, second chances, and more are introduced. Of course, my favorites are the love stories, which are fantastic. Noah is super swoon-worthy, and his and Blake’s flirty banter and explosive chemistry are amazing. Kat and Henry have a slower building, opposites-attract relationship that is equally layered and interesting. I love that as these women are finding themselves, they are also learning to let others in and take a chance of love.

The Beach Trap is a wonderful story about sisterhood, family, letting go of the past, and forging a new future. It’s about finding love, acceptance, being true to yourself, learning from the past but not letting it define you, and taking chances, especially in relationships. The story highlights the weight of keeping up appearances and the importance of living an authentic life.

The story also explores the complexities of grief and loss in an honest and thought-provoking way. Neither woman had a good relationship with their father, so losing him caused a whole range of feelings, which they both struggle with. I thought this was a really powerful aspect of the story. Grief is complex and messy and not the same for everyone, which Kat and Blake learn.

Special thanks to Berkley Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

This lovely book! Cowritten by the Ali Brady team, THE BEACH TRAP follows two estranged half-sisters with very different lives as they are forced together for one magical summer beach house renovation. I love the separate but intertwined journeys, the underlying thread of generations of (imperfect) families, and the sweet HEA.

This is the story of two 12-year-olds who became friends at summer camp only to suddenly discover they had the same father. Kat never answered Blake's letters after camp and after this revelation, but both girls grew up knowing they were half-sisters, forced to meet about 15 years later when they jointly inherit a beach house from their father.

The plot showing how they dealt with this situation, both sisters needing the money that a sale of the house would bring, is quite a good one. The complications of having to fix up the house themselves to realize a good price for it is a clever twist that carries the plot to the next level. Add to that the new love interests, the beach setting, their different home lives, and the novel becomes a very enjoyable read, though with a somewhat predictable ending.

The Beach Trap
by Ali Brady
Pub Date: June 14, 2022
Berkely
* Romance * Contemporary
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book! What a fun read!
Two best friends are torn apart by a life-altering secret. One summer to set the record straight.
Fifteen years later when their father dies suddenly, Kat and Blake discover he’s left them a joint inheritance: the family beach house in Destin, Florida. The two sisters are instantly at odds. Blake, who has recently been demoted from regular nanny to dog nanny, wants to sell the house, while social media influencer Kat is desperate to keep the place where she had so many happy childhood memories.
I was team Blakely all the way but warmed to Kat by the end of the book. I recommend this book to readers of Emily Henry.
4 stars

This was a sweet heartwarming story about family.

I really liked how the story progresses. How we got a look at both Blake and Kat’s life separately at the beach house. I enjoyed seeing their respective romances and how they ended up with men who were on paper their opposites.

I wish that there had been more interactions between Blake and Kat. I feel like there was so much history built up between them and it just was let go so quickly. I do know that with family and loss, it’s easy to release unnecessary resentments. But I also would have like to see things hashed out more in a conversation.

This is a perfect and easy summer read. It’s a main story about sisters with a side of romance and lots of hints of deeper elements.

[cw - death of family memmbers]

I loved this mashup of women's fiction and romance, about estranged half-sisters forced together to deal with the aftermath of their father's death and the beach house he left them. The pacing was perfect with never a dull moment, both romances were sweet with a splash of open-door steam, and the character development was strong. I was decidedly team Blake for most of the book as Kat was extremely difficult, but I warmed to her by the end as well. And I definitely have a new book boyfriend in Noah! (Henry's no slacker either, though and he came with an adorable daughter)! I laughed, I cried, and I can't wait for the duo's next book!