Summer Reading ☀️

Genre: Fiction
Trope: Romance, Chick-Lit
Format: 📖
Pub Date: 6.14.2022
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆.5

"The point of life is to be alive in the world, to feel every emotion, even the messy and painful ones. To challenge yourself, to take risks, to find beauty in the imperfections and be grateful for the opportunity to experience it all."

The Beach Trap is the perfect summer read for your backyard, pool, beach, or even snuggled on the couch with your favorite reading companion 🐾. I'm always in awe of how two authors can come together and create a story. Although sometimes, when reading a co-written book, I can tell the difference in writing styles, that was not the case with the Beach Trap; it was seamlessly written.

As for the characters, Blake was my cup of tea from her first chapter - I loved her determination and unwavering love for her grandfather. Conversely, Kat was not a character I identified with, and she was a bit too much for me. But then I began to appreciate her and loved reading along as Kat's character development progressed. I even loved the girl's romantic interests (hello, Noah 😍).

The Beach Trap is more a novel on friendship and sisterhood than romance (which I needed). But, don't get me wrong, some romance was mixed into the storyline, and I appreciated the excitement the steamier scenes added to the book.

By the end of the story, I loved Kat, Blake, Noah, Henry, and Max (but let's be honest, I loved Max from the beginning 🐶).

👯‍♀️ Alternating perspectives from Kat & Blake
👏🏼 Character development
🥹 Ending that gave me all the feels (and some tears)
✍🏼 Co-written story
💞 More about friendship & sisterhood

For those who enjoyed watching The Parent Trap and It Takes Two, I recommend you check out The Beach Trap by Alison Hammer and Bradeigh Godfrey (aka Ali Brady).

What's been your favorite summer read?

INSPIRING!

THE BEACH TRAP is a perfect uplifting beach summer read by the talented debut author Ali Brady — An enchanting, witty, and heartwarming story about sibling rivalry; the families we're born into—and the families we choose for ourselves.

Two unlikely twelve-year-old girls, Kat and Blake, from different walks of life, meet Camp Chickawah and develop a friendship.

However, things fall apart quickly when they learn of a long-buried hidden family secret. They are half-sisters, sharing the same father. (this is a shocker when the dad shows up). His big secret. His other family.

One mother is married to the father (Kat), and the other's mom (affair) is dead and unacknowledged. (Blake) With hurt, confusion, lies, emotions, and betrayal, they go their separate ways with no contact.
Fifteen years later, when their father dies, they are once joined together by a will (inheritance) and a summer beach house in Destin, Florida.

Things are tense and they can barely tolerate one another.

Blake has little money, a nanny, now a dog nanny for the summer with hefty bills (out of reach) and expenses with the burden of caring for her loving grandfather. She wants to sell the home for the money.

Kat, a privileged social media influencer, wants to hold on to the family house where there are fond memories. She does not want to share.

SIBLING RIVALRY: The two clash when they join forces to renovate. While they are at odds, they both find romance and finally common ground and what is really important. It is never too late to listen and think about the other person's feelings and what they might be going through - to make amends.

SISTERHOOD: Messy and complex family drama, a bittersweet journey to finding forgiveness, understanding, love, finding yourself, and becoming sisters and best friends—infused with wit, charm, romance, home renovation, and some wise life lessons.

THE BEACH TRAP is ideal for fans of authors Katherine Center, Wendy Wax, Mary Kay Andrews, and Elizabeth Berg. A perfect book club pick for further discussions and made for the big screen.

As a long-time Floridan, I love books set in Florida and the cover. Quirky, charming, and humorous. Looking forward to more books by the dynamic duo and BFF author under the pen name Ali Brady.

AUDIOBOOK: I purchased the audiobook narrated by my favorite narrator Brittany Pressley (Blake), and the voice for (Kat) by Imani Jade Powers. I prefer Brittany over the other narrator; however, it was an enjoyable and entertaining listen by Penguin Audio. Highly recommend.

A special thank you to #Berkley and #NetGalley for a digital ARC to read, review and enjoy!

Blog Review posted www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: 06/14/2022
My Rating: 4 Stars
June 2022 Must-Read Books

I preferred the first half of this book to the second half. By the second half I got a bit annoyed with some of the repetitive nature and the immature attitudes of Blake and Kat. I did learn after reading that Ali Brady is an author duo of two best friends and I think it might explain some of the repetitiveness if they were each writing a character and didn’t read each other’s chapters.

Kat and Blake are half sisters but didn’t discover the other existed until overnight camp at 12 years old. When their dad showed up, he walked away and the two girls never spoke again. Now 15 years later, their dad has died and left them a beach house to share. Little do the know, the house is run down and in order to sell it (Blake) or buy the other sister out (Kat), they need to renovate it.

So, I talked a little bit about what I didn’t like, but what I did like were the relationships. I loved watching Kat and Blake develop and start to reconnect, though I would’ve preferred if it happened a little quicker. There were also secondary romantic relationships and I enjoyed each of those moments too. I think between the two, I preferred Kat’s chapters to Blake’s. They just seemed a little more complex ad I felt like she had a lot more going on than Blake did, even if she was naïve and immature.

This was a fun beach read that I would recommend if you’re looking for something that’s not romantic or not YA. The sisterhood and friendship is well done. There’s not much too this book, so therefore not really too much to say about the plot. It’s nothing life changing, but I feel like that’s often best at the beach. I am looking forward to reading the next book by Brady, as there was a snippet for their next book and I got sucked in right away.

I absolutely loved this book! The Beach Trap follows Kat and Blake, who meet at summer camp and become best friends before learning that they share a father, who abandoned Blake when she was nine. When their father dies, he leaves them joint custody of his beach house, which Kat wants to keep and Blake wants to sell. They decide to spend the summer repairing the house and while they are living there, they start to re-build their relationship. I loved the relationship between Kat and Blake, and seeing how they overcame their estranged relationship. I also loved both romances in this book, especially Blake and Noah’s. This was such a heartwarming and fun summer read and I would definitely read more books by this author!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

The beach trap is a great summer read if you're looking for family dynamics, drama, and a little romance! The characters were great and relatable and it was all around a really enjoyable book!

Thanks to Berkley, the author, and NetGalley for the free gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

I had no idea this book was written by two friends until I looked into the reviews after reading which is a fun fact about this book! I loved this beach-read type book that's mostly a women's fiction drama with some romantic storylines.

The back story was super creative and gave me total parent trap vibes in a way, but definitely went a lot deeper than a light romantic comedy. I read tons of five-star reviews for this book so I recommend looking at those too.

Pick this book up if you are looking for a beach read that is not your classic rom-com that's fast-paced with lots of emotions.

LOVE LOVE LOVED this one! I was entertained through every page and I loved the growth and parent trap vibes. Lessons in family, growth, ambition and love, this is a favorite of the year.

4 ⭐️ for The Beach Trap by @alibradybooks

Huge thank you to @alibradybooks, @berkleypub, @netgalley, & @letstalkbookspromo for allowing me the opportunity to read this great summer read.

This reimagined Parent Trap was a great way to kick off my summer reading. Blake & Kat met in Minnesota at sleep away camp the summer they were both 12. They had an immediate connection and became best friends super fast. Without even knowing it, they were connected even more than they knew, until Kat had to leave camp early & they realized that they were actually siblings. Half siblings that was. Fast forward 15 years & now their father has passed away & left them a beach house in Destin, Florida. Kat’s life has been pretty privileged & she grew up without wanting much. But that perfect life is upended after her dad’s passing. Blake’s life was not quite as privileged. Her mom died when she was young. She was raised by her grandparents & now her grandpa is slowly deteriorating from Alzheimer’s. Thinking that they’ll be able to use the house to help themselves, they are now thrown together to make something of each other & the house.

This was a fun read. There was a good depth to both characters, they aren’t quite what they seem like on the outside. Blake was a little more likable, but Kat kind of reminded me of Rachel from friends. I loved the descriptions of Destin, it almost made me want to go. Overall, this was a great book by the duo of @alibradybooks!

A quick reading contemporary romance with some predictability as the story unfolds. I didn't like all the characters who were often whiny and felt entitled especially Kat, one of the main characters and CoCo, whose family owned one of the beach mansions in Destin, Florida where most of the story takes place.

The story is told in alternating chapters by Blake and Kat, half sisters who met unexpectedly when they were twelve at a sleepaway camp. The prologue begins in 2007 when they first meet and the story continues fifteen years later. We learn what their lives have been like during the intervening years and how the unexpected death of their father affects them in the present. We watch their relationship ebb and flow with lots of anger, hurt and secrets until they finally act like sisters.

I liked both Noah and Henry, their respective love interests. Blake is dog sitting Max for the family she nannies for while they are away and he was a cute addition to the story as is Sunny, Henry's daughter. There were vivid descriptions of the homes and the beach, that made me feel like I was there. The story has a good flow with a depth to the four main characters. There is better than expected closure with the epilogue that takes place five years later. There is a Readers Guide with discussion questions and a preview of The Comeback Summer which I look forward to reading. I liked the cover. It had a great beach read feel.

Ali Brady is the pen name of writing duo Alison Hammer and Bradeigh Godfrey. I look forward to reading other books they write.

The Beach Trap is a sweet story that stands out in a sea of beach-related rom coms with its unique plot and huge heart. It’s a spin on The Parent Trap premise, with a father leaving his beach house jointly to his two daughters, one “legitimate”, one not. The story follows them coming to terms with their situation and eventually with each other. Both FMCs are realistic and multidimensional. And of course, two FMCs means two love stories - double the swoon for the price of one!

I loved the dual POVs (flipping back and forth between each sister)- it gives the reader a birds eye view of their relationship and the misunderstandings that invariably lead to conflict and fights. It’s powerful to see this cycle of hurt and recognize that it happens in real life too. We don’t know what people are going… and grace costs us nothing.

Highly recommend picking up this sweet book for your next beach trip!

Thanks to Berkley for the gifted copy.

➠ ᴍʏ ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩

➠ ɢᴏᴏᴅʀᴇᴀᴅs ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: 𝟺.𝟷𝟼/𝟻

➠ 💭 ʏ’ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜɪs ᴡᴀs ᴏɴᴇ ᴏғ ᴍʏ ғᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ʙᴏᴏᴋs ᴛʜɪs ʏᴇᴀʀ. ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴡᴀs ᴘᴇʀғᴇᴄᴛ ɪɴ ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ. ɪ ᴡᴀs ʜᴏᴏᴋᴇᴅ ғʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ғɪʀsᴛ ᴍɪɴᴜᴛᴇ ᴏғ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ ɪᴛ. ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴡᴀs ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ ɪɴ ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴡᴀs sᴏ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴛᴏ ɪᴛ. ɪᴛ ᴡᴀs ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ sɪsᴛᴇʀs ᴡʜᴏ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴏʀɪɢɪɴᴀʟʟʏ sᴇᴘᴀʀᴀᴛᴇᴅ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ғᴏʀᴄᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ɪɴ ᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ’s ᴘʀᴇsᴇɴᴄᴇ. ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴡᴀs sᴇxʏ, ғᴜɴɴʏ, sᴀᴅ, ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ, ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇᴍᴏᴛɪᴏɴs. ᴅᴜᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇxɪᴛɪᴇs ᴏғ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴsʜɪᴘs, ɪᴛ ᴡᴀs ᴀ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ɴᴏᴛ ᴘᴜᴛ ᴅᴏᴡɴ. ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴡᴀs sᴏ ᴍᴀɴʏ ᴍᴏᴠɪɴɢ ᴘᴀʀᴛs ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ғᴏᴜʀ ᴍᴀɪɴ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀs ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴᴇᴅ ɴᴇxᴛ. ᴏɴᴇ ᴏғ ᴍʏ ғᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ᴘᴀʀᴛs ᴏғ ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴡᴀs ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴜᴀʟ ᴘᴇʀsᴘᴇᴄᴛɪᴠᴇ ғʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ sɪsᴛᴇʀs ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛʀᴜʟʏ ɢᴏᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀsᴛᴀɴᴅ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴛʜɪɴᴋɪɴɢ. ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ʜᴇsɪᴛᴀɴᴛ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴘɪᴄᴋɪɴɢ ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴜᴘ, ɪ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ᴛʜɪs ʜᴇʟᴘᴇᴅ ᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴍɪɴᴅ. ᴀʟsᴏ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴇᴘɪʟᴏɢᴜᴇ *ᴄʜᴇғ’s ᴋɪss* 😍😭

ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀʀᴇɴᴛ ᴛʀᴀᴘ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴀᴅᴅ ɪɴ ᴀ ʙᴇᴀᴄʜ ʜᴏᴜsᴇ, ᴛʜɪs ɪs ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ғᴏʀ ʏᴏᴜ!!

I loved the growth that Kat had over the course of the book. She got on my nerves at times, but I had to remember that her father’s death and the family secret she had to keep caused her trauma. I also really empathized with Blake since she was the one left behind and was doing everything she could to take care of her grandfather. I enjoy home renovation shows so it was fun visualizing the changes they were making to the house, and I loved that they were both able to bring different strengths to the process. The character development was great, I loved the setting of a beach house, and both of their romantic journeys were adorable.

Read if you like
🌴 beach reads
🌴 difficult family dynamics
🌴 home renovations
🌴 women’s fiction with romance

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley, & Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.

You know those books that technically aren’t perfect, but you really don’t care because they were so dang fun and swoon worthy and happy making and you love them in spite of any flaws that you feel like might be there but you don’t even care enough to look for them?

This is one of those books 😍

I didn’t really have any expectations going into this - which made how much I loved this story all the more unexpected and exciting! It has the perfect escapism beach read vibes, two POVs with two believable romances, and found family feels within estranged family realities and I was just HERE for it.

(Also fun story, this is not only a debut [wut!!] it is also a writing duo, similar to Christina Lauren! Definitely two authors to watch!)

This book would best be read on the beach, in a low beach chair right by the shoreline - the kind where a big wave might lap right under your bum and shock you a bit because you’re so into this book. I would highly recommend a summery cocktail (think pineapple & rum & a tiny little umbrella). Throw on a massively large and impractical floppy hat and you’re good to go.

This was not my favorite book. I love Ali Brady, and they’ve told such great stories before, but this was not creative or different from many other books out there already. There wasn’t an element of intelligence to it, and I skimmed the last 40 pages.

This book was everything I absolutely loved it!!
When Kat and Blake were twelve years old they met at summer camp. When Kats father comes to pick her up Blake is shocked because it also happens to be her own father ! That’s when they discover their half sisters and their father was living a double life. When Blake’s mother passed away before she had went to camp her father had stopped coming around and it appeared he chose his other family and left Blake behind. The day at camp was last time Blake ever saw Kat or their father.
Fast forward Fifteen years their father has now passed and Kat and Blake are told he left both of them a beach house in Florida. Neither of them can sell it with out the others permission. The beach house is falling apart and needs a ton of work, so they find themselves having to put their differences aside and work together. All the while figuring out things about each-other and themselves. One summer leads to romance and learning to put the past behind them.
Will they finally find the love and family and happiness they have been desperately searching for?

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the early copy of this one.

I was looking forward to this for a fun summer read since the premise sounds fun- two long lost sisters inheriting a house and having to work out their differences. It's kind of been done a million times but I was looking forward to it.

This ended up being a fun story with a lot of heart. It was slow for me in the middle but the beginning and end redeemed it for me. I loved the story of the two sisters trying to figure out how to navigate their complicated relationship.

Blake and Kat meet at camp as 12-year-olds and quickly bond, promising to be best friends forever. But then Kat’s dad arrives to pick her up and Blake quickly realizes that this is her Dad too, and she was part of her dad’s secret family up until her mother died. Finding out they were sisters does not make Kat happy. Instead, she becomes angry and never talks to Blake again–until their father dies 15 years later and leaves them both a beach house.

This is both a heartwarming and heartbreaking read, as Blake deals with decades of rejection and Kat confronts misplaced anger. Of the two romances, the one with Blake and Noah is more in-depth and interesting. The sisters are well portrayed, with social media influencer Kat a perfect contrast to her down-to-earth, dogsitting half-sister. Another theme is introduced, as Blake is wading into the uncertain and expensive waters of finding care for her grandfather, who is experiencing dementia. The beach setting is perfectly cozy, and home renovation is a popular topic that many readers will enjoy. Full of family, secrets, and the pain of rejection, this is a great summer read.

I received a free copy of this book from Berkley Publishing via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and my opinions are my own.

The Beach Trap is a fun and light read even though it deals with some weighty issues. The plot is a bit predictable, however That didn’t bother me at all. I enjoyed the characters and setting.

** I received an electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review of this book.

This was the perfect summer read. While it was light and full of romance, I really appreciated the depth to this book with the sister storyline and elements of dealing with grief. Highly recommend!

Okay, WOW!! What a debut!! I absolutely enjoyed this one!! Kay & Blake’s relationship was refreshing! I know they were estranged for most of the book, but I find reading about relationships that aren’t perfect to be great! Life isn’t perfect and I like seeing books that reflect that sometimes. I loved the sisters’ love interests, but really loved Blake and Noah!! Their steam was just perfect!! I think Kat got on my nerves a little too much at times. I found her just completely outrageous more than not, but I think she was supposed to be that way. Overall great debut with great banter, steam, and relationships! 4.75 stars!!