I loved, loved, loved Pink Whales by Sara Shukla. What an amazing debut novel!

I think we all know towns like these, you know the ones, the ones where the men wear pants with little whales embroidered on them, and women wear madras dresses. This book is about one of these towns and the stereotypical people we expect to find there...but is everyone really as they seem at face value?

Shukla's characters are so relatable. Flawed in the best way possible, still loveable, and just real, true-to-life, people. The setting is beautiful, relatable, and described perfectly. As Charlie and Dev navigate their new adopted home, as well as the residents that maybe don't take so well to change...they learn who is on their side and who is not. (Sidenote: Charlie's RV-loving parents are just the icing on the cake!)

I can't wait to read more from Shukla in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC copy of Pink Whales. This review also appears on Goodreads.

A fun drama set on the coast. This book reminded me of something my OG fav author Elin Hilderbrand would write in her early days so I immediate had to read this arc. I usually always enjoy a New England coastal setting and drama, however this book lacked something to be a 5 star read for me. Not a whole lot really happened and I needed a bit more drama to rev this up. Some of the characters felt a bit bland and vanilla. Otherwise it would've been a fantastic beachy summer vibe. Might recommend to my friends who enjoy women's drama.

Pink Wales fell flat for me. Overall the premise was inviting, but the story was lacking. I’ve read some very similar books that packed more punch. I think adding POV’s from the other characters could have added depth.

The premise sounded interesting, the cover was cute, but boy oh boy this book just fell flat. The characters were all hard to connect to. There was no real character development, I felt like I really didn’t know Charlie or her family well, and the new “circle of friends” she finds in Poppy, Lacey, Heidi, etc. They all felt like stereotypical caricatures. I kept reading wondering when a real plot would develop, there really wasn’t much there. I’m a sucker for books set in coastal environments, which was a plus.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little A for the ARC.

Relatable and funny. I like how the characters in this are portrayed. I thought the setting was perfect, love the cover and title! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This book transports you to the magic that is summer in New England. With detailed references to the Yacht Club, Beach Club, and Figawi Race it’s easy to be hooked from the very beginning. Charlie is a lovable character trying to navigate the new summer friendships she makes with Poppy, Lacy and Heidi. Her daughter, Kate is a wonderful addition to this book and will have you laughing out loud. This is a wonderful read that I finished in one day. I can’t wait to read another book by this author.

I thought that the plot of this book was too slow and not much happened throughout it. I did however, like the overall theme of trying to fit in somewhere completely different and the challenges with that. I also liked that the book took place in New England (as I'm from there), but I thought that the characters in the book felt like stereotypes instead of real people.