Having spent the past 33 years of my life going to the Jersey Shore, I knew there was a good chance I would connect with Rip Tide. And I did- I liked this novel very much. It is part thriller- starting with a dead man is pretty thrilling. It is part romance- both sisters are dealing with matters of the heart that may not be what’s best for them. And it is definitely a story about family and sisters and having each other’s backs. I liked the ending very much- didn’t see all of it coming, and I’m smiling thinking about one of the character’s choices right now. I will be recommending this book to family and friends!

Sometimes I wish I had a tail to wiggle when I got excited.

That’s bizarre, right?

Well if I DID have a tail it would be wagging right now.

I went on a book binge for the past week and would put one book down and pick up the next without even so much as a pee break .

I was lost in the pages and I couldn’t not quench my insatiable lust for more and more thrillers. Deep down, subconsciously, I was searching for a book that would make me stop dead in my tracks.

Mission accomplished

Rip Tide

Colleen McKeegan is Fire! This book literally broke the 5 star scale.

Mesmerized by the cover, this was a book I just had to have. I wish I could whisper a warning in my naive little ear before I picked this one up as my day became completely consumed by McKeegan’s words. Yes, this book is THAT good.

My mind is blown…

I will be unable to pick up another book for a bit. I need to let this one settle in.

Here’s a bit of a teaser for you :

It’s been fifteen years since Kimmy Devine promised herself she’d never move back to Rocky Cape, the idyllic South Jersey beach town where she grew up. She doesn’t want to relive the crushing heartbreak and scandal that ravaged her world as a teen. Her younger sister Erin shares those feelings, the wounds she caused so many years ago forever binding her and Kimmy.

Yet here they are, back in their hometown: Kimmy, floundering after quitting her high-powered finance job in London to help her dad run the family’s hardware stores; Erin, reeling from fertility issues and an ongoing divorce, begging to be taken seriously by her parents. The more time they spend in Rocky Cape, the stronger the pull of nostalgia, and both Erin and Kimmy slip on the past like a pair of last year’s sandals, forgetting about the blisters when worn too long.

As the sisters celebrate their homecoming at their parents’ yacht club, a handful of familiar faces arrive to dampen the revelry. The next morning, a body is found floating nearby and long-buried secrets from their adolescence begin to emerge. Someone from the sisters’ past, it seems, is out for revenge.

Told in fast-paced, dual timelines, Rip Tide is a steamy, tension-filled tale of suspense about family, friendships broken and repaired, young love lost and rekindled, forgiveness and second chances, taking control of your life, and the dangerous decisions we make when blinded by desire.

Solid beach/vacation read with a twist I didn’t see coming that made me gasp. Love those kind of endings!

I love Colleen McKeegan’s writing—it’s smart, accessible and well paced. She writes believable and flawed characters and creates storylines that are relatable and exciting. Rip Tide was the perfect summer read, and the setting was just impeccable. I can’t wait to press this into our customer’s hands immediately!

Colleen McKeegan sets this book in a New Jersey beach town and the setting is wonderful. I can practically feel the salt and sea spray on my skin!
Rip Tide is a quick and enjoyable read even if I want to shake some sense into the main characters. I especially enjoyed the unexpected reveal at the end of the book.
Rip Tide is a coming of age, family drama not a thriller despite being categorized as one.
It wasn’t what I was expecting but on the whole it’s an enjoyable novel about sisters, friends (and frenemies), and the obstacles they face in high school and beyond.
Thanks a bunch to Netgalley, Harper and Colleen McKeegan for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

Colleen McKeegan brings a story of family drama and friendship is her latest psychological thriller, RIP TIDE.

Sisters Kimmy and Erin return home to Rocky Cape on the Jersey shore. Both women’s lives are problem-riddled. Kimmy has left a finance career to help her ailing father run the family hardware store. Erin is recently divorced and healing emotional wounds. As they both try to make a new start, more problems surface for the troubled sisters. In the midst of their homecoming celebrations, a man’s body is found floating. During the investigation, secrets from their past begin to emerge.
The story is written in swift, dual timeline narrative. It’s a suspenseful tale of family drama, the trust between friends, and the price of forgiveness.

Possible spoiler warning (minor)

A big NO for me is cheating and there is so much of this book that revolves around an affair. For that reason, I had a really hard time getting into this one. It wasn’t mentioned in the synopsis, but aside from that, this one flowed well, even among the alternating timelines.

This was just okay for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Colleen McKeegan, and Harper for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Not sure how to feel about this read. I definitely enjoyed the juicy drama (as there was lots of it throughout) and the tale of the sisters. I thought McKeegan did a fantastic job of writing in both the past and present timelines, and this structure really helped the story to unfold in a fast-paced manner. I flew through this read, and the suspense of finding out what would happen next kept my interest, even when I wasn't necessarily that into the read. I think my biggest issue with Rip Tide was that there was just a bit too much going on, so it felt surface level. This book deals with some pretty important topics, like sexual assault, affairs, eating disorders, etc., but it only touches on the surface. Sometimes, it felt like things were mentioned only to never be revisited. Similarly, whenever there was an issue or two characters fighting, it was pretty much immediately resolved in the next breath, so it felt like a constant roller coaster (and not in a good way). The "mystery" element played an interesting narrative role, as it drives the story, but it resolved much too quickly, and I would have liked to see more time spent around that topic. I was also very confused by the "texts" or "conversations" or whatever they were supposed to be at the end of certain chapters. They seemed really out of place and were never clear; it was kind of explained in the last chapter, but this didn't work for me at all. Overall, I enjoyed bits and pieces of Rip Tide, but there was quite a bit that didn't work for me overall.

As someone who currently lives in a shore town (very much like where this one is set), it was interesting to see the similarities between my town and the book. The author does a great job with the atmosphere. You can nearly smell the suntan lotion and crisp salt air while reading, and her descriptions bring to mind the idyllic seaside town full of locals and shoobies alike.

I felt like the characters needed more explaining - there was so much going on, and so much drama with the family and friend dynamics that I often found myself wanting more backstory. It was difficult for me to just dive into the story when I didn't know how they all knew each other. When we started getting more flashbacks, the threads knitted together much better. I think I went through a love/hate relationship with just about everyone in this book!

I would qualify this as a nostalgia-drama. It really tugged at the strings of time lost, friendships changed, and youth spent as the years went by and tensions went unresolved. It speaks to the hormone-driven teenage years and how that molds and shapes us as adults. It was an interesting read, and I'm keen to see where this author takes us next.

Colleen McKeegan’s latest novel, Rip Tide, evokes a nostalgia for the recklessness of youth like few novels can. Danger and secrets lurk in the same waves that crash so gracefully to shore, reminding the dear reader to remain cautious, even in the face of beautiful surroundings. Can the past truly shape the future?

I found this book to be difficult to get into. The opening tease of possible murder of a guy the family knows takes quite awhile to circle back. There is a lengthy set-up of the sisters' relationship from their teenage years to current adulthood which drags down the plot. Secondary characters (the mother and father and teenage crush guys) all seem to be cartoonish and I got the vibe of a teenage after-school special. Potential but this one falls short.

Rip Tide is a coming of age story told in dual timelines. It was full of all those mistakes we make as teenagers that make you want to yell at the characters to STOP being so destructive and stupid. These same characters took so many of their mistakes into adulthood 15 years later. These characters frustrated me beyond words, a true testament of how well the author brought them to life.


Loved this quote:

"Because that's what real love looks like. It grows into something deep, supportive, quiet, stable."


In some places this is referred to as a psychological thriller. Although it kicks off with a shocking event, this is more of a family and friendship drama. 


Expectations are important, and if you go into this thinking it's a thriller, you might be disappointed. 


Overall, it was a great coming of age, friendship drama with a great conclusion. Seriously, loved that ending !

Told in dual timelines as sisters Erin and Kimmy return home to Rocky Cape, Rip Tide hooked me from the start until the very end. McKeegan’s writing is full of nostalgia for the 2000s and took me right back to all the angsty, cringey, horrible and wonderful things about being a teenager. The story feels relatable and yet is also a total page-turner that I could not put down! Out this summer, this will be a perfect vacay book!
Thank you to the author and publisher for this ARC!

This was an interesting book that portrays in a real feeling way growing up in a small community and what it’s like to come back, and the bond between sisters. I don’t feel like the mystery element if the story fully worked and it didn’t seem necessary as it just read like a general fiction book. The story is as strong and held up without it.