I enjoyed the story.
I did not care for the narrators… 😮😕

Caroline has just graduated from Yale and has taken the summer off for one final vacation before a lifetime of grueling work. She headed to Maine and rented a cabin for the summer.
On day one she meets handsome Captain Dune. He sees her as a ‘rich girl’ initially, because of the way she dresses.
She sees him as hot and handsome. BUT, he’s known as the town flirt…
As they keep running into each other in town, he offers her a job on his boat, never expecting that she’ll accept.
But she does!
And so the story begins!
Sweet and heartfelt. Sexy. (And somewhat descriptive too!) But it’s only a summer fling, right?

I enjoyed the premise, but I had a hard time enjoying the narrators…
Again, this is my opinion only!

3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me!

#TheLobsterTrap by #HeidiMcLaughlin and #KassidyMaye.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #TantorAudio for an ARC of the audiobook which releases today, 6/18/24.

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"...she not only saw stars, but became one. And when she began crashing back to earth, he caught and held her."

Expectations have been set for Caroline her whole life. Desire to find herself outside of these expectations sends her to the small town of Seaport. Little does she know that she will also find love there....

Tropes:
Insta-love
reformed rake
small town
boss/employee

Steam: quite a few explicit scenes.

Content warnings: (scroll all the way to bottom, as it is an epilogue spoiler)

What I liked:
I liked several of the side characters quite a bit! Dune's mom was a colorful character and I wish we'd seen more of her. I also did like Speed and Wilson.

What I disliked:
I really wanted to love this book. I liked the premise, and the cover is aesthetically pleasing. I had a hard time getting into the book or the characters.
I feel like many details are included that are wholly unnecessary. I do not need to know for how long a character looks at their clothes before getting dressed, or how many turns they take while driving, or whether they rinse their dishes before setting them in the sink, but these types of remedial details were often included. I feel like I was being told a story instead of being shown, but much of what I was being told wasn't actually relevant.
Insta-love is a hard sell for me, and I might have avoided the book had I known it had this trope. The insta-love is strong with this one. I felt that the time that should have been spent on them getting to know each other, building tension and developing their relationship, was spent with them already and inexplicably making doe eyes at each other. When they finally started getting together, I felt like I hadn't been given much to root for because it seemed like they still barely knew each other.


Narrators:
I liked both narrators for this dual POV narration. Both had good inflection and pacing, even where I found the prose to be somewhat dragging. My only complaint is that they both used the same voice or close to it for all characters of the same gender, and sometimes it made it difficult to follow dialogue. Overall I liked them and would listen to more from them.


Content warning (epilogue spoiler): surprise pregnancy.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

First thing’s first: thank you Netgalley for the ALC of this book!
The Lobster Trap was a small town romance set in New England. Caroline is spending a summer in Seaport after she graduated college and falls for the local captain, Dune.
I really really really wanted to love this book. I love a small town romance and I love a New England based book! This book fell so flat. Between the stilted writing, cringey nicknames (If I had a dollar for every time I head “captain blue balls”), and instalove, this book was just not for me. The dialogue felt juvenile and both of the main characters were kind of bland. The ending really irritated me and cemented my low rating.
1.5⭐️ and that still feels generous

Caroline Taylor is much more than a rich girl on vacation. While her parents have money and she grew up living according to their standards, she has goals and aspirations of her, but she’s not sure what she truly wants to do with her life. After graduating from Yale, she decides to spend the summer in Seaport before she starts her career. On her first day in Seaport, she meets Dune Carter who is the Captain of the Blue Lobster Adventures boat. Dune and everyone she’s met in town sees her as a tourist with a lot of money. But Dune is also immediately attracted to her and wants to get to know her better. He helps me back to her cottage after she gets drunk her first night on the town and he is a perfect gentlemen. Dune is the sweetest man and he most definitely falls first and hard. I loved how vulnerable Dune was with Caroline in telling her how he felt for her. They spend the summer falling in love and then they have to decide will they try and make the long distance work or will other factors cause them to break up.

This book is the perfect summer read. I loved the audio and the narrators. Both played their characters well and really brought the story to life. It was a super quick read for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Delicious voices to hear. This book is read by a male and a female ( Dune and Caroline) Heart warming plot for those who love the ocean and the sea life. In here, a love story arises from the sun, the sand and the waves... Did not finish yet, but definitely recommend this. Grab an iced chai latte (the character prefers iced macchiatto :)))), close your eyes and dive into this island. It's very relaxing. I am super enjoying the experience.

The Lobster Trap is an adorable and steamy summer romance. While I believe there is room for further character development, one aspect that stood out to me was the refreshing departure from the typical narrative where the female protagonist abandons her life in the big city for a newfound love interest. Instead, this book takes a different route by ending with a long-distance relationship and only having her leave the city in the epilogue.

This sounded really good and I was excited for a new summer beach series. Unfortunately, I Just couldn't get into it. It was hilarious they called the guy Blue Balls, but other than that, it was boring and I did not finish it.

The typical “girl goes on vacation to a small beach town and catches the attention of local guy” which don’t get me wrong — normally I LOVE. But unfortunately this was a DNF for me at around 60%. I was looking forward to this summery book, but I just couldn’t find myself connecting to the characters Caroline or Dune. I’ve realized I much prefer 1st person POV, especially in a romance. I did appreciate the chapters switching between character focus but I do wish again they had been in 1st person as it provides more insight on emotions and thought process of the characters. Many areas felt lacking in depth and super choppy. I also just wasn’t fond of the nicknames or dialogue between the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this audio ARC in exchange for my honest review

I really wanted to love this one, but it just didn't work for me. I couldn't get into it at all. The characters felt bland and I just couldn't feel it between the characters. I had to dnf.

3.5/5 rounded up to 4!

Dune was everything you could want in an MMC. The owner of a boat tour company, he has a reputation for seasonal romances. His world is flipped on its head, however when Caroline Taylor, a recent college grad and soon to be Goldman employee, comes to town. I really enjoyed Caroline as a character. She’s believable having not had the best college experience so is looking to find out more about herself before beginning the career her father always expected of her. Instead she finds Dune, and he offers her job in his boat. She accepts first out of pride, but soon fines that the day she spends on the water or some of the happiest she’s experienced in years. Of course we all know that she’s supposed to leave at the end of the summer setting up the book for either a heartbreaking good bye or a fairy tale ending.

Thank you NetGalley & Tantor Audio for the audiobook ARC! Listening to the audio version of this book, I liked that they used a different narrator for Caroline and Dune. It really helped differentiate the point of view and added more depth to the reading.

• SPOILERS UPCOMING •

My main issue with this book is the conflict - not that it happened but what it was actually about. I was confused as to why Caroline would trust a complete stranger over the man that she had been dating for weeks without even giving him the chance to explain. For me, I would guess that it had more to do with the relationship with her father; however, I don’t feel like we learn enough about him for me to understand why she’s so quick to believe the worst about Dune. Maybe if the father character had been shown as untrustworthy as well as financially controlling then her actions would make more sense to me.

I DNF'd this audiobook
I just couldn't get into this book. I couldn't get into with the dialogue. I would have preferred first person POV.

This is such a fun heartwarming summer read. Fun setting in small beach town of Seaport. A dreamy boat captain. The sunsets and summer love are all what make this such a fun summer beach read. The audiobook was dual narrated by Stephen Borne and Samantha Summers. These two were fantastic for the characters. I thought the voices and emotions really were conveyed perfectly.

I received a copy of this book in audio format courtesy of NetGalley.
2.5 stars
The story started off promising, where a girl is venturing on her own to explore a dream destination and push back on a job she doesn’t want (but is being handed with a silver spoon via rich/known parents). While the sense of adventure made me interested in this book, I can’t say I was intrigued by “Captain Blue Balls.” Instead of her going forth with her touristy must-dos, she gets employed and she does things through his own planning. I wish she had given real independent time (tho it was offered to her) to have more character development. It’s a romance but a woman still has her own wants and life to live. The ending felt rushed and offset, and it seemed more clingy than a fated romance.
Spice is there, and I was not expecting the last chapter of spice, given the circumstances at the end of the story (no spoilers here).
There is a second story but I don’t feel keen to read it.

Heart warming and with the sense that the path you are on might not be your destiny and to keep you mind and heart open, this was a great audiobook. Caroline gets take a summer vacation that changes her future. Dune has always played the filed and never let his heart get in the way, but when he meets the seemingly different girl everything changes. Two unlikely individuals that come together as a stronger and healthier unit. With wonderful moments that will pull on your heartstrings this was a great listen.

📚 The Lobster Trap by Heidi McLaughlin and Kassidy Maye
🔖 Series: The Seaport Series
🎧 Format: Audiobook
📕 Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Romance
📖 Read: June 2024
✨ Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

“You're beautiful. I hope you know that. And if no man has ever told you as such, shame on them.”

<b>‎‧₊˚✧ Tropes ✧˚₊‧</b>
ꕥ Small Town
ꕥ Vacation Romance
ꕥ Boss/Employee
ꕥ Opposites Attract

This book drew me in with its adorable cover!! After reading the description I was super excited when I was approved for this audiobook. This is my first Heidi McLaughlin and Kassidy Maye novel.

There were a lot of things I enjoyed about the book. It was super cute and easy to get through. I really enjoyed the narration by Stephen Borne and Samantha Summers. I am always a huge fan of small towns and the atmosphere was perfect for the summer. Dune was such an incredible human. He was so patient with Caroline and he never gave up on his love for her. I also really loved the supporting characters, especially Wilson and Speed. They were the perfect support system for Dune. I would definitely love if this series included stories for each of them.

Unfortunately, there were a couple of things I did not like. I was not a fan of Caroline. In the beginning she seemed very naive and out of touch. The conflict that ultimately lead to the third act break up was completely unnecessary and 100% because of Caroline’s foolishness. She was a very frustrating character for me. I also found that the book ended abruptly. I did predict what would happened at the end, but I felt we needed a bit more wrap up.

With that said, I would still recommend this book. Just because I wasn’t a fan of Caroline doesn’t mean others won’t be. I know this is a series and I’m sure we will definitely get to see more of Caroline and Dune. I think the writing was fantastic and the audiobook really made the story come alive. I am looking forward to continuing this series.

Thank you NetGalley, RBmedia, Tantor Audio and Heidi McLaughlin and Kassidy Maye for the audiobook. This is my voluntary, honest review.

Caroline heads to Seaport for a summer long vacation after graduating from Yale. Living under her father expectations to return home to work in the family business, she wants to at least enjoy the summer.

She meets Dune, the local businessman and heartthrob.

This was a great summer romance read!

Many thanks to Net Galley and Tantor Audio for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Lobster Trap feels like this year‘s next great summer read. I love city to small town aspect of the book and that the female main character was successful, but not fulfilled, before meeting the local male hunk. The story seemed to flow naturally and had a clear timeline and nicely built up to the end of summer. My main gripe with the audiobook was the male narrator. His voice didn’t have as much versatility and even during the parts where he should have been excited, his voice didn’t change much. I think in this aspect I might have enjoyed reading the physical book more than listening it

This is a cute entry into the summer fling turns everlasting love arena. Recommend for a quick, lighthearted summer romance. A great beach read.

A fun summer beach read by a new to me author. This was good on audio - a lighthearted and feel-good read perfect for fans of authors like Susan Mallory or Elin Hilderbrand. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest thoughts. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

I loved, loved this book. It had a great story, a great narrator, and what a gorgeous cover. Don’t miss out on this read (or listen)!!