The Beach Trap

I went into this book eager for a light read with a nostalgic feel about two women with a complicated past who are forced to work together on an old beach house. Mission accomplished! The Beach Trap is a story about grief, family, second chances, a beautiful old beach-side home and holding grudges like it's an Olympic sport.

I liked the friends to half-sisters premise with all its ensuing emotional baggage and the forced proximity trope. And that beach setting?! You can hear the waves and feel the sand in between your toes. 

But it's not all margaritas, picking out paint colours and sisterly love. The story starts strong but slows considerably in the middle and while I liked Blake's POV, Kat and her consistent cliched rich girl entitlement was annoying. But it was the way both sisters constantly jumped to conclusions about each other grated on my last frayed nerve. Miscommunication, you are a trope that I hate.

This is a light, predictable escapist read, that is a good pick for HGTV/home improvement lovers who like some romance and family dysfunction set in a beautiful beachy setting and a dilapidated sea-side mansion that, like the relationship between two former friends, is in need of a massive renovation.

My Rating: 3 stars

Author:

Genre: Romance, Light Fiction

Type and Source: eBook from public library

Publisher: Berkley

First Published: June 14, 2022

Book Description from GoodReads: Two best friends torn apart by a life-altering secret. They have one summer to set the record straight.

When twelve-year-olds Kat Steiner and Blake O’Neill meet at Camp Chickawah, they have an instant connection. But everything falls apart when they learn they’re not just best friends—they’re also half-sisters. Confused and betrayed, their friendship instantly crumbles.

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.

Kat and Blake reluctantly join forces to renovate the dilapidated house with the understanding that Kat will try to buy Blake out at the end of the summer. The women clash as Blake’s renovation plans conflict with Kat’s creative vision, and each sister finds herself drawn into a summer romance. As the weeks pass, the two women realize the most difficult project they face this summer will be coming to grips with their shared past and learning how to become sisters.