Review: Beach Vibes

Title: Beach Vibes

Author: Susan Mallory

Publisher: 30th April 2025 by HQ Fiction

Pages: 368 pages

Genre:  General Fiction | Women’s Fiction | Romance

Synopsis:

What would you do if you caught your brother cheating on your best friend?

While Beth is proud of her Malibu beach shop, Surf Sandwiches, she’s even prouder of her charismatic brother, Rick, who rose from foster care all the way through surgical residency. She makes subs, he saves lives. Things take a turn for the happy after she finds out Rick is dating her new best friend, Jana. Then Jana’s handsome brother adds even more sparkle to Beth’s days...and nights.

But when she catches Rick with another woman — like, with with — her visions of an idyllic family future disappear in one awful instant. Either she betrays her brother or she keeps his secret and risks losing the man she loves and her best friend.

Love and loyalty collide with secrets and betrayal in this witty and emotional tale about the lengths we’ll go to for family, from Susan Mallery, bestselling author of The Boardwalk Bookshop.

My Thoughts

My first Susan Mallory book and I really enjoyed it - good quality escapism. It does not have much to do with ‘beach vibes’ to be honest, but it has a highly engaging family drama which both intrigued and grabbed me. 

There is Beth proud of her Malibu beach shop, Surf Sandwiches and her brother who she has always supported and is now a surgeon. Then there is Beth’s best friend, Jana and her brother who is a widow and father to three children. The four hit it off and all look to be heading to a rosy future …. until it isn’t. I don’t want to give away much as the angst surrounding the colliding of love and loyalty are certainly front and centre in this tale. 

A super engaging and complex family drama making readers consider,  “what would you do?” A story of family dynamics, loyalty, friendship, romance and most definitely, betrayal. It is certainly a bittersweet read and more than just a romance. I recommend giving it a go. 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

 

Review: Wild Dark Shore

Title: Wild Dark Shore

Author: Charlotte McConaghy

Publisher: 4th March 2025 by Penguin Random House Australia | Penguin eBooks 

Pages: 389 pages

Genre: Mystery | Thriller

Synopsis:

Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers. But with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants, packing up the seeds before they are transported to safer ground. Despite the wild beauty of life here, isolation has taken its toll on the Salts. Raff, 18 and suffering his first heartbreak, can only find relief at his punching bag; Fen, 17, has started spending her nights on the beach among the seals; 9-year-old Orly, obsessed with botany, fears the loss of his beloved natural world; and Dominic can’t stop turning back towards the past, and the loss that drove the family to Shearwater in the first place. 

Then, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman washes up on shore. As the Salts nurse the woman, Rowan, back to life, their suspicion gives way to affection, and they finally begin to feel like a family again. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting her heart, begins to fall for the Salts, too. But Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers the sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realises Dominic is keeping his own dark secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, the characters must decide if they can trust each other enough to protect the precious seeds in their care before it’s too late—and if they can finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new, together. 

A novel of heartstopping twists, dizzying beauty and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is a story about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us is ending.

My Thoughts

There has been much hype about this book and let me state from the outset, I understand why. It packs a punch in so many ways, terrific reading and I highly recommend it. Evocative and atmospheric, immersive and heartbreaking.

‘Is this how it will feel when the world starts to crumble? Like you can’t see where you’re going, and at any moment you could lose your people and be left to wander alone?’

Let’s see .... 

• classic mystery/thriller with loads of twists and turns that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the final pages

• the haunting locale - harsh, remote, inaccessible

• the characters - rare but true and so identifiable - exquisitely crafted

• it’s statement on the environment, climate change and rising sea levels

• the wildlife, the island, the risks to save the seed bank for future generations

• how it captures grief and parenting

• the way the author captures the sense of place - you will feel cold just reading it!

• the climactic ending that leaves you breathless

One hundred percent compelling - one hundred percent unmissable. Do yourself a favour.

‘... maybe none of us will be, because we have, all of us humans, decided what to save, and that is ourselves.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.