Beach Rivals – Georgie Tilney ★★★★

June 3, 2023 bookclubbetweenthepagesLeave a comment

Blurb; One desert-island bookshop. Two sworn rivals. A whole summer to get through …

Clare thought that by now she would have more of her life figured out. Instead, she’s living with her parents, working a job she hates and has absolutely no idea what she wants to do with the rest of her life.

When she sees a viral job advert for a three-month bookseller position on a Bali beach, she jumps at the chance. But it’s not until she arrives in Bali that Clare realises she won’t be working in the bookshop alone…

Instead she has been partnered with handsome but infuriating Jack who thinks that all of his ideas for the bookshop are better than hers. And it’s not just the bookshop they’re sharing, but an apartment too.

Set in a desert-island bookshop, and perfect for fans of Emily Henry and Christina Lauren, Beach Rivals is an escapist, slow-burn enemies-to-lovers rom com – the ideal summer read!

My review; This is a perfect summer/holiday/beach read. Meet Jack and Clare. Both strangers brought together to run a bookshop for three months and share the flat above it. Strangers to lovers? Enemies to lovers? This duo works together to bring this bookshop back to life, busy, successful, and bring the money in. But they soon find out a secret that the owner is planning on selling. NOOO. Surely these two can change that? Both are bookworms with different love of genres. They make a great team. This is an uplifting, romantic, and full of books read with even a famous author appearance set beside the sea. I enjoyed every page. Loved it all. Highly recommend. It is a beautiful ending for our main characters. Heartwarming. A well-deserved four stars from me.

Amazon Link UK (Pre-order)

Sorry I could not find this title on Amazon US.

Happy Place – Emily Henry ★★★★

June 3, 2023 bookclubbetweenthepagesLeave a comment

Blurb; Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t.

They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.

Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.

Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who know you best?

A couple who broke up months ago make a pact to pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends in this glittering and wise new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.

My Review; This was one of my May buddy reads with Mel from Melanie’s Reads. I have loved this authors previous books, so I had to get my hands on this. Now I’m going to be honest I don’t get the hype over this one, unfortunately. I much preferred her previous books compared to this one. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a good story, which I awarded four stars, but I expected so much more. Two exs. Friends all together for one final holiday. Lots of back and forth between the exs. There is plenty of drama. The ending made me happy, a good outcome for everyone. Think I set my expectations too high for this one.

Amazon Link US

Amazon Link UK

contemporary · Bestsellers · Religion

The stranger in the lifeboat – Mitch Albom ★★★★★

June 3, 2023 bookclubbetweenthepagesLeave a comment

Blurb; Adrift in a raft after a deadly ship explosion, ten people struggle for survival at sea. Three days pass. Short on water, food and hope, they spot a man floating in the waves. They pull him in. “Thank the Lord we found you,” a passenger says. “I am the Lord,” the man whispers. So begins Mitch Albom’s most beguiling novel yet.

Albom has written of heaven in the celebrated number one bestsellers “The Five People You Meet in Heaven” and “The First Phone Call from Heaven”. Now, for the first time in his fiction, he ponders what we would do if, after crying out for divine help, God actually appeared before us? A fast-paced, compelling novel that makes you ponder your deepest beliefs, “The Stranger in the Lifeboat suggests that answers to our prayers may be found where we least expect them.”

My Review; I randomly saw this book on Tiktok one day and the rest in history my first book by this author, and it may have changed my life. I have found a new favourite author and already ordered all the rest of his books through my local library. It is such a beautiful, heart-breaking, inspiring, and survival story that involves god. I was hooked! The story is told in two those on land and those at sea. Short chapters. Amazing read. Highly recommend. Devoured it. A well-deserved five stars from me.

Amazon Link UK

Amazon Link US