Member Reviews
The Beach Babes
A Seashell Cottage Book
by Judith Keim
Cate has been friends with Amber and Brooke since they were all 13 and they became ‘The Beach Babes’. Cate felt that as they hadn’t met up for a couple of years and she contacts them for a weekend away at Seashell Cottage to celebrate their approaching 40th birthday. Although their lives are very different Cate Is a successful author , Amber works for a very successful model agency and Brooke is a wealthy wife and mother so they all have very different lifestyles and with their 40th approaching they are now finding that their lives are all now having trials none had foreseen. Follow the babes journey with the twists and turns they all must work through althpugh all vastly different.
You will laugh , cry and ponder at the decisions they all make.
Great well written book and ideal beach read that is a real page turner. 4.5/5
the beach babes have been friends since they were teenagers, they are now turning 40 and decide to get together to celebrate.. loved this story
This is my first novel by Judith Keim and I devoured it within a few sittings. We meet friends Amber, Brooke and Cate and how I absolutely enjoyed reading about these women.
They are about to turn the big 4-0 and decide to have an adventure of their own and book Seashells Cottage for a girly weekend. Each woman's story really captivated me and I was gripped from page 1 to the very end. Even though they are very good friends they all do have some issues that they are struggling with and we learn lots about these women.
I found this book to be sad in some places, lots of laughter and it would be the most perfect "beach read". I will be picking up lots of Judith Keim's books in the future as they are lighthearted, well written and the characters are captivating.
Thanks to NetGalley, Judith Keim and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
“Amber, Cate and Brooke”. Three friends since they were young children, they haven’t gotten together for a long while and now are turning 40. A decision is made to meet up in Florida at Seashell Cottage. They call themselves the Beach Babes. Each of them are having personal issues and struggling with making some important decisions. Decisions that could make or break the life they have now.
Beautiful story about friendships, relationships, family and trusting what is best to do.
Will they achieve their happily ever after?
Perfect summer beach reading…..
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
The Beach Babes; Brooke, Amber, and Cate, have been friends since elementary school when they were at Seashell Cottage in Florida. Now spread around the country, Cate thinks it would be a good idea for them to celebrate their fortieth birthday together at Seashell Cottage. I liked the strong friendship and support they had together, even including husbands and family. The women are so different adding to the appeal of their stories. Brook is a stay-at-home mom and her husband, Paul, is an OB gyn doctor. Lately he seems to be withdrawn and she fears he is having an affair. Amber is a model who is pregnant by one of the photographers who her boss really likes for herself. Cate is an author struggling with writing her books and trying to decide if she should marry Jackson, her boyfriend of seven years. Their stories stress the need for communication and give and take. I loved how they bonded together with the help of their significant others and family. Great story of love and friendship.
If your looking for the perfect holiday pool side read look no further! This is your book!
The story and the characters were real and relatable, and I never found myself board while engaged in this world.
First time trying this author but would gladly spend my money on more books from the Kindle store
This story about 3 friends since they were teens was really cute. I liked all 3, but think I liked Cate the best. All 3 had mother issues growing up with Brooke's mom the only one in the picture as they turn 40. I didn't care fir Brooke's mom at all. The was a cute book. Thanks Netgalley for the advanced copy.
Thank you NetGalley, Judith Keim and Wild Quail Publishing for the copy of the book The Beach Babes. This is my personal review.
Cate, Brooke and Amber have been friends since they were 13 years old, and they have given themselves the nickname The Beach Babes.
This book was a story of the friends and how each of them have something going on in their lives that they need their Beach Babe friends to help them navigate the issue and being the best of friends and knowing just by being together and having that friend listen things will work out he way they should. They are getting together for a reunite and reconnect weekend. The story has so many elements to it and the pieces for me fit so perfectly together.
I love the sisterhood- friendship always there for each other vibe the book has in it.
Judith Keim knows exactly how to write a story to make me want to turn each page until the very last word. She brings the story of friends to life for me.
Real and true friends are hard to come by so when you find them make sure you hang on with all you have. Together you make each other stronger and better people.
Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This was super cute!
Cate, Amber and Brooke have been friends since childhood. They are almost 40 now and the three of them are getting together for a weekend to celebrate the ocassion, Girls weekend? Count me in!
Each of them brings their own angst of course. But I am ready for it..
And then... blah... It was ok. I fnished it. But thats the best I can say for it. I really tried, but could not get into it. I didn't care about the characters, and was kind of hoping it would take a crazy turn and someone would get murdered or something to make it interesting... lol
I am 99% sure that next week if you ask me about the book I won't remember it.
I do want to thank the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review - obviously.
Amber, Brooke and Cate are the Beach Babes, the have been best friends since they were thirteen. They are coming up on their fortieth birthdays and ready for all the changes that life will bring them for the future.
Each of the Beach Babes have had their own demons growing up and imposing on their lives. The come together at seashell cottage for a girls get-away weekend that reminds them just how much they have missed and need each other. Each woman goes through life changing events that bring them closer together and shows us just how much true friends are worth.
I really enjoyed reading this book. Makes me want to see what happens next in each of these strong women's lives.
Cate, Amber and Brooke have been friends since childhood. They are almost 40 now and the three of them are getting together for a weekend to celebrate the ocassion,
Saddly, I couldn't get to the heart of the story. It wasn't the one for me.
Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this book in in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this book. I like how the chapters alternated who it was about. Some of the conversation between characters seemed awkward and weird to read and didn't seem realistic but over all I enjoyed the book.
EXCERPT: Catherine 'Cate' Tibbs stared out the window of her home office at the pine trees lining the backyard of her upstate New York property, taking a moment to study the way the wind and the rain of the autumn storm were making the green needled boughs sway like graceful dancers. The words she wanted to put on the computer screen for the new book she was writing were not coming easily to her. She knew why. She couldn't stop thinking back to the time she and her two best friends became The Beach Babes. They were such an odd trio of thirteen year olds, but somehow their friendship had formed and had endured through the years. Until recently, that is. She hadn't heard from either Amber or Brooke for several months now.
Cate sat back in her chair, made a few notes before moving away from her desk, and headed into the kitchen to make a cup of herbal tea. Time to set things in motion, she thought. She and her friends were all turning forty in the upcoming year, and she had a plan.
ABOUT 'THE BEACH BABES': Catherine “Cate” Tibbs, Brooke Ridley, and Amber Anderson, friends since they were awkward thirteen-year-olds who named themselves “The Beach Babes,” are about to face their 40th birthdays. Because they haven’t been able to get together for some time, Cate arranges for them to rent a house along the Gulf Coast of Florida for a long weekend. She hopes it will give them the opportunity to celebrate and re-ignite their friendship. Cate, an author trying to finish a book, doesn’t know that Amber, a model, and Brooke, the mother of a boy in college and younger twin girls, are as worried about their own futures as she. Together, the three women support one another as they each face a crisis in her life, proving once again the strength of women’s friendships.
MY THOUGHTS: A pleasant easy summer beach read about the enduring friendship of three women.
Yes, it was pleasant, but wasn't a particularly engaging read. It took me a good 75% of the book before I began 'hearing' these women and seeing them as real characters.
I enjoyed the storyline, even though it was rather predictable, but found the dialogue rather formal and stilted in places.
Of the three main characters, I liked Amber the most. That woman has backbone. I liked Brooke the least. She's one of those slightly whiny 'My husband isn't paying me enough attention. I may just divorce him.' women. Cate is the facilitator, the glue that holds the three together.
⭐⭐⭐.2
#TheBeachBabes #NetGalley
I: @judithkeim #wildquailpublishing
T: @judithkeim #WildQuailPublishing
#contemporaryfiction #domesticdrama #friendship #romance #womensfiction
THE AUTHOR: I’ve loved stories and reading from the time I played “Librarian” with my sister as a young girl. Living in a relatively small town in upstate New York, reading became a way to experience the world in a way I couldn’t otherwise do.
Many a hot, summer afternoon was spent reading, sprawled on the front porch “glider”, escaping to a time and place far from there. My mother was an avid reader, some might suspect to keep her sanity while raising three active children – especially when my brother was doing experiments with his chemistry set!
Books were always present – being read, ready to go back to the library or about to be discovered. Information from the books was shared in general conversation, giving all of us a wealth of knowledge. Perhaps that is why I was drawn to the idea of writing stories early on.
I particularly love and write novels about women who meet unexpected challenges with strength and find love along the way, stories with heart. A child or dog in the story is a plus.
Presently, I lived in Boise, Idaho with my husband and our two dachshunds, Winston and Wally and other members of my family. (judithkeim.com)
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Wild Quail Publishing via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Beach Babes by Judith Keim for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage
Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of The Beach Babes ebook from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
This book follows three women Cate, Amber and Brook who have been friends since childhood and are on the brink of their 40th birthdays. Coming together for a long weekend to celebrate and reconnect, they discover that each of them are dealing with life changing challenges and decisions to be made. They need each other and their friendship more now than they ever have.
I didn’t realize that this book was part of a series! The meeting place for the long weekend trip is Seashell cottage which the setting for the other stories in the series. You can’t definitely read this stand-alone like I did and still enjoy it.
This is a wonderful lighthearted story of long lasting friendship, family connection and celebration. Rating this book 3.5 stars. I recommend this quick read to add to your vacation/cottage list.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early look at this book; I appreciate it.
This book is part of a series, but each book is a standalone as what ties the books together is the location, which certainly sounds beautiful.
This lovely story is about three lifelong friends who are about to turn (gasp!) 40. I enjoyed that these main characters were a bit more mature than many other books I've read recently. Their friendship and the issues each of them are facing are the heart of this book. It's a quick easy read, and I'd definitely call it a beach book. I enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone looking for a summer read.
I will leave a review on Amazon and B&N on June 7th
The Beach Babe's have been best friends since they were 13. Now they are turning 40 and decide to have a get together to celebrate a little bit early. The storyline that follows will have you laugh, cry and cheer them along as they face different issues and hardships in their lives. I would recommend this book to everyone.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher, I am under no obligation to leave a favorable review the opinions expressed here are my own.
Beach babes was a great book about friends and friendship and what happens when life throws you curve balls.
Cate, Brook and Amber have been friends for a long time but life has shifted them all over the place. Cate is an author living near New York, Amber works for a modeling agency in New York and Brook is married with two kids out in California. Cate decided she wanted to see her friends and plans a long weekend for them and they all are determined to take this break.
From that point on their lives are inextricably changed because they each realize again how important their friendship is and they hat they really need to lean on one another.
This story talked about friendship, love and loyalty and what it means to have someone you can rely on i matter the situation.
Definitely recommend
The Beach Babes is the fourth book in Judith Keim’s Seashell Cottage series of stand-alone stories. Each of the books features the lovely beachfront Seashell Cottage, on Florida’s Gulf Coast south of Tampa, as part of the telling of the tale.
Cate Tibbs (an author with a looming deadline), Brooke Ridley Weston (a doctor’s wife and mother with 10 year old twin daughters and a son in college), and Amber Andrews (former model now working to learn the business end of the fashion industry) had been best of friends since childhood. In fact, as only children with stressful childhoods, they had become as close of sisters. With busy lives and conflicting schedules, getting together has not been possible, but the time has come to make it happen. And Cate has just the place for the friends to meet, Seashell Cottage.
As they enjoy their visit, confidences are shared, decisions are made, and the ladies swear not to let so much time go by again without being together. The weeks and months that follow their trip bring about new beginnings, renewed relationships, but also loss.
This well plotted story is filled with wonderfully drawn characters. This story is fresh and looks at life from a more middle aged viewpoint. I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!