Thank you NerGalley and Boldwood Books for the chance to read and review this book. The Beach House has many secrets. Each of the four collogues that work at The Studio are going to a work weekend at Nicol's beach house. There are four voices, four points of view and the events of the party that has ramifications for all of them. It seems they are all hiding big secrets from one another. It's a very good story and the truth is full of surprising twists. However, the book needs a proofreader and the ending left part of the story unresolved. It could have been 5 stars but it needs more work,

Unveiling Hidden Secrets

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)

Nina Manning's "The Beach House" weaves a familiar yet captivating tale, uniting a diverse group of characters, each guarding their own secrets. While not groundbreaking, Manning crafts a well-rounded story with compelling characters that maintain the reader's interest throughout.

The plot follows four women – Nicole, Audrey, Margo, and Paisley – as they escape for a weekend at Nicole's beach house. The tranquil setting becomes the backdrop for relaxation, bonding, and business brainstorming. The narrative alternates between perspectives, allowing Manning to delve into the inner struggles of each character, slowly revealing their hidden emotions and unresolved issues.

The structure, switching between the weekend trip and memories of a party six weeks earlier, adds suspense. However, the heavy foreshadowing around the party sometimes overshadows its importance, losing subtlety. While the twists are enjoyable, they can be a bit predictable due to the heavy hints.

Manning excels in character development, portraying each woman distinctly with their flaws and complexities. As the story progresses, tension mounts, aided by shorter chapters leading to the climax. The final twist brings satisfying closure, highlighting Manning's storytelling skill.

Yet, the pacing stumbles in the middle, with moments of stagnation, potentially prompting readers to skip ahead. The ending, though satisfying in some aspects, feels sudden, leaving loose ends for Audrey, Margo, and Paisley. A more thorough conclusion for these characters would provide a more gratifying sense of closure.

In conclusion, "The Beach House" by Nina Manning captures the hidden layers beneath seemingly ordinary lives. With engaging character-driven storytelling and a skilful blend of past and present, the book maintains readers' attention, despite some areas for improvement. While not groundbreaking, it offers an enjoyable and worthwhile read.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy. I'd rate "The Beach House" around 3.5 to 4 out of 5 stars, acknowledging its strengths while noting areas for enhancement.

This was a good psychological thriller with a brilliant ending that you don’t expect. The characters were great, the story was enjoyable and the style of writing was perfect. I have read of few books by this author and haven’t been disappointed with any of them. Looking forward to the next book out. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading this genre.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this in exchange for a honest review.

A quick enjoyable thriller about a group of women spending a weekend at a beach house for a "work retreat". All of them have their own secrets...and they may also share in one big one together (unknowingly).

This is told from each of the women's perspectives in alternating chapters, and between 2 different timelines. There were some elements of the story that seemed a bit unnecessary to include (most of Margo's plot). The constant use of vague terms to hide who the man was for one character was a bit annoying, and kind of obvious.

There were a few twists in the book, some pretty obvious, but nonetheless, enjoyable. I didn't really like how one very major plotline didn't get a proper resolution. There was not confrontation or consequences for the character's actions, which was extremely frustrating.

I still enjoyed the book and read it pretty quickly. If you need something with a bit of mystery and is quick to get through, this is a good read for that.

The Beach House is a slow burner which, for me, never really got going. I didn't like the characters and when the twists did happen they seemed a little far fetched to me. Unfortunately it didn't really work for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for my ARC.

I wasn’t really sure what to rate this one so I rounded up. I spent most of the book waiting for something to happen, while I very much disliked all the characters. All quite different but all pretty irritating.

But things picked up at the end and got kind of ridiculous, but in an entertaining sort of way.

I figure it’s kind of a beach read that you don’t take too seriously, but read to watch people just be irritating and then have things unfold in an unrealistic, and kind of crazy sort of way. And that’s fine.

Title: The Beach House
Author: Nina Manning
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Genre: Thriller
Pub Date: August 16, 2023
My Rating: 3.6 rounded up
Pages: 300

Story is told from the POV of each of the four characters in two timelines Present Day and The Party which was six weeks ago.
Work related fun vacation at the Beach gone wrong!
Nicole has invited work colleagues Margo, Paisley and Audrey. Nicole for work related get away weekend at her family’s luxurious beach house. The great cover got my attention~
She has hired a private chef and ordered plenty of alcohol. Everyone is anticipating a fun weekend, however everyone has secrets and when the alcohol starts flowing so do the secrets.

Not sure if this makes sense to you but I found this story slow yet a fast read.
I read a lot of thrillers so know to expect twists and turns. However when the twist came it sure wasn’t what anything I expected.

I also enjoyed the back of the book with both the ‘Acknowledgements’ and ‘Book Club Questions’.
In the ‘Acknowledgements’ author, Nina Manning tells us that while editing this story, she and her husband, as well as their children and dog Missy moved to the Highlands.
She tells us that she already feels ideas brewing for her next psychological thriller.

I also enjoy the ‘Book Club discussion questions ~ I sometimes I want to take a quick look at them ahead of time but am fearful there will be spoiler.

About the author:
Nina Manning began her career in the catering industry. She has worked as a private chef cooking for royalty and TV personalities.
She has a degree in Psychology and is a voracious reader of many genres.
This is her eighth novel.
She is a mother to three young children so when she is not writing or reading she can usually be found romping in the woods with the family and her chocolate Labrador.

Want to thank NetGalley and Boldwood Books granted me this early e-Galley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for August 16,, 2023.

It should have been the perfect weekend.... Work colleagues Nicole, Margo, Paisley and Audrey all appear to be looking forward to a weekend away at Nicole's luxurious beach house in the Dorset coast. It should be a chance for the women to kick back, relax and regroup after a stressful moment at work. But this is no normal girls' getaway. And the beach house is no normal home. The place holds dark secrets for Nicole, which threatens to be revealed when its doors are opened. And unbeknownst to host Nicole, each of the three other guests all have secrets of their own.... and some of them could be deadly.

There are a few far-fetched plots and one-dimensional characters. The story has a dual timeline - the present day and the past when a party took place six weeks ago. Each character had their own story to tell, and it's told from multiple points of view. There are quite a few characters, some are only in it for a short space of time. You do need to suspend your beliefs whilst reading this book. It's also a bit of a slow burner. There are a few surprises along the way but, for me, there was no shock element.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #BoldwoodBooks and the author #NinaManning for my ARC of #TheBeachHouse in exchange for an honest review.

Another slow burn book, seems to be the norm lately. Not overly likeable characters with weird twists along the way. Book flips back and forth between present day and a previous party and each chapter is told from a different perspective/person. Slightly confusing at time. Thank you netgalley for the advance copy

Nicole Audrey Paisley and Margo are all coworkers doing a podcast at the studios owned by Nicole. The podcast is called Laid Bare and recently Nicole said something the public deemed inappropriate and now they’re trying to sway the publics opinion back to their favor. The women are all meeting at Nicole‘s Beachhouse and although she has some dark memories there she’s trying to make things better by making new ones but it seems right before their extended weekend something happened that has Nicole rattled and unlike herself. Paisley is the first want to show up at the beach house and let herself in and quickly starts nosing around she even goes into Nicole‘s room and steals her lipstick but before she can look in the wardrobes she hears a car outside and soon hears a knock at the door. She learns when opening up the door it’s Ali the chef Nicole hired to cook for the girls weekend by the time all the women show up and dinner is ready Audrey is already well into a bottle of red and flirting with Ali but it seems he has eyes for Nicole as he keeps glancing her way whenever he thinks she isn’t looking. Margot is Bing her quiet south and just observes everyone and make sure Nicole is all right but she sees clearly that Nicole is it OK. Margo knows the business isn’t doing that well but she also knows something else that she fears may get her in trouble with Nicole because it’s devastating news that she hasn’t told her yet. Margo isn’t the only one keeping a secret however Audrey is an ex supermodel who has been married for years and has three children but she still looks extremely good and likes to flaunt it in her relationship with Gram, Nicole‘s partner almost seems a little too close for comfort and she too is hiding something. So we have Margo who has devastating secrets she’s hiding from Nicole Audrey also is hiding something from Nicole and Nicole has her own devastating secrets and memories that may ruin not only the weekend but her life and then there’s Paisley who will soon find out she is pregnant in a broccoli dive off the deep end. This book is packed with secrets and I haven’t even mention the guess who show up on announced the unwelcome visitor Who keeps showing up outside of the Beach House and an inconvenient kidnapping. This book is packed full of punches full of secrets and when everything is laid bare there may just be good news on the horizon. I know lately I am writing very bad reviews but OMG if I haven’t been reading really good books and that includes the Beach House by Nina Manning they have few books that could be sold involved and twisted with so many different points of view and still not be over the top and having to suspend the leaf but it is rare and this is definitely one of those books. I was a little leery because I didn’t like the waitress but I love this book the beach house it was so good the ending was awesome the twists were one after another and so OMG good I want to thank Boldwood books and net galley for my free Ark copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Ok, so this sounded something that I would love, and having read many of Nina Manning's previous novels I was super excited to read it, but unfortunately I did not finish it.

The story is set around four women, all who work together doing a pod-cast, receptionist etc. All very different, some complex and all have a secret. They go to the beach house for a few nights for a work trip and things do not go as they should.

I straight away found the characters to be really confusing, and each chapter is told from a different character's perspectives. For some reason, I could not resonate with any of these characters, all quite dislikeable and annoying.

I hate giving up on a novel as I can only think what hard work goes into making a book but I was just not enjoying this novel.

Thanks to Netgalley, Nina Manning and the publisher for allowing a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

It's been a while since I've read anything from Nina and what a book to come back to.

This book is a slow burner that keeps you guessing, it is split between present day and a party from 6 weeks previous. Each character had their own story to tell and something new unfolded along the way.

I'm really excited to read what Nina comes up with next. Her books always keep me invested and he me sitting on the edge of my seat.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My first Nina Manning book but definitely not my last! I enjoyed this ‘beachy’ read. Lots of perfectly developed characters that kept me flipping pages way past my bedtime. This was packed with tension, twists and great reveals.
Thank you NetGalley, Nina Manning and Casey Davoren at Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read and review this new book!

I was sadly disappointed with this one. It was very predictable with other books I'd read. I didn't like the characters and the story was very lacking. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This was a roller coaster I wanted off…soon after the ride started.

Margo, Paisley, and Audrey head to Nicole’s beach house to use the time away from distractions so they can craft a plan to save ‘The Studio’. Unfortunately, it isn’t the getaway they’d planned.

Things I enjoyed:
✔️the beach house is a supporting character
✔️inclusion of neurodivergent character
✔️locked room mystery
✔️secrets
✔️multiple POV
✔️palpable tension

Things I struggled with:
✔️the language (right from the first page!)
✔️the twist (took a distasteful direction quickly)
✔️too many characters (some with just walk on/walk off roles)
✔️women behaving badly (vindictive)
✔️suspension of disbelief
✔️stock characters underdeveloped

I was gifted this copy by Boldwood Books and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

When a group of employees plan a weekend away to “brainstorm” ideas to save the business, something a little more sinister is afoot. A group of people, each with their own secrets, some wishing to reveal all whilst others desperately hoping to keep theirs to themselves.
Honestly, none of the characters were that likeable, all very selfish in their own ways, all in it for their own benefit. You couldn’t really see a friendship connection between them, even for a group of employees – it read as them being awkward around each other, which added to the tense atmosphere.
The story was told from multiple points of view, which I like and really brought the story to life as each character gave a different twist on what was playing out.

I found the story to play out quite slowly, I think it took quite a while for anything to really happen but once it did everything started unravelling quite quickly.
I wasn’t overly surprised with the outcomes, the clues are there all the way through but I did like how it was put together, how the setting enhanced the mood of each character.
An interesting, tense read.

A decent read - not the best writing but I did want to know what happened in the end. The characters were all pretty unlikeable and 1 dimensional but there was enough intrigue to keep me going.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Boldwood Books and Nina Manning for the opportunity to read an advance copy of THE BEACH HOUSE, to be published 16 August 2023. Four women who work together meet at a beach house to review the business. However, everyone of them have secrets which result in a tumultuous period of time during this holiday near the beach. They become intertwined with one another’s personal lives and it turns into a life or death situation for them to overcome. 5/5 Stars. #NetGalley #BoldwoodBooks #NinaManning #TheBeachHouse

Margo and Paisley are weird af. Nicole has some issues that make her interesting. Audrey is horney. And they all work together on a popular podcast.
This weekend they are staying in a creepy yet beautiful beach house and they're all being extra.
It was beautiful in the end, when it all comes together. It is a real tear jerker.