Rate this book

Beach Season (2012)

by Lisa Jackson(Favorite Author)

3.38 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0758265638 (ISBN13: 9780758265630)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Kensington

review 1: I am very thankful to have been selected to receive Beach Season from a Goodreads' First Reads Giveaway.Beach Season is a compilation of stories by Lisa Jackson, Cathy Lamb, Holly Chamberin and Rosalind Noonan. Each story shares a tale of love with the beach as the setting. In June's Lace by Cathy Lamb, June MacKenzie is moving on from her soon-to-be ex-husband by designing wedding gowns in a beach house on the Oregon coast. Too bad he doesn't want to move on from her. When an emergency thrusts songwriter Reece in to her life, she can't help but get involved and just maybe re-examine her decision never to marry again.June and her beautiful wedding dress ideas were fun to read. I really enjoyed all the crazy characters in June's family. They brought so much to the story. I ... morewill definitely be checking out more Cathy Lamb novels in the future.Second Chance Sweethearts by Holly Chamberlin has Thea Foss hiding out in the coastal town of Ogunquit from her thieving ex-husband. When she runs into her high school sweetheart, she gets another chance at first love.This was probably my least favorite book of the compilation. The flow and choice of words seemed a little outdated to me. It was a cute story, but just maybe not my style.In Carolina Summer, Jane Doyle is trying to hide from a hitman that is out to get her after she witnessed a crime. On her way to visit her brother in Florida, she is stranded in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. While hoping the hitman won't find her, she meets Sheriff Cooper and starts to fall for him.Carolina Summer might have been my favorite of the four books. It was face paced and I really enjoyed Sheriff Cooper and the people of Outer Banks.The Brass Ring by Lisa Jackson is about a doctor whose fiance is in a car accident the night before their wedding. When Parker comes to in the hospital he can't remember what happened -- or Shawna. Shawna is determined to prove to Parker that he still loves her and they can continue their lives together as planned. I really enjoyed the twists that Shawna and Parker had to go through in The Brass Ring. It was an entertaining story.Overall, Beach Season will make a great beach read. Each story is different enough that you really get a wide variety of summer fun. It's definitely one to take with you on vacation for a light read. Thanks Goodreads!
review 2: So, I just got this book a couple days ago, and am still in the process of reading it. This book is set as a 4-in-1; something that you don't see very often, unlike 2-in-1s, and that often annoys me rather than just doing separate books. Anywho, these books are basically about summer, and how "Every summer offers a new beginning", as the cover says. Each book is about 100 pages long, give or take, so they are very quick to read. I read the first book entitled "June's Lace" yesterday, and I shall start this review off with that book."June's Lace": I absolutely loved this book!! It was such a cute little love story about a girl getting over her divorce while trying not to fall in love with the gorgeous 'chariot driver' Reece after he saves her from nearly drowning in the ocean. They end up living next door to each other, and eventually, June changes her mind about men and falls in love. I loved how the plot started so quickly. Reece is introduced pretty much straight away, and the plot just grows from there. I hated Grayson soooo much, and was so glad when he made the right decision in the end. I loved Reece! He just sounded so incredibly gorgeous and sweet. One problem I had with him though was that he sounded too much like a city boy, rather than a cowboy. Other than that, I loved this book. It didn't contain a dull moment, and just kept me laughing with June's craziness. This book also contains one of my new favourite quotes ever, "From the first day I met you until forever, I will love you." ♥ 5 stars to this book! :)"Second Chance Sweethearts": So, after three attempts at trying to read this book, I finally managed to get through it. I think my difficulty in reading this book was that it was written in the third person. For this reason, I felt slightly detached from the main character, Thea. Thea, in a way, reminded me a lot of myself, in that we are both very shy and not incredibly social. However, the idea of Thea just isolating herself from her life seemed a bit irrational to me. As if she could just put her life on pause for as long as she wanted. As for Hugh, I adored him! Based on the description of him, you could tell that he was one of those "perfect" men. He was so incredibly caring, and I loved that he really listened to Thea. However, another flaw in Thea's character was that she had difficulty talking with Hugh about her relationship with Mark. I don't understand why it was so difficult for Thea to be honest with Hugh. He was, after all, her first love. But the main flaw with this story was that there was hardly any background information given. I felt like I had to assume and guess what had happened between Thea and Hugh when they were young. I felt that hardly anything was explained about why they broke up in the first place. Other than distance and interfering parents, I have no idea what really caused the breakup. Then there was the stuff with Thea and Mark. That was a bit more descriptive; though still not really what I was hoping for. The ending, I thought was pretty ridiculous. Mark gets attacked by Henrietta (the cat), and then he runs away and Thea never sees him again. What a pussy! I mean, for an abusive husband, I expected something a bit more dramatic. Like, maybe a fist fight between Mark and Hugh... I think that the love making scene was done well, though I didn't really feel like Thea had fully committed to being with Hugh at that point. All she said was, "Okay". It still didn't really sound like she was sure about what she wanted. So, basically this was one of those stories where you just know that the girl and guy will end up together. It was too obvious and the story seemed a bit cheesy to me. I also felt that it was a bit too short, but overall, I enjoyed this book. It was cute. I'll give it 4 stars. (:"Carolina Summer": This book was a very quick read. I got through it in less than a day, which was actually a big relief. It's not that this book was really bad; I am just so sick of romance novels at the moment, which is strange because I normally only read romance novels. But for some reason I am wanting to read something intellectual right now. So I hope to get through the last book (The Brass Ring) very soon so I can move onto something a bit more intellectual. Now onto the review: this book reminded me far too much of "Second Chance Sweethearts". The plot was just too familiar. You have a very emotional and vulnerable female character who is on the run from someone who is trying to kill her. Once in isolation she meets (or re-meets) a man and they fall in love. I actually liked "Second Chance Sweethearts" better than "Carolina Summer". My first problem was that this book was far too descriptive with the scenery, etc. Normally lots of details is good, but it just seemed so false in this book; as if the author just tried to make herself look intelligent by using lots of details. Cooper was an all right hero, but I didn't really like the relationship between him and Jane. It didn't have much depth. Jane spent the whole summer with Cooper, yet it seemed like we hardly got to see them actually together as a couple. Weeks would pass by before the next scene was explained. I just felt like I never really got to see them as a couple. The other thing that bothered me was the fact that Jane and Cooper were so ready to jump into bed together. I know that they had gotten to know each other quite well, but it just seemed too soon. Though maybe that's because the story was too quick and it seemed like I didn't get to see them together as much as I should've. The whole thing with the killer was quite over the top. Thea's story in "Second Chance Sweethearts" was at least more realistic. This story just went too far. Another problem was that Jane just seemed too vulnerable and emotional to me. I understand that she had been through a lot, but I felt that she depended too much on Cooper for protection. It didn't seem like she was being independent at all anymore, which made her seem like a very weak character. One thing I did really like about this book was that it was told both from Jane and Cooper's points of view, so I had a better understanding of both characters. This book also had more background information than "Second Chance Sweethearts". Overall though, I preferred "Second Chance Sweethearts". It was more realistic and I liked the characters better. I'll give this one 2.5 stars."The Brass Ring": The last installment in this 4-in-1 novel. I was quite disappointed with this novel. I think it had real potential to be a good story. Shawna's fiancé Parker is involved in a car accident the night before their wedding and, as a result, suffers from amnesia. He doesn't remember her and this causes tension between them. I found Shawna way too pushy with Parker. She pushed him so hard to remember her and to "love her", that she never stopped to think that Parker just needed some time and space to figure out what was going on with his life. I understand that she was upset, but pushing Parker so much to the point that she moves into his house without consulting him, and eventually even kidnaps him was completely unacceptable. She also seemed quite emotional (understandable), but she just kept going on about how much she loved Parker and how deep down he loved her too, and that she just needed to make him see that. I despised her for the fact that she kept acting like his wife. Parker wasn't yet ready for a wife; he didn't remember her! He needed time to sort through everything. Parker; however, was no angel either. I hated the way that he was always being so affectionate with Shawna by kissing her and eventually even sleeping with her, and then he acts like it was a mistake and just tosses her aside as though she means nothing to him. He was quite a selfish character, in my opinion, and he didn't really think about how Shawna really loved him. Though Shawna was selfish in her own way that she didn't stop to think that Parker needed time before he could love her. Either way, they were both annoying characters. Then you have the whole issue with Melinda's unborn baby. That was just ridiculous. Melinda was a selfish and immature character. I don't really understand why the baby situation was included in the story. It was just too loaded and I think it took too much attention away from the real issue: Parker's relationship with Shawna and his amnesia. The ending to this story really annoyed me. It was one of those endings where they are just too cheesy and romantic that you just want to be sick. You know that the characters will end up together and that they'll live "happily ever after", and you just don't even want to finish the story. That's exactly what happened to me. It almost felt like a chore to finish this novel. I also felt that it was incredibly mean that Parker threw the brass ring away. That ring should've meant a great deal to him, and I thought that it was a pretty rude gesture. The lovemaking scenes were also quite annoying, and the only character that I actually liked was Jake. Overall, this book could've been good, but the terrible characters and overdramatized plot were a big problem for me. 2 stars for this one.So, that is the end of my "Beach Season" review. My favourite book was definitely "June's Lace". I think it was the most realistic and had the most likeable characters. "Second Chance Sweethearts" was also very good. "Carolina Summer" and "The Brass Ring" were not as interesting, in my opinion. This book was a good summer read, but I think that a 4-in-1 is a bit extreme. 2-in-1s are a lot easier to handle. Next I plan on reading something a bit more "intellectual", and then, once I'm in the mood for another romance, I'll re-read "June's Lace". Fantastic story overall. :D less

Download links for: Beach Season

Advertising