Who does not enjoy a beach book? Well, this one was great! You got to go to a beach setting that many people do not get to visit and have an understanding of how times change and how history can help a place rediscover itself along with helping the characters discover themselves along the way. This book left me craving sand, surf, and sunshine.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. It was a nice beachy read if you want something light, but I found that the characters' stories jumped around a bit too much for me, and I found myself lost from time to time.

I've gone back and forth on whether I'd give this 3 or 4 stars. I did enjoy it but probably not as much as a few other of Susan Wiggs books. I loved the setting though and how they all worked together to save the vintage campers.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 20 June 2023

quite the let down. It felt disjointed and so many story lines that never were developed
Not a fan

I enjoyed this story and appreciated the relationships. Nikki, the main character, was one I loved, then hated, then loved again. Throughout my ups and downs with her I liked seeing her come to terms with her past and re-connect with those who love her.

As a whole, I liked the book and was curious to keep reading and follow the journey. My issue with this book is that it just had too much going on, and so it felt stretched thin. Everything was related, but the flow wasn't always there.

The first third of the book we spend with Nikki as she faces the drama of losing her best friend and an attempted cover-up of his cause of death just after finishing high school (I actually went and checked the synopsis about 25% in to see if this was really a YA read). We then had a few short chapters of Nikki's next big loss and life transition. Part 3 takes us back to Nikki's hometown to reconnect with her family and friends, and the last third (part 4) we get to the character and relationship growth. It just felt like so much build up, and then the resolution of all the different conflicts has about 2 chapters to wrap it all up.
My other complaint lies in the dialogue. It just felt forced at times.


To sum up my complex feelings on this one I liked the story, I just wanted more from it. Read this one if you want an easy read and aren't going to sit and nitpick like I apparently did 😂

Highly entertaining, emotionally thrilling, heartwarming and action-packed adventure filled with desire, the struggle for happiness and passion. Was a edge of your seat exciting journey from beginning to end.

This was really good! I loved the setting, and the addition of the surfing storyline, I felt like I was learning something new and it felt like I was there at the beach with the characters.

Ultimately this is a story of redemption, family ties, with a little bit of a happily ever after tied in. Very well crafted, a delight to read, and a very satisfying beach read.

This women's fiction novel has all the wonderful characterization and sense of place that I have come to expect from Susan Wiggs, but the structure felt a little disorganized to the point that the two timelines felt like two different books. I did like the way the past informed the present, but it would have been less confusing if a stronger connection between the two stories had been established earlier on. Still, this was a solid summer beach read, and I do recommend it to fans of the author.

Beach read book great for summer. The setting definitely screams beach but I had a hard time with the fact that I felt the story jumped all over the place. It’s a character driven novel so if that’s not your thing I don’t think you’ll enjoy it. I will commend the author for wrapping up the end. Overall I liked it but didn’t love it.

Every town has its secrets... In idyllic Alara Cove, a California beach town known for its sunny charm and chill surfer vibe, it’s graduation day at the elite Thornton Academy. Nikki was a townie scholarship student and shocked the audience with some truths that no one wanted to hear. She left town and didn't look back. Now 15 years later her dad and sister need her and she needs a place to recover from an accident. One old friend welcomes her, the rest of the town is holding a grudge. Can she make a difference again? Family and romance along with small town politics make this an enjoyable read.

This is a good book. The two main characters are Nikki and Cal. They have known each other all their life. Nikki goes away to surf after graduation and comes back fourteen years later. She runs into Cal right after she comes home. Cal is a police officer. They start dating. They each have some issues but together they work them out and fall in love.

Welcome to Beach Town
Author Susan Wiggs
Available now!

Thank you, @uplitreads, @williammorrow, @netgalley, and @susanwiggs, for my #gifted copy of another perfect summer read! I have read several Susan Wiggs novels and can now truly appreciate her talent for writing emotional novels filled with themes of love, second chances, found family, and perseverance. In the heart of many of her novels is a woman who is met with challenges, learns of her strength, and pulls through in a graceful and inspiring way.

Welcome to Beach Town is set in Alara Cove, California, an affluent coastal town that's known for great surfing. Nikki Graziola, a local, is attending the elite Thornton Academy on a scholarship and proves her worth and intelligence by becoming the graduating class's valedictorian. However, during the last few months of her senior year, a devastating tragedy occurred and was mishandled in order to protect the school's most wealthy and influential families. Nikki can't just stand by and watch this injustice; she must do what is right, not what is easy. And this decision will cost her everything.

Now, with a drastic change in her future's plans, Nikki leaves Alara Cove and starts over. She falls in love, becomes a competitive surfer, and once again, is met with an unimaginable tragedy. Seeking refuge and solace in her hometown from her father, Nikki, once again, struggles to rebuild her future. And here in her unique hometown, she finds people and places that were there all along - she just didn't notice them in these ways in the past.

Here, she begins to find her true purpose, and let herself be supported by people who have always loved her. Truly a story of second chances, bravery, and of love, Welcome to Back Town is a novel of healing, fighting for what we believe in, and of starting over.

Don’t let the cover fool you on this one, it’s not a light beach read, but one steeped with heartache, loss, found family and ultimately hope. Check the trigger warnings if you are sensitive to some before reading.

Synopsis:
Nikki Graziola is a local girl in the idyllic Alara Cove, California. Her father runs a trailer park and is a local surfer. She is on scholarship at the exclusive Thorton Academy and winds up earning the spot of valedictorian. Nikki uses her time on stage to call out the injustice of her best friend’s death that is being covered up by the school. This revelation pits Nikki agains the wealthy movers and shakers of Alara Cove, stripping her of her chance to go to college. When one door closes another opens and Nikki is offered a chance to make it as a professional surfer in Australia. Unfortunately this ends in heartache for her and she ends up years later back in Alara Cove to face her past. Old friendships, rivalries and a budding new romance draw her back into her old familiar life.

My thoughts:
This was a beach town read with a lot of substance. The first part of the book felt YA because we meet Nikki when she is graduating from high school but the rest felt like a journey of second chances and finding your way in the world when you have always felt on the outside .looking in. Don’t miss this compelling summer read.

Susan Wiggs delivers a captivating story, unveiling a picturesque California beach town's hidden secrets and the ripple effects they cause. The revelations of hidden secrets and their far-reaching impacts keeps readers engaged. While the pacing seemed sluggish at certain points, hindering the story's flow, Wiggs' talent for crafting stories of redemption, friendship, and unexpected romance shines through, making it a rewarding and enjoyable read. Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for allowing me to read and review.

What says summer read more than a book with beach in the title? And this beautiful cover! I believe this is my first read by this author and I was pleasantly surprised. I expected a summer fluff read and I got more than that.

Nikki’s life has been tough and just keeps getting a little tougher. The reader get the parts of her life that were impactful before telling the story in the present day. It was an interesting choice to show Nikki’s school and graduation and then jump ahead 15 years to another tragedy.

Nikki is a resilient woman. She is forced to have courage but rises to the occasion.

No matter what you love in a read, this one has a little bit of that for you. Some romance, coming of age, friendship, and parent child relationships.

This is very much character driven and mostly from Nikki’s POV. She makes tough choices and pays any consequences. And bounces back from anything thrown at her. I became very invested in Nikki and rooted for things to turn her way.

What a great read about second chances.

⭐This was my first book by Susan Wiggs somehow, so even though she is wildly popular, I had no idea what to expect!

👀I was thinking maybe a beach romance but this was SO MUCH MORE.

🎓The book starts out with the main character, Nikki is giving her valedictorian speech at her high-school graduation when she goes off script with some big secrets and accusations that throw the whole town into uproar! Truly a #speaknow moment (iykyk) 💜

⏳The timelines jumps around quite a bit to her current crisis and also goes back in time to show us much about how her childhood shaped who she is today.

🏄It all led up to her coming back to her hometown as an adult where she'll have more tough decisions to make to stand up for truth!

I thought the ending was very satisfying and full circle 👏

Overall, I think this is a fun and easy summer read 🌞

Susan Wiggs always has the ability to write a great story and create characters that feel real. I've enjoyed some of her past books as well and am thankful to Uplit Reads for sending me a copy of this one.

This is a perfect summer read. It will have you dreaming of sand and the beach and an idyllic small town. At it's core, this is a story of second chances and never being afraid to live and speak your truth. I enjoyed the story telling and the journey and really just loved reading this book!

I struggled to get into this book, but once I got a couple of chapters in I was good- pretty sure it was me vs the book being the issue.

An emotional, yet heartwarming ride on the pipeline. Nikki Graziola has a bright future ahead of her as an artist and surfer. But during her commencement, Nikki goes off script and reveals a secret about the school that caused the death of her best friend, causing a major scandal in the school and its community. In its wake, she goes into exile as a professional surfer, where she finds fame, but not fortune. I devoured this book!!

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review. All opinions are mine alone.

Nikki Graziola grew up in the little beach town of Alara Cove, California in a surfing community with Airstream campers. She loves art, she loves surfing, and is poised for a great future ... until she stands up to a prep school fraternity after a tragic incident at school. She makes a new life, but finds herself back in Alara Cove in her 30's, helping her father with his young daughter, and helping him restore the Airstream community.

I wanted to read this novel because it looked like a good summer read, with surfing and the beach community. I love Airstreams and vintage campers, so that appealed to me too!

This was a wonderful beach read with some real substance, characters I cared about (including Nikki, her family, friends, and love interest). And I did love the details about the vintage Airstreams too!

I enthusiastically recommend Welcome to Beach Town for fans of beach reads, summer books, small town settings, surfing, vintage campers, women's fiction ... it is such an engrossing and ultimately heartwarming book.