Genre: Romance | Romantic Comedy

Release Date: Expected 30th June 2021

Publisher: One More Chapter | Harper Collins

Content Warning: Some sexual imagery, mentions of death, mentions of cheating.



Lottie Watt loves book club - until she has to make a very sudden and not graceful exit for not following the rules. So now she wants to bring the fun back to book club and decides to start her own - where the fun, the cake and the laughter is far more important than rules, where you can read 'books we'd want to take on holiday, and books that take us on holiday.'

And so, The Beach Reads Book Club is born and have their first meeting at Books By The Bay, a very cute bookshop cafe that was reluctantly offered by Matthew Steele, the gorgeous but slightly prickly owner and his family. As far as first meetings go, it's one for the history books.

But as the pages start to turn, Lottie starts to learn that maybe Matt isn't so scary after all, maybe he's just got another story that's waiting for the right person to read it.



Kathryn Freeman always has a way of bringing strong, beautiful women and mouth watering romance together in a winning combination that's always impossible to put down. Right from the beginning, I was sucked in and needed to know more about not just Lottie and Matt, but the whole eclectic cast of the Beach Reads Book Club. From Audrey, a lonely retiree with a skill to always find the best sex scenes, to Sam who's been desperate for adult conversation since they had a baby, to Gira who is convinced her marriage is falling apart around her - each character was so full of life and love that as each chapter went by they felt more like old friends.

Without even knowing it, Lottie was forming a community- not just a club. It was a place all of our characters came together and learned to be better friends, better people, and just have fun.

And while the friendships of this story were absolutely wonderful - of course there's the prospect of romance in the air. But Lottie knows despite how many epic romances she's read, nothing is ever simple when it comes to matters of the heart - there's always baggage, unresolved exes, or a dog who doesn't like you very much getting in the way.

"If you think that's what romance books are all about, you've clearly never read one. They're about hope, about joy. About handling adversity and coming through the other side stronger. Yes, they're also about love, the most powerful emotion you'll ever experience."

I so badly want to be a part of this club, and finding out what they were reading about every month was an absolute delight - I was so happy when they discussed books I'd already read (Love Square was brilliant) and I'll definitely be checking out the rest of their reading list now too. As I've said before, I'm a sucker for books about books, and this one was the gin and the tonic.



RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Kathryn Freeman and One More Chapter for inviting me to read this ARC in return for an honest review.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Lottie, is booted out, from a book club, because she didn’t follow the rules. So, as she loved being part of one, she decides that she’s going to start her own, one without rules but plenty of conversations, cake and gin. Probably more of this than actual book discussions.

So, Lottie, finds a place to have the meetings, a bookshop/coffee shop.

The owner, Matthew, has his own issues of why he’s there running it with his family. As do members of the club.

Soon it’s not just the book club that’s heating up.

Some of the books up for discussion are ones by favourite authors.

If only I could find a book club like that, I might actually join it. Especially if it came with a brooding hunk of a man. This book is a real tonic, with lots of added gin. The author was new to me so I'm now envisaging a summer spent catching up on her back catalogue. All I need is some sun.

Lottie starts a new book club, reading the type of books she wants to reads. She talks some friends in to joining and local book shop owner Matt in to letting them hold the meetings in his shop.

Matt and Lottie are attracted to each other, but opposites in terms of personalities. When Lottie's ex reappears, will she give him another chance or choose Matt?

Great read

When the book club Lottie goes to starts to feel too much like homework, she decides to found her own. She finds a few like-minded people with whom to discuss romance novels, starting with Jilly Cooper, and they begin to meet regularly in Matt Steele's bookshop. Soon they get to know each other beyond the books. Lottie is still not quite over Henry, her ex who moved into another country. Her friend Sam just had a baby and wants adult conversation. Audrey is a lonely elderly lady with a fondness for gin who can be trusted to notice the sex scenes. Heidi is divorced and Gira worried for her own marriage.

Matt is a recovering workaholic dealing with the loss of his mother, his divorce and his feelings of guilt. The bookshop is a family affair as his father and sister are also involved but their relationships are tense. He is attracted to Lottie and Lottie to him but he finds it hard to discuss his deeper feelings and there is Henry to consider.

Eventually the friendships formed between the book club members help everyone look at life in a more positive manner.

I liked this a lot, and it would certainly be a nice addition to a beach reading list.

The book is written in third person and edited flawlessly. The steam level: there is some sex but probably not as much as Audrey would like.

I read an ARC copy and it seems like the baking character is called alternatively Heidi or Hilary (I hope this gets corrected in the published version.)

I want to join Lottie's book club where gin and cake are the order of the day. Matthew not only provides a location for them but he is easy on the eye too. An enjoyable easy read for all chicklit fans.

This is an absolutely delightful book. You will be laughing out loud so many times at the antics of these quirky characters. I adored this book and all of the characters. While Lottie and Matt are the main characters the rest are definitely needed to not only support the other two but to add their own storyline to the book.

This may be a romance novel about a book club that reads romance novels but it is a hundred other things also. It shows how you can support your friends, make knew friends, help people open up and how just getting together can make for a hundred laughs and giggles.

I do wanted to belong to this book club snd to meet up with them. These are the people I need in my life right now. I thank the author for creating such a fantastic story that I felt like they were all my friends. A beautiful story and one you should all read this summer whether you are on the beach or curled up in bed. .

The Beach Reads Book.Club is so good!
And can I say this cover is just so eye catching.

I really enjoyed this novel! I breezed right through it.
The story itself is really a great one.

-Lottie has decided the only romance she will ever have is through her books!
A woman named Lottie is in a book club where she gets kicked out of that book club... So she decides to start her very own! The Beach Reads.
The.growing club meets at Books by the Bay which is owned by Matt Steele....
Then things start to heat up between Matt and Lottie.....
Will Lottie finally get the love she has always read about???

This was just a fabulous book. I devoured and loved every second of it!
Looking for a cute, romance read.... Don't miss this amazing book!

Thank you NetGalley and One More Chapter and Author for this sweet book!

I can't believe this is the first Kathryn Freeman book I've read!
This was a brilliant book with fabulous characters and a great storyline, I especially loved the fact that the book club read real books, some I've read and some to look out for in the future, almost like being recommended them by a friend.
I would like to follow these characters more and I do hope that there will be another book to follow.
Thank you NetGalley.

With thanks to one more chapter via netgalley for an arc in return for an honest opinion.
I started this yesterday and it became apparent this book as good as it is is just not for me.
I had a quick speed through after to give me more of an idea just because its not for me doesn't mean its a bad book quite the reverse more often than not.