This book is messy, I wanted to finish it but I just couldn’t, too many cliches and awkward moments totally unnecessary and definitely not funny, the characters are poorly written and difficult to empathise with.

*3.5 stars rounded up

Synopsis - Hadley Jones & Heath Robinson were best friends in High School. However, since their graduation 10 years ago, they have not spoken. Now, Heath finds himself back in his hometown, and back in the presence of the girl he loved but could never tell. Through their reunion, they discover their true feelings towards each other.

This book is a prime example of a romantic comedy, drawing from a lot of very common clichés and tropes from the genre. Personally, I see this as a plus. The book is not pretending to be something else; it knows what it is, and leans on the genre hard. I thought the plot itself was very endearing and funny, even though it was predictable at times.

The characters were adorable. I thought Summers only explored the characters to the extent that you can tell why they behave a certain way, and doesn't delve deep into the characters. I thought this works pretty well for this particular genre.
Hadley is a yoga and dance instructor at a resort, and though she has had the dream of opening her own dance school, she finds herself stuck in the same job, and the same long distance relationship since college. She is a lovable and a relatable character. She is raised by conservative parents who have an old-world view on marriage and the roles of men and women in life. Although Hadley does not subscribe to her mother's viewpoint, she finds that some of them have subconsciously entered her life. When Heath comes back, she gets a chance to truly be herself, and unapologetically so. When she stands up to her mother finally, it is so great!
Heath is the guy who secretly loved his best friend in school, but could never garner the courage to tell her how he feels. The moment he got a chance, he left the island and moved to New York, throwing himself into his work. He has still not gotten over his "crush" on Hadley, however much he would like to. Heath is a nice character as well. He has tried to keep away from home ever since he left, but when he is brought back after his mother is in an accident, he realizes that he needs to be a better son, and a better friend, and works towards that.
My favorite characters are Heath's mother, Minerva, and Hadley's friend Nora. Both the characters have incredible personalities, and believe in living their life to the fullest. Minerva particularly is so much fun to read!

There were a good amount of laugh out loud moments, which I really appreciate. However, there were also some moments where I wished I could just skip to the end.

The title of this book is cute, but it doesn't really have any connection to the storyline and the book, which irks me a little.

Overall, this was a fun, breezy read!

Such a feel-good, funny read!

I am a glutton for a good best friends to lovers romance and this book is no exception. The banter and antics were 10/10, I felt like I was reading a story about my own best friends. Minerva was a hilarious bonus.

Happy to have read this story but sad to let these characters go.

This was a quick, cute and easy read with one of my favourite romance tropes (friends to lovers). Worth a read..

3/5 stars

This is a fun romance comedy that I simply couldn't connect with the heroine and some of her thoughts. The blurb and premise of the book kind of give me high hopes only to be crash.
I feel that just the topic was not handle so well.
Pros: I love the hero and some parts were funny.

Thank you NetGalley and Indigo Group for giving me an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

This is my first book by author Melanie Summers and I enjoyed it. The story is a sweet, humorous friends to lovers romance. Heath's mother, Minerva, was a hoot and Hadley's parents were funny in an aggravating way. Heath and Hadley's romance was more of a gradual, slow-burn based on their rebuilt friendship after being away from each other for so long. Overall a good read and I'd pick up another by this author in the future.

This book was ADORABLE! I accidentally read the whole thing in one sitting, unable to put it down. I got sucked in to Heath and Hadley’s story and was transported right to the beach.

The plot was a bit predictable, but as welcome as a comfy pair of slippers. I actually caught myself laughing out loud and grinning to myself at parts.

Although Resting Beach Face is a standalone story, I need to go back and read the other books in the series to get more time in Paradise Bay.

Thanks to Indigo Group and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

I hadn't read the first 3 stories in this series, but I have read enough books by Melanie Summers to be excited to see this one available on NetGalley.

I was not disappointed. Telling the story of Heath and Hadley, this is the perfect friends-to-lovers tale, with a big dollop of unrequited love on the side. I genuinely loved both romantic leads, despised Hadley's obnoxious parents, and adored Heath's sassy septuagenarian mum. Seriously, she has some of THE best lines.

There's *just* enough mention of what I assume are other characters in the series to pique curiosity if you haven't already read their stories, but I assume you'll love the little updates on their lives if you have. I'm definitely going to read the rest.

This is a fun read that's a page-turner. Recommended.

Thank you NetGalley, Melanie Summers and Indigo Group for the copy of Resting Beach Face. This is my personal review.
I started this book with hopes of a few good laughs and some fun romance mixed in.
But what I got was an OK romance and a bit of humor but not the amount I was looking for as I was reading.
I just could not connect or care about the characters in this book. I would say it would be an OK read for someone who wanted to just be reading and not vested in the story.

I love the cover. However I had difficultly getting into the story. I struggled to stay engaged in it. It was not for me.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by Indigo Group and #NetGalley for my honest opinion. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

This one was enjoyable but just weird?

okay seriously.. i love this author.. but WHY didnt this book work for me? it felt a tad boring and confusing which TOTALLY could just be the ARC format. I really hope this becomes an audio and if not i will pick this book up once finalized and see if its a smoother transition but I felt the common humor by this author was missing. And I am very sad to leave this review because I dont want anyone to pass this author up she seriously writes good chick lit!.

Friends to romance is one of my favourite plot lines but this book unfortunately wouldn't be one I'd re-read and it isn't very memorable for me. I liked it enough to keep reading but I wasn't really rooting for the main characters like I normally would be and didn't really mind if they ended up together or not in this case as I didn't really get caught up in their chemistry.

When I got to the end of the book, I was surprised to learn just how many books the author has published because there were so many mistakes! At one point in a chapter, it changes from the woman's POV to a single line from the guy's POV and then back to the woman again, and I'd doubt if it wasn't a mistake because it was so out of context and also a whole chapter seems to be dedicated to each of the love interests, so this was out of the usual pattern. It felt very rushed.

What I did like about the book was Minerva, the badass mother of Heath, who is determined to grow older disgracefully. She definitely made the book worthwhile.


2.5⭐

Thank you to NetGalley, Indigo Group and the author for the review copy, provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

I always enjoy Melanie Summers stories and this is another humorous, fun, Rom com. Quick, easy read with feel good and laugh out loud moments.

2.5 stars
Hadley Jones has been with her boyfriend Chase Williams since high school. Eleven years later she's still waiting for him to propose. She has the perfect wedding all planned out. Much to chagrin, she discovers Chase doesn't feel the same way.

Meanwhile her childhood best friend Heath Robinson, who could never summon the courage to express his feelings for her until it was too late, returns to their island home from New York to care for his mother Minerva after she lands in hospital.

'Resting Beach Face', the fourth of Melanie Summer's Paradise Bay series. While it delivers on its promise to be a fun and frothy second chance romance, I can't help but feel there was no depth to this story. While I don't require unncessary drama (like secret love child!) or other nonsense tropes utilised to throw pebbles on the path to romance more than it needs to be, the characters seem like caricatures.

I also don't see much of the chemistry between Hadley and Heath other than them just seeing the other person as hot. It does get better towards the end as Heath helps Hadley with her future professional goals, but it seems like not enough to create the bond between the two.

Standouts were Minerva, Heath's erstwhile mother. I loved the bond between Hadley and Minerva, if anything I think this pairing was written stronger.

That said, its a good read if you're after a low drama, frothy second chance romance.

Heath and Hadley were childhood besties. Heath could never express his enormous crush on Hadley because of her relationship with hottie Chase Williams. Ten years later, Hadley is still Chase's girlfriend, but Chase is engaged to another woman. Heath must return home after a decade when his elderly mother has a moped accident. Broken-hearted, Hadley starts loving Heath, while Heath's old feelings start bubbling again.

In a sentence, Resting Beach Face is a short rom-com filled with many clichés. Some of these were fun, but some felt too overdone. For example, Hadley embarrassing herself at every opportunity was unnecessary, and though it was funny at first, it got boring and repetitive later on. Minerva's (Heath's mom) jokes were slightly modified versions of the previous one. This was my first Melanie Summers book I kind of regret picking this up because it wasn't even close to what I was expecting. The official blurb didn't mention that the main characters were once besties or that Chase was Hadley's boyfriend (I assumed she had a crush on him). I went on reading, hoping for something more, but nothing unexpected ever came. The plotline was too simple and predictable. All the characters were typical that I've seen in other books too. I think it's okay to write clichés as long as you have something that sets your book apart. The romantic moments weren't convincing at all. Heath and Hadley just felt like two looneys stuck together for their reasons. Hadley because she just lost a long-term relationship and Heath because- well, I have no clue. The bits with Chase in it say so much about Hadley's personality. Who would stay with someone for eleven years without knowing that this is not the person I want to spend my life with? The ending made my bad experience worse by dashing all my hopes. I had foreseen it long ago and was hoping Melanie would have something different to offer in the epilogue at least, but it's just the same. I wouldn't say this book is not worth reading because some parts made the rest easier to go through. So if you're looking for a light, funny read filled with all the clichés, this novella may be for you. I received this free e-ARC from NetGalley and Indigo Group in exchange for an honest review.

Rating- 2.5/5

Another fun read from Melanie Summers! Return to Paradise Bay Resort with cameos from some of your favorite characters from previous books. This story focuses on Hadley, the resort’s dance instructor and her disastrous romantic life. When her childhood BFF Heath comes back to the island to help his mother recover from an accident, sparks fly and you can see these 2 belong together, even if they don’t exactly know it yet. A fun, lighthearted beach read as promised!

This was SO fun. I love the friends to lovers trope, and this one hit all the right notes. It's funny, low-stress, and very easy to read. The characters feel a bit one-note, but it really doesn't detract a ton from the book at all.

Hilarious and sweet friends-to-lovers!

The story starts off with Hadley blissfully on the same path she's been on since high school, while her childhood best friend, Heath, is making a splash in NYC's financial world. Then his mother is in an accident and he has to come back to his quaint island hometown to care for her, putting his city career on hold and landing him right back in Hadley's life just as she is forced to reexamine more than a decade's worth of life decisions.

These two both endure an emotional rollercoaster as they sort through what they've done so far and what they want their futures to look like as life brings each to a soul-crushing low point, and this is before they even contemplate the idea of a future together. I loved the delicate dance as they wrestle with the old and the new, making it almost a game of romance chicken as each one measures the risks involved with following their heart, hoping the other will say what needs to be said first. Hadley's friendship with Minerva was legendary, while her relationship with her own parents was uncomfortable at best even while it explained her emotional paralysis.

I promise you'll be laughing and crying in equal measure as you make this journey with Hadley and Heath, but the payoff is a beautiful HEA that was a long time coming followed by a beautiful epilogue that ties up all the what-ifs. I highly recommend this delightful romance. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

I realize that it's more than likely a wonky formatting issue, but the use of hyphens drove me CRAZY. Comft-able. Finan-cially, and so on. It was the worst and so distracting I finally gave up on reading what is probably a good book!