Is it even summer without a book from KWH?! She is one of my favorites for feel-good women's fiction and while this one wasn't my favorite, I still truly enjoyed my time at Juniper Shores at the mommune. I guess my gripes with this one center around some parts being either a little too unbelievable or slightly too convenient. I didn't necessarily buy the idea of Iris, a 14 year old, being able to solve the mystery of her dad being framed by delving into confusing financial documents on her own but I could see why she would want to try! But I did love the strong female friendships and second chances at love scenarios and Harvey writes in such a way that you just fall in love with her characters, Not all of them but pretty darn close! This book is definitely beach bag worthy...

Thank you NetGalley, Gallery Books and Kristy Woodson Harvey for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of Beach House Rules.
This is a perfect read for summer and days at the beach. It is a story of friendship, family and the power of a community coming together. Each of the female characters deal with situations that knock them down but they gain strength through each other, solve their problems and make decisions to move on.
The characters are predictable and I was not totally immersed in the storyline. Parts were a bit sappy for me. I like a touch of drama with dark undertones. I want to be in the edge of my seat with complicated problems to figure out. This is a good story without emotional commitment and I feel it will be forgettable.

Not long ago, I read and reviewed Under the Southern Sky. I very much enjoyed that book and am glad to say that I think that Beach House Rules will also be a delight to the author's audience.

When reading novels, I always look to meet people with whom I want to spend time. The parents and children who live at the mommune fit the bill.

To back up, Charlotte's husband is in jail as the story begins. He is a high flyer whom Charlotte loves and who provided for his wife and daughter very well. Is he guilty of the financial crimes of which he is accused? While this waits to be resolved, Charlotte and teen daughter, Iris, are cast adrift. Alice sees Charlotte in a moment of supreme meltdown at the bank and offers that they could stay at the mommune.

There live a group of mothers and children who need a bit of help. Alice, who has her own backstory, offers this. In addition to Charlotte and Iris, there are several other families there and readers get to know all of them. What will be revealed about them both as individuals and in any connections that they may share?

I liked the way that the narrative was structured. Each chapter is told from a character's point of view. Interspersed are postings from a gossip site. What trouble will this unleash?

This is a very readable book that I very much enjoyed. It seems like a perfect summer read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

I’ve finally read a KWH book and I now understand all the love for her!!

This book is going to be your new found family summer read!

THE PLOT
Charlotte’s husband had been recently arrested for a white collar crime. Her and her daughter had been kicked out of their house and now they have nowhere to go. Alice is known as the town’s black widow - all three of her husbands had died. Alice takes both Charlotte and her daughter and offered them a room in her bed and breakfast beach house that is known in the community to be “the mommune”. This is pretty much how the story starts.

At the start of the book, there’s a very Gilmore Girls vibe. Then when they moved to a small coastal town in North Carolina, there’s a Lady Whistledown feels as the town has an anonymous Instagram account that shares all the town gossip.

But the best part of this book is the found family story! It was heartwarming to read about 4 moms helping each other navigate their everyday life after a loss. I love that there was a mystery side to it too towards the end!

This is overall a solid beach read that has everything: found family, small town, beach house, romance, motherhood, and mystery!!

Beach House Rules by Kristy Woodson Harvey delivered a feel-good, heart-felt summer women’s fiction with all the small-town charm and feels. Grab an iced coffee and your beach bag cause we are headed to the Mommune house!

I love small-town coastal communities and dove right into Beach House Rules. Charlotte Sitterly, her husband and their daughter Iris have built their dream home in Juniper Shores, an affluent coastal community. It’s the perfect life until Charlotte’s husband is arrested for a white collar crime, leaving Charlotte and Iris at wits’ end. The FBI has seized their home and frozen their assets. She doesn’t even have her car. Her luck changes at the bank when Alice Bailey, an acquaintance, offers to let them stay at her coastal front property. Charlotte reluctantly accepts and the worst of times turns out to be a magical summer…

The property is a former bed-and-breakfast and is known locally as the “Mommune” house. Mothers facing different circumstances all live together, sharing household and childcare duties. Rumor has it Alice is a black widow thanks to the gossip from @JuniperShoresSocialite. I loved all the small-town shenanigans, the storylines for both the women and the teens in the house. It was well rounded, and I felt invested in the outcome.

I absolutely loved time spent with these different women, discovering their secrets and found family vibe. We get a little mystery as Charlotte is certain her husband is innocent. I loved the house rules, family meal time and seeing the women uplift each other. We got to know their backstories and see them form bonds of friendship.

If you are looking for the perfect, feel good, heartwarming beach read this summer, you’ll want to add Beach Rules to your tote!

This one is going to be your next favorite beach read! There is family and friendship and drama galore! Who doesn’t love some small town scandal?!?!

Kristy Woodson Harvey really knows how to pull you in and keep you turning the pages! Thank you so much @simon.audio and @librofm for the early listening copy of this one. It is multicast and I loved the way the narrators brought the story to life!

There are themes of women empowerment and found family as well as some mystery that really had me so invested in this story!

What happens at the Beach House stays at the beach house. Kristy Woodson Harvey brings together four women whose lives innertwine due to circumstances in their lives. Alice creates a “mommune “ in her home. Charlotte is the last to join the mommune when her husband is jailed for a crime. Alice along with the other women who live in the house embrace Charlotte and her daughter Iris during this difficult time. What comes about is a friendship that last well beyond and further than the walls of the beach house.

Tuis started out a bit slow but eventually sped up some. There's a "momune" in a small town, where 4 single women and several kids are all living -- like in a commune. One has three dead husbands, another's is in prison for fraud, another's husband is in Japan, There are rules, as in a commune, and the kids, who range in age from pre-teen to HS junior, are all taken care of justlike a big family. And like most of the author's books, there's a HEA -- or two, or three, or four. as well as a big twist.

It's a great book for a beach weekend!

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy.

With each new book, Kristy Woodson Harvey seems to outdo herself! As a new mom, I truly appreciated the "mommune" concept that Kristy creates. The sad reality is that most women go through motherhood without the support of other moms! Our new digital age has made us connected, but only at a distance. This book is a beautiful and laugh out loud reminder that it truly takes a village to raise kids, and we need to be willing to participate in that village! Brava Kristy! For lovers of Schitt's Creek, Gilmore Girls, and Gossip Girl! The perfect addition to any beach bag.

I am a fan of the author's previous works but found the plot of this a little too far fetched for me. I enjoyed the characters but was distracted by the overall storylines.

Set in the fictional North Carolina beach town of Jupiter Shores, Beach House Rules is truly perfect for summer reading. Four families headed by women, each in need of support of different kinds, find themselves living together in the “Mommune”. Each with their own specialty to help each other. Filled with some mystery, romance, young love, friendship and happily ever afters, Kristy Woodson Harvey delivers a Southern/Women’s Fiction that’s sure to be one of the best beach reads this year.
I’m so grateful to Gallery Books and Netgalley for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Beach House Rules is one of the best books I have read in 2025! I have been impatiently waiting for Kristy Woodson Harvey´s latest book and it did not disappoint. I devoured this book, the story line is truly unique and I was completely invested in all the characters. I loved how the story was told from multiple viewpoints, and it kept me guessing until the very end. I love my husband but I would love a community of Moms helping each other along with mandatory beach time and family dinners. Alice, the owner of the beach house truly created a place where moms Grace, Charlotte and Julie would thrive despite their desperate situations. I love the support and the true sense of community that is displayed by these characters. A summer must read great for any vacation get this book and throw it in your suitcase now.

Looking for the perfect beach read? If you’re after a touching tale about families and friendships, sprinkled with a touch of mystery and teeny bit of romance, then this is the book you must pack in your beach bag or carry-on this summer! I adored the relationships depicted in this novel. Between mothers and children, siblings, and romantic partners, all intertwining beneath one roof of a charming beachside manor and former bed and breakfast turned into the “mommune”. The dynamics become intricate as the adults and teens residing in the so-called “mommune” navigate the delicate webs they weave all while social gossip Instagram “@junipershoresocialite spills the tea online.

There’s something truly enchanting about how Kristy Woodson Harvey blends unforgettable characters, a welcoming coastal backdrop, and a heartfelt narrative filled with mystery, forgiveness, chosen family, and profound friendship. Once it got going, I found myself unable to stop flipping the pages.

“Beach House Rules” served as a beautiful reminder that healing blossoms within community and that, at times, the most meaningful families are the ones we choose

Kristy Woodson Harvey is my new queen of the beach read! This book is more than just fun, it’s women helping women. Who can’t get behind that? Friendship and mother dynamics work itself throughout the whole story. I loved the house of unique women who supported each other and are labeled “the mommune”. A safe space where women down on their luck that need extra support can move to and get back on their feet. Kristy nails the summer beach vibe that gives you a little bit of everything: loyalty, love, community, and second chances. This was thoroughly enjoyable and heartwarming! A story I’ve grown to accustom from KWH.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Kristy Woodson Harvey, and Gallery Books for an advance reader copy.

The perfect summer read! This is a beautiful story about friendship, small town scandal and even a mystery to solve. I have always loved her books, but this one just felt different to me, in a good way! The character development and alternating storylines really brought everything together, creating such a wonderful environment that I didn't want to ever put the book down. I wish the story continued on and on.

The story primarily focuses on Charlotte and her daughter, Iris, who are essentially penniless, homeless and jobless after Charlotte's husband is arrested for securities fraud. Charlotte once thought she didn't need anyone outside of her immediate family, but now that she is essentially alone, she realizes how isolating that can feel. In steps Alice, the owner of the "mommune", a beach house that houses several families. Alice invites Charlotte and her daughter to join them and as reluctant as she is to agree to that, what choice does she have? Once she arrives, she is blown away by what she finds inside, and in a good way!

The book of the summer!! Thank you so much to NetGalley for this ARC, all opinions are my own.

𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 is only my second book by KWH but I can confidently say she will be an auto buy author from here on out. I loved so much about this book especially the supportive adult friendships and teen relationships. I adored that she referenced a God Wink in this, that’s something my daughter’s school does and it hit me right in the feelers. It was a lovely story about found family, trials and perseverance with a little fun gossip thrown in the mix!

Thank you @simon.audio @gallerybooks #partner for the gifted copies of this book!

Beach House Rules by Kristy Woodson Harvey is THE summer read you need. Not shockingly, this one hit me right in the heart. This is my third book by Kristy and she just gets it every single time. Her stories always manage to make me laugh, tear up, swoon a little, and want to hug every character. She’s one of those authors I know I can count on for a feel-good, emotionally rich, can’t-put-it-down kind of read.

The heart of this story is the MOMMUNE. Yes — a mommune!! It’s like the thing I secretly joke about with my friends and dream of after a long day of juggling life, work, relationships and everything in between. A safe space where women and children, when they’re down on their luck and need a little extra love and support, can move to, to get back on their feet. I’m obsessed with this idea. Ha! Honestly… where can I sign up?

Kristy absolutely nails the ultimate summer beach read vibe with this one. You’ve got found family, second chances, loyalty, love, community, and a little bit of coming-of-age sprinkled in. It was just one of those stories that feels like a big, warm hug but still tugs at your heartstrings.

Also, major shoutout to the audiobook — it was fantastic! Three narrators brought each of these characters to life so well, I felt like I was right there with them, sitting on the porch with them or eating at the dinner table, of course with my cell phone put away. Wink Wink. IYKYK.

If you’re looking for a book to toss in your beach bag, curl up with on the porch, or just escape into on a lazy weekend afternoon, this is it. Kristy Woodson Harvey does it again. 5 stars from me! 🌸✨

Harvey is my go-to women's fiction beach read author, and her newest release dropping on May 27th is another winner for me!

Set in the idyllic Juniper Shores, NC beach community, Beach House Rules follows a group of women who need one another. Alice is a three-time widow who owns an enormous beachfront home that used to be a bed and breakfast. She has opened her home, first to her niece, Julie who is going through a divorce, then to Grace, whose husband has fled to Tokoyo, and finally to Charlotte, whose husband was recently arrested and is in the middle of a FBI investment scandal.

Together, these 4 women, and their children, collectively support one another my living together in the 'Momune" with a series of 'Beach House Rules'. While the book includes a variety of POVs, it focuses on Charlotte, her teen daughter, and Alice's perspectives. While Charlotte and Iris find themselves connecting with the other women and their children is rewarding ways, they are both focused on proving their husband/father's innocence. With a perfect blend of mystery, humor, found family, and character growth, this read is a page-turning delight. Highlighting the strength in the collective, women supporting women, and reclaiming your power in the face of adversity, I adore the plot and the fun cast of characters.

Read this if you like:
•found family
•gossip blog
•a side of twist with your romance

This book was so good! The audiobook was stellar. KWH pulls you in. Found family is quickly becoming one of my favorite tropes! I didn’t expect to feel so much in this one but I sure did! Thank you Simon audio!

I liked this book but I did not love it. I wish that it would have been a little more fast paced for me. There were a lot of characters in this book that were not investable to me. Also with this many characters, you get storylines.
The book was well written, the staging of the story was good. I did not get into the book 100% until the last 5 chapters.