After an extended break, author Wendy Wax is back with a 10 Beach Road adjacent novel: Just Beachy. It was fun to have the occasional pop-in by characters from past novels. That said, you needn't have read those previous books to enjoy Just Beachy. I loved being back in the familiar Florida setting that has become a key component in Wax's books. The female characters are capable of handling almost anything life has to throw at them. They do that with a sense of self and good humor. This is a story about second chances for Sydney and her grandmother (I love a multigenerational story). There are new love interests, a mystery and a crime to solve. There are also some very detailed spicy scenes that had me wondering if that's something new or were they in past books. I truly can't remember and I think the story could have done without them. Overall, I enjoyed Just Beachy and look forward to seeing what Wendy Wax writes next.
3.5 rounded up

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars A fun read with a decent mystery.

Pros: Interesting setup with very cool artist grandmother and her recently laid off actress granddaughter in a Southern Florida setting. Someone keeps breaking in and searching for something in the grandmother's new condo. Granddaughter Sydney and her cop boyfriend that Grand knows what they are after but won't say.

Cons: Toward the end, the plot for me broke down a bit. Sydney did some dumb things and then the ending involved some superhero type moves that she ostensibly picked up while playing a TV detective, not quite credible.

Great characters and nicely paced. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a wonderful beach read! Wendy Wax does an amazing job bringing in characters from her past books and weaving them into this new fun beachy mystery love book. The characters are engaging and have secrets that come out in the end. I liked how they all interacted. This was an easy read but one that you did not want to put down until the end. I definitely recommend you grab this book as soon as it hits the beach read shelves.

This book was an okay read. It is missing depth of plot and developed characters. I found this book a little too much and struggled to finish it

I normally a big fan of Wendy Wax. This book was too wordy and too long. DNF 60%

***********I received an ARC for my honest opinion from NetGalley*********

📖 Book Review 📖 Life is beachy until it’s not…Sydney is the star of a popular television show and life is pretty darn sweet until ahem a fired. And so she hits the open road and heads back east to visit family and friends, only to find her beloved Grandmother - Grand - is relocating to Treasure Island, Florida. The stress of it all is a lot and what’s a girl gotta do to get a drink in this town?!! A lot! Sydney’s character was written off the show by going to rehab and nobody in town can separate Sydney from her character and so nobody wants to serve her alcohol in this hysterical twist. When Grand’s house keeps getting broken into, perhaps Sydney has to blur those lines between her real life and her acting skills as a police officer on her former show to discover what is really going on! It certainly does not hurt that her first crush Luke is all grown up and now a handsome real life police officer. Wendy Wax delivers a fast-paced, fun read in Just Beachy!

If you are looking for a fun beach read, this might just be the answer! It is a little bit romance, a little bit suspense, and a sweet grandmother, all in one. You can't miss, if you are looking for easy reading. Definitely put this one on your list! Thank you Penguin/Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.

Hollywood will hire her, Sydney leaves Los Angeles and drives to a small town in Florida to spend time her grandmother aka "Grand". Nearly everyone she meets thinks she's actually the character from the TV show and treats her like an alcoholic. When I read the plot of this book I thought she would come to this town and the locals would ask her to solve the local crimes, not deprive her of alcohol lmao although this did provide lines that genuinely made me LOL "Are you sure you should be in a bar due to recent events?" And having her single hand-idly taking down two biker gang robbers simply because they believed she was a real cop haha I find it very hard to believe that an entire town can't grasp the concept of an actress lmao.

Although the plot of this book was literally insane, I do believe some people will love it and it would be a great beach read. Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Just Beachy
By Wendy Wax

A definite 5 stars!

I’ve been a fan of Wendy Wax since Ten Beach Road, and have read all of the books in the series. I was so excited when she brought the setting and characters back to Just Beachy, with new main characters and a mystery to solve. This book mixes Hollywood culture with New York Art culture, and I learned a lot about both.

Sydney is a young actress starting over in Florida after being written out of her show. It is hilarious how her fans think she really is an alcoholic former cop. And her Grandmother is an artist with a secret.

Wendy Wax has such a great way with all her characters. One of the reasons I keep coming back to her books is that her characters are of all ages. There is usually a young love interest, but also a strong older woman, and sometimes a love interest for her too! As an “aging” reader, I really appreciate that I can make connections with all the characters. I also love that her series do not have cliff hangers. She could write another book about this setting and characters, but each ending doesn’t depend on it. Here’s hoping for more of these characters and setting!

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group and Wendy Wax for this ARC.

Thank you to #NetGalley for an ARC of Just Beachy by Wendy Wax. I am giving the book two stars for the setting (Paradise Island sounds lovely!) and the initial premise of the book is a great idea, its just not fleshed out in this novel.

The main character is Sydney Ryan, an actress that has became famous for her character on a police drama tv series. Her character's name is Cassie Everhart, this is important to the story because everyone thinks she is the character through out the novel. This is a problem mainly because Cassie is "written off" the show and she heads to Florida to recoup with her friends and grandmother who is in the process of moving from Georgia to Paradise Island, Florida. The story has a strong start in that we have Sydney who is trying to figure out her next steps and her sweet and lively grandmother needs her help to move in. Okay, then the story starts getting messy as the plot adds a lot of things. No spoilers but the story has kidnapping, bar fights, sunset toasts, book store renovation, and a second chance romance to just name a few. These are not done in a way that feels cohesive. I liked the premise from the book blurb but as I read I kept asking "why is this even here?" Then to make it worse some of the details/conflicts are not resolved or are mentioned once only to be forgotten. For example, Sydney has two sisters apparently, they are mentioned in one sentence and then nothing for the whole book. Sydney literally loses her job, moves across coasts, her grandma's house gets broken into and there isn't one call from a sister to check in? It threw me off and I would not likely recommend this novel due to the sloppiness of it.

I was so happy to be reunited with some of my fave characters from 10 Beach Road and to be introduced to some new ones. Can a struggling actress find her way all while trying to protect her spunky grandmother who has been hiding a secret and doesn't think she needs protecting?

I am a fan of Wendy Wax and her Ten Beach Road series and although this isn't technically part of that series, it is a spin-off. I love the characters and their authenticity. Sydney, aka, Cassie, although an actress, is relatable. I love the mystery and the action in this story. I wasn't too thrilled with the steamy romance, it felt a bit awkward. I am glad to see something new from Wendy.

I wish that I had known the book was a part of the series. While it's not necessary to have read the other books, I feel like it would have been more beneficial to understand the characters and their relationships. I will say that the writing was engaging early in the book, but as the book progressed, I found myself becoming a bit bored/not believing the writing. Overall, it was a cute story, but I think some of her other books are better.

Very cute beachy romance. I thought I would be more hooked but no, but still an amazing clean beachy romance for those who love this.

This is a fun beach read. Sydney is an actress who plays a police officer on tv. She is fired for a younger woman (even though she is just 30) But also because a Hollywood somebody is upset with her. The show writes her out by having her go to rehab and everyone in the town where she is staying believes that she really is that character and refuses to serve her alcohol. Meanwhile, Grand's house keeps getting broken into. Grand swears she doesn't know why but Sydney is sure she is lying. Some hilarious moments, a sexy cop and this is an easy read. I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley, and this is my honest review.

I have read ALL of author Wendy Wax's "Ten Beach Road" series and I really loved them, so when I saw that this new title "Just Beachy" on offer, I was thrilled to get approved for it. Sadly, I just didn't feel it quite lived up to the main series. It is not a sequel - more of a "shared universe" concept - the "Ten Beach Road" ladies do make an appearance and it's in the same town, but that's it, so... It was overall okay, and I thought the rom-com with a touch of mystery worked in general, but it really lacked the spark of the previous books. I did also like the Grandmother character here, but the romance not so much. As always, my sincere thanks to the publisher & Net Galley for the advance readers copy - it is always appreciated, even if the title is not.

For the past five seasons, Sydney has been known to practically all of America as Cassie, the police detective character she plays on the hit show, Murder 101. But Sydney is abruptly written out of the show, and she heads to Florida, where her grandmother has just moved into a new condo near St. Pete's Beach. "Grand" is a colorful 83 year old who is an artist. It turns out that a famous painter Grand was once in love with, stole one of her paintings and passed it off as his own, earning a great deal of money in the process. Grand secretly "stole" back her painting and has been hiding it for decades. Now, it looks like someone wants that painting back, and is willing to kill in order to get it. Sydney must channel all the things she's learned playing a tough, smart police detective on TV to figure out who is trying to steal her grandmother's painting. A great read, perfect for summer.

Just Beachy was fine, but disappointing compared to the original Ten Beach Road series books. I guess this isn't billed as part of that series, but since it takes place in the same neighborhood and the original characters make brief appearances, I had high hopes. Instead it was a rather typical romance with a little crime thrown in.

Sydney is an actor whose character has been written off a police-procedural drama by putting her character in an alcohol treatment facility. Sydney leaves Los Angeles and drives to the Gulf Coast of FL to spend time w/ her grandmother. Nearly everyone she meets thinks she's actually the character from the TV show and treats her like an alcoholic. It's so dumb. I know there are stupid people who get so caught up in their shows they can't differentiate, but 95% of the people with whom she interacts tell her she shouldn't be drinking, she should still be in rehab, etc. Just dumb.

Ms. Wax uses outdated language, e.g., "master" bedroom instead of "primary." She refers to a dial tone when the character is on a cell phone. She says the grandmother is a topic on Jay Leno, which means this book must take place before February 2014. She writes about Sydney reading a board book to 4–6 year olds, which isn't realistic. She mentions abruptly at one point that Sydney has sisters, then never mentions them again. She doesn't name them, doesn't say if they're part of each other's lives, nothing. There's no point to the one reference.

Unfortunately I just wasn't impressed with the book at all. I wouldn't buy it or recommend it to someone wanting a continuation of the Ten Beach Road series.

Cute beach read following Sydney as she falls from grace as a beloved character on a long-running television police drama and is forced to moved from LA to her hometown in Florida as she attempts to pick up the pieces of her life. The acting community is not welcoming any new roles, as Sydney has been type-casted as a broken hearted police officer who has been dumped by her romantic and professional partner, causing her character to spiral out of control with her drinking and being forced off the force and into rehab, ending her 5 year stint on the show. Sydney arrives in Florida to the ideal situation: her grandmother has decided to sell her house in Atlanta and move to a beach front community in Florida and is in need of assistance to get set up in her new home. Once Sydney arrives in her grandmother's new community, she is shocked to be reunited with her long-ago crush and actual real-life police officer, Luke. Once settled in the peaceful retirement community, a series of scary events begin to happen to Sydney and her grandmother: including multiple home break-ins and vandalizations. Turns out grandma has some secrets. Luke arrives on the scene ready to help with the crimes, and also strengthening his love interest in Sydney. Who is behind these break-ins? What is grandma been hiding? This book packs a punch with it's humor and also it's ability to keep the reader on their toes. An enjoyable summer read for beach readers of all ages.