Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive this book for an honest review.

This is a fun and lighthearted story about an actress who loses her job and goes to Florida to stay with her grandma. While there, she finds out something mysterious is happening and teams up with her old high school crush to figure it out. I found it a little slow at times but overall enjoyed the quirkiness.

If your looking for a fun read, give this one a try.

*Just Beachy* is a fun and lighthearted story about Sydney, an actress who loses her job and goes to Florida to stay with her grandma. While there, she finds out something mysterious is happening and teams up with her old high school crush to figure it out. The book is full of humor, romance, and a little mystery. The characters are smart and bold, and the story is easy to enjoy with a mix of family, friendship, and self-discovery. It’s a great beach read with a touch of adventure!

after losing her long-time acting gig on Murder 101, Sydney Ryan heads to Treasure Island, Florida for a much-needed break from Hollywood. but her plan to lay low gets complicated when she discovers her grandmother Grand has bought a house, is helping open a bookstore, AND someone keeps breaking into her place. with the help of the ten Beach Road ladies and Luke (her old high school crush who’s now a police officer), Sydney puts her TV crime-solving skills to the test to figure out what Grand is hiding.

Read if you like:
🏖️ beautiful beach settings
🔎 cozy mysteries
❤️‍🩹 multi generational family drama
💞 second chance romance
☀️ light and breezy summer reads

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I absolutely loved Grand! She did what she wanted when she wanted and kept her lips zipped about a heavy secret for decades! this is a fun and easy mystery read. If you like cozy mysteries with a gorgeous beach setting then this one should definitely be on your end of summer TBR!

thank you NetGalley, Berkeley Publishing Group and Wendy Wax for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have loved the Ten Beach Road series by Wendy Wax and recommended it to nearly everyone I know, all of them falling in love with it as well. When I heard that Just Beachy was coming out as another installment in the series, I couldn't wait to join those ladies again!

While set in the same luscious beach locale and having some brief interactions with the same characters, it was really more of a stand alone novel for me. I enjoyed the book, especially the parts about them opening a book store in the beach town, but maybe I was just looking for a little more from the original Ten Beach Road characters. I also have always appreciated Wendy Wax for providing more of what I consider a romance novel without too much graphic content and Just Beachy was a tad too steamy for me and what I was expecting.

I received this book courtesy of the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

**Just Beachy** by Wendy Wax is a fun, breezy escape that feels like a sun-soaked getaway with your best friends. Full of warmth, humor, and heart, this story celebrates second chances and the power of female friendship. It’s the perfect book to toss in your beach bag and savor with a cold drink in hand — uplifting, entertaining, and just what you need for a feel-good read.

Sandy M’s review of Just Beachy by Wendy Wax
Contemporary Romance published by Berkley 3 Jun 25

I’ve enjoyed a number of Wendy Wax books over the years, including some her 10 Beach Road series, of which this story plays a small part, eventually bringing in a few previous characters. It’s a fun read, but there are other issues that just kept me from really liking this book like I have so many others of the author.


Sydney gets inelegantly and indelicately bounced from her long-time TV show. So she decides a break is needed and heads to Florida where her grandmother now resides and is helping a friend open a bookstore. Once there, Sydney realizes her grandmother is hiding a dangerous secret and decides she’s going to get to the bottom of it to protect Grand. This is where the previous characters from 10 Beach Road come in, and though I’ve read some of those, I ended up a bit lost with only a minimum description to remind me who they all are. I imagine it’s been a while since reading those books for other readers too, so more is needed to keep them all straight. We also meet Luke, local law enforcement and Sydney’s old high school crush.

The mystery set out about a painting Sydney’s grandmother is keeping her mouth shut about is interesting, and the revelations eventually given keep that interest high until all is revealed. I do like the banter between characters that happen at the bookstore that will make you chuckle here and there. That’s something Ms. Wax is always very good with, and it shows here. I like Luke, as I do most of the author’s heroes, but the romance between Luke and Sydney doesn’t quite live up to those others I’ve read before this.

All in all, a good read but not Ms. Wax’s best. If you’re looking for light and “beachy,” you’ll probably do okay with this one like I did.

Grade: B-

Thanks to @berkleypub and @berkleyromance for the gifted e-ARC and to @prhaudio for the ALC!

This book was a super fast read and the narration was good. My favorite part was the setting. The lovely beach town, the cute bookstore, and the beachfront condo all capture the imagination. However the story was definitely a part of a series and with having not read the previous book or books I felt lost for a good part of it. There was a lot of backstory for the two main characters that I was missing.

If you’re looking for something light and fluffy to read on the beach, this is the book for you.

I went into Just Beachy thinking I was diving back into the warm familiarity of the Ten Beach Road series, full of sunshine, friendship, fixer-uppers. What I got instead was... confusion. Sure, there are throwaway mentions of Pass-a-Grille and a nod to the ladies from the original crew, but this story is all Sydney Ryan. And wow, does her storyline stretch the boundaries of believability.

So, here’s Sydney: she’s been on a wildly successful, award-winning TV show for five years, winning Emmys and Golden Globes. But somehow, she’s broke? Because she spent it all on her dream home and personal maintenance? That math doesn’t math. Then the public supposedly confuses her with her character Cassie, a woman written into rehab, which leads to Sydney’s career collapse and a move to Florida to visit her grandmother and reinvent herself. As one does when they’re trying to reboot their Hollywood acting career. In Pass-a-Grille?

Let’s pause. Los Angeles to Florida as a career jumpstart? That’s not rebooting, that’s relocating to irrelevance. And the notion that people can't tell the difference between an actress and her character? Have we fallen into an alternate reality where basic media literacy no longer exists?

Then there’s the steamy scenes between Sydney and Luke, where I genuinely laughed out loud because they were written like an awkward improv sketch.

This book felt like one long misunderstanding between logic, plotting, and potential. Honestly, I should’ve abandoned ship early on. But instead, I popped in my earbuds, doubled the playback speed, and scrubbed the baseboards just to feel productive while waiting for something to happen that wasn’t as predictable as grandma’s secret and the gray fox.

I’m not saying I’ve broken up with Wendy Wax, but let’s just say we’re on a trial separation.

Just Beachy is a great summer read with some familiar characters from previous books but definitely a stand alone. If you love a tropical Florida location, some mystery, some romance and family drama this one is for you!

It’s beach season, and there’s no better beach read than a book that takes place at the beach. There’s something special when that book is set in the town where you’re vacationing; it’s even more special if you’re lucky enough to live in that beach town. Wendy Wax is a St. Petersburg, Florida native; her popular Ten Beach Road series is set on Pass-A-Grille (part of St. Pete Beach). I live in St. Petersburg and was married on Pass-A-Grille. Naturally, when she released her latest beach read, Just Beachy, I scooped it up. Just Beachy isn’t part of the Ten Beach Road series, but some of the series’ characters pop up.

When actress Sydney Ryan’s police officer character is written off her show in an embarrassing way, she decides to leave Hollywood and join her grandmother on Treasure Island, Florida. Right away, there’s romance in the air for both women—Grand starts dating her neighbor Brian, and Sydney hooks up with police officer Luke, her old crush from grade school. But when someone breaks into Grand’s house, Sydney’s grandmother admits to involvement in an art scandal. Could Brian be involved? Can Sydney use her TV detective skills to find out the truth?

Despite its mystery spine, Just Beachy is written in a breezy, humorous tone that plays down conflict. Constantly stymied by people who think she’s her TV character, Sydney goes on embarrassing auditions and spends a lot of time helping Grand’s friend Myra open a bookstore on Pass-A-Grille. The relationship with Luke happens quickly, so it’s missing a lot of the tension and build-up that romance fans expect, while including several clinically descriptive sex scenes. The climax is unsurprising, and the denouement is almost a fairy tale.



For me, the highlight of Just Beachy was Wax’s frequent name-dropping of popular St. Petersburg spots—the Don Cesar Hotel; Paradise Grille and Hurricane’s on Pass-A-Grille; Larry’s Ice Cream shop on St. Pete Beach; Central Avenue; Gulf Boulevard. As Wax mentions in her author’s note, the book takes place in an alternate timeline in which two hurricanes did not decimate this area. In the real world, Paradise Grille was closed for several months; thousands of homes along the beaches and in St. Petersburg flooded, and many businesses were destroyed. The Don reopened at the end of March. I was lucky enough that my home didn’t flood, but many of my immediate neighbors did, along with friends and my real estate brokerage.
I can’t blame Wax for wanting to ignore the disaster, and I hope Just Beachy inspires people to visit the Gulf Beaches. There’s nothing better than spending the afternoon reading a book on St. Pete Beach, watching the sunset at Paradise Grille, eating a cheeseburger, and ringing the sunset bell.

Wendy Wax knows how to take a girl away from all of her problems and go to the beach. I love how her books keep you so intrigued from start to finish.

I was so excited when I seen this book. I absolutely love the series Ten Beach Road. I was excited to see a few of the characters in this book. I really enjoyed the mystery and characters of Just Beachy. Just loved Sydney's grandmother. Loved the idea of the bookstore. Loved Luke. All in all I just loved it. If you were a fan of Ten Beach Road this is for you!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for a gifted copy in exchange for a honest review.

Sydney is at a crossroads in her career, so she leaves LA to join her grandmother in Casas de Flores while she regroups. With her friend Kyra and the other ladies of Ten Beach Rd, she has her hands full. Her grandmother is keeping something from her, her old high school crush is now a police officer, and she has to decide if her life is back in LA, or is that part of her life over?


Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for the ARC!

The powers that be of the television show that Sydney has starred in for years writes her character out of the series. Not only is she struggling to find another role, she has been pressured into heading to Florida to talk reason into her grandmother’s decision to move there.

As Sydney navigates the new surroundings of Florida, her bond with her grandmother is strengthened. She soon becomes entangled in a web of suspenseful twists and turns. The story is connected to Wendy Wax’s Ten Beach Reads series. Although I haven’t read that series yet, it was easy to become connected to Sydney and her grandmother.

I’ve always been a fan of stories that explore the theme of a new beginning. With its captivating characters and suspenseful plot, Just Beachy is a must-read for anyone seeking a good summer read. However, I must admit that it was rather tiresome with everyone connecting Sydney to the flaws and consequences of her television persona, resulting in constant criticism and judgment. Despite this minor setback, the overall experience is enjoyable and leaves a lasting impression.

Many thanks to Berkley and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Sydney Ryan left Hollywood, where she was on a popular show called Murder 101, and returns to Treasure Island, Florida. Her grandmother has also recently arrived there and is refusing to leave. Sydney decides to stay with her grandmother as she plans what to do next with her life. She becomes involved in a mysterious missing painting that somehow involves her beloved Grand, and she also reunites with her childhood crush, who is now a local police officer.

I wanted to read Just Beachy because I love beach reads! The Florida setting and mystery made this one very appealing.

This was a fun read, absolutely perfect for summer! I liked Sydney as a character, with her acting past, her disastrous auditions, and her determination to turn things around. Grand is a wonderful character and the scenes with Sydney and Grand were the best. I also liked Sydney's relationship with Luke.

The mystery aspect of this book was fun to unravel and there were some surprises as it went along!

I enthusiastically recommend Just Beachy as a beach read. It's light, fast moving, and perfect for a weekend read.

The length of this book and cover are perfect for a beach read. It also has several elements that someone might want in a beach bag book - beach setting, romance, family (grandma), and a mystery. I felt like all these elements were represented equally, though the mystery of the break ins intrigued me the most. Being a short book, the romance was cute but a little rushed, but there was a decent amount of steam in this short book. Though nothing was really mind blowing, this is just a perfect length and pace for someone looking for a quick book to read in a weekend or on a vacation.

This is a standalone but I have read where the characters are in other books I did not miss anything by reading this first. Its not mentioned in the tags but this has a bit of mystery in it and I liked that part.

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.


Synopsis
After losing her long-time acting gig on the hit show Murder 101, Sydney Ryan decides she needs a break from Hollywood politics. She heads to Treasure Island, Florida where her grandmother has been visiting and now refuses to leave. Sydney’s plan to lay low for a bit quickly goes awry though, as she is swept up in her grandmother’s now flourishing social life—Grand not only bought a new house in Casas de Flores, she’s also helping her neighbor Myra open a bookstore in Pass-a-Grille. But when someone breaks into Grand’s house repeatedly Sydney realizes her grandmother is keeping something from her.

Determined to ferret out the truth and protect her grandmother, Sydney enlists the help of the Ten Beach Road ladies and Luke, a local police officer who was once her high school crush. While Sydney puts her television crime solving skills to the test, she decides to act on the sizzling chemistry between her and Luke. And as Sydney spends more sunsets toasting to true friends and new romance, she begins to wonder if the sun is setting on her time in Hollywood and if this town could be the dawn of a new chapter.

This cozy second-chance, open-door romance and mystery story is a fun summer-themed read, complete with family, friendships, a bookstore renovation, and long-kept secrets.

The lifelong friendship between the characters Grand + Myra was my favourite part of the story.

This book can be read as a stand-alone, however I feel that the reader would benefit by reading this author's work in order.

This story is ideal for those looking for a quick, entertaining read that feels very Hollywoodesque.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group & NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Just Beachy by Wendy Wax.

A long awaited reunion with the 10 Beach Road crew!

Sydney loses her acting job and decides to leave Hollywood and head to Florida to visit her Grand. Now if she can just convince people she's not her character, but Sydney, her life would be easier. Grand's having the time of her life, she's bought a new condo and is helping her friend start a bookstore - and she's met a man, who's too good to believe. But then crazy things start happening and Sydney soon needs the help of her high school crush-turned local cop. It's a fun, short beachy mystery. Another great story from Wendy Wax! And I loved the pop ups of the 10 Beach Road ladies.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

Just Beachy
Sydney Ryan, a suddenly out-of-work actress has come for a temporary stay with her artist grandma in Treasure Island, FL while she looks for a new acting gig. The local residents whom Sydney encounters seem to think that she really is the ex-character she played on TV - a kick a@@ crime solver, who was recently released from rehab. This causes comedic frustration for Sydney.

While staying with Grand, they encounter a couple of mystery break-ins and vandalism - the intruders are clearly looking for something specific. Luke, the police officer investigating the case was Sydney’s old high school crush and she’s still incredibly attracted to him.. Luke tries his best to help with only 1/2 the facts - Grand is not being entirely truthful about the whereabouts of a missing painting.

I have enjoyed Wendy Wax books in the past (Ten Beach Road series) and enjoyed this one as well.