Sandcastle Beach

The third installment in Jenny Holiday's Mermaid Series was a sweet ending to these books! I really enjoyed this series, and I was excited to read Maya and Law's story. This was the perfect enemies to lovers book set in a beautiful, picturesque small town! I usually love small town romances, and this didn't disappoint! I recommend this book and the whole series if you like sweet, small town romances with lots of steamy romance!

I just love this series, and I've been really anticipating Maya and Law's entry. It did not disappoint! This is probably my favorite of the Matchmaker Bay series. It might be partly because of the build-up - Maya and Law have been sniping at each other and sparking sexual tension since the first book - but I think it's even more than that. This story felt very whole to me, in a way I'm not sure I can really put my finger on. Both characters were given good, realistic character development, and the evolution of their relationship seemed really natural. I was surprised at how well the business storylines folded into the plot (Maya is on the verge of losing the small town theater that she runs, and Law is nervous about potentially expanding beyond his bar, which has been passed down from his grandfather to his father to him). A substantive and satisfying romance from Jenny Holiday!

A fun, sweet read with lots of heart... and matchmaking schemes!

First of all, I am absolutely enamored with the series with its quirky characters and mermaid-themed town. Which is super cute and right up my alley! I love that everyone is in everyone else's business. I love how everyone pulls together to help each other out and I LOVE how much love and care the people of Moonflower Bay have for each other!

Maya and Law have a long history of being enemies. Their crazy arguments and chemistry-filled vitriol have been the comic relief of the past two books, but now we get to delve deep into the heart of the anger/hurt that continues to fuel the flames of discord between them.

I absolutely loved their story. Maya is strong, smart, fun, entrepreneurial and tenacious. I greatly admired and adored her! Law is super sweet, caring, considerate, hunky and secretly in love with Maya. I love them together.... and fortunately, so do the matchmaking elders in Moonflower Bay, nicknamed Matchmaker Bay for that very reason!

The secondary characters are an amazing part of the story. I love seeing previous couples living their happily ever after and supporting Maya and Law as they deal with their struggles and understand their feelings for each other.

Sandcastle Beach is my new favorite book of the series! It was a blessing to read and gave me so much joy! I highly recommend this and every book in the Matchmaker Bay series!

I really love this series from Jenny Holiday. I had been intrigued with the interactions of Maya & Law in the first two books & I love how their relationship developed. Their banter was amazing. They supported each other so well & their slow burn to romance was great. I also really love the small town of Moonflower Bay & all it's quirky residents.

Jenny Holiday is usually a solid 5 star read for me. Her voice works well for me as a reader, her characters hit the right notes for me, and her steamy scenes are the perfect blend of spice and sass. I'm rounding up to 5 stars for this one, because I truly did enjoy it, devoured it in one sitting, and I will enthusiastically recommend it to other readers.
The only reason I have to round up, versus it being a solid 5, is that these two characters needed to talk sooner. There were other conflicts and areas of personal growth they could have completed to round out the story. But overall, this was predicably excellent, starring two extremely stubborn leads.

The Matchmaker Bay series has quickly become one of my favorites and I really enjoyed Sandcastle Beach. I’ve loved Maya and Law’s interaction in the previous two books and was excited to read a book devoted to them. Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and this book did not disappoint.

Having read the other two books, I knew that Maya and Law had strong chemistry even if they both thought the other hated them and it was so enjoyable to read about them discovering how much they didn’t actually hate each other and how in their own small ways they were always supporting the other without their knowledge. While Nora and Jake reign supreme as my favorite couple in these books, Maya and Law are a very close second.

In these books, I love that Jenny Holiday has written such strong female characters. I also love that we get to catch up with all the characters we have gotten to know throughout the series. I’m hoping with the introduction of Brie and Rohan this series will continue to expand because it is always so nice to take a visit to Moonflower Bay.

I think Jenny Holiday was my author of the year in 2020. I read three of her books, two of which are in this Matchmaker Bay trilogy, and all of them were wonderful. 4.5-5 stars across the board. Seriously, this series is perfect. I knew I had to start 2021 with a winner and this finale did not disappoint.

I’m glad I still have another series to read by Holiday but I’ll miss this setting! Matchmaker Bay (actually called Moonflower Bay) is an adorable Canadian beach town... just the kind of small town romance-filled setting I love to read about. This book follows Maya and Law (Ben). I loved them both and definitely saw this romance coming from a mile away. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Holiday writes low-drama romances without a stupid miscommunication or something to ruin everything, which I SO appreciate. The two were basically enemies, always bickering, even if one of them didn't know why they were fighting so much in the first place. This turned into a months-long friendship and then later romance.

I'm really sad to leave this location behind! It's very charming and that's a major reason I'm not ready to go, but there are at least 3 new characters that totally could get their own books! Two women move to town in this installment and Maya's brother also returns home. I would love to learn more about any combination of these people in more books ;)


Overall, this was yet another winner by Jenny Holiday. A lot of Forever Romance authors end up on my auto-buy list but she is way at the top.

Jenny Holiday delivers another winner filled with bickery banter, small town antics, and a romance that everyone can see except for the hero and heroine. If you're a fan of Much Ado About Nothing, Jenny's given us our own Beatrice and Benedick, in this rivals-to-lovers story.

In Sandcastle Beach, Maya Mehta is the town's theater director; Benjamin "Law" Lawson owns the local bar, and their feud goes back years. The theater's seen better days and Maya's gotta come up with a plan to infuse it with cash for repairs, staff salaries, and raising the curtain for another season. When a former boy bander turned actor joins her production of Much Ado About Nothing, Maya's got a shot at filling every seat this season. But winning a local business grant wouldn't hurt either. There's just one thing standing in her way, Law has his eye on that grant, too.

Sandcastle Beach is slow burn, low angst, but it's romantic in its own way. Despite their on-going competition, Law is actually the most supportive friend Maya has, the one who understands her business dilemmas, the one who lets her use his secret WiFi, the one who stocks a wine at his bar, just for her.

Of the three heroes in the series so far, I expected Law to the cool dude with moves, but the truth is, he's so taken with Maya, he has no game whatsoever, and it's completely adorable.

One note on structure, the time jumps in the first three chapters make for a little bit of a bumpy start, but I think part of that is just catching readers up on the players/events of the first two books.

The book is a must read for 2021. Small town romance, enemies to lovers. Adorable I love it!!!!!! I read this book first and I loved it so much I went and read the other two.

Special thanks to Read Forever for providing our copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.

This is another great addition to Matchmaker Bay. I just loved everything about it & hope this series is set to continue. I just get to know these characters & this is so enjoyable. Definitely, a must-read.

A beach with a sandcastle is very appealing at the moment while encased in the frozen tundra of the Midwest. Ben and Maya have rubbed each other the wrong way. But what if they can rub each other the right way? They start connecting and I liked the chemistry between them. I appreciated their ambitions. I liked the gesture Ben made toward the end when Maya really needed help. I also liked how their friends butted in and gave them humorous grief about their relationship. This is a fun series to read. The cover is so attractive. I want to leap into it. The ending was perfect for the plot.

I love a good enemies to lovers storyline and Sandcastle Beach delivered!

Book 3 in the Matchmaker Bay series included everything I love about this series. It’s quaint town and charming characters never fail to make me smile. It’s steeped in tradition and friendship, ensuring that every time I step into the pages I’m going to be enveloped in a warm hug.

This installment focuses on Maya and Ben. These enemies are so focused on their long standing feud that they can’t break down the wall that divides them to see the possibilities in front of them.

As always, the author delivers on the witty banter and hot romance. This one was SPICY! 🔥 I loved reuniting with the characters and this amazing town. This one started off a little clunky, with the backstory of the feud. It was an information dump and I was perplexed for a minute to see if I was reading the correct book. It quickly turned around I was swept up in Sandcastle Beach. I loved this third installment and can’t wait for more! 4⭐️ My thanks to @readforeverpub for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.