Beach Town

by Mary Kay Andrews

Greer Hennessy is a struggling movie location scout. Her last project literally went up in flames, and her career is on the verge of flaming out. Now Greer has been given one more chance - a shot at finding the perfect undiscovered beach town for a big budget movie. She zeroes in on a sleepy Florida panhandle town. There's one motel, a marina, a long stretch of pristine beach, and an old fishing pier with a community casino - which will be perfect for the film's explosive climax. There's just one problem: the town mayor, Eben Thinadeaux. Eben is a born-again environmentalist who has seen huge damage done to the town by a big paper company. The bay has only recently been re-bom, a fishing industry has sprung up, and Eben has no intention of letting anybody screw with his town again. The only problem is that he finds Greer way too attractive for his own good, and knows that her motivation is in direct conflict with his. Will true love find a foothold in this small beach town before it's too late and disaster strikes? Told with Mary Kay Andrews inimitable wit and charm, Beach Town is this year's summer beach read.

• ISBN10: 125006595X
• ISBN13: 9781250065957
• Publish Date: 3 May 2016 (first published 19 May 2015)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 5 April 2024
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Saint Martin's Griffin,U.S.
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 448
• Language: English

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

I actually finished reading this two days ago, but I've recently become insanely obsessed with a silly game on my iPhone, and I've been ... distracted  Luckily, I remember enough about the book to clearly remember that for the most part it was ... ok.  Actually, probably not quite as good as ok, but the setting fed my optimism bias enough that I'll remember it as being an ok read.   The MC is a location manager for the film industry, tasked with finding the perfect "Old Florida" town: run down, palm tree laden, white beach bordered.  This mandate was arguably the most interesting part of the writing for me; as a Florida cracker myself, I actually remember "old Florida" and genuinely wish we could bring it back.  And I have to say, Andrews nailed "old Florida" in a way that's startling, especially given that Andrews is a Georgia girl.  Cypress Key (which I'm assuming is fictional), is described as just outside of Gainesville and Alachua, so definitely in the northern part of the state, but her description of it so closely mimics my own home town - right down to the old casino at the end of a pier and a decrepit boathouse at the base of the bridge, that I felt right at home.   The rest of the story though, was just plain average.  The romance didn't spark, the lack of reality in the timelines, and complete absence of the red tape involved in filming a movie; the complete cliche of the 'star' being an out of control coke head.  All of this just felt dialled in and lacked any of the complexity that I've found in Andrews' earlier work.  It was ok enough that I don't regret buying my copy used, but had I bought it new I would definitely have felt underwhelmed with Andrews' effort.

[pagesbycyndy]

The setting of the book Cypress Key was pictured in my mind as pretty but old- fashioned looking buildings but pretty with the ocean near by how could it not be picturesque. As I was reading Beach Town I imagined myself in Cypress Key. I can always tell when I become attached to a book by the way I imagine myself in the setting of a book.

Greer, the main character , has Daddy issues so unfortunately for her she just cannot seem to find the right man…..yet. What did I like about Greer? Her strong personality and work ethic, also her loyalty to her friend Ceejay who will sometimes put a man first before friendship, one of my personal pet peeves! The one tiny criticism of Greer for me was her refusal to look at the situation (at first) regarding her father, from his point of view (at the time of his departure from her life). That was my one tiny criticism. The character if this were Survivor, that I would send packing? Hands down Bryce! This story meets all of my criteria for a favorite book

A main character that I want to have a glass of wine with.
A sleepy and/or picturesque setting
A character that I just have to hate!
And lastly, sad that the story is overThis review was originally posted on Fictional Reviewer