Review: Beach Town, by Mary Kay Andrews

 
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Greer Hennessy needs palm trees. As a movie location scout, picture-perfect is the name of the game. But her last project literally went up in flames, and her career is on the verge of flaming out. Greer has been given one more chance, if she can find the perfect undiscovered beach hideaway for a big-budget movie. She zeroes in on a sleepy Florida panhandle town called Cypress Key. 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. Eben Thibadeaux, the town mayor, completely objects to Greer's plan. A lifelong resident of Cypress Key, Eben wants the town to be revitalized, not commercialized. After a toxic paper plant closed, the bay has only recently been reborn, and Eb has no intention of letting anybody screw with his town again. But Greer has a way of making things happen, regardless of obstacles. And Greer and Eb are way too attracted to each other for either of them to see reason.
Between an ambitious director and his entourage-including a spoiled "It Boy" lead actor-who parachute into town, a conniving local ex-socialite, and a cast of local fangirls and opportunists who catch the movie bug, nothing is going to be the same in Cypress Key. Now Greer is forced to make some hard choices: about the people and the town she's come to care about, and about her own life. True love is only for the movies, right? Can Greer find a way to be the heroine in her own life story? 

Genre: contemporary romance

Publishing date: May 2015

Offensive content: nothing to report other than a few kisses a couple of sex scenes, totally in context and not overdone.

Review: 

This is a great summer read. The romance part of the book in itself isn't awe inspiring, but if The Night is Mine was the best novel I read during my vacations, Beach Town is right on its heels. We are presented with an absolutely awesome description of a small town, heavily hit by the economic crisis, almost gone from the maps, and suddenly dealing with being the set for the latest Hollywood movie - which is both a blessing and a curse for Cypress Key. 

It is a realistic story, with believable characters and real-life problems, written in a clear, flowing text, with a lot of action, no unnecessary descriptions and an interesting insight into the movie industry and the lives of those barely-out-of-their-teens stars with more money than maturity, on how fame can damage some people and bring out the best in others. 

Greer's organized, make-it-all-happen style and Eb's struggle to keep Cypress Key alive and kicking without selling his soul to the devil really appealed to me, and the cast of secondary characters is also amazing. The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars: I think the romance between the two main characters is a bit lame and I failed to grasp how their relationship actually blossomed into the happily ever after kind of love. 

Still, it is a wonderful novel and you won't regret reading it. Plus, this was my first book by Mary Kay Andrews but I've already started checking out her other books so there will be more reviews coming this way in the near future...

Have a wonderful week,