Book Review: "Ten Beach Road" by Wendy Wax

Summary from BN.com: Madeline, Avery, and Nikki are strangers to each other, but they have one thing in common. They each wake up one morning to discover their life savings have vanished, along with their trusted financial manager- leaving them with nothing but co-ownership of a ramshackle beachfront house.

Throwing their lots in together, they take on the challenge of restoring the historic property. But just as they begin to reinvent themselves and discover the power of friendship, secrets threaten to tear down their trust-and destroy their lives a second time.

Summer's winding down and I was in the need for a good beach read to end the season. I actually have not been to the beach this year so I figured that a book set on the beach had to be the next best substitute. I also read this book during Hurricane Irene so it added even more of a beachy feeling as well.

The story focuses on three women: Madeline, Avery and Nicole. These three women couldn't be more different from each other. Madeline is a stay at home wife and mother, Nicole is a professional matchmaker and Avery is the co-host to a popular show on HGTV. On a normal basis, the women would never hang out in the same social circles. However, due to a Ponzi scheme gone wrong, all three have been severely affected and have come together thanks to a beach house they all share.

When the trio arrive in Florida, they find Bella Flori to be a beautiful house but in need of major repairs. The majority of the book focuses on the women repairing not only the house but building new friendships as well. Each woman has their own background story as well. Madeline's husband lost his job and her daughter has become pregnant by a Hollywood actor. Avery has spent years hiding her architectural knowledge to help her ex become famous and still battles with feelings of abandonment from her mother. Nicole is the sister of the man who stole all the money away from them and is trying to figure out how to handle her secret.

The story is quite fun to read. It's a very good women's fiction story as it shows perspectives from each woman. I felt as if I really got to know each of them and saw how they grew throughout the book. Wax's writing is engaging and I really felt as if I was on the beach helping to fix up the house. It also made me sad to see how money corrupts people and they don't care about how it hurts others as long as they get what they want.

There is some profanity in the book that I could have done without but it was used in a way to show a character's personality so it didn't bother me too much. Other than this, I really enjoyed this book. I have no idea why I haven't read Wax's books before but after this one I definitely want to read more from her. As I stated, it's the perfect beach read and even includes a hurricane as well! Light, fun and a perfect way to end the summer.

Ten Beach Road by Wendy Wax is published by Berkley Trade (2011)

This ARC was provided by a publicist