Jul 22

Jul 22 Rock the Boat

Author: Beck Dorey-Stein
Publisher: Dial Press
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

Cover Description

Old friends discover how much has changed (and how much has stayed the same) when they reunite in their seaside hometown for one unforgettable summer — from the New York Times bestselling author of From the Corner of the Oval

"The perfect summer read." — LAUREN WEISBERGER, author of The Devil Wears Prada and Where the Grass Is Green and the Girls Are Pretty

When Kate Campbell's life in Manhattan suddenly implodes, she is forced to return to Sea Point, the small town full of quirky locals, quaint bungalows, and beautiful beaches where she grew up. She knows she won't be home for long; she's got every intention (and a three-point plan) to win back everything she thinks she's lost.

Meanwhile, Miles Hoffman — aka "The Prince of Sea Point" — has also returned home to prove to his mother that he's capable of taking over the family business, and he's promised to help his childhood best friend, Ziggy Miller, with his own financial struggles at the same time. Kate, Miles, and Ziggy converge in Sea Point as the town faces an identity crisis when a local developer tries to cash in on its potential. The summer swells, and white lies and long-buried secrets prove as corrosive as the salt air, threatening to forever erode not only the bonds between the three friends but also the landscape of the beachside community they call home.

Full of heart and humor — and laced with biting wit — Rock the Boat proves that even when you know all the back roads, there aren't any shortcuts to growing up.

TL;DR Review

Rock the Boat is a fun, heartwarming story — like a Lifetime movie, but with better characters and more heart. A true lighthearted beach read if I ever read one.

For you if: You want something quick, light, and entertaining.

Full Review

First, big thanks to Random House for sending me a gifted copy of this book, along with an Allswell bath towel and a thing-a-day happiness journal! I loved being part of this month’s Random House Book Club. It falls outside my usual genres, but was perfect timed with my beach vacation.

I read Beck Dorey-Stein’s first book, From the Corner of the Oval, a memoir about her (surprisingly dramatic) time as a White House stenographer in the Obama administration. I also had the pleasure of meeting her at the Girls’ Night In book club meetup in NYC, where she told us she was working on a novel. And here it is, in my hands! So fun.

Rock the Boat is mainly about a woman in her 30s named Kate, who is suddenly dumped by her rich boyfriend, Legally Blonde-style, at the very start of the book. In one day, her glamorous NYC lifestyle poofs into nothing, and she heads home to her tiny hometown on the Jersey Shore to recover. There, she reconnects with her first friend and next-door neighbor, Ziggy, whose father recently died, and Ziggy’s best friend (and son of the richest businesswoman in town) Miles.

As you can guess, this is a story about finding yourself and what you truly want in life, and not letting others tell what those things are. It’s about finding what’s really important and holding onto it. It’s a little cheesy, yes, and the characters are not very diverse. But recognizing this book for what it is, I had fun with it. It has a big heart, lovable characters you can’t help but root for, a touch of romance, and a happy ending. Truly a quintessential summer read!