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pattyfgd's review against another edition
5.0
Take Paradise Beach to a sunny day at the beach and you will not be disappointed! This is my first Tamara Lush story, and I really enjoyed it. Kate and Damien went to school together. After a rumor went viral, things looked down, but even years later, their unrequited attraction still lingers. Now Damien sees his second chance, and he is not going to let it slip by. This is a great second chance romance. I love that they have a history and it comes full circle years later. I love the secondary characters too, especially the mothers! What a great jolt of humor! It's sweet, fun and sexy and we all should have a Damien!
The narration of this flows so well with Avie Paige and Paul Stefano. Each have great voices and give the characters that realistic feel. Paige definitely has a vulnerability in her voice for Kate, but is able to have that love shine through. Stefano has a protective vibe, very sensual and gives you all the feels. I think they compliment each other well and made the listen very enjoyable.
The narration of this flows so well with Avie Paige and Paul Stefano. Each have great voices and give the characters that realistic feel. Paige definitely has a vulnerability in her voice for Kate, but is able to have that love shine through. Stefano has a protective vibe, very sensual and gives you all the feels. I think they compliment each other well and made the listen very enjoyable.
beckyrendon's review against another edition
4.0
Paradise Beach is exactly where you want to be!
Your unrequited crush from high school walks I to your bar...
Its not a joke but the premise of All I Know and the start of the Paradise Beach series. Thos sexy, sweet story is a doozy of a reason for a marriage of convenience. It's also the romance lovers epic intro to even more hopeful romances.
Clearly, I have my rose colored glasses on! Paradise Beach has me smiling eagerly and excited for more!
Your unrequited crush from high school walks I to your bar...
Its not a joke but the premise of All I Know and the start of the Paradise Beach series. Thos sexy, sweet story is a doozy of a reason for a marriage of convenience. It's also the romance lovers epic intro to even more hopeful romances.
Clearly, I have my rose colored glasses on! Paradise Beach has me smiling eagerly and excited for more!
bandherbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Kate Cooper is running her sick mom's tiki bar in Florida while also struggling to find her footing with her own career and trying to find health insurance for her medical condition. So, when her former high school crush turns up at the bar on leave from his dangerous job as a military contractor, she doesn't really have time for one more thing on her plate. But Damien is too hard to resist, especially since he's been waiting for ten years to finally make Kate realize how much he's always wanted her.
Their fling has an expiration date, until Damien proposes Kate become his wife for his insurance.
I loved the concept of this romance but the story arc didn't exactly work for me. The big conflict was Damien leaving and Kate needing insurance came very close to the end, and then resolved very quickly. We are also left just moments after the wedding not knowing how they as a newly married couple would handle Damien being deployed for a year.
That said I am intrigued to read more by this writer.
CW: Kate's mom has breast cancer, but there is no death. Kate was slut-shamed in high school because she made out with Damien.
I received a free copy in exchange for a fair review.
Their fling has an expiration date, until Damien proposes Kate become his wife for his insurance.
I loved the concept of this romance but the story arc didn't exactly work for me. The big conflict was Damien leaving and Kate needing insurance came very close to the end, and then resolved very quickly. We are also left just moments after the wedding not knowing how they as a newly married couple would handle Damien being deployed for a year.
That said I am intrigued to read more by this writer.
CW: Kate's mom has breast cancer, but there is no death. Kate was slut-shamed in high school because she made out with Damien.
I received a free copy in exchange for a fair review.
gretareadsromance's review against another edition
4.0
All I Know is a great beach read. It got me hooked quickly and was fast paced. That said I think the ending was a bit too fast - I wanted to know more after the last scene. Still a great book and I'm looking forward to book 2 and also having these two characters show up in future books! Thanks to Net Galley for the chance to review.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review
5.0
‘This is a story about life and death, a memoir based on a part of my history about which I never imagined writing.‘
In this memoir, Mary Coustas takes us on a journey through three significant deaths that have shaped her life. This memoir incorporates Mary’s memories of those who died and celebrates the lives of those who have been part of her life’s journey so far.
‘But loss has driven me to find answers in what remains, to airlift myself to a place that serves me better than helplessness and misery. To reach out. This is my love letter to what lives on beyond the devastation.’
Mary’s journey is at times heartbreaking, but it is also filled with observation, gentle humour and is ultimately uplifting. While losses are acknowledged and remembered, the future holds its own promise. Mary recounts her childhood in Collingwood and Doncaster, knowing that her beloved father had already suffered heart attacks and could die at any time. And when he did die, she missed him terribly.
‘The death of my father had left a void that hadn’t been filled by the birth of anything new.’
Mary writes of her choice to be an actor, of the success of her character Effie in ‘Acropolis Now’, of personal expectations, of visiting her maternal grandmother in Greece with her mother. There’s a beautiful scene with her grandmother and mother, and a growing sense of the importance of family connections and heritage. By the time that she dies, her grandmother has lived in the same house for over seventy years. She may not have travelled much in any physical sense, but her influence is enormous.
‘Letting go is an even bigger sign of love than begging for more when time won’t allow it.’
But the main focus of Mary’s memoir is on her meeting, then in 2005 marrying, George Betsis, and six weeks later discovering that she is infertile. Much of the remainder of the memoir talks of the challenges of undergoing IVF treatment, of disappointment followed by pregnancy, of the difficulties of that pregnancy and the stillbirth of her daughter, Stevie, and of the support of family and friends.
‘I know that death is only ever a breath away and having witnessed that myself has only awakened me to living more fully.’
It’s important to me to mention that since writing this book Mary and George have become parents: their daughter Jamie was born on 28 November 2013. I knew this when I read the book, but I had little idea of the difficulties Mary and George had encountered along the way.
This book made me laugh, and cry, and I would recommend it to anyone interested either in Mary Coustas specifically, or IVF experiences and life more generally.
‘Fantasy comes with a very thin façade that disappointment often hides behind.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
In this memoir, Mary Coustas takes us on a journey through three significant deaths that have shaped her life. This memoir incorporates Mary’s memories of those who died and celebrates the lives of those who have been part of her life’s journey so far.
‘But loss has driven me to find answers in what remains, to airlift myself to a place that serves me better than helplessness and misery. To reach out. This is my love letter to what lives on beyond the devastation.’
Mary’s journey is at times heartbreaking, but it is also filled with observation, gentle humour and is ultimately uplifting. While losses are acknowledged and remembered, the future holds its own promise. Mary recounts her childhood in Collingwood and Doncaster, knowing that her beloved father had already suffered heart attacks and could die at any time. And when he did die, she missed him terribly.
‘The death of my father had left a void that hadn’t been filled by the birth of anything new.’
Mary writes of her choice to be an actor, of the success of her character Effie in ‘Acropolis Now’, of personal expectations, of visiting her maternal grandmother in Greece with her mother. There’s a beautiful scene with her grandmother and mother, and a growing sense of the importance of family connections and heritage. By the time that she dies, her grandmother has lived in the same house for over seventy years. She may not have travelled much in any physical sense, but her influence is enormous.
‘Letting go is an even bigger sign of love than begging for more when time won’t allow it.’
But the main focus of Mary’s memoir is on her meeting, then in 2005 marrying, George Betsis, and six weeks later discovering that she is infertile. Much of the remainder of the memoir talks of the challenges of undergoing IVF treatment, of disappointment followed by pregnancy, of the difficulties of that pregnancy and the stillbirth of her daughter, Stevie, and of the support of family and friends.
‘I know that death is only ever a breath away and having witnessed that myself has only awakened me to living more fully.’
It’s important to me to mention that since writing this book Mary and George have become parents: their daughter Jamie was born on 28 November 2013. I knew this when I read the book, but I had little idea of the difficulties Mary and George had encountered along the way.
This book made me laugh, and cry, and I would recommend it to anyone interested either in Mary Coustas specifically, or IVF experiences and life more generally.
‘Fantasy comes with a very thin façade that disappointment often hides behind.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
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