Cover Image: Meet Me at Pebble Beach

Meet Me at Pebble Beach

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

A cozy read that tugs at the heartstrings. There were a few tears, definitely laughter (especially because of Elvis!) and a sense of hope. Wonderful read!

Was this review helpful?

Enjoyable read. Would recommend to friends and family. I could sympathise with characters (important for any fiction novel!) and looked forward to picking it up and reading the next few chapters! Interesting plot line and a good ending. Will look out for more novels by the author. Thank you.

Was this review helpful?

I found Meet Me at Pebble Beach to be a touching story full of kindness, compassion for those less fortunate, and several quirky but likable characters. The middle third of the book somewhat lagged for me, with lots of narration and telling instead of showing. I also felt that the style and flavor of the title and cover didn't match the more emotional, dramatic tone of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

A really funny enjoyable story with an ending all set up for the second book. It finished abruptly but would be interested to read the rest of the series .

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed the first two parts to this story and was glad to be able to read the whole book and see how everything worked out.
Regan works hard to get her life back on track after mistakenly thinking she had a winning lottery ticket and giving up her job and her boyfriend and with that her home.
She has a heart of gold, getting coffee every day for a homeless man with a huge dog called Elvis, who is a great character in his own right. She meets a gorgeous man but there seem to be obstacles to the course of true love.
I loved the way that the characters lives cross in unexpected ways. You are willing Regan on all the way through- hoping she'll get to check out her bucket list.
I always love Bella Osbornes books and can't wait to see what she has in store for us next.

Was this review helpful?

4,5 Stars

Regan really is too good to be true! I wish there would be more people like her on this world! And I love her life motto: "Don't worry, something will come up. It always does!" I wish I could face problems her way sometimes. But on the other hand - I'm not living in a Bella-Osborne-novel where a motto like this does work!

Two months ago I read the first part of the 4-part-story, before I now could lay my hands on the complete book. I've just read my review again - and my hunches about the future development of the story were quite right, I'm proud to say. I'm still not getting the title, since there was so little mention of a beach in the 400+ pages. That was a bit of a disappointment.

Luckily the rest of the story made up for it. As I already said I liked Regan very much, but also the rest of the characters were a nice mix of people with distinguishable characteristics. I also like the subtle humour Bella Osborne mixed in, but that she also doesn't avoid more serious topics.
A book full of small and big adventures, of laughter and sadness, of hope and the feeling of giving up, of friendships and loves and of some surprising twists!

Was this review helpful?

This book was loooong but it was good, at the beginning it took me a while to get into the story but then I started to feel every emotion the characters were feeling, I cry, I laugh and I even got mad with a few situations and characters that were not so kind with Regan...

Regan was trying to finally put her life together, her ex-boyfriend was a real loser, her co-workers were not kind and create many troubles for Regan especially that guy Alex he really was a bully and hurt her in so many ways.

I cry with Regan, I laugh and even try to fight in her defense but in the end, she had a few people that really was ready to support her and take care of her.

Favorite character, definitely Charlie, he made everything much better for Regan, and even for us the readers, I love him.

One of the things that I love about Regan is that she was so strong even if she wasn't aware of that, she was bold and she was always there whenever someone needs her like Kevin that story was strong and very sad but I love that Regan was very kind and always had extra love and care for people who needed the most.

I'm ready to do a re-read this book was very enjoyable. This was my first book by Bella Osborne and it was pretty good.

Was this review helpful?

Regan buys the lottery ticket and thinks she won. She changes her life but is all to good to be true?
What a lovely story, perfect for summer reading. You'll feel good after.
Emotional, provoking, brilliant.

Was this review helpful?

After a prank goes wrong, Regan loses everything in one fell swoop, her job, her home and her boyfriend which by anyone's standards is pretty tough going. Regan begins to realise that, she's just been drifting along and perhaps, this is the time to restart her life, and the seaside community, in Brighton, comes to her rescue in more ways than one.

This is a lovely story about new beginnings and fresh starts which takes us on Regan's journey as she meets new people who, throughout the story, come to mean so much to her. It's not all froth and romance, although there are touches of both, it's also about some quite difficult stuff, homelessness, terminal illness, heartbreak, all of which the author covers with a light touch and an easy style of writing.

I didn't much like Regan to begin with but, as she developed as a character, my interest in her changed, watching how she grows in confidence and discovers more about herself in the process has been interesting. The other characters, especially Charlie, the firefighter, and Elvis, the dog, add much needed light and shade, and I enjoyed how they, and all the other characters, came into Regan's life at the right time.

Originally published as a four-part series, Meet Me at Pebble Beach is a lovely summer read and perfect escapism for an afternoon's reading in the garden.

Was this review helpful?

After reading part one back in April and loving it I was overjoyed to be asked on the tour for the complete book, especially as it had ended on such a cliffhanger.

Regan is an absolute nightmare, habitually late, a prankster, messy, lazy, work shy. But underneath she has a heart of gold and every morning when she gets her coffee she buys one for Kevin the homeless guy with his dog Elvis.

After a continuous round of pranks with a work colleague backfires spectacularly, she finds herself with no job, no home and no boyfriend. Luckily her best friend rents an art studio and is away in Japan so squatting it is.

This has such an eclectic cast of characters that steal into your heart and become so real they feel like family. So when the warm and fluffy becomes dark you really care what happens to them. This tackles some heavy subjects, homelessness, terminal diagnosis, ptsd, but the author has done it with such warmth and ease that it never feels too heavy. Her use of humour is light to the touch and never feels forced, being perfectly placed to lighten the dark.

This may be Regan’s story but the animals are the scene stealers. From Elvis the werewolf of a dog to the hoglets. Which I had no idea was the name for baby hedgehogs.

Oh and I haven’t even got to the romance, Charlie is everything you want for Regan, but you know what they say about the course to true love never running smoothly. This is the classic case of wanting to get two people who are perfect for each other and banging their heads together as they can’t see the forest for the trees. Will they get their happy ending? No spoilers here…..

Was this review helpful?

This is one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read in ages. I loved it so much. I don’t usually read books I define as chick lit but I’m trying to expand my horizons a bit. I’m so glad I had a chance to read this. I loved it so much. I already said that didn’t I? Check me out, fangirling all over the place! Regan is a great character, so real and relatable. She’s not perfect and is a bit messy at times and doesn’t really know what she wants from life, just going along with it with a secret hope that everything will fall into place. I completely got her. The lottery prank that leads to her being single, jobless and homeless had be fuming because it was a cruel thing to do and in no way funny. It’s not all fun though and there are some dark moment in the book as Regan grapples with where to live, finding a new job and a possible love match. This was sheer pleasure to read.

Was this review helpful?

Regan and her works colleague Alex always play practical jokes on each other but he really goes too far when he makes her think she has won the lottery as she tells her boss what to do with his job and dumps her boyfriend who's flat she lives in making herself jobless and homeless! With no money and nowhere to go she dosses down in her friends art studio as she is out of the country, but that is not a long term solution and with the help of Charlie the fireman starts to get her life back on track

A great fun book I love Regan's character and the way she keeps bouncing back, and how she was so kind always trying to help the homeless Kevin. Elvis was definitely a favourite as well and I loved all of his antics, a real feelgood book perfect for relaxing in the garden

Was this review helpful?

Regan's life - with a boring job, uneventful, and with an obnoxious boyfriend - is about to change, because Roegan has just won a lottery. So she quits her job, ends things with her boyfriend and moves out of his flat. Only then it turns out Robyn hasn't won the lottery... She has to think, and quickly, what to do now, get a new job and find a place to live. But it's not so easy. And on top of that there is also Charlie whom she's just met, when she tried to bite her friend's from work, Alex, head off... Well, on the other hand, Robyn's life is not boring and uneventful...

Regan was a character that I couldn't completely put my finger on. On the one hand she was lively, hilarious and open. On the other hand, she's an adult but still goes through life without thinking, offering only minimal forethought (or any). Some of her decisions and reasoning didn't sit with me at all, I couldn't get behind them. I had a feeling that the constant wrecking ball she experiences in her life is of her own doing because she never has a plan, she never thinks things out. Nevertheless, her evenings with Kevin and her life - approach made her a much more likeable character. And I liked the fact that she, actually, never gave up! There was not a hurdle that she wasn't able to overcome, and even the fact that she was technically homeless didn't stop her from starting her own business. A business that she needed a kitchen for. And what was also nice, was the fact that Regan was developing and growing throughout the whole story - she was still hot-headed and often made up her mind on impulse but in the end I had a feeling that she's also matured, without losing her spontaneity and inner joy.

The romance aspect was truly well written. There was this usual will they/won't they but you actually couldn't be sure if they will because of one very important problem. I personally kept everything crossed for the happy ending because I loved Charlie, however the author has written her story in such a way that you could expect any ending.

I was very thankful for the setting in this story - Brighton, a lovely seaside town that also showed the other, darker side. The writing is of a very high quality, beautifully capturing the setting but also going deep on feelings and emotions. It's vivid and colourful and the whole story is easy to read.

There were moments that the book was too dramatic for my liking, as if the author tried too much, but it must be the old cynic in me that made me roll my eyes at the drama. Don't get me wrong, pretty please, I know what the author wanted to achieve here and the things she has written about ARE very important and thought - provoking but maybe I simply didn't expect them in this kind of book? I was all about sunshine, butterflies and bunnies (or hedgehogs in that case) and the dark side of the story simply took me by surprise and yes, it felt a bit too forced. Nevertheless, the story of Kevin broke my heart a little, and the scene when he tries to protect himself will stay with me probably forever.

Altogether, it was a lovely, emotional, funny and also poignant book about second chances and that there is always a way out. It will make you smile and it'll give you a pause for thought. It's not all sugar - coated bed of roses but it's also about homelessness and terminal illness for example, but written with a light touch. I enjoyed it and spend some relaxed hours in the characters' company. Recommended!

Was this review helpful?

Meet Me at Pebble Beach by Bella Osborne is books 1-4 in the Meet Me at Pebble Beach four part series. I enjoyed this book. When Regan thinks she won the lottery she dumps her boyfriend and job. Now all she has is her car. After reading the end of this book, I have to read part two, so I was excited to read this book with all four parts. This book has everything that will make you both laugh and cry. If you enjoy chit lit books, I highly recommend this book. I will be reading more books by this author.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Was this review helpful?

A brilliant story: heartwarming, full of emotions, engrossing and entertaining.
it's well written, the cast of characters is fleshed out and the plot flows.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Was this review helpful?

Cute book- and a fast easy read. The story was just a little too unrealistic for me. I felt like everything fell into place a little TOO easily.

Was this review helpful?

This book took me a long time to get into and I nearly gave up but I loved her relationship with Kevin and Elvis and I was determined to see it through.
It was a charming book at the end. I wanted to give her Dad a shake until I realised his secret.
I hated Alex from the start and was glad he got what was coming to him.
I think I will try the other books in the series now too.

This arc copy was provided for free In exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

To sum this book up in one word... wonderful!

A perfect read that has you laughing out loud one moment, and feeling heartbroken the next.
Regan's character is joyous, and despite the many obstacles she faces she always manages to overcome them - a true heroine!.

The relationship Regan has with her friends Cleo and Penny is also such a delight to follow, they are truly women supporting each other no matter what comes their way.

And the relationship that Regan embarks on with Charlie is heartbreaking and uplifting all at once. A true tale of not taking anything for granted, and making the most of life.

A poignant, beautifully written book, I absolutely adored it.

Was this review helpful?

I would like to thank Avon Book UK for asking me to review this book and to be apart of the blog tour.
Meet Me at Pebble Beach has that special humour and feel good feel to it and has you laughing one minute and the next sitting there with your mouth open.
Regan is our heroine and she is not someone you instantly feel you can relate to but you can feel a connection with her. The opening chapters are so great I could not stop reading and found myself loosing hours of the day. As Regan arrives in Brighton, which is described to perfection in this book, she grows on you even more as a character as she realises that she can make a change for the better with support from a handsome stranger Charlie. There is a dark side to the story and there will be no give a ways here but it gives intriguing to the story and makes it more realistic.
I really loved this story and cannot wait for more from Bella, who has an exceptional writing style that really captures life and events in a realistic way that creates a brilliant story.

Was this review helpful?

Regan's juvenile relationship with Alex, her co worker, has grave and far reaching consequences. As often happens something good comes out of bad and and her life follows a drastically different and fulfilling path. A "will they won't they" storyline with Charlie, the dishy fireman, keeps you guessing right to the end!

I enjoyed this book enormously.

Was this review helpful?