Having clearly not paid enough attention to the blurb, I’d assumed this was going to be a holiday romcom read and found myself pleasantly surprised that, whilst there was some romance, there was also some murder and a look at the often toxic “wellness” industry too! Definitely much darker than I expected, although I listened to the audiobook and the narrator had a fairly chipper voice so it may read even more emotionally.

Whilst I’m not sure it’s one I’ll remember in great detail a few weeks from now, I really enjoyed it whilst I was in the story!

This was a fun destination thriller to read. It focused more on the motivations of Lily - the FMC and serial killer than the uncovering of a murder. She's back at the luxury resort for the 5th summer and is looking to find her next victim until Daniel, a journalist, comes along, asking more questions than needed for a health article.

I liked how the story unfolded, learning more of Lily's history and what led her to go back to the resort every summer. So although the reader knew what Lily was doing, the way her past was unvieled felt like there was still thay aspect of putting pieces together to solve a mystery. The book tackled some heavy topics like grief, the dark side of diet culture, and eating disorders while still showing light and some quite funny moments.

Although I liked Daniel and Lily's together, I didn't feel the intense sexual chemistry described. So that part of the romance was a bit lacking for me, but I did enjoy their interactions and the cat and mouse game between them.

It is an easy read and good pallet cleanser between books.

ARC given by Netgalley, thoughts and opinions are my own.

this book was so impactful, so powerful, and so much more than a thromance. although it certainly was a thrill and certainly was a romance. it was a stunning book. and im so appreciative of books like this. they are stand outs amongst their peers. and i dont say that lightly. it was so much more layered and emotional than i ever thought it would be going in. just wow. the characters themselves were just stunning. they held so much in what they were both doing there. and there relationship from how it started to how it developed was just gorgeous. and i was rooting for them in their own individual ways. but also drawn in to caring for them,
the book gives us Lily. who just goes on luxurious resort to work every year. no biggy. its just a summer job. its just lifeguard. except she doesn't go there for her health, or others for that matter. she goes there to right wrongs. to get rid of toxic people. and noone knows. except one year someone starts asking questions. someone starts asking all the right questions. and they are getting nearer to her. not just nearer to her actions but nearer to her heart.
is it time she is exposed? will this mystery man be the one to do it?
Lily is so brilliant to read about. you think she is doing something and you might assume why. but there is so much deeper you need to go to learn her truths. and she scoops you up into her world and her thinking which are often so much more vulnerable and raw than you think it will be.
she wants to save others but she also needs to save others. as though it might save herself.
Daniel also had a story to him. one that comes under a ruthless cover to get to the truth. hes come with a mission but is it the one for his job?
this is a brilliant read. just brilliant.

A romance with a decidedly dark side.
Beach Bodies tells us the story of Lily Lennox, a woman in her late twenties who spends her summers working as a lifeguard at the exclusive Riovan Wellness resort. She is surrounded by people paying a fortune to spend four weeks under intense scrutiny as they aim for a better version of themselves. Scathing about the toxicity and shaming that takes place under the guise of inspiration, Lily’s motives for her annual trip are not entirely honest.
We quickly realise Lily has her own agenda. Every year someone she deems unworthy is killed. So far, her body count is up to five. As she goes about her work she is on the lookout for who will be her next victim.
While we don’t know the full story behind Lily’s actions, we get enough background to know her mother was imprisoned for killing a boyfriend who got a little too close to her daughter and that someone she loved was never the same after her stay at the resort. For Lily, this is personal.
In a rather unexpected twist, this year a journalist is staying at the resort. Daniel Black has his own reasons for getting close to Lily, and she has to decide how close she will let him get. Their romance is somewhat hampered by the knowledge we have of what each character is doing.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this before publication.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was a really unique thriller that tied in a love story!

The dialogue was funny and I found myself rooting for the female MC, even though she was a literal serial killer. Kinda like the female Joe from You!

Had no idea how it was going to end which was part of the fun!

A unique and fun beach read for summer!

Thank you NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book!

I absolutely loved this book, it was so much fun but also explored some deep and emotional themes like grief, diet culture & fatphobia.

Our main character Lily Lennox has been working as a lifeguard at a luxury wellness resort for the past five years and every time she's there, someone mysteriously dies. Well, the correct word to be used would be murdered. Murdered by none other than Lily herself. But this year is different - a fitness reporter Daniel Black is vacationing at a resort in order to write an article about the wellness program. He's asking way too many suspicious questions but that doesn't stop Lily from getting entangled with him. Will she murder again when she thinks someone is watching her?

The one thing I really loved about the book is how we didn't know the full story of Lily's motivations until the end of the book. The author was giving us the tiniest crumbs throughout without revealing too much and that made the reveal so much better. I'll be honest I started suspecting the real story around halfway through the book but the author threw me off the scent so well later on that I was in shock when the reveal finally happened.

I found Daniel to be a really interesting character. We knew his intentions from the very first time they met by him saying Lily's full name but he still stayed mysterious throughout the book. I think he perfectly encapsulated a person battling between his moral compass and love. Which one do you chose? He was such as genuinely good person it was hard not to root for him to discover the truth even if I also wanted our girl Lily to get her justice.

I found Lily's story truly tragic and I sympathised so much with her character. While murder is obviously wrong, it was not hard to understand what pushed her to such drastic actions in the first place. Losing the person you love the most in this world can change turn someone to the most heinous things. I'm so glad she got her closure in the end.

In the end, everyone got justice in one way or another.

Honestly I couldn't recommend this book enough. I couldn't put it down and devoured it in two days. Can't wait to read more of Sienna Sharpe's work!

A part romance, part destination thriller about a woman who returns to the same resort each year with sinister motives. I was not too convinced about the character of Lily, the attraction to the sexy journalist a bit contrived. However, readers who enjoy White Lotus type dramas will enjoy this novel

Loved it!!! Take me to a luxury Caribbean resort anyday (despite the toxicity). I adore books set in holiday day locations, it's such an escapism.
Despite our MC Lily, clearly being so messed up and dangerous, I loved the vulnerability of her and just wanted to give her a hug. I'm not usually keen on anything romantic but this romance wasn't cheese, it was hot!!
I love the ending and I believe there scope for a 2nd book on how Lily's life continued?... I'd be the 1st in line for this for sure and I'm certainly looking up the author #SiennaSharpe other books.
One tiny niggle of annoyance was they kept referring to drinks as "beverages", alot! not a term I use or rarely read in books, seemed odd.
Big thank you to #NetGalley for the advanced copy

3.75 stars
While I enjoyed the luxury resort vibes (especially as I read it poolside on holiday), this wasn’t what I was expecting.
Despite it being immersive and me feeling like I was at the Riovan, we don’t get all that much background on Lily’s previous kills. And maybe I’m used to the ‘bodies’ in question being the worst of the worst, but I’m not entirely sure that they deserved to or warranted being offed in the first place.
Yes they were toxic and promoting a toxic culture, but I’m not all that surprised that that’s how they were behaving at a ‘health’ resort.
Even when she was deciding who to kill this year, I was struggling to agree with her choices at all.
We don’t really see a single kill, either, in what I thought would be something similar to How To Kill Your Family, etc.
And I get that this is a taxing thing for her to go through, but Lily’s behaviour was all over the place, making it difficult to root for her.
I did like how everything was resolved in the end and didn’t anticipate the way that it would go or what actually happened to Jess.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this one especially because I felt like it was a new and fresh concept. However I found Lily’s internal dialogue a bit too depressing and repetitive.

I was unsure what to expect when I started reading this but actually really enjoyed it!
I love a good mystery/thriller so this was right up my street. I often find I can predict what is going to happen in this genre but Beach Bodies kept me guessing and I found it very intriguing. I enjoyed the romance element to it and felt like this was done well as it didn’t overpower the other elements of the story and also didn’t feel forced.

I have such mixed feelings about Beach Bodies!

Initially it was sort of giving a White Lotus-esque vibe and I enjoyed the initial story building and was intrigued to see what was bringing Lily back to the resort every year

However the ending just felt a little flat and rushed to me, particularly in relation to Jessica’s character.

Loved this so much, the combination of thriller and romance was such a good hook and kept me enthralled throughout (I ended up reading this over a 24 hour period in 3 sittings). I really loved the commentary being made throughout - what a great way to talk about that without making anything feeling preachy. I can't believe this was a debut - I'll definitely be looking out for more from Sienna Sharpe in future.

This was a really engrossing tale that really built and developed. A gorgeous setting and great cast of characters. A great read.

I loved this! It started off as if it were a cute romance, and then we realise it's more about murder than romance. Really well written, and hooked me straight away.
I loved the social commentary that is throughout the book, the themes of toxic dieting and "body posivitity", and Lily's motivations for what she does (no spoliers)
If you looking for a cute thriller with a sprinkle of romance, this is for you!

What a totally addictive story this was, which stayed on my mind for a while afterwards too.

I absolutely loved Lily's motivations, and just how devious she is. And I also agree with her feelings on the beauty / wellness industry, especially with regards how women are made to feel about their bodies.

I was never totally sure how it would all play out, it definitely was unpredictable to me and I absolutely loved the clear headed ness, rules and decision making abilities involved in Lily's style of vigilante justice.

I definitely did not expect the ending at all. While most of the action is taking part in an elite resort in the Caribbean, that had me wishing I had saved this for a beach read, as it's definitely a perfect holiday read.

Also loved Lily's clear attraction to the one guest, that is potentially going to cause her no end of trouble, as if someone is determined to get away with causing another suspicious death, she should perhaps stay away from journalists.

A totally fabulous debut novel and I'm eager to see what this author writes next.

Thank you to Transworld Digital and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Loved Beach Bodies! The characters were great and the story was so so good. Loved every minute of reading this!

Beach Bodies by Sienna Sharpe is a thrilling and captivating tale set in the sun-soaked paradise of the Riovan Wellness Resort on a Caribbean island. Lily Lennox, a successful businesswoman, spends each of the past five summers life-guarding at the exclusive resort. But there's a sinister secret she’s hiding—mysterious deaths have occurred on the island each year she’s there. Lily knows it’s best not to draw attention to herself, especially when her mission is murder.

This year, however, a handsome guest named Daniel Black seems to be asking just a few too many inconvenient questions. As Lily navigates her growing attraction to him, she must also ensure she doesn’t attract suspicion, all while balancing her dark secret.

What makes Beach Bodies so intriguing is how it keeps you guessing throughout the story. As someone who often predicts outcomes in this genre, I found this book full of twists that kept me engaged. The romance element was skillfully woven into the plot, never overshadowing the other aspects of the story, and it didn’t feel forced.

Lily, as the main character, was incredibly well-developed. Seeing the story unfold from her perspective, especially from the killer’s point of view, was both unique and gripping. I found myself surprisingly sympathetic to her, a testament to Sharpe’s writing skills in crafting a character that you end up liking, despite her dark side.

Beach Bodies is a thrilling, well-balanced mix of suspense, romance, and intrigue. If you're looking for a page-turner with an unexpected twist, this book is worth the read.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

I was unsure what to expect when I started reading this but actually really enjoyed it!
I love a good mystery/thriller so this was right up my street. I often find I can predict what is going to happen in this genre but Beach Bodies kept me guessing and I found it very intriguing. I enjoyed the romance element to it and felt like this was done well as it didn’t overpower the other elements of the story and also didn’t feel forced.
Lilly was a great MC - seeing it from the killer’s perspective was interesting and the writing was done well so that you ended up actually liking her!
I also felt that the bisexual representation was done well as it again didn’t feel forced and felt natural within the story.

This book delivers a deliciously dark and sun-drenched thriller with a truly compelling anti-heroine. Lily Lennox, a serial killer hiding in plain sight as a lifeguard at an exclusive Caribbean wellness retreat, is a fascinatingly complex character. You find yourself oddly drawn to her, even as you witness her chilling intentions.
The author skillfully crafts a narrative that balances the idyllic setting of the Riovan Wellness Resort with the undercurrent of sinister secrets and deadly agendas. The "wellness retreat to die for" tagline is no exaggeration, and the tension builds beautifully as the mystery of the recurring deaths unfolds.
What truly sets this book apart is the slow-burn reveal of Lily's backstory. The drip-fed information keeps you hooked, piecing together her motivations and adding layers to her already intriguing personality. The introduction of Daniel Black, whose inquisitive nature threatens to expose Lily's carefully constructed facade, adds another layer of suspense. The burgeoning attraction between them creates a captivating dynamic, forcing Lily to navigate her deadly mission while battling unexpected feelings.
If you enjoy thrillers with a morally ambiguous protagonist, a captivating setting, and a healthy dose of suspense, this book is a must-read. The author has created a truly memorable character in Lily Lennox, and her story will leave you pondering the complexities of human nature long after you turn the final page.