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The Book Lover's Beach House: Fall for the small-town series for fans of cozy and spicy romance!
Not yet published
Expected 9 Jun 26
From one of the writers of Netflix's hit show BRIDGERTON, and the movie JINGLE BELL HEIST comes a feel-good small-town read about the power of romance... on and off the page!
When hopeful romantic Poppy calls off her wedding at the last minute, she leaps at the chance to stay at her godmother's beach house in the quirky small town of Sweetbriar Cove. She needs a quiet summer to finish writing her new romance novel… until the construction noise starts at 5am next door.
Cooper is a local craftsman, building his dream house by the beach. He has no intention of falling for his charming new neighbor, even if it is fun making her fume…
As sparks fly between them, will Poppy's hopeful outlook on love break through Cooper's grumpy defenses? And can this queen of romance write her very own happily-ever-after?
The Book Lover's Beach House is a cozy spice romantic novel with small-town charm, grumpy-sunshine shenanigans, and a guaranteed HEA!
'The Book Lover's Beach House' was previously published as 'Meant to Be'. It has been lightly revised with new content.
x SunshineSmall TownForced ProximityFound FamilyCozy Spice
Readers have fallen for Sweetbriar Cove, will you?
"Melody Grace created characters that are simply I-R-R-E-S-I-S-T-I-B-L-E ! Her stories leave you with a big smile on your face and a heart bursting with love." ☆☆☆☆☆
"I absolutely love small town romance, and Sweetbriar Cove is one of my absolute favorites." ☆☆☆☆☆
"I felt like a giggling schoolgirl with butterflies in my stomach. If you love sweet small-town romance this is a great book for you." ☆☆☆☆☆
"This book book was a marvelous surprise. Not complicated, not demanding, just a lovely sit-in-the window-seat-and-read-for-the-afternoon type of book." ☆☆☆☆☆
"I felt an instant connection with Poppy; felt all of her ups and downs, shared in her smiles and laughs. I wish I could give this more than 5 stars!" ☆☆☆☆☆
"Sexy and the perfect summer read!" ☆☆☆☆☆
When hopeful romantic Poppy calls off her wedding at the last minute, she leaps at the chance to stay at her godmother's beach house in the quirky small town of Sweetbriar Cove. She needs a quiet summer to finish writing her new romance novel… until the construction noise starts at 5am next door.
Cooper is a local craftsman, building his dream house by the beach. He has no intention of falling for his charming new neighbor, even if it is fun making her fume…
As sparks fly between them, will Poppy's hopeful outlook on love break through Cooper's grumpy defenses? And can this queen of romance write her very own happily-ever-after?
The Book Lover's Beach House is a cozy spice romantic novel with small-town charm, grumpy-sunshine shenanigans, and a guaranteed HEA!
'The Book Lover's Beach House' was previously published as 'Meant to Be'. It has been lightly revised with new content.
x SunshineSmall TownForced ProximityFound FamilyCozy Spice
Readers have fallen for Sweetbriar Cove, will you?
"Melody Grace created characters that are simply I-R-R-E-S-I-S-T-I-B-L-E ! Her stories leave you with a big smile on your face and a heart bursting with love." ☆☆☆☆☆
"I absolutely love small town romance, and Sweetbriar Cove is one of my absolute favorites." ☆☆☆☆☆
"I felt like a giggling schoolgirl with butterflies in my stomach. If you love sweet small-town romance this is a great book for you." ☆☆☆☆☆
"This book book was a marvelous surprise. Not complicated, not demanding, just a lovely sit-in-the window-seat-and-read-for-the-afternoon type of book." ☆☆☆☆☆
"I felt an instant connection with Poppy; felt all of her ups and downs, shared in her smiles and laughs. I wish I could give this more than 5 stars!" ☆☆☆☆☆
"Sexy and the perfect summer read!" ☆☆☆☆☆
- GenresRomance
286 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication June 9, 2026
About the author
Melody Grace
70 books2,648 followersMelody is a New York Times bestselling romance author and screenwriter. You may already know her writing from ‘Bridgerton’ on Netflix, and the romcom movie ‘Jingle Bell Heist’... Now, she's launching a ‘Gilmore Girls meets Beach Read’ small-town/cozy spice romance, ‘The Book Lover’s Beach House’ - coming June 9th!
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
Review of advance copy
BookSloth should have loved this book: A romance writer fleeing to a beach house. A hot grumpy neighbour. Books. The sea...
Yet somewhere along the way, BookSloth realised she was no longer asking, When will these two get together?
She was asking, Why should they?
That is a dangerous question for a romance novel.
This book clearly loves romance. It repeatedly defends romance as a genre. It champions romance writers and the value of romantic fiction. BookSloth is entirely sympathetic to this mission.
However, romance should not need to explain why the genre matters. It should demonstrate it. It should create two characters the reader cares about so deeply that their happiness becomes important. It should make the reader ache when they are apart and sigh with satisfaction when they finally find their way together.
Unfortunately, that never happened here.
Much of that came down to Cooper. BookSloth has no objection to grumpy heroes. Romance is full of them. The best ones use their prickly exteriors to hide vulnerability, fear, or longing. Their behaviour may frustrate the reader, but it also deepens their understanding of the character.
With Cooper, the hot-and-cold dynamic often felt frustrating. His moments of withdrawal rarely revealed anything new about him. Instead, they frequently raised a simpler question:
Why, Poppy, my love, are you still interested in him?
The deeper issue, however, is that romance is still a novel. It still needs a story.
Falling in love is not plot.
A romance works best when both characters have lives, goals, problems, and desires that exist independently of the relationship. The romance should complicate those goals, challenge them, or ultimately help the characters achieve them in a way they couldn't alone.
Here, Poppy arrives with a clear objective: overcome her writer's block and finish her book. Yet that obstacle appears to dissolve almost as soon as Cooper enters the story. Once it does, the novel loses much of its narrative momentum. Meanwhile, BookSloth never felt entirely clear on what Cooper wanted.
Without those competing goals, the relationship is left carrying the entire weight of the story. Unfortunately, the relationship itself never felt strong enough to bear it.
So, with regret, BookSloth finished this novel feeling that Poppy and Cooper might actually both be happier apart. And for an avid romance reader, there are few sadder conclusions to reach.
Yet somewhere along the way, BookSloth realised she was no longer asking, When will these two get together?
She was asking, Why should they?
That is a dangerous question for a romance novel.
This book clearly loves romance. It repeatedly defends romance as a genre. It champions romance writers and the value of romantic fiction. BookSloth is entirely sympathetic to this mission.
However, romance should not need to explain why the genre matters. It should demonstrate it. It should create two characters the reader cares about so deeply that their happiness becomes important. It should make the reader ache when they are apart and sigh with satisfaction when they finally find their way together.
Unfortunately, that never happened here.
Much of that came down to Cooper. BookSloth has no objection to grumpy heroes. Romance is full of them. The best ones use their prickly exteriors to hide vulnerability, fear, or longing. Their behaviour may frustrate the reader, but it also deepens their understanding of the character.
With Cooper, the hot-and-cold dynamic often felt frustrating. His moments of withdrawal rarely revealed anything new about him. Instead, they frequently raised a simpler question:
Why, Poppy, my love, are you still interested in him?
The deeper issue, however, is that romance is still a novel. It still needs a story.
Falling in love is not plot.
A romance works best when both characters have lives, goals, problems, and desires that exist independently of the relationship. The romance should complicate those goals, challenge them, or ultimately help the characters achieve them in a way they couldn't alone.
Here, Poppy arrives with a clear objective: overcome her writer's block and finish her book. Yet that obstacle appears to dissolve almost as soon as Cooper enters the story. Once it does, the novel loses much of its narrative momentum. Meanwhile, BookSloth never felt entirely clear on what Cooper wanted.
Without those competing goals, the relationship is left carrying the entire weight of the story. Unfortunately, the relationship itself never felt strong enough to bear it.
So, with regret, BookSloth finished this novel feeling that Poppy and Cooper might actually both be happier apart. And for an avid romance reader, there are few sadder conclusions to reach.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
"Write your happily-ever-after...
& When hopeful romantic Poppy calls off her wedding at the last minute, she leaps at the chance to stay at her godmother's beach house in the quirky small town of Sweetbriar Cove. She needs a quiet summer to finish writing her new romance novel... until the construction noise starts at 5am next door.
Cooper is a local craftsman, building his dream house by the beach. He has no intention of falling for his charming new neighbor, even if it is fun making her fume...
* As sparks fly between them, will Poppy's hopeful outlook on love break through Cooper's grumpy defenses? And can this queen of romance write her very own happily-ever-after?
The Book Lover's Beach House is a cozy romantic novel with spicy small-town charm, grumpy-sunshine shenanigans, and a guaranteed HEA!"
My take:
GOODNESS - The sparks that fly in this darling summer read were the perfect hook to kick off June! Poppy and Cooper go way back...to their childhood days...but I doubt they ever expected this reunion in Sweetbriar Cove The small town-more-like-family vibes warm every page and even the townspeople's "all up in each others business" was pure charm.
This read was sweet and spicy and left me dying for a walk on the beach with my special someone. If you want small town, beach vibes, grumpy x sunshine, guaranteed HEA... this is the summer read for you.
My only slight of this book is it does follow an all too common plot line that I personally have a hard time buying in to. But die hard romance lovers will adore this rightfully so!
& When hopeful romantic Poppy calls off her wedding at the last minute, she leaps at the chance to stay at her godmother's beach house in the quirky small town of Sweetbriar Cove. She needs a quiet summer to finish writing her new romance novel... until the construction noise starts at 5am next door.
Cooper is a local craftsman, building his dream house by the beach. He has no intention of falling for his charming new neighbor, even if it is fun making her fume...
* As sparks fly between them, will Poppy's hopeful outlook on love break through Cooper's grumpy defenses? And can this queen of romance write her very own happily-ever-after?
The Book Lover's Beach House is a cozy romantic novel with spicy small-town charm, grumpy-sunshine shenanigans, and a guaranteed HEA!"
My take:
GOODNESS - The sparks that fly in this darling summer read were the perfect hook to kick off June! Poppy and Cooper go way back...to their childhood days...but I doubt they ever expected this reunion in Sweetbriar Cove The small town-more-like-family vibes warm every page and even the townspeople's "all up in each others business" was pure charm.
This read was sweet and spicy and left me dying for a walk on the beach with my special someone. If you want small town, beach vibes, grumpy x sunshine, guaranteed HEA... this is the summer read for you.
My only slight of this book is it does follow an all too common plot line that I personally have a hard time buying in to. But die hard romance lovers will adore this rightfully so!
Review of advance copy received from Author
From one of the writers of Netflix's hit show BRIDGERTON, and the movie JINGLE BELL HEIST comes a feel-good small-town read about the power of romance... on and off the page!
When hopeful romantic Poppy calls off her wedding at the last minute, she leaps at the chance to stay at her godmother's beach house in the quirky small town of Sweetbriar Cove. She needs a quiet summer to finish writing her new romance novel… until the construction noise starts at 5am next door.
Cooper is a local craftsman, building his dream house by the beach. He has no intention of falling for his charming new neighbor, even if it is fun making her fume…
As sparks fly between them, will Poppy's hopeful outlook on love break through Cooper's grumpy defenses? And can this queen of romance write her very own happily-ever-after?
The Book Lover's Beach House is a cozy spice romantic novel with small-town charm, grumpy-sunshine shenanigans, and a guaranteed HEA!
I absolutely loved Poppy and Cooper's story! I was hooked within the first few pages and couldn't wait to see how their relationship would develop.
Sweetbriar Cove was the perfect small-town setting, full of charm and warmth. I also loved the book-within-a-book element and how Poppy's journey as a romance writer mirrored her own search for a happily-ever-after.
If you enjoy grumpy-sunshine romance, lovable characters, small-town vibes, and a feel-good story with plenty of heart, this is definitely a book to add to your reading list!
When hopeful romantic Poppy calls off her wedding at the last minute, she leaps at the chance to stay at her godmother's beach house in the quirky small town of Sweetbriar Cove. She needs a quiet summer to finish writing her new romance novel… until the construction noise starts at 5am next door.
Cooper is a local craftsman, building his dream house by the beach. He has no intention of falling for his charming new neighbor, even if it is fun making her fume…
As sparks fly between them, will Poppy's hopeful outlook on love break through Cooper's grumpy defenses? And can this queen of romance write her very own happily-ever-after?
The Book Lover's Beach House is a cozy spice romantic novel with small-town charm, grumpy-sunshine shenanigans, and a guaranteed HEA!
I absolutely loved Poppy and Cooper's story! I was hooked within the first few pages and couldn't wait to see how their relationship would develop.
Sweetbriar Cove was the perfect small-town setting, full of charm and warmth. I also loved the book-within-a-book element and how Poppy's journey as a romance writer mirrored her own search for a happily-ever-after.
If you enjoy grumpy-sunshine romance, lovable characters, small-town vibes, and a feel-good story with plenty of heart, this is definitely a book to add to your reading list!
Review of advance copy
Wow! What a great story right here! You will swoon and fall in love with Copper and Poppy! This is a great story to read while sitting at the beach or by the pool!
Poppy is an author, who writes best selling love stories, yet she just walked away and cancelled her own wedding. She has a book to write, and takes her aunt up on heading to her home in Sweetbriar Cove to get a fresh start. When she returns there, she met with nostalgia, and memories of her childhood, and the noise coming from next door, ruins it all. Cooper, the boy who teased her that summer, is working on redoing the house next door to her aunts home. She just wanted to escape, and start her book, but with the noise, and the hot distraction of Cooper, she's dealing with writers block. How can she get this book done?
Cooper has had his heart broken, and felt he was never good enough, or couldn't do enough for his ex. Now with Poppy next door, she's grown up to be quite the beautiful woman, and he's still enjoying teasing her like he used to. But one thing is for sure, she's starting to make his heart beat again, and he knows deep down, he can't be her happily ever after, or can he be?
I loved this story right from the first page! Melody did one heck of a job giving me all the feels, through the entire book! Grab this one asap!
Poppy is an author, who writes best selling love stories, yet she just walked away and cancelled her own wedding. She has a book to write, and takes her aunt up on heading to her home in Sweetbriar Cove to get a fresh start. When she returns there, she met with nostalgia, and memories of her childhood, and the noise coming from next door, ruins it all. Cooper, the boy who teased her that summer, is working on redoing the house next door to her aunts home. She just wanted to escape, and start her book, but with the noise, and the hot distraction of Cooper, she's dealing with writers block. How can she get this book done?
Cooper has had his heart broken, and felt he was never good enough, or couldn't do enough for his ex. Now with Poppy next door, she's grown up to be quite the beautiful woman, and he's still enjoying teasing her like he used to. But one thing is for sure, she's starting to make his heart beat again, and he knows deep down, he can't be her happily ever after, or can he be?
I loved this story right from the first page! Melody did one heck of a job giving me all the feels, through the entire book! Grab this one asap!
May 24, 2026
Welcome to Sweetbriar Cove, where you can go to clear your head after you break up with your fiancée just before your wedding, and go stay at your aunts place to finish your latest masterpiece. Imagine your surprise when the house being fixed up next door is by the one boy from your childhood that picked on you relentlessly. Only now he’s an absolutely perfect specimen and grumpy to match. Even though you start off on the wrong foot because after you arrive at your aunts place from driving all night and you just want to sleep but the construction from next door keeps you awake, you confront him and let the romance begin. He helps you with your writers block and you slowly fall for him.
I highly recommend you read this book, it’s the first in a series and it’s worth so more than the five stars 🌟
Melody has outdone herself with this book and I can’t wait for the next one.
I highly recommend you read this book, it’s the first in a series and it’s worth so more than the five stars 🌟
Melody has outdone herself with this book and I can’t wait for the next one.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I had a lot of fun!! It was very light hearted, a good, easy, well flowing read following Poppy who is a romance author (love!!) and a Cooper who is a contractor who doesn’t believe in love. Honestly what could go wrong lol
the small town and the side characters that make up the town were all so great and I’m looking forward to continuing to see them in the next books!! We had all the nosy neighbors and family members, some cute giddy gestures and some spice to fill the pages!!
My only main critique of the book: I am a yearning and groveling LOVER and I do not think Cooper did near enough groveling before Poppy and him got their HEA lolol but that’s just my personal preference🤷🏼♀️🤭
the small town and the side characters that make up the town were all so great and I’m looking forward to continuing to see them in the next books!! We had all the nosy neighbors and family members, some cute giddy gestures and some spice to fill the pages!!
My only main critique of the book: I am a yearning and groveling LOVER and I do not think Cooper did near enough groveling before Poppy and him got their HEA lolol but that’s just my personal preference🤷🏼♀️🤭
Review of advance copy received from Author
I absolutely fell in love with Poppy and Cooper. Poppy the romance author and Cooper the grumpy contractor who doesn't believe in happy ever after.
Favorite quote-
“There it was again. The heat of connection sparking between them, inexplicable. Undeniable. This was why she wrote romance. These moments of connection that made the world seem like more than just a collection of atoms and science. The moments when your eyes locked with someone, and you suddenly believed in magic.”
― Melody Grace, The Book Lover's Beach House: Fall for the small-town series for fans of cozy and spicy romance!
Favorite quote-
“There it was again. The heat of connection sparking between them, inexplicable. Undeniable. This was why she wrote romance. These moments of connection that made the world seem like more than just a collection of atoms and science. The moments when your eyes locked with someone, and you suddenly believed in magic.”
― Melody Grace, The Book Lover's Beach House: Fall for the small-town series for fans of cozy and spicy romance!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I was so lucky to receive an arc for the Book Lovers Beach House! It’s hard to say what I loved most about the book- the will and action of starting over when you’re not sure of anything, the main characters personalities, the family and friends or the location of sweetbriar cove. All of these come together so well for a great read that makes your heart smile.
Looking forward to the next book in the series!! ❤️
Looking forward to the next book in the series!! ❤️
June 1, 2026
ARC read. This was a super cute spring/summer read. A bit predictable but in a way that gave you the warm and fuzzies. Read it in one sitting, the perfect pallet cleanser!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Melody Grace is such a smooth writer- book drew me in from the first couple pages. Poppy and Cooper have so much chemistry and the banter back and forth!! Swoon worthy! 📕🔥☀️🐚⛱️
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews