Breakfast at the Beach House Hotel

Beach House Hotel #1

by Judith Keim

When Ann Rutherford’s husband dumps her for the bimbo in his office, unfairly leaving her without a home or a job, she reluctantly joins forces with Rhonda DelMonte to convert Rhonda’s Florida seaside estate into the small upscale hotel it once was. Ann, quiet and reserved, is no match for brash, bossy Rhonda, who left the family’s New Jersey butcher business after she won the lottery. Amid their struggles to succeed, The Sins of the Children, a soap opera, films a number of episodes at the hotel and things get complicated in unexpected ways when Ann falls for Vaughn Sanders, the star of the show.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit, Audiobook, Contemporary, Womens Fiction, Contemporary Romance

308 pages, Paperback

First published May 26, 2015

About the author

Judith Keim, A USA Today Best Selling Author, is a hybrid author who both has a publisher and self-publishes. Ms. Keim writes heart-warming novels about women who face unexpected challenges, meet them with strength, and find love and happiness along the way, stories with heart. Her best-selling books are based, in part, on many of the places she's lived or visited and on the interesting people that she's met, creating believable characters and realistic settings her many loyal readers love.

She enjoyed her childhood and young-adult years in Elmira, New York, and now makes her home in Boise, Idaho, with her husband and their two dachshunds, Kacy and Wally, and other members of her family.

While growing up, she was drawn to the idea of writing stories from a young age. Books were always present, being read, ready to go back to the library, or about to be discovered. All in her family shared information from the books in general conversation, giving them a wealth of knowledge and vivid imaginations.

Ms. Keim loves to hear from her readers and appreciates their enthusiasm for her stories.

To sign up for her newsletter, go here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/oeiwdp1vkc

Her website: https://judithkeim.com/

Follow her on Book Bub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/judit...

Reviews

[ꕥ Ange_Lives_To_Read ꕥ · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF probably 60% in.

I am surprised it has gotten so many positive reviews. The writing seems amateurish, the story was going nowhere fast and then took a really stupid turn. Too many books in my queue to waste more time on this one.

[Clwseattle · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author of Breakfast at the Beach House Hotel, Judith Keim, says on her Goodreads Authors Page: "I particularly love to write novels about women who face unexpected challenges and meet them with strength. ".

She absolutely does that in Breakfast at the Beach House Hotel. However, too many times in the book I went from reading about those strong women to thinking I was reading a teen romance. Make the characters teenagers and set them in high school with mean boys, popular kids, an outrageous best friend, the shy studious girl, the football hero and drama ridden break up angst and you have all the components of daily high school drama.

I can't believe there are any serious 40 yr old business women alive who would think, let alone utter the words "Somehow we'd find a way to be together. If we couldn't part of me would die." Fourteen maybe. Not forty-ish.

In the middle of it all, throw in an ex-husband who appears only and specifically to die. Huh?

All in all a good story with great potential ruined a bit by an immature soap opera-y feel to it. I don't regret reading Breakfast at the Beach House Hotel but doubt I will follow with the remainder of the The Beach House series.

2.5-3 stars generously.

Addendum: Adding Breakfast at the Beach House Hotel to my personal book journal I realized I recently read another book by Judith Keim. Upon re-reading my review of Fat Friday I found I said many of the same things I (and others here) said about Breakfast at the Beach House Hotel. I like the premises of these stories and I want to like these books but I have to repeat what I said at the end of that review: I just hate to give reviews like this.

[Shawn Callon · Rating 3 out of 5]

My spouse read this novel and here's her review:

This story is a lovely light read - perfect for the Summer, on the beach or round the pool.
The lead character Ann is newly single, wondering where her life will go now. Her daughter Liz is at University and her ex-husband Roger has their home up for sale! Liz suggests a short break to Florida to stay with her friend Angela and her mother Rhonda.
Ann and Rhonda form an unlikely friendship despite the differences between the two women. They plan to convert Rhonda's beautiful beach-front home into an exclusive hotel.
There are many twists and turns for the pair - destructive weather, an uncooperative neighbor and guests with issues. Through it all though, they grow in confidence and enjoy their new lives. All that's needed to achieve perfection would be a partner to share it with.
The novel is comfortably predictable and has some great plot lines. A most satisfying light read!

This review was edited and published by Shawn Callon, author of The Diplomatic Spy.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started off promising but then turned into something akin to a high school drama. I did like the friendship
of Rhonda and Ann, they played off each other very well and made a great team/owners of their joint venture as business partners of turning Rhonda’s hotel into a boutique hotel.

Each woman was dumped by their husbands in a bad way. The way the men treated those women was sneaky and abusive taking advantage of them financially. Both reacted to these idiot husbands in a way as if they were subservient to them even after their divorces! Talk about the men knowing how to gaslight and manipulate their former wives and turn situations around as if their shortcomings were not their fault but the ex-wives. So this really irritated me.

The weak attorneys were of no use in helping the women. And there were other masochistic situations that the women experienced such as asking the bank for financial assistance to get their hotel up and running. This thread just kept running through the book. I wanted to shout: Change banks! Change attorneys! Hang up on the ex husbands!

Then, for Ann, each time she met a man, there seemed to be some attractant to her for romance but these men were all turning into buffoons just like her husband. I wanted to say is it them? Is it you? Why does this keep happening throughout the story?

Ann is strong in the business sense, but weak in picking out a man as her partner. She has a fantastic relationship
with her daughter who deep down inside knows what an ass her father is and how he manipulates and treats her
Mother badly. Rhonda is flamboyant and kind and speaks her mind.

We got to read behind the scenes of how a hotel business gets up and running, financing, staffing issues, a hurricane, getting a chef, the different hotel guests and their requirements and requests - some very odd, others requiring complete privacy, secrecy. In the meantime, one ex husband dies and the other goes into high gear as a 100% complete jerk, and failure to act like a human being. His ranting and raging (not raving but raging) character was most aggravating and he was continually abusive as the story wore on. He will not get any more of my time in the series of books following this one.

Rhonda falls in love and gets married, Ann falls in love (?) and I really don’t know what to predict for her future. Kinda cheesy she falls for a soap opera star hunk that women can’t keep their eyes (or hands) off of. He says all the right things to her but I know from reading, the other men did that to her as well.

Lots of questions as you close the last page of the story.

Two stars - and I honestly won’t be reading any additional books in this series.

[Merry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for serious readers

I found this book to be sophomoric. I kept waiting for it to get better, but that didn't happen. Example: the character Brock kept making appearances, but his role served no real purpose - & he just disappeared. The ending was very unrealistic, also. We're to believe a seasoned actor in NY would give up that life to help at a hotel in FL, all for love.

[January · Rating 4 out of 5]

Breakfast At the Beach House Hotel by Judith Keim (2015)
Beach House Hotel #1
296-page Kindle Ebook story pages 1-283

Genre: Women's Fiction, Beach Read, Contemporary Romance

Featuring: Bibliography for Judith Keim, Praise, Bibliography and Praise for J. S. Keim, Divorcées, Gulf Coast of Southwest Florida, Boston, Massachusetts; Fictional Small-Town near Sarasota, Florida; Infidelity, Boston University, College Roommates, Businesswomen, Hotel Management and Ownership, Partners, Empty-Nesters, Friendships, Bostonian, New Jerseyan, Dating After Divorce, Quadragenarians, Summer, Fall Holidays, Parties, Money Woes, Sex, Actors, Author's Links, excerpt from my book, Lunch at The Beach House Hotel - Book 2 in The Beach House Hotel Series

Rating as a movie: R for adult language and content

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🛎🏖

My thoughts: I couldn't put this down. I wasn't expecting it to cover over a year, I thought it would just be summer. It features the usual scenarios you see in this genre but it was well-written and a bit sharper than most. The situation with the ex was odd, but I enjoyed the vibe. I'm going to read as much of this series as I can.

Recommend to others: Sure. That's I it ended up on my TBR.

Memorable Quotes:


Beach House Hotel
1. Breakfast At the Beach House Hotel (2015)
2. Lunch At The Beach House Hotel (2016)
3. Dinner at The Beach House Hotel (2016)
4. Christmas at The Beach House Hotel (2017)
5. Margaritas at The Beach House Hotel (2021)
6. Dessert at The Beach House Hotel (2022)
7. Coffee at The Beach House Hotel (2023)
8. High Tea at The Beach House Hotel (2024)
9. Nightcaps at The Beach House Hotel (2024)
10. Bubbles at The Beach House Hotel (2025)
11. Canapes at The Beach House Hotel (2025)
12. Sea Breezes at The Beach House Hotel (2026)

[Crystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Took me awhile to get through this one! I hate to leave books unfinished… 100% cheese!

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great characters. Fun, light beach read.

[Margie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read, liked the premise of the storyline

[Roberta · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cinnamon muffins were

Two divorced women meet through their daughters that are best friends in college. One woman wins millions in the lottery and buys a mega mansion on luxury beach front property in Florida. The other women goes through a nasty divorce and ends up meeting a handsome movie star they fall in love and get engaged. The two women both decide to become partners and turn the mansion into a Exclusive Hotel for the rich and famous. And live happily ever with their perfect new husbands. The story is a modern day Cinderella too far fetched to actually enjoy.

[Gale Pearson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not a fan of romance novels so I’m not sure why I read this, but it was a nice story and a little more grown up than some.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annie's husband dumps her for his younger receptionist. She spends Thanksgiving in Florida with her daughter, Liz, Liz's friend, Angela, and Angela's mom, Rhonda. Rhonda had won the lottery and wants to turn their home into a boutique hotel so Annie's moves down there to be a partner. It was a cute story. I liked Liz and Rhonda. We all should have a friendship like their's. There was a bit of romance and I enjoyed reading how they turned a home with 32 bedrooms into an exclusive hotel. The setting of Gulf Coast Florida was wonderful. Makes me want to book a room right now.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (6/12/2019)! 🎁

[Punit Kohli · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wrong genra

This book was labeled under cozy mysteries. It was NOT a mystery. At about 55% I started to think it would pick up (someone died.) They played it off like he died in his sleep, and that was that. At about 76% money was stolen, and THERE I thought it would pick up, but it did not. This book was like a movie. Unrealistic. Based on the description, this book would be better. I would like to give it a 1/2 star for effort.

[Gary R Borman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read!! I could not put it down. The characters were so developed they became real. I already am buying the rest of the books by this author .

I would love to have been a guest at this hotel. The people and food were described so richly that I could almost see them and taste the food

[Roberta · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this as free ebook through Bookbub. It is evident that Ms. Keim is sometimes self-published. While her stories are clean, although not exactly chaste, her writing style is rather juvenile. This read like a creative writing project. I was hoping to enjoy it enough to want to read the whole series, but I didn't.

A recent divorcee from Boston, makes an unlikely alliance with her daughter's friend's flamboyant mother. Together they beat the odds by creating a successful upscale boutique hotel at a Florida estate in less than a year. The characters are rather stereotypical: the insecure newly-divorced Ann; the outspoken divorcee Rhonda (who is an Italian originally from New Jersey, of course); the trouble-making, leering lothario Brock; Robert, the angry, uncooperative ex-spouse who married a much younger trophy wife, Kandie; and Vaughn (sigh), the too-good-to-be-true new romantic interest who just doesn't realize how handsome and charming he really is. Of course the Florida hotel is staffed by people named Manny and Consuela.

Nice escapism, but not particularly well-written.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

These women are strong but face insecurities. I haven’t met a woman that was satisfied with every aspect of her life and body. Both women were dumped by their husbands. I found the story to be well written and discussed concerns that women have after leaving a marriage.
The brashness of Rhonda and the reserve of Ann play well off of one another. These women forge a strong friendship after meeting through their daughters. They go into business together and their friendship deepens.

I hated Robert and wasn’t to happy with Rhonda’s ex-husband either. It infuriates me that Robert was so selfish and uncaring towards his daughter. Ann’s lawyer also seemed a little weak. I realize people like this exist and wish they didn’t. I think the true nuggets of this story are the friendship and business. These women will have each other’s back for a long time to come.

That being said, I’m not convinced I’ll move onto reading the next book. I really don’t want to read about how mean and petty Robert can be.

The narrator did a wonderful job.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Read

Sometimes I bump into some frivolous romance novel by accident and not by design. Such was the case with the present book, but to be perfectly honest, I might like another bump or two with this author. Her writing mechanics were excellent! Her characters were well developed. Her use of the King's English was terrific! That is high praise from me. I thought the several storylines were three stars interesting. I just came off a Conn Iggulden reading high and fell into the sturdy arms of this sweet little romance!

Thank you, Ms. Keim, for a good read.

[lorena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a fun easy read. I like books like this that go fast and that you can continue in a series. The story is fun but it does have some fat fetched story lines. Annie just falls in love with a movie star and has no issues jumping into bed with him after being completely burned by her ex husband. That to me is not believable. Vaughn also seems to be really upset that she put works before him and then later on has no issues with her working and even starts helping at the hotel.

[Vikki Vaught · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful! I loved the characters and the plot. The secondary characters add greatly to the story. Happy reading/listening!

[Kelly Neal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was just pure fun! 4.5⭐️ The character of Rhonda, reminded me SO much of Jennifer Coolidge. I could not get her voice out of my head. Can’t wait to read book 2.

[Dannelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the fence about this book, but I finished it because I selected as part of a challenge for this month. This is the kind of book that I won't remember reading in a few months.

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t understand how this book has so many 4⭐️ reviews. It falls far short of its potential.

[Christie Sinclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun beach read...if only I were on the beach!!!😷😉

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book first I have read and will now look for the rest in the series

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Review to follow.

[Cathy Hine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read it, it was okay, but that’s about all I can say. It was too predictable with plot twists that sometimes felt too contrived. But I finished it so it wasn’t all bad.

[Naomi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't do it. I got to 64%, according to my kindle, and just couldn't bring myself to go any further.

The book spans a very long period of time (we are over a year into the life of the hotel at that point) and Keim has squeezed so many little scenes/bits of information into the story. This causes a few problems:

1. There isn't enough to make you feel for the people you should be feeling for.

When we meet Vaughn, we hardly get to know him, and there is barely a page at a time with Vaughn and Ann spending time with each other. Most of the time we get them sharing a line or two and then Ann goes off to do another task. Somewhere amongst those few lines, I'm meant to believe they are really in love and get excited about it. I didn't. Even the beach scene that keeps getting dragged up as a special moment between them was almost a "blink and miss it" moment.

Then we have a time with Rhonda's ex (Syd?) dying, and after a few lines of conversation between Syd and Ann, we are meant to believe they are now good friends and that Syd has become a great man? I didn't, so I didn't really care that he died. There wasn't enough to make me care.

2. Because good things were rushed over and there were so many little problems addressed in the book, Ann came across as a really wingy, whiny person that I disliked. Everything was a problem. Everything was a worry. Everything was an emergency.

Ahhhh. I just couldn't cope.

[Debbie Kolins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful book. I had a hard time putting it down and read it in 2 days. This is a story Ann Rutherford and Rhonda DelMonte, along with their daughters. This is about two different types of women Rhonda and Ann and they become unlikely partners in an elegant boutique hotel on Florida's west coast. One of the women is a "classy lady" from up North who is newly divorced from her business partner/husband [Ann's husband dumps her for a bimbo in his office]. Rhonda's husband had left her a long time ago. Ann meets Rhonda through her daughter's friend and accepts the challenge of moving to warm Florida and becoming involved in a new opportunity that has unknowns and risk. Rhonda and Ann decide to turn Rhonda's seaside house into an upscale Beach House Hotel. The President of a Homeowners Association was not happy when Ann told him she was not interested in him and I believed he was responsible for the many ups and downs with getting permits. If you want to know anymore you have to read this book!! I truly loved this book!!

[Baca Buku · Rating 1 out of 5]

Promising premise, juvenile story-telling.

If it wasn't so badly written, it'd be laughable. The characters are wooden and they have a lot of stilted, unrealistic dialogue. Even their internal monologues are boring. There's cliché after cliché: An unsophisticated, chubby man appears with a young, tall, blond, curvaceous woman. She is wearing four-inch heels so you know soon, she will have "teetered dangerously" on them (why? Does Gloria Pritchett ever look uncomfortable walking on her sky-high heels), and then later, of course she'll be by the pool in "the smallest bikini I'd ever seen". The "bad guys" act just as expected (some of their narratives are cut short and they simply disappear).

This book was written in 2015, but some of the things the characters say make them sound dated. The line about AIDS, for example, is carelessly thrown in and comes out of nowhere. So is a reference to a floozie. But the inclusion of "fuck you" here and there doesn't add an edge to the writing at all.