The Beach Trap

By: Ali Brady

Narrated by: Brittany Pressley, Imani Jade Powers

Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

Two best friends torn apart by a life-altering secret. One summer to set the record straight.

When 12-year-olds Kat Steiner and Blake O’Neill meet at Camp Chickawah, they have an instant connection. But everything falls apart when they learn they’re not just best friends—they’re also half sisters. Confused and betrayed, the girls break off all contact.

Fifteen years later, when their father dies suddenly, Kat and Blake discover he’s left them a joint inheritance: the family beach house in Destin, Florida. The two sisters are immediately at odds. Blake, who has recently been demoted from regular nanny to dog nanny, wants to sell the house, while social media influencer Kat is desperate to hold on to the place where she lived so many happy memories.

Kat and Blake reluctantly join forces to renovate the dilapidated house, with the understanding that Kat will try to buy Blake out at the end of the summer. The women clash as Blake’s renovation plans conflict with Kat’s creative vision; meanwhile, each sister finds herself drawn into a summer romance. As the weeks pass, the two women realize the most difficult project they face this summer will be coming to grips with their shared past—and learning how to become sisters.

©2022 Ali Brady (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“An enchanting, heartwarming story about the families we’re born into—and the families we choose for ourselves. The Beach Trap is full of beauty, and hope, and reminders that it’s never too late to roll up our sleeves and rise above the mistakes we made. I cheered, I cried, I swooned while reading about Blake and Kat, and their journeys to finding love, to finding themselves, and to becoming the sisters they were always meant to be. Take this book on vacation with you, and let its heart and humor sweep you off your feet!”—Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis

"A unique and fun twist on the enemies-to-lovers trope, The Beach Trap features two half-sisters who hate each other, but are thrown together one fateful summer to save their family's beach house. It's The Parent Trap meets Flip or Flop (with not one, but two hot handy men). In other words—the ultimate vacation read."—Colleen Oakley, USA Today bestselling author of The Invisible Husband of Frick Island

“The Beach Trap is both a celebration of sisterhood and an unflinching examination of how where we come from shapes who we become. Ali Brady isn’t afraid to let Kat and Blake muddle through their mess, be it the mistakes of their family or the literal mess of the beach house they’ve inherited, and gift readers with an uplifting tale that shows how, with a little elbow grease, the baggage of our past doesn’t have to define us. With an HGTV-worthy plot, heaps of family drama, and a side of romance, The Beach Trap hits the nail on the head when it comes to the perfect summer read. Don’t forget to pack this one in your beach bag!”—Sarah Grunder Ruiz, author of Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships

Love, loss and longing.

This story was enjoyable to listen to and included many threads of entanglement, misunderstanding, grief, and a desire to belong. The story tugs at the heart of any girl whose ever lost a friend. Only to later learn she’s gained a family!

LOVED it!

This was such a fun listen! The story was a cute spin on an old story. The narrators were so great! There were a couple unnecessarily explicit sex scenes so that is a little off-putting for me, but it was really a charming & fun book. A great summer story. I really enjoyed this listen!

Cute summer book

I loved the double narrators and that the girls had to rely on each other.

Easy listening

Great “beach read” book. Predictable but cute story. Good for something easy to listen to.

Heartwarming ❤️

I love a good character-driven story and this author delivered a very satisfying novel. The story started slowly as we get to meet the half-sisters through the excellent narration performed by both readers. The first couple of chapters moved slowly as we met the sisters. Even so, I was fully engaged from Page One.

I am quite satisfied with this story and give it a high recommendation.

Special Sister Story

Having a sister is special. Kat and Blake grew up apart but achieved an unbreakable relationship because they learned to talk and believe in each other. At first, there were so many assumptions, but their unbreakable bond happened when they communicated and listened to each other. Sisters should have an unbreakable bond, but they often don't listen and separate based on miscommunication and hard feelings.

It's a fun book to read, romantic, but hits home if you have a sister you've grown apart from. Maybe someday we can end up like Kat and Blake.

Would read again!

So good. Loved the story and the readers. This was so good I would read it again and I never read books twice!!

Love family beach memories

Nostalgic what the beach - Fourth of July - does to a person. Brings Back so many childhood memories whilst a new family fights to form.

Shallow story w/Boyfriend reading Toxic Masculinity

The book reference was completely out of the blue and served exactly no purpose in the story other than to push an author’s personal agenda. Seriously, the female character should just date a woman and she won’t have to worry about the “toxic masculinity” of her boyfriend who, by the way, saved her stupid butt by being able to save/restore a newly refinished flooded wood floor and furniture she ruined because she couldn’t stop a running toilet, nor did she consider it important. Apparently she should have been reading Toxic Femininity, or How to Do Things Manly Men Can Do, or, How to Be More Than a Bimbo, or something similar. I’m sick to death of authors inserting manipulative cultural and political ideas, which are always uber liberal and usually ridiculous, into fictional stories that various readers with a vast array of cultural norms and political ideologies read, in order to ESCAPE the nonsense and sadness life often throws our way. If you’re into a shallow read with beautiful people who have oh so great sex before any real relationships exists between them and end up with perfect lives (except for the poor sap reading Toxic Masculinity), this will be right up your alley. As for me, I’m quite weary of spending money on these woke authors pushing agendas through fiction. This is so prevalent now, I’m going to start a list and publish it somewhere to save others the grief. Will anyone see this honest review? I’d be amazed if it’s allowed through. After all, it doesn’t support the company agenda.

Beach Trap

This was an easy and enjoyable story to listen to. It reminded me of Disney's "The Parent Trap" in that the girls found out that they were half-sisters while at summer camp. The girls are brought together many years later thru their fathers will in which they have inherited a broken-down beach house. They each have reasons for wanting ownership of the house.
This is about working thru hurt and confusing feelings, sisterhood, and teamwork.