e-ALC, 11:14:10
Narrated by: J.Y. Kora & Lawrence Baldwin
Release Date: June 9, 2026
Published by: Books on Tape
Read from: May 29- June 1, 2026
Heart Beach, #1
Source: PRH Audio App (I received this e-ALC from the publisher and their app. This did nothing to influence my review.)
Content Warning: Grief, Misogyny, Death, Death of a Parent, Alcohol, Cursing, Pregnancy, Sexual Harassment
For Readers of: Adult, Audio, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, DEAR, Dual POV, Dual Narrators, Fake Dating, Favorites, Sparkly Covers, Meet Cutes, Most Anticipated, Pre-Ordered, Racial/Ethnic Diversity (Black), Realistic Fiction, Romance, So Good I Read the AcknowledgementsA stand-in girlfriend and a handsome business heir find that their fake summer fling is feeling way too real in this new romance by USA Today bestselling author Kristina Forest.
Noelle Lewis doesn’t have time for long walks on the beach, brunch with the girls, or summer vacations. She’s too busy saving up to go back to college. After recently getting laid off from her bookseller job, her main gig is now serving as a “stand-in” bridesmaid, which doesn’t pay enough for the upcoming semester’s tuition. But then the perfect, if not unconventional, opportunity arises…
Jeremiah Smith II, grandson of the founder of Smith’s Sweets—a well-known baked goods company—once lived a life of frivolity. Since his grandfather’s death, Jeremiah’s tried to clean up his act, but it’s hard to focus when his family requests that he join them at their summer house in Heart Beach, New Jersey, where his most painful memory lies. To avoid going there, Jeremiah claims he already has plans with his girlfriend, and of course, his family tells him to bring her. The problem? Jeremiah doesn’t have a girlfriend.
After a chance meeting, Noelle and Jeremiah come to an agreement. He’ll hire her to be his stand-in girlfriend for the weekend, and she’ll use that money toward her tuition. She figures it will be quick, easy money, but as it turns out, Jeremiah’s family is lovely, and Jeremiah is even lovelier. Soon, a weekend agreement turns into an entire summer, and Noelle and Jeremiah will have to keep their hearts in check, or else it’s sink or swim for them both.
*MY THOUGHTS*
Y’all already know how I feel about Kristina Forest. Y’all know she is one of my GOATs, so I’ve been waiting on this since she first released the title lol I swear with every single book she releases I swear it’s my favorite lol But this one, I think I finally found the one.
The first thing I want to talk about is the characters. Because Lordt all up and through my notes I’m just complaining about one of them, swooning over another one, and laugh/cringing at someone else lol These characters MADE this book. I mean I enjoyed the plot and stuff, but the characters made this what it was. Even the side characters were interesting, like Jeremiah’s sister and his mom. I have an idea of who we’ll get next in the series, but let me just put out in the ether, I wish we could get a book with Jeremiah’s mom too. But Forest did nip that in the bud at her tour stop, saying she “probably needs some more lived experience before [she] writes that.” I personally think she could do it, but that’s just me lol
Then there’s the romance. Y’all Jeremiah?! Y’all know I love a man that will pick up a book to be closer to his girl, so yeah this was amazing. Besides that, he was just the sweetest thing. And with his anxiety, he just seemed so real. Like he wasn’t all perfect. (Although I would argue his anxiety was still perfect, but you know what I mean) As for Noelle she was so sweet! But she was also really funny and really cringey lol So basically she was me LOL I related so much to her. From the secret cookie eating, to the wanting to be a librarian, to reading all the time, and more. I was she and she was me. And because of that I fell into the story more than I expected. It was just so good. Now the two of them together was so sweet. Again, the whole reading thing? Hot lol But also because he breathed so much life into her and the things she enjoyed. And vice versa.
The setting of this was bomb too. I’m from a beach city as well, so I could picture all of this in such an easy way. The setting made this so much fun! From the boardwalk to the beach house, it was all just so amazing. I did learn from her tour stop that she saw this as a Black Beach and based it off one of the Black beaches from history, called Bruce’s Beach. Again, as someone who is from a beach town, I did some research on my own city, and found that we too had a Black beach. And it was very near to my mom’s old house before we moved. Ironically, it was right off what is now 29th street, or MLK. I’ll talk more about this in a TfT, but I loved this part of the book as well.
This book meant so much to me. It really felt like a love letter to me LOL Y’all know how much I love her. At her tour stop I barely let her get a word in edgewise. She was so nice and I just kept talking and only saying little fragments. I know for a fact she doesn’t know my name and she has no idea what I was talking about. Besides me saying I was a librarian LOL Hopefully I didn’t scare her away and she will come back to Houston one day LOL Until then, y’all go pick up some cookies, grab this book, and sit back and fall in love with these characters like I did!
Overall, I give this
