A Reading Daydreamer: lisa glass

Name: Snake Beach

Author: Lisa Glass

Publisher: Self

Release Date: unknown

Pages: 200

Source: For review (from author)

Rating: 2.5 stars

Life is good for Jenny Grand, living in a beachside chalet on the Cornish coast, chilling out and body-boarding, until one day her ex-boyfriend Han returns to her home town of Hayle. Shortly afterwards, the town is invaded by TV modelling talent show Britain's Next Catwalk Queen, and everything begins to go wrong.
Part romance, part mystery, and part coming-of-age story, Snake Beach is a gripping novel for young adults.

[summary taken from Goodreads]

Beverley's Review

I'm struggling to write this review because I really, really wanted to love this but I was left disappointed. I was hoping for a thoroughly gripping mystery which would have me hooked from beginning to end and maybe a thrilling romance, as suggested in the blurb.

One of the main factors which must be done well in order for me to enjoy a book is the characters. None of the characters really stood out. I felt Jenny was a little flat and she lacked an individual personality. She was also a little immature and occasionally outwardly rude which irked me. The love interest, Han, wasn't really special either. To me, he was too two-dimensional and I felt he could have been developed more. I wasn't swept off my feet by him and I didn't understand why Jenny was so smitten with him.

Talking of Han, I felt a little misled by the blurb. Snake Beach is supposed to be 'part romance' but the romance felt quite secondary. It wasn't exactly insta-love but what I gathered was: Jenny and Han had a 'thing' in the past, Han leaves Cornwall, comes back... BOOM! - they're 'in love' again. There was no build up to the rekindling of their past relationship and there was no explanation as to why Jenny liked him so much. It was all quite sudden and unexpected.

The 'part mystery' I was promised also didn't really deliver. The build up wasn't explored deep enough and the 'truths' were revealed a little too hastily at the end. I found myself not really caring for the plot. In places, it just felt unrealistic and impossible which meant I wasn't hooked by the whole mystery.

My dismissal of the plot was perhaps due to the writing. It was mediocre and not very sophisticated, unable to draw me into the book. Perhaps, Glass was trying to develop some sort of quirky style for our Cornish protagonist, Jenny. But it just didn't work for me and detracted from my enjoyment of the story overall. However, I cannot deny that the ideas were both original and unique. I don't think anyone's ever written something like it and I do wonder how Glass managed to mix everything together.

Despite the flaws, what I like most about it and what led me to accept the book for review in the first place was the setting. It's set in Cornwall - a place which I adore - and hardly any books are set in such a quiet place so I was eager to see how Glass would throw in a mixture of misfortunes and scandal. The coastal, beach location brought back many childhood memories and made me a little nostalgic which I was grateful for.

Overall, I had high hopes for Snake Beach and unfortunately it fell short. It had an original focus but the characters and writing style were too mediocre to create an enticing read. I feel that if I had read this during my pre/early teen years, I would have maybe given this 4 stars so despite being marketed as a young adult book, I believe younger teens would enjoy this far more.