Book Review: ‘Beach House Rules’ is delicious high end Southern chick lit

Charlotte Sitterly and her 14-year-old daughter, Iris, are suddenly shut out of their comfortable life in an upscale coastal community in North Carolina. They’ve lost access to their money, car and even home after husband and father Bill was arrested on suspicion of financial fraud.

With no where else to go, they wind up at a beachfront former bed and breakfast in Juniper Shores where a group of single women and their children live, sharing the domestic chores and forming strong, familial-like bonds.

Written by bestselling author Kristy Woodson Harvey, “Beach House Rules” is delicious, high end Southern chick lit, a fun novel to stash into a tote with your towel and sunscreen on the way to the pool this summer.

It has everything you need in a modern beach read – romance, mystery, family tension and even an anonymous social media blogger with tons of attitude who dishes under the handle @junipershoressocialite.

Boasting about “sharing bad behavior and delicious drama in North Carolina’s most exclusive zip code,” the Instagram account gradually becomes popular reading for the entire community.

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“The mayor’s wife debuted not only her new emerald necklace (a birthday gift from her husband) but also her new décolletage (a birthday gift from her surgeon),” the snarky mystery blogger writes in a typical post.

At the former bed and breakfast, members of the “mommune” promise to follow the beach house rules: keep secrets, visit the beach daily and make a snack for someone else if they get one for themselves.

Owned by Alice Bailey, a young widow three times over who has no children, the house becomes home as well to three other women and their kids, who are allowed to live rent free while they sort out complicated life situations.

Bailey is dubbed the “Black Widow” by the blogger, who speculates that she may have killed her husbands. The anonymous poster also speculates on Bill Sitterly’s guilt or innocence, as well as various romantic relationships among the townsfolk.

There are plenty of surprises as the story develops, always centered on the power of female friendships and the importance of family.

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