Beaches, Bagels & Babes

This book went from “awwwww” to “AW SNAP” very quickly, but not in the way I was expecting… at all. There are so many levels to this book, and I won’t try to attempt to explain everything, but I need to explain a couple of things. 1. The attraction! OMG the way Nat Page writes attraction had me sweating and not because it was “soupy” the inner monologues of both characters is hilarious and relatable to anyone who has ever been attracted to someone they shouldn’t be (F’ Should). 2. The universe: the island holds all of the “fun” quirks of small town life, from everyone knowing everything to no one knowing you at all. Papa built a community that felt real and humanly awful but worth fighting for (I promise I’m not losing it: read the book). 3. The MCs: Candace and Daisy are fully formed characters, from their past which is woven together perfectly with who they became, to their wardrobes and sense of humor, they are fun and play off of each other so seamlessly.
I’m trying not to spoil anything, but this book is so good and more people need to read it. That’s it, that’s all I’ve got!

This book was absolutely fantastic! It had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Perfectly paced, perfect storyline, perfect storytelling, relatable characters, the whole nine yards! I loved the tension, the backstory between Daisy and Candace. Granted their reunion and hashing out was a little rough but it was perfect nonetheless. The spice? Beautiful, well built and placed. The bad guys? Also perfect. Granted I wanted to punch Peter Perry and Vinny more than once, but they got what was coming to them. I am so excited to read whatever else this Author brings to the table. Well done!!

🏳️‍🌈Rep: Lesbian FMCs, Nonbinary SC, Minor Trans SC

📝Tropes/Themes: Sloth Burn, Second Chance, Small Town, Beachy Boardwalk, Stick it to the Man, Overcoming Trauma, Found Family, First Love

Where do I even begin?? I went into this book thinking it was a typical summer sapphic romance - but it was so much more than that! Nat Paga packed so much into this book, the layers had layers! I was hooked from the prologue, especially those last two lines! I knew from that moment my heart was going to go through the ringer and I was not wrong. I just had no idea exactly how right I was.

BBB is a dual POV story that follows Daisy and Candace, who each have decades of trauma and grief weighing them down. There were so many times I wished I could just reach into the book and hug them. We find out the details of what happened between them (and also to them) little by little, getting more pieces of the puzzle along the way. But from the beginning you know that there is a lot of complicated history there.

Daisy and Candace met when they were preteens. After HS Candace left Wonderwood never to come back. Daisy took over Bagel Bombs after her parents died that year and it’d been her whole life ever since. Two decades after they first met, the tide brings Candace back to Wonderwood and back into Daisy’s life. But all Daisy sees now is Candy, the “Pier Princess.” You could cut the tension with a knife at their initial reunion. When Candace learns of her evil uncle’s plans to take over the boardwalk, including Bagel Bombs, and expand his empire she makes a proposal to Daisy that will help both of them and Daisy, eventually, reluctantly agrees. From first crush to first heartbreak to enemies to business partners to…well, it depends on the day!

You will LOATHE Peter Perry from the moment he enters the story. (Frankly, if you don’t, then it’s safe to say we would NOT get along.) Peter and his cronies are the quintessential evil rich white men - you know, the kind who do whatever they want and always get away with it because they have people in their pockets everywhere and no qualms about committing heinous acts. These men filled me with white hot rage. I would love to say they were overexaggerated for dramatic purposes, but it’s the fact that none of it felt overexaggerated that made the rage so strong.

Aside from those neanderthals, though, I truly adored all the characters in this story. The chemistry between Daisy and Candace is so hot they could probably toast the bagel bombs themselves! They literally have to keep stopping themselves from ogling each other and enjoying each other’s company. I get why they are both so hesitant to let themselves go there but dang! They move at a sloth’s pace for sure, but I promise you it is beyond worth the wait! 💥It really was beautiful watching them get reacquainted and seeing the icy walls between them slowly melt away. #BagelBabes

Then there is Rio, Norman, Demi and her whole family, and Ted, too. Plus we can’t forget the unlikeliest of heroes ever - Horace the Horseshoe Crab! IYKYK! I also loved that one of the prominent side characters (Rio) was nonbinary! It’s so wonderful seeing good trans/enby rep! And without giving any spoilers - there was another very minor trans character and the way they were introduced in the story was perfect - no deadnaming or misgendering, just an “I used to know them as someone different” kind of moment.🥰

Seriously though, when I said this story had layers I meant it! There was so much going on at the end of this story and so much up in the air with so many things that could go (and were going) wrong - I couldn’t put it down until I knew what happened! I don’t want to say more than that though, because you just need to experience it for yourself. Make sure you have some breathing exercises handy - you’ll need them!

Beaches, Bagels & Babes was an utter delight to read. This story is a mix of romance and action, filled with humor, sprinkled with mystery, and baked to perfection! I hope you’re hungry! 😉

I received an ARC from the author. This review is honest and voluntary.

Note: This story does cover some intense topics, so please do check the TW/CW below.

⚠️TW/CW [contains some spoilers]:
mention of parental death, mention of car accident, kidnapping, attempted murder, mention of murder, drugging, manipulation, mention of parental abandonment, hurricane, panic attack, mention of adultery (not the MCs), sexual content, traumatic public outing, minor homophobia/use of slurs