The Shark Club // book review

Sharks are my favourite animals - at least, they're joint top with bees. But I've loved sharks since I was tiny. And I love books, so a book about sharks was destined to be a winner for me. AND, this book just so happens to be written by the daughter of my number 1 favourite author ever, so I had high hopes for The Shark Club by Ann Kidd Taylor.

The book follows Maeve, who was bitten by a shark when she was little and is now a marine biologist - she's just arrived back at her grandmother's hotel in Florida following a research trip, and she throws herself back into life there until she realises her ex boyfriend is back in town and everything goes a bit crazy. Add to that the fleeting romance she had on the aforementioned research trip, as well as her troubled brother and a nasty shark-finning operation, life is far from simple for lovely Maeve.

Having said that, it's a fairly simple book to read; even though there's a lot going on, it's written in a way that just makes sense and it's easy to keep up with the story line. The descriptions and small details are wonderful, and the characters are written in a way that feels like you know them, and there are loads of shark facts which is obviously boss. There's also some twists in the plot that I really didn't see coming, and I like that in a book. I like that you think everything is great and you know exactly where it's going and then BAM almost like being bitten by a shark, something out of the blue changes the direction of the entire story.

All in all, this is an easy read but a lovely story about sharks, first love, and key lime pies, about growing up and literary quotes and blue skies. It's got romance, mystery, humour - and, I think, it's the sort of book you could read in a day on the beach with a cocktail in hand.

This wonderful book came out on paperback last week and I would definitely recommend it; thank you so much to Penguin for sending me a copy. If anyone has read this or does read it, let me know what you think!