The Beach Bar: too much exposition and not enough action

The Beach Bar by Kate McCabe is the story for new beginnings as the lives of four people converge on Fuengirola on the Costa de Sol is a Spanish hotspot on the Mediterranean coast. Vacationers come to enjoy the sun, sea, and sand. Pedro’s Bar has been managed by Maria, a local woman, who rarely sees the Irish owner, but things are about to change. Kevin Joyce from Galway is sent to become Maria’s assistant. He comes to Fuengirola to escape the trap he calls the family business. Emma Dunne, a successful businesswoman from Dublin, has spent her twenties running her family’s printing company. All hard work and no fun for Emma. Until she has been given the chance to take over ownership of Pedro’s Bar. Mark Chambers comes to overcome a personal tragedy and joy in his life. Claire Greene has unfinished business to deal with. Will the bar be all fun in the sun? Or will it be just another “all work and no play” situation? 

The premise of The Beach Bar intrigued me, unfortunately it fell flat from the opening chapter. I was bored from the get go with so much exposition and very little action. The author spends chapters telling us the backstory of each character before having them met at Pedro’s Bar. Why give all that information up front? Why not gradually reveal the motivations of each character as the story progresses? By the time the characters get to the bar, I was so overwhelmed with their individual stories that I was exhausted and had no energy to see how their stories would intertwine, if they did at all. While the descriptions of the locations were beautiful, but the story didn’t have any kind of flow and the ending was so abrupt, I expected this book to be a part of a series, which it is not. I do not recommend The Beach Bar. 

The Beach Bar is available in paperback and eBook.