Karma's a Beach

I’ll admit, I went into *Karma’s a Beach* expecting another paint-by-numbers vacation romance, but Chase subverts the trope by making her heroine *earn* her happy ending—through sheer force of cringe. The premise is simple: a woman’s solo getaway turns into a comedy of errors when she keeps running into a guy who’s witnessed her at her absolute worst (think: tequila-induced karaoke, a failed flirtation with a piña colada machine, and a sunburn so bad she resembles a lobster). What sells it is the *narrative voice*—Rose’s performance makes the heroine’s spiral from dignity to chaos *hilarious* rather than pitiful. She’s the friend you’d roast for her terrible decisions but still hand a margarita to. Bloom’s narration as the love interest is the perfect foil: all dry amusement and barely concealed affection. His timing is impeccable, especially in scenes where the heroine’s embarrassment is met with his deadpan, *“You’re welcome”*—a phrase that becomes a running gag. My only critique? The mid-book lull drags slightly, with a subplot about the heroine’s career feeling tacked on to pad the runtime. And while the tropical ambiance in the production is a nice touch, a few transitions between scenes feel abrupt, like the audio equivalent of a page turn mid-sentence. Still, the chemistry between the leads (and their narrators) carries it. If you love enemies-to-lovers with a side of self-inflicted humiliation, this is your audiobook—just maybe don’t listen while operating heavy machinery. You *will* laugh at the wrong moment.