Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Release Day! Beach House Reunion by Mary Alice Monroe ~ My Thoughts

Happy Release Day!! 

38522033
Echo Moon

Beach House Reunion by Mary Alice Monroe
Series: Beach House #5
Print and e-book, 400 pages
Published May 22nd 2018 by Gallery Books

Whisking you back to the shores of her bestselling Beach House series, Mary Alice Monroe weaves together a tale of the struggles and triumphs of the historic Rutledge family of Charleston, South Carolina. Beautifully wrought and rich with keen insight, this is an illuminating tale of new beginnings, resilience, and one family’s enduring love.

Cara Rutledge returns to her Southern home on the idyllic Isle of Palms. Everything is comfortingly the same, yet each detail is rife with painful memories. Only through reconnecting with family, friends, and the rhythms of the lowcountry can Cara release the hold of the past and open herself to the possibility of a new love, career, and hope for the future.

Meanwhile, her niece Linnea, a recent college graduate who doesn’t know where her life will take her, leaves her historic home in Charleston, with all its entitlement and expectations, and heads to her aunt’s beach house. On the island, she is part of the freer, natural ocean lifestyle she loves, rejoining the turtle team, learning to surf, and falling in love. Remembering the lessons of her beloved grandmother, Lovie, the original “turtle lady,” Linnea rediscovers a meaningful purpose to her life and finds the courage she needs to break from tradition.

In this heartwarming novel, three generations of the Rutledge family gather together to find the strength, love, and commitment to break destructive family patterns and to forge new bonds that will endure long beyond one summer reunion.


Congratulations Mary Alice
 on the release today of
Beach House Reunion!

My thoughts about Beach House Reunion ~~ 

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first lines.)

First line—"All roads lead home. That thought mingled with the soothing sound of Debussy as Cara descended from the majestic highlands of Tennessee toward the sultry lowcountry of South Carolina."

I really love reading Southern fiction and this one was a real pleasure to read. Beach House Reunion is only the second book by Mary Alice Monroe that I have read and the first book of her five book Beach House series. I loved that I could jump right into the story, five books in, and not feel like I had missed a thing. I can only imagine how much more I would've loved this book if I had started to meet the characters from the beginning.

This is a wonderful, emotional story as we watch so many of the characters grow, put the past behind them, and move on to discover whatever the futures holds for them. I quickly became a part of their lives and got swept up in their emotions. Parts did bring me to tears, I haven't had a good cry over a book in a long time. I love it when a story touches me to tears.

I am excited to take more trips to the beach house which was just as much of a character in the story as the people were. I am ready to go back to book one to see how it all started.  

I received an ARC from Gallery Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

About the author



New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe found her true calling in environmental fiction when she moved to coastal South Carolina. Already a successful author, she was captivated by the beauty and fragility of her new home. Her experiences living in the midst of a habitat that was quickly changing gave her a strong and important focus for her novels.

Mary Alice Monroe writes richly textured books that delve into the complexities of interpersonal relationships and the parallels between the land and life. Monroe’s novels are published worldwide. With the same heart of conservation, Monroe has written two children’s picture books as well.

Her novels have achieved many lists, including the New York Times, USA Today and SIBA. She has received numerous awards, including several Readers’ Choice Awards; the 2014 SC Book Festival Award for Excellence in Writing; the 2015 SW Florida Book Festival Distinguished Author Award; RT Lifetime Achievement Award; and the 2008 South Carolina Center for the Book Award for Writing. Most recently, Monroe was named by the South Carolina Academy of Authors as a 2018 inductee of the Literary Hall of Fame.

Monroe’s novel A Lowcountry Christmas won a 2017 Southern Book Prize in fiction, awarded by the Southern Indepedent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA). In 2011, her novel The Butterfly’s Daughter won the International Book Award for Green Fiction. It was also selected as a finalist for the 2012 Book of the Year by SIBA.

Monroe’s novel The Beach House will be adapted into a Hallmark Channel Hall of Fame Movie, starring three-time Golden Globe nominee Andie MacDowell and premiering exclusively on the network in 2018.

Monroe lives with her family on a barrier island outside Charleston, South Carolina. She is an active conservationist and serves on the Board of the South Carolina Aquarium, The Leatherback Trust, and Charleston Literacy Volunteers. She is a frequent speaker at book festivals, conferences, and private events. Monroe is also a frequent contributor to magazines and blogs.

Connect with Mary Alice


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