Congratulations Grace
on the release today of
Beach Heart!
Beach Heart by Grace Greene
Women's Fiction, 264 pages
Published June 7, 2022 by Kersey Creek Books
Visit Emerald Isle, NC again in this single title story about Emma, a woman who spent much of her early life at the beach but then fate took her elsewhere. Now she has a chance to go back and reclaim the happiness she remembers...but is that possible?
Emma Deveraux married Gregory Dance soon after college and now, thirteen years later, she is a widow and about to be homeless. Her husband’s long illness has left her broken financially and emotionally devastated. Over the angry objections of her grown stepson, Macon, she has sold the family home to pay the debts and now, it’s moving-out day, surely the lowest point of her almost thirty-eight years of life. But on this day when nothing good could possibly be expected to happen, she receives a last-minute delivery: legal documents transferring ownership of Beach Heart to her. It’s a special delivery that promises hope and a fresh chance at a future. But a beachfront duplex is a valuable property, so what’s the catch?
As a child, Emma spent holidays and summers with her great aunt Eva at Beach Heart in Emerald Isle, NC and made many happy memories but high school, college, and then marriage, took her away to a different life. For undisclosed reasons, the distant relative who inherited Beach Heart from Aunt Eva has chosen to transfer the property to Emma and the attorney handling the conveyance will only say that the owner is in poor health and wishes to divest himself of the property. It’s a gift that Emma can’t quite trust – but a place at the beach – paid for and hers - as a soft landing place for her to hide while she regroups and gets her health back and finds employment – is too tempting to resist. At Beach Heart Emma sees no sign that this is a trick or a scam and she’s feeling almost as good as she did when she stayed here as a kid – and if finding recovery, in part, in the friendship of a handsome red-headed neighbor and his dog, Starfish, a golden retriever - along with finding a job at the Front Street Gallery in Beaufort.
Her life and health are rebounding more quickly than she could’ve imagined, until she discovers secrets about her past, and that there’s more to the property transfer than simple goodwill. The betrayal she experienced with her husband and then her stepson, comes back full force. Can she find forgiveness for those who have hurt her? And can she forgive herself?
My thoughts about Beach Heart ~~
(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 line.)
First line—"The day I moved out of my home in Raleigh was surely the lowest point in my life."
Just when Emma is at her lowest point and has lost everything and everyone she loves, she gains back the one happy part of her childhood, Beach Heart—the beach cottage where she spent her young summers wrapped in the loving arms of her aunt.
Once again, Grace Greene has swept her readers to the wonderful Emerald Isle, with its beautiful beaches and kindhearted residents. This stand-alone novel is a delightful way to start your summer reading, as you explore the community and get to know Emma and understand her troubles. The people she meets and the connections she makes, make this story just that more enjoyable. I truly loved everything about this book, even down to the enthusiastic dog who lives down the beach.
Beach Heart should be at the top of your summer reading list. It's beautifully written and exactly the escape read everyone needs right now. I highly recommend it!
Thank you to Grace Greene for the ARC of Beach Heart. This is my honest opinion of the book.
About the author
Grace Greene writes fiction with romance, suspense and inspiration ~ The Emerald Isle, NC Stories Series includes Beach Rental, Beach Winds, Beach Wedding, along with the Christmas novellas, Beach Christmas and Beach Walk. Her Virginia books are Women's Fiction with romance, suspense and mystery. Most are set in rural Cub Creek and include her bestselling The Memory of Butterflies and The Happiness In Between which were released in 2017. Two new Cub Creek books will be released in 2019. The first, Wildflower Heart, will be followed by a sequel later in 2019.
Grace is also an artist and photographer and these interests show up on the pages of the stories. She lives in central Virginia. ~ Goodreads
Connect with Grace
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