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Beach House Memories (The Beach House) by…
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Beach House Memories (The Beach House) (original 2012; edition 2012)

by Mary Alice Monroe (Author)

Series: The Beach House (3)

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2751395,419 (3.92)7
In this tale that explores the themes of class, women's rights and domestic abuse in the 1970s American South, the author returns to her classic Southern setting in the Isle of Palms with the sequel to her novel The Beach House. She weaves together issues of class, women's rights, and domestic abuse set in the tumultuous South during the 1970s as she tells the story of Olivia, "Lovie" Rutledge, the mother from The Beach House. As Lovie sits on the porch of her charming beach house and looks out over the ocean, the old woman reflects on the difficult choices she made in many years earlier, during the summer that changed her life. In 1974, at thirty-nine years old, Lovie hosts a formal dinner party for her unappreciative husband in their lovely home in a neighborhood of privilege in Charleston. The following morning she takes her two children to a nearby barrier island where her family has a modest beach cottage. Behind closed doors, and exhausted from keeping up appearances, her husband's infidelity and his withering, disdainful looks, she can only find solace and happiness at the beach. But when a handsome biologist arrives to research the status of nesting turtles, a project that is Lovie's passion, she finds herself falling in love over the course of the summer, with devastating consequences. This novel is a tale of marriage, resilience, and one woman's private strength.… (more)
Member:MHanover10
Title:Beach House Memories (The Beach House)
Authors:Mary Alice Monroe (Author)
Info:Gallery Books (2012), Edition: First Edition, 400 pages
Collections:Your library, Currently reading, Wishlist, To read, Read but unowned, Favorites
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Tags:to-read

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Beach House Memories by Mary Alice Monroe (2012)

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Beach House Memories by Mary Alice Monroe is a 2012 Gallery Books publication.

This bittersweet story takes fans of this series back to 1974 when Lovey and her two children spend the summer at her beloved cottage on Isle of Palm. Lovey, known as ‘The Turtle Lady,’ takes part in an official study of the Loggerhead turtles with a man named Russell Bennett. With a philandering husband leaving her for long periods of time, Lovey finds a strong connection with Bennett tempting her to risk the life she has built for the type of passionate love her soul is starving for….

As the story begins, we are reminded of Lovey’s ‘current day’ situation, as her memories sweep her away to the past as she awaits the chance to reunite with the love of her life.

Nearly every summer for some time now, I have enjoyed a book by Mary Alice Monroe. It’s a tradition and while the author has other series, this is my very favorite. This year, she did not a release a book in this series. But, as luck would have it, for some reason, as I was reading through the series, I skipped over this one, thinking that because the storyline didn’t involve Cara’s adult dramas, I could always come back and read it later without missing out on anything. Though I have been chided occasionally for ‘reading out of order’- I’m glad I held back on this one.

As always, the turtles play a big role in the story, and it is always a pleasure to be reminded of the great miracle of these fascinating creatures that brought Lovey so much joy. The author captures perfectly the time and place and struggles of women who carried the burden of appearances, duty, and expectations, who suffered and bent under the pressure, but was forced to relent and conform in a time where choices were still very limited.

I was aware, due to reading later installments in this series, that Lovey had known true love in her life, and it added yet another layer of attachment to the cottage and the time she spent there. Yet, I was not prepared for such a gripping emotional story that left tears standing in my eyes.

It is strange that of all the wonderful Rutledge family stories I’ve read nearly every summer for a while now, this one, that has spent years gathering virtual dust on my Kindle, is the one that may have left the biggest emotional imprint on my heart.

“The mind often dictates the heart. Yet, I believe that the heart is the truer guide”

While the Beach House series may have run its course, or is at my most optimistic, simply on hiatus, this story has reminded me of all the beloved characters that brought me my own wonderful summer memories. I do hope we meet them all again someday… ( )
  gpangel | May 26, 2022 |
Spoilers for those who have not read Beach House #1 and Swimming Lessons otherwise known as Beach House #2).

I ultimately felt bored and slightly letdown by the third book in the series. I honestly considered just passing it up since I am not a fan of reading about affairs in romance novels. Between that and how Lovie honestly seemed to ignore her two kids for her "romance" I wasn't feeling the plot at all. And when Monroe showed how and why Lovie ended up staying in her marriage I maybe went bah.

So "Beach House Memories" has a present day setting with Lovie and her daughter Caretta (Cara) who are at the beach house. Lovie knows she has cancer and her days with her daughter are numbered. From there Monroe has her reliving her memories from 1974 when she had an affair with a biologist who was in South Carolina reporting on the turtle nests there.

So for me I found Lovie to be a weak character. We are shown as readers that she realizes her husband is cheating on her. Taking her mother in law's advice to ignore it (who does that?) she eventually realizes she is sick of her husband and her living different lives. She is hoping that their annual summer trip to the beach house that was left to her will bring them closer together.

Readers already know that this is a lost cause based on book #1 in the series. So for me I was just beyond bored to read about things. We get to see how Lovie's mother didn't really care to help her. And we see how the long standing family housekeeper was there to support the children and Lovie. And we get to see the man we have heard about for so long, Stratton Rutledge who seems even meaner and less appealing than possible.

Lovie and her "relationship" with Russell Bennett was boring. I didn't see any chemistry, but read a lot of justification for why she was doing what she was doing. The hypocrisy of the whole thing after she rails at her husband for cheating on her just made me roll my eyes.

Things got worse for me as we get to read about characters we have known and loved who in this younger setting are warning Lovie about the trouble she could be bringing upon herself.

I honestly didn't get why Lovie stayed after an explosive incident. We had heard about things from the other books, but this book was long justification that didn't fit.

Other characters are not developed that well as I said already. We get younger versions of Cara and her brother. And most of the book we don't really get to see Lovie mothering her kids. She gets obsessed with spending time with Russell and that's all she wrote. The house and the beach don't have the same appeal as they did in the first and later books.

The writing was up and down. I thought that Lovie sounded ridiculous at times. This book takes place in 1974 and characters were running around saying how disgusting they found "bra burning" and "women's liberation." Didn't that all happen in the late 1960s through the 1970s? I know that the bra burning incident that most people talk about is the one at the Miss America's Pageant in 1968. For Lovie to act surprised by things that are going on in the U.S. makes me think she had her head in the sand and never read a paper.

The flow was awful. I was happy to get to the end. There were no surprises there though Monroe interjects some magical realism that honestly didn't fit what came before. ( )
  ObsidianBlue | Jul 1, 2020 |
Saw this book on overdrive and got it because I had not read this one before. Loved reading about Olivia Rutledge and her summer with Dr. Russell Bennett. Good character development, good editing and a delightful story. Really enjoyed this book. Highly recommend this book and this author. ( )
  CrystalToller | Mar 5, 2019 |
I love the setting. Isle of palms and Charleston, 1974. I know the places, the roads, and the people of this novel. Yes, it is a romance and yes, it is predictable, but it is well written and the characters are memorable. Sea Turtles are amazing creatures, and there are lots of them in this book. If you have ever watched a nest boil over, or seen a hatchling make his way to the sea, you will appreciate Olivia's role as the turtle lady. ( )
  ioplibrarian | Aug 26, 2018 |
Good book
  GlendaElliott | Mar 27, 2018 |
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This book is dedicated to Marguerite, my dear sister and brilliant muse.
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Lovie Rutledge believed memories were like the tides.
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In this tale that explores the themes of class, women's rights and domestic abuse in the 1970s American South, the author returns to her classic Southern setting in the Isle of Palms with the sequel to her novel The Beach House. She weaves together issues of class, women's rights, and domestic abuse set in the tumultuous South during the 1970s as she tells the story of Olivia, "Lovie" Rutledge, the mother from The Beach House. As Lovie sits on the porch of her charming beach house and looks out over the ocean, the old woman reflects on the difficult choices she made in many years earlier, during the summer that changed her life. In 1974, at thirty-nine years old, Lovie hosts a formal dinner party for her unappreciative husband in their lovely home in a neighborhood of privilege in Charleston. The following morning she takes her two children to a nearby barrier island where her family has a modest beach cottage. Behind closed doors, and exhausted from keeping up appearances, her husband's infidelity and his withering, disdainful looks, she can only find solace and happiness at the beach. But when a handsome biologist arrives to research the status of nesting turtles, a project that is Lovie's passion, she finds herself falling in love over the course of the summer, with devastating consequences. This novel is a tale of marriage, resilience, and one woman's private strength.

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