Beach House Reunion

Author Mary Alice Monroe returns her readers to her much beloved Beach House series in this fifth book, Beach House Reunion.
Let me preface my review by saying, I read this novel twice and I never want this series to end

Spoilers for readers who have not read the Beach House series. You do not want to start with this fifth book since it will spoil events from the prior books.

Wow. This was great. I do wish that Monroe didn't feel the need to always have two female characters to focus on in these books. I was fine with just following along with Cara's story personally. Us shifting back and forth between her and her niece Linnea. Even though I gave this book five stars, I just didn't find myself too engaged with Linnea's romance personally, though I thought it was a nice closing the circle moment for long-time readers. I was just thinking I would love to read a story told from Cara's sister in law's point of view.

It's been three years since Cara Rutledge show more left Isle of Palms for Tennessee. After the death of her husband Brett, Cara spread her wings to go to someplace that would not have her thinking of him every moment. Now returning home, she has someone new to think about she wants to be around her friends and family. I really can't tell you why Cara returns home, it will end up spoiling things for long-time readers. I can just say though that this was a satisfying conclusion to Cara's story. Cara is a consultant and ends up needing another pair of hands to help her out and thinks of her niece Linnea who is struggling to find a job after graduation.

Monroe once again shows us Cara going through a lot of changes (big and small) at the age of 53 and definitely showing she's older and wiser in this one.

Linnea is dealing with family troubles in this one and is glad to be away from her family home. Her younger brother seems to be going through some things, but her family keeps insisting things are fine.

We revisit other characters like Toy and her family (yes) and we even get characters from her other series (Lowcountry Summer) making appearances so that was pretty cool. We also get to see Heather and how her life has changed in three years since the last book.

The love interest for both women in this one were done very well. I want to applaud Mary Alice Monroe for showing widowhood in a romance novel in a realistic way. For once you didn't have the new love interest acting like a jackass that someone had loved again. And we don't have the heroine acting ashamed of that love. We have Cara still struggling to let go of Brett, but she has someone who is patience and understands what she is going through. And they are not asking her to pretend as if she didn't love someone else or was married before.

The writing was very good and honestly made me want to break open some wine and eat some boiled shrimp. Don't read this book if you are hungry.

The flow was really good in this one from start to finish.

The Isle of Palms is always a great setting. We do have Cara and her family dealing with another Hurricane that threatens everything (why do people live among the beach????) and how they deal with that.

The ending was so good though. The way things ends though you have a feeling this is the last book in the series. show less

It was a chilly grey Saturday in my part of NC but I spent the weekend at the beach and never left home! Reading a Mary Alice Monroe book is like taking a vacation at the beach - her love of the lowcounty shines through in her books and her descriptions of the area make you feel like you're there.

This is book 5 in the Beach House series. It can be read as a stand-alone but all of the books in the series are so good that you need to read them all! In this book, Cara Rutledge returns to Primrose Cottage on Isle of Palms. She left three years earlier after her husband died but felt like it was time to go home to raise the new baby that she's adopted. When she tries to work from home, she finds out that it's difficult so asks her niece show more Linnea to move to the cottage to take care of the baby while she's job hunting. They both lead a more relaxed life style at the beach with lots of friends and a bit of romance for both of them. Through their time together and the beauty of the island, the Rutledge family is about to become even closer despite issues that have been passed down from previous generations.

This is a beautiful story of love and family, new beginnings and learning to live in the future instead of the past. As with all of Mary Alice's books, her love of the environment shines through her novel. In this book, its the loggerhead turtle and every chapter starts with a fact about sea turtles. There is also a lot of information about how pollution in the ocean hurts the turtles and other sea animals. So along with my mental trip to the beach, I was able to learn more about sea turtles! I highly recommend this book!

Thanks to the author for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own. show less

Beach House Reunion
Mary Alice Monroe

MY RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️▫️
PUBLISHER Gallery Books
PUBLISHED May 22, 2018
Beach House Reunion is light and breezy and a joy to read.

SUMMARY
Beach House Reunion is the fifth novel in the Beach House series by Mary Alice Monroe. The series weaves together the triumphs and struggles of the Rutledge family of Charleston South Carolina. Beachhouse Reunion is a tale of new beginnings, as Cara Rutledge, 53, returns from Tennessee to live once again in her beloved beach house on the Isle of Palms, with her newly adopted baby, Hope. In need of childcare, Cara hires her niece, Linnea, to help her for the summer. Linnea has recently graduated from college and is struggling to figure out her next show more steps and relishes the idea of living with her aunt at the beach until she knows what she wants to do. Both women join the “turtle team,” make new friends, explore new directions for their lives and find the strength to attempt to break destructive family patterns.

REVIEW
A perfect book for a day at the beach. It’s light and breezy and a joy to read. A delightful tale that can either be devoured in a day or savored over several. Mary Alice Monroe is known as an active conservationist, particularly regarding sea turtles, and sea turtles alway plays a meaningful role in the Beach House series. While you don’t need to read each book in the series in order, if you are anything like me, after reading one, you are going to want to go back and read the others. Now, I consider Cara Rutledge a good friend and totally enjoy reading her ongoing story Thanks to Netgalley, Mary Alice Monroe and Gallery Book for an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review. show less

Two women coming home for two different reasons to the place they loved and the place with many memories.

Linnea had finished college, and Cara was coming home to be with family.

Linnea came home from college and had no choice but to return, and really didn’t want to be in her childhood home with all the drama and the rules.

Cara came home because her husband had passed away a few years earlier, she adopted a friend’s baby, and she wanted to have her daughter grow up where she grew up with family and summer beach memories.

Both women needed something, and with Linnea being Cara’s niece, the problem was solved because Linnea was going to be Cara’s nanny. That would save Linnea from staying with her parents all summer and would be a show more warm remembrance of her childhood times at the beach house, Primrose Cottage. Cara would get to spend time with her niece to catch up and have someone to finally help her so she wasn’t alone.

BEACH HOUSE REUNION was a very pleasant, heartwarming read that made you want to for the most part be in the Rutledge family and in Primrose Cottage as well as Sullivan's Island.

Everything about the book was comfy and inviting.

The characters and the beachy setting were quite pleasant.

Learning about loggerheads, surfing, seeing the love between family members and others, and joining in the family fun are some of the reasons you will want to read this book.

I actually want to learn more about the sea turtles (loggerheads). It sounded fascinating, and the excitement the characters had about them had me wanting to learn more.

BEACH HOUSE REUNION is an easy, sweet read that will be a perfect addition to your summer reading list. 5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher and NetGalley in return for an honest review. show less

Ever a fan of Mary Alice Monroe, and in particular, the stories of the Rutledge family in her Beach House series, Beach House Reunion doesn't disappoint.

Mary Alice Monroe has a magical way of capturing this part of coast Carolina - not just the scenery, but the innate nature of the two spots - Isle of Palms and Charleston. We get to catch up with some beloved characters ten years on in this story of family history and breaking bad cycles, of new beginnings, and of how the familiar characters stand up for themselves and are true to themselves.

This was a lovely read, a reward at the end of a stressful day as I lost myself in the pages. I only hope that Mary Alice continues to write about this family, as there are many good years left in show more the beloved beach house.

I was provided a copy of the book by NetGalley. This had no influence on my review of the book; all thoughts and opinions are my own. show less

I’m glad the author wrote this book, I wasn’t happy with where poor Cara left off in the previous book.
Over the course of this series, we’ve seen Cara return home, reconnect with her mom, lose her mom, fall in love with Brett and then lose Brett too. Along the way, she has become the mentor to a few young women. And she has helped many turtles.

I was hesitant at first to read this, despite enjoying this author’s books. I felt the last book was too sad. So, I asked a question here on Goodreads about whether this was sad too. The person who responded said this wasn’t very sad and that it felt like Cara was in a better place now.

I appreciated that answer, so I wanted to share it. In case anyone else was on the fence.

This book show more begins with Cara going back to her mom’s beach house. She’s been gone almost since Brett’s death. She’s made a few changes in her life and decides it’s time to go home.

Her niece soon decides to move in with her and Cara becomes a mentor once again.

I felt much better about this series after this book. I’m glad Cara got another chance at a happy life.
I loved the cameos of other characters from this series and got a real kick out of the cameo from the Summer Sisters series.
I still don’t like Cara’s brother Palmer but I guess there’s no reason I have to.

Oh and fun turtle facts too.

Another enjoyable book. show less