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andrea_author's review against another edition
5.0
Autumn's husband has been missing for eighteen months. To help her teenage children cope, she takes them to spend the summer with her mother at a small town on the beach. There she meets up with her high school crush, who wants to date her. But can she move forward with her life when her husband's fate is uncertain? And what happens when she discovers the secrets her mother and daughter are keeping?
This is an engrossing women's fiction with well-developed characters and a vibrant setting. I felt immersed in the conflicts and obstacles the family faced. If the book had ended at the 90% mark, it would have been a wonderful, uplifting romance. But a new complication was added that took it out of the realm of romance for me, and put it solidly into women's fiction territory. That shouldn't discourage anyone from reading it—it's a wonderful book—but adjust your expectations accordingly.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
This is an engrossing women's fiction with well-developed characters and a vibrant setting. I felt immersed in the conflicts and obstacles the family faced. If the book had ended at the 90% mark, it would have been a wonderful, uplifting romance. But a new complication was added that took it out of the realm of romance for me, and put it solidly into women's fiction territory. That shouldn't discourage anyone from reading it—it's a wonderful book—but adjust your expectations accordingly.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
crackingspines37's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
kdurham2's review against another edition
3.0
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
Autumn Divac has spent the last year and a half looking for her husband who went missing on a work trip that went very different from what he predicted. After losing a year and a half of her life to a search, she decides to escape Florida for the summer and go to her mother's home in a beach town in Virginia and just get away from it all for a summer. Little does she know that her mother has some secrets that are about to come to light and her kids will have more than a transformative summer than she could have predicted.
My favorite thing is when an author hints at secrets, but lets the reader in on the secret before the characters. On the other side of the coin, I don't love when a secret is hinted at and the reader is left in the dark! Brenda Novak lets the reader in on the secrets and the anticipation is more about how the characters will react when these secrets come out. While there were a lot of characters with secrets, for me this didn't feel over the top.
Autumn Divac has spent the last year and a half looking for her husband who went missing on a work trip that went very different from what he predicted. After losing a year and a half of her life to a search, she decides to escape Florida for the summer and go to her mother's home in a beach town in Virginia and just get away from it all for a summer. Little does she know that her mother has some secrets that are about to come to light and her kids will have more than a transformative summer than she could have predicted.
My favorite thing is when an author hints at secrets, but lets the reader in on the secret before the characters. On the other side of the coin, I don't love when a secret is hinted at and the reader is left in the dark! Brenda Novak lets the reader in on the secrets and the anticipation is more about how the characters will react when these secrets come out. While there were a lot of characters with secrets, for me this didn't feel over the top.
andreagraves5's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to this on audible. The narrator was okay - not amazing for me. Story was okay. The ending felt like there was so much build up and then the author was done. It didn’t feel finished.
k_myers's review against another edition
5.0
While the ending becomes a bit more typical cheesy romance, this book kept me turning the pages! I couldn’t put it down or stop talking about it. I LOVED having the secret past of the grandma mixing with the mom’s missing husband and then the teenage daughter dealing with a possible pregnancy and exploring her sexuality (all of which is covered early on in the book so no spoilers here)! The three big plot lines weave together seamlessly while also exploring second chance romance, teenage summers, friendships, and cancer/diseases. If all of her books are like this, sign me up for more Brenda Novak!
kawarwick's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the story of the three generations of women figuring who they were and want they wanted. Yes, it was predictable at times but still a fun read. Well, in my case a good book to listen to. Thanks Libro.fm.fm for this one!
susanthebookbag's review against another edition
5.0
Believe it or not, this was my first Brenda Novak book. With all the books she has written, how is this even possible? Well, let me tell you, she has a new fan..... and I have a new 'must-read' author!
I was immediately captivated by her writing and felt very comfortable among the people and community that she introduced me to. I totally lost myself in this story and loved every minute of it. And what's not to love—books and a bookstore, summer and the beach, young love and rekindled love.
I absolutely loved my trip to The Bookstore on the Beach. It has all the ingredients for the perfect summer read. And I can't wait to get my hands on my next Novak story!
I was immediately captivated by her writing and felt very comfortable among the people and community that she introduced me to. I totally lost myself in this story and loved every minute of it. And what's not to love—books and a bookstore, summer and the beach, young love and rekindled love.
I absolutely loved my trip to The Bookstore on the Beach. It has all the ingredients for the perfect summer read. And I can't wait to get my hands on my next Novak story!
erinremen's review against another edition
5.0
It is a beautiful story with characters I fell in love with from the very start. It was heartbreaking and healing and, above all, full of love and being true to yourself and following your heart above all else. I could not put it down!
christinavarela's review against another edition
3.0
Described as a beach read. Started slow for me. I didn’t always love the writing, and the authors point of view. But by the middle of the book I was hooked, couldn’t put it down, I wanted to know what all the secrets were. They were plenty of secrets to be had.
nikkibabii's review against another edition
3.0
This review contains some spoilers:
No spoilers: This book was entertaining to say the least. Not great but definitely not bad. My biggest issue was with the characters.. I didn’t find them all that believable. Everyone was too…. Perfect. Too accepting, too supportive. Taylor was not super believable as a 17 year old.. some of her dialogue sounded like a much older woman. Mary was the perfect grandmother with a terrible past but other than that I felt her character was just unrealistically perfect. As with Laurie.
Spoilers: Autumn neglected her children in her search for her Husband which lasted 18 long months. At the first sign of a relationship she is willing to give up on her family and not really give it a chance because of an old fling she had 5 weeks with ?? Seems crazy. I find her character incredibly selfish. She was literally sad when nick showed back up and all she could think about was losing Quinn. The nail in the coffin is the last 2 pages of the book.. she’s going to go up to him AT HIS MOTHERS FUNERAL to beg for him back?! Like that’s the best time?? Idk Autumn felt selfish to me. I also didn’t love her dialogue in the book either.. she confessed to telling her husband about her first time with Quinn and they would laugh about it.. extremely childish. Their first date conversation at the restaurant in Richmond was extremely cringey I literally have no idea what Quinn saw in her.
Lastly.. Quinn. I just refuse to believe someone as well rounded and articulate and strong as Quinn would stay in a marriage for 20 years with a woman like Sarah. Jealous, manipulative, vindictive.. jealous of his relationship with his own mother.. why would he stay? That would be a red flag to me. But again .. all the characters were just unbelievable perfect and well rounded.
No spoilers: This book was entertaining to say the least. Not great but definitely not bad. My biggest issue was with the characters.. I didn’t find them all that believable. Everyone was too…. Perfect. Too accepting, too supportive. Taylor was not super believable as a 17 year old.. some of her dialogue sounded like a much older woman. Mary was the perfect grandmother with a terrible past but other than that I felt her character was just unrealistically perfect. As with Laurie.
Spoilers: Autumn neglected her children in her search for her Husband which lasted 18 long months. At the first sign of a relationship she is willing to give up on her family and not really give it a chance because of an old fling she had 5 weeks with ?? Seems crazy. I find her character incredibly selfish. She was literally sad when nick showed back up and all she could think about was losing Quinn. The nail in the coffin is the last 2 pages of the book.. she’s going to go up to him AT HIS MOTHERS FUNERAL to beg for him back?! Like that’s the best time?? Idk Autumn felt selfish to me. I also didn’t love her dialogue in the book either.. she confessed to telling her husband about her first time with Quinn and they would laugh about it.. extremely childish. Their first date conversation at the restaurant in Richmond was extremely cringey I literally have no idea what Quinn saw in her.
Lastly.. Quinn. I just refuse to believe someone as well rounded and articulate and strong as Quinn would stay in a marriage for 20 years with a woman like Sarah. Jealous, manipulative, vindictive.. jealous of his relationship with his own mother.. why would he stay? That would be a red flag to me. But again .. all the characters were just unbelievable perfect and well rounded.