Beach House for Rent by Mary Alice Monroe

Beach House for Rent

by Mary Alice Monroe

☆☆☆☆

 

The title gives away the location.

But the story is much more than a place.

The tale reminded me just how important

we all are to each other. We do tend to 

close ourselves off. From our neighbors.

But how important the whole ''village'' 

really is to all of us. We all need each other.

Heather has lived with the trauma of a

serious accident since she was very young.

She has overwhelming anxiety issues.

Cara experiences a drowning tragedy over

the summer.

 

The two of them are taken under the wings

of a group of beach people. Beach people

with great big hearts and willing to do

whatever it takes to be the best friends

they can be.

There is so much happiness and peace

coming from this story, the place and the people.

Beach House for Rent is the place everyone

wishes they could spend a summer. Or a life.

 

 

 

Review written by Lisa Hutson 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Something like Happy by Eva Woods

☆☆☆☆

Something Like Happy

by Eva Woods

 

A story of future. When Annie finds herself in such a deep

dark unhappy place that she cannot find a ray of sunshine.

When you are in such a sad place that you don't clean

your house. That you don't care about anything in your

life. It's a very sad place. Annie is so deep that she does

not even have thoughts about how to make things better.

No thoughts of how bad her life is.

 

 

Do you believe in angels?

Because an angel crashes into Annie. Into her life. Into her

sadness. Into her depression. Into her darkness and despair.

This bright shining energetic lady named Polly, slides right

in. Polly breaks Annies life wide open.

 

 Its 100 days to be happy. 

Something Like Happy is an interesting

thoughtful novel. You cant know what you are

getting into as you read along.

 

I won this book from

Lorelei's Lit Lair

Review by Lisa Hutson

 

 

 

Susan's Review of At The Christmas Wedding

Snowed in at a castle full of handsome lords, three young ladies are about to have the holiday of their lives…

From the authors of At the Duke's Wedding.

Loved this anthology! The authors took the time to create a fabulous house party theme and crafted three wonderful stories about the couples who are snowed in for the holidays at Kingstag Castle.

The Duke and Duchess of Wessex leave their holiday house party in the hands of their daughter Serena and Viola Cavendish, the duchess’s secretary. Serena and Viola must supervise the duke’s troublesome sister Bridget, keep an eye on the mischievous Lady Sophronia and Serena’s friends.

Each story contains enough character and plot cross over to make for an enjoyable, delightful read! I felt that I was reading a book, not three separate stories.

Bridget’s play was woven throughout each of the three novellas. Loved that each author understood the character and her desire to write the play. I enjoyed reading every paragraph devoted to Bridget and her zany play and the unscripted ending was perfect!!

Caroline Linden’s Map of a Lady’s Heart is my favorite story within the anthology. I thought that the all of the characters were relatable and appealing. Ms. Linden did a fabulous job setting the scene and introducing all of the castle’s guests to the reader. The scene where Wes asks Viola to go outside to view the stars at night was exquisitely written. Loved that Wes understood that his love for Viola was the treasure he'd spent a lifetime looking for.

Maya Rodale’s piece features Lady Serena, Lord Gosling, Greyson Jones and Bridget’s play. Grey has loved Serena for years. He did not pursue her because she was engaged to his best friend. Grey views the house party at his opportunity to see if he is really in love with Serena. Loved the hysterically funny scenes when Lady Bridget and her aunt cast Grey as Serena’s love interest in the play. The witty dialogue, laugh out loud scenes from the play and pacing in this novella are superb.

And Bridget’s play? Will the Lonely Spinster choose the Lord Captain Pirate or the Lovesick Swan?The conclusion to this story was very romantic and perfect for the happy couple and playwright!

Katharine Ashe’s descriptive voice and the back and forth banter between Charlotte and Frye make the third novella in the anthology a charming read. I could feel how cold it was outside, understand Charlotte’s feelings towards Frye and understand why Frye loved the feisty Charlotte beyond words. The romance between the couple was delicately paced as Charlotte truly believes that Frye has jilted her best friend. Loved the added touch of the couple celebrating Christmas Eve at the inn. My favorite scene occurred when Charlotte tells an unconscious Frye that he is “forbidden to die’. It’s touching, perfectly executed and yes….made me cry! Ms. Ashe treats us to several fun plot twists and turns before the couple arrives at Kingstag Castle.

I enjoyed this fabulous anthology. It’s filled with great characters, fun and games and so much romance!

Reviewd by Susan Gorman

Book purchased via Amazon