When I pick up one of MAM's books I always wish time would move as slow as it does in the lowcountry. Her stories never disappoint, and I always find I learn more about animals and nature than I expect. With Beach House for rent, she introduces canaries (and all of their idiosyncrasies) and shorebirds and the dangers they face from humans.
She weaves a new character, Heather, into Cara's life (and I was so happy to see Cara again!) as she rents Lovie's house for the summer. Tragedy and heartbreak follows along with love and new found confidence.
Get the kleenex, people, I shed quite a few tears... And there is a surprise appearance by a favorite wise women we all loved in the summer series.

I remember reading other books in this series but it must have been before I started keeping track of and reviewing my reads. This is a sweet addition.

This is a charming and gentle tale of two women, one who rents out her beloved inherited beach house to another, younger woman who is finding her way in life. The setting, on the beautiful Isle of Palms, is gorgeous, and the supporting characters of the two men in their lives, make this a pleasant and uplifting read.
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy.

First I would like to thank the publishers and author for my ARC. I had anticipated this novel for a while. It is the story of two women, Cara and Heather. As summer arrives on the Isle of Palms one woman is excited, the other is anxious. It doesn't take long into the novel to realize both women are battling their own issues but it is the same special summer cottage that bring them together. MAM's animal of focus for this ]novel is shore birds and I've learned a lot about them from reading. I love this serious but the conclusion of it was just as I expected with a few twists. It was exciting, comforting, and a perfect read for the beach!

Thank you to Net Galley and Gallery Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Another beachy summer read from Mary Alice Monroe in her Beach House series. This book focuses on the parallel journeys of two women, Cara and Heather. Cara has decided to rent out her beach house to gain some extra income that she and her husband desperately need. She rents it to Heather who reluctantly is spending the summer away from her father's home for the first time since her mother's death.
As Heather begins to grow and flourish while at the beach house, Cara finds herself facing an unexpected tragedy which forces her to decide to move back to the beach house. The two make unlikely roommates but ultimately find themselves helping each other in ways neither expected.
A moving and emotional story set against the backdrop of the sea, the sand and the summer.

Mary Alice has been one of my favorite authors since I randomly picked up Sweetgrass. When I read Beach House and Swimming Lessons I immediately bought copies for my Mom and Sister. It is a rare thing to create a series with characters you love so much that you can pick up 10 years later exactly where you left off. In Beach House for Rent Cara Rutlidge rents her beloved Isle of Palms house to a young artist named Heather who is floundering to gain her independence. Like the rest of the series, we watch as the women in this island support each other and rally. Nobody portrays the strength of women and what can apprehend we support each other like Monroe. Great read.

I stopped at 25 percent I found it cheesy and predictable. Bummer because I had been looking forward to it but I tried several times over the last few months and just couldn’t get into it, hence why my feedback has taken so long.

I loved reading this summertime book which included fear, finding oneself, love, tragedy, and moving on. Cara has a beach home that belonged to her mother and was passed down to her which she rents out. This summer she is renting the house to Heather, who has social anxiety after the death of her mother in a tragic car accident. This book is about both women finding their true selves after facing adversity. It is about love and facing fears. A great read!

I have loved every one of Mary Alice Monroe's books, and this one also follows my favorite genre - relationships and friendships.
Mary Alice Monroe writes with so much depth, that each time, she takes a sliver of my heart with her words. I fall in love with her writing every time I read it. She is one author who is close to my heart.
This story too follows the language of love and friendship and deals with 2 women from 2 generation co-existing together. Both Cara and Heather share the beach house and their characters meld beautifully as the pages turn. Each word binds their hearts in warmth and the friendship that arises between them is a sight to behold.
As usual, Mary Alice Monroe's words bring tears to my eyes, just in the way she describes everything, and her strength is in the power of her words.
This is storytelling at its absolute best and Mary Alice Monroe is the gem in the crown.

I loved this book, it kept me engage and wanting to find out more.

www.goodreads.com/cynthiasanchez

I really enjoy Mary Alice Monroe's book and this one was a nice return to a familiar area with familiar characters. A little slow at times, but overall a good story and an enjoyable read. I like that Monroe's book always did deep and help me explore things I know nothing about. This one returned to the world of loggerhead turtles, and also explored the areas of social anxiety and shorebirds

This book was not something I normally read. I have a "type" and a "wheel house" and this certainly did not fit. Well WAKE UP HONEY Momma just broadened her horizon. I loved this book. New fan. Spread the word.

BEACH HOUSE FOR RENT
(Beach House #4)
MARY ALICE MONROE


MY RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
PUBLISHER Gallery Books
PUBLISHED June 20, 2017


An enchanting beach story of two strong-willed women struggling to overcome emotional hardships while surrounded by good friends and the healing power of nature.

SUMMARY
Cara Rutledge loved the quaint yellow cottage perched on a dune overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Primrose Cottage has weathered the storms and the sunshine on the Isle of Palms for eighty-five years. This isolated island is where Cara had learned to swim, fish and climb trees as she was growing up. This is where she met and married the love of her life. Primrose originally belonged to Cara's mother, who passed away and handed it down to Cara.

Cara rented her beloved beach house to Heather Wyatt, 26, for the summer. Heather's anxiety has kept her indoors for years with her three pet canaries. Heather's summer at Isle of Palms is an exercise in living on her own, and completing an art commission painting shorebirds. Painting shorebirds requires her to go outside the confines of the beach house, an immense struggle for Heather. With help from new found friends Heather begins to flourish in this cozy cottage on the beach.

After renting the beach house to Heather, Cara experiences an immense tragedy. She longs to go back to her sanctuary, Primrose Cottage, to recover. After an initial clash, Cara and Heather agree to live together for the remainder of the summer. The two women, despite age difference help each other through difficult times, and each are able to draw their strength from friendships, and from the beautiful nature that surrounds them.

REVIEW
Two strong women, a comfortable yellow beach house, daily birdsong, good friends and romantic sunsets dinners, what could be better. Beach House for Rent was a most enjoyable read. The story was light, and it was a fabulous quick read. The characters were well developed and very likable.

Mary Alice Monroe's writing is vivid and flawless. I loved how the birds and the beach were brought to life in this book. Reading about the long neck brown pelicans, the tall pink roseate spoonbills, and strong and graceful loggerhead turtles made me yearn to smell the salt air of the low country and feel the sand between my toes. Highly recommended for a summer beach or poolside read!

Mary Alice Monroe is a New York Times best-selling fiction author known for richly textured books that explore the compelling parallels between nature and human nature. This is her fourth book in her Beach House series.

Thanks to Netgalley, Gallery Books and Mary Alice Monroe for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Gallery Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Beach House for Rent. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

A summer in a beach house on the Isle of Palms was not exactly what Heather Wyatt pictured for herself as she worked to finish a commission of capturing the likeness of shore birds. Rented by her father to help his only child combat the anxiety that has plagued her since her mother's death, Heather soon realizes that the Isle has restorative properties. Owned by Cara Rutledge, who inherited the charming cottage from her deceased mother, the little rented beach house sits on prime real estate. When tragedy strikes close to home, will the beach house be the answer to Cara's prayers?

Beach House for Rent is a quick paced beach read that, unfortunately, was not completely memorable. Having read other books that are set in South Carolina, as well as having been a resident myself for a few years, I did not feel that the author captured the charm and uniqueness of the area. Heather's anxiety was thrown at the reader, but it did not come across as realistic. I did not feel a connection to Heather or to Cara, despite the trying circumstances for both ladies. Between the romance and the unnecessary side plot regarding Heather and her stepmother, Beach House for Rent never quite caught my eye. Readers who like romance will probably find this book to their liking, but I was not really a fan.

This is a great book if you're looking for a light, quick, romance novel. The characters are all the nicest people you'll ever meet set in a location just one step away from paradise. My biggest issue with the novel is the treatment of the main character's anxiety. We're supposed to believe that she has such crippling anxiety that she rarely leaves her house, but within a couple days of meeting some cute guy she's suddenly cured of her anxiety and has no problems going out like any other person. That's not how extreme anxiety works.

Cara Rutledge has just finished getting her beach house ready for the summer rental season. The income is crucial to keep the bills paid. Her husband, Brett, runs an EcoTours business and it has been a money-sink recently. Cara and Brett were arguing about money when Brett goes out for a run and never comes back. His fatal heart attack leaves Cara reeling. Even more so when she discovers that he canceled his life insurance policy. She decides to sell their home and move into the beach house, for many reasons, but the beach house has always had healing qualities for her. There is one problem - the beach house is rented.

Heather Wyatt's father rented the beach house for her so he can spend some quality time with his new bride. Heather is a shy and quiet young woman with extreme anxiety relating to her mother's death. Even she realizes that the beach house has healing qualities. She is starting to come out of her shell and even has a boyfriend. Her lease agreement is through the end of the summer and Heather is not about to leave early for Cara. The two women decide to share the beach house with each other for the rest of the summer. What will happen to the two women once the summer is over?

Beach House for Rent is another wonderful Lowcountry read from Mary Alice Monroe. Even though nearly twenty-five years separate them in age, both Cara and Heather are trying to recover and heal. For Cara, it is a fresh pain and for Heather, it is several years old. The book alternates between Heather and Cara in narration, sometimes for several chapters. It isn't until the book is more than half over that they become roommates, so you really get to know bother characters before that point. They both have grown in the book, but I really think that Heather had the most growth given the way she really came out of her shell. I liked how she blossomed with her boyfriend, Bo. I wasn't sure how the author was going to end things, but it was a good conclusion.

Bottom line - I haven't read a lot of books set in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, but Mary Alice Monroe certainly knows how to make a reader fall in love with the area. From the ecosystem to the cuisine, she makes it feel like you are there with the characters. What reader doesn't love a book that can transport you to another place?

Details:
Beach House for Rent by Mary Alice Monroe
On Facebook
Pages: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: 6/20/2017
Buy it Here!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC ebook for my Kindle.
I have read all of the author's books and have copies of several of them. This wasn't one of my favorite books by her, but there were a few surprises in the book that I liked. It's a easy, beach read.

Heather Wyatt’s life is turned upside down when her father rents her a beach house for the summer so he can spend time alone with his new wife. This is all new to Heather who suffers from anxiety attacks when she’s out of her normal environment. However, it’s the perfect place for her to paint birds for her postage stamp commission that she has been hired to do. So, Heather reluctantly agrees with her father’s plan.

Cara Rutledge is happy to have rented her beach house for the summer as she can use the money. However, tragedy strikes and she desperately wants her house back. She has no intention of waiting for the summer to end. She wants and needs it now. Heather, who has fallen in love with the house, has no plans to leave until the agreed upon time.

This is the fourth book in Mary Alice Monroe’s Beach House series. It’s the first one that I read and I didn’t feel as if I missed a thing. I do want to go back and read the first three books. I’m truly interested in learning the back story of the beach house and its occupants. The book doesn’t leave you hanging. It all wraps up nicely in the end.

The storyline is poignant and touching. The characters aren’t perfect. They are realistic. They are people you can truly care about.

I’ve never read a book by Mary Alice Monroe before, but this definitely will not be my last. I enjoyed her writing style, characters and story. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

I truly wanted to like it more but I found it to be too long for the amount of actual content in the book. The writing too also wasn't as good as others in the genre. However, an extra star for a good description of what a panic attack feels like (avoiding the cliche so many fall into while writing about them) and for a beautiful grief scene after a death (no spoilers) that actually made me tear up. Unfortunately though, besides those two things, I found it to be a lackluster read. However, I think this is an instance when it was a mistake to read a book out of order since the references to the earlier books probably added weight to the story that I missed out on.

Note: I received a free Kindle edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank them, the publisher Gallery Books, and the author Mary Alice Monroe for the opportunity to do so.

The author has another hit. Her fans will not be disappointed. A lovely story that pulls you along with a great finish