When Cara Rutledge rents out her quaint beach house on Isle of Palms to Heather Wyatt for the entire summer, it’s a win-win by any standard: Cara’s generating income necessary to keep husband Brett’s ecotourism boat business afloat, and anxiety-prone Heather, an young artist who’s been given a commission to paint birds on postage stamps, has a quiet space in which to work and tend to her pet canaries uninterrupted.

It isn’t long, however, before both women’s idyllic summers are altered irrevocably: the alluring shorebirds—and the man who rescues them—begin to draw Heather out of the shell she’s cultivated toward a world of adventure, and maybe even love; at the same time, Cara’s life reels with sudden tragedy, and she wishes only to return to the beach house that had once been her port amidst life’s storms. When Heather refuses to budge from her newfound sanctuary, so begins the unlikeliest of rooming situations. While they start out as strangers, as everything around the women falls apart they learn that the only thing they can really rely on is each other.

And, like the migrating shorebirds that come to the island for the summer, these two women of different generations must rediscover their unique strengths so by summer’s end they, too, can take flight in ways they never imagined possible.


My Thoughts: I was drawn into the story of Primrose Cottage and the dynamics of a Southern family. I could envision that hard-boiled patriarch accustomed to dictating the lives and choices of the women. It struck a familiar tone with me, having experienced some of these things, even though I grew up far away from the South.

But the people born in the South sometimes migrate to other places, carrying their values with them. That was what my grandparents did, and how their values impacted my life.

When Cara Rutledge and Heather Wyatt joined forces, they discovered how to begin new journeys. Would Heather find what she needed and learn to stand on her own two feet? Would love be part of her new journey? What would Cara do in her new life, once she moved beyond the grief?

A delightful story of loss, friendship, and new beginnings, Beach House for Rent captivated me throughout. 4.5 stars.***My e-ARC came to me from the publisher via NetGalley.

I couldn’t wait to read Beach House for Rent by Mary Alice Monroe. I was surprised when I received an advanced reader copy. I loved her earlier novel Beach House. Beach House for Rent is a new story with new characters but it is nice to be reintroduced to the Rutledge family. Be warned this book will bring tears and laughter as you read. Mary Alice Monroe always delivers. You will transported to the low country and into the lives of the characters. You will also be introduced to birds of all kinds from canaries to shore birds to one special pelican and even the turtles.
Beach House for Rent begins with a new resident at our favorite Beach House. Heather is an artist with a strong connection to birds. She has her own issues to work through. As always, the Beach House is the perfect place to begin healing.

I love Monroe's Beach House books. Stories of love, loss, understanding and the strength of female friendships over generations.

Heather was a lovely character. Suffering from almost crippling anxiety issues, she is uncomfortable around just about everyone except her birds. A lot of us today can identify with Heather and I like that Monroe touched on the subject of Anxiety and Depression.

Cara is happily wed to her soulmate but is floundering in her own search for a passion, a purpose on the Isle of Palms.

Sometimes change is a planned and thought out adventure and sometimes change is thrust upon us without our consent and can leave us broken and afraid. With the second one, only you can tell yourself how to get back up and make a different life. And if you are really lucky, you'll find your own group of strong women to pick you up and help you along.

Great Read! Books,BooksandMoreBooks.wordpress.com

This novel takes you back to the long slow days of summer at the beach. It gives you a renewed sense of hope for society. In it Mary Alice Monroe weaves a tale of love, loss, healing and the value of friendship. The pages of the novel give rich detail to the Isle of Palms and makes the reader want to travel there to see all the vibrancy that Monroe gave in the book. The characters are well developed and the reader comes to understand their various plights and their feelings. This is the perfect summer beach read and great for those that love contemporary romance and local interest books.

This could have been a good book, however, it needs clarification, and much more editing, before allowing it to be released.

This was a good book with well defined characters and well written dialogue. The main character is a twenty-four year old girl whom ,is extraordinarily shy and has not been out of her house for three years. Her mother was killed in a car accident that she blames herself for. Her father has recently remarried and has rented a beach cottage for his daughter to live in for the summer on her own. Even though she has misgivings about this she needs to be there anyway because she has been commissioned to paint birds found by the ocean. Eventually her land lady moves in with her after her husband dies and they form a warm friendship. She also meets a guy that she forms a relationship with. This is a wonderful story and if you like good clean writing this one is for you.

Engaging, easy read that doesn't rely on the reader having read the first books of the series, with a setting that is perfect for a beach read. It isn't Monroe's best book, but certainly worth the read. The characters weren't loveable and I couldn't really connect with any of them. (Of course, I would definitely stay at the beach house with them, if they invited me!)
I received this book from Netgalley in order to provide an honest review.

There is something so comforting about this author's books. Like an old friend. I feel like I went home to the beach house myself every time I read her books! Loved it and highly recommend. Reviewed on my blog at
https://laurasbookreviewsblog.wordpress.com/2017/05/29/may-reads/

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book. It follows two women, Cara and Heather. Cara is almost 50 and had a couple of tragic events in her life. Heather, who blames herself for her mother's death is afraid to leave the house. Heather rents Cara's beach house for the summer so she can paint pictures of shore birds for the next postage stamp series.

Throughout the book Heather finds herself again with the help of a new guy, Bo. I enjoyed watching their romance blossom.

When I started reading this book, I didn't realize it was part of a series. I look forward to reading the first three books.

This story is about two women from different generations who become the best of friends through tragedy and hard times when the older woman rents her beach house for a summer to the younger woman. There's sadness, romance, conflicts, a little bit of jealousy. The author is wonderful with her descriptions of living in a quaint cottage by the sea, sea turtles showing up to lay eggs, the fingers of inlets leading to hidden gems behind lush lines of trees and vegetation. The reader can almost smell the ocean, feel the breeze on their skin, see the wonder of a sea turtle make its way up the beach, hear the sea birds. Although, I personally, am not too into this style of "chick lit" and as I pretty much started the book I knew how things would turn out, this is still a great beach read while one is actually on their own beach vacation, hanging out on the deck of their cottage overlooking the ocean. For those who enjoy this style of story I highly recommend this book. My best friend loves these types of stories and I have already recommended this to her.

This is a story of love, loss, healing and finding who you are! It hits home on so many levels. This author has great story telling abilities that capture you and puts you into the throes of the storyline! Im on the lookout for other books by this author now and especially any prequels/sequels ro this book in particular. I love the epilogue style of this book!!

Thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Another summer beach read from Mary Alice Monroe, and it's as wonderful as I expected! Beach House for Rent is a lovely book that made me want a family beach house of my own to retreat to in times of stress. There's heartache, romance and redemption, all in a very satisfying and well written story.
Although this is the 4th book in the series, it can be read as a standalone. I recommend the first three as well (The Beach House, Swimming Lessons and Beach House Memories).

Cara Rutledge has inherited her mother Lovie's beach house and she and her husband are redoing it so they can rent it out. They could use the money, because without her knowledge Cara's husband Brett has overextended their finances when he expanded his tour boat business. Cara's brother Palmer is encouraging them to sell, but they have it rented for the entire summer to Heather, the daughter of a banker. She is a stamp artist who suffers from extreme anxiety and the beach is the perfect place for her to paint the shore birds she loves in peace and quiet.

Unfortunately, tragedy strikes Cara and she wants to go back to her beach house so she can heal. She and Heather have to work out a compromise that they both can live with.

The characters are so well-written they felt like old friends, and I was sorry the book had to end. The two major characters are both strong women in their different ways, and it was interesting to read how they grew and learned from one another as the story developed. All the characters are likeable and relatable.

I loved the setting of this book. Monroe's portrayal of the low country shore is evocative and stayed with me. The descriptions of the warm ocean breezes, the swaying grasses and hot days and humid nights make you feel like you're in South Carolina reading the book. I learned a lot about the sea turtles including their habitat and mating rituals and it was fascinating learning how stamp art is created.

I highly recommend this book, and I think it will be a a summer hit. I'm looking forward to the 5th book in the series!

I am a turtle lover, so when my friend lent me The Beach House books I totally enjoyed the story lines that included the Loggerhead rescuing. This book was good, but didn't have as much about the turtles as the others. I liked the previous books better but this was a good read and I enjoyed reading about the characters that I've come to feel like I know from over the years. The love story between Heather and Bo was so sweet and Cara's story was sad and heartbreaking.

I received this eBook as an advanced reading copy from Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review, I would like to thank them for this opportunity.
This is the fourth book in Mary Alice Monroe's Beach House series, however; all of the books can be read on their own. But believe me once you read one, you will want to read them all. MAM has never disappointed me with any of her books that I've read. This one was no exception. It is not necessarily a light-hearted beach read but deals with a few complex issues. But it is a very enjoyable read. We are introduced to a few new characters as well as some old friends and as always they become our friends too. The beach house is as much a character in the story as the people. It would be wonderful to have such a sweet touchstone in our lives as Cara has in hers. Also, each of the books in the Beach House series informs us on a subject dealing with our environment, this one it's the shore birds.

Beach House for Rent is #4 in Mary Alice Monroe's Beach House series. I hadn't read the previous books so I can say this is a very good stand alone, and I am sure lovers of the series would also relish this beautiful addition to it.

The characters:
Cara is just turning fifty and she is having a life crisis. While happily married to Brett for the last ten years, she feels she is missing out on something, a passion and purpose in life over and beyond what she has now. Once a very successful advertising agent she is now questioning where her life is going. As the story unfolds and as it turns out her whole life is turned upside down in this book and it is a slow crawl out of the deep hole she finds herself in.

Heather is a young woman who lost her mother in a car accident that Heather too was in. Always a shy person she now suffers from panic attacks and social anxiety. However what she does have is a passion for painting and she has just won a commission to paint some southern seabirds for some stamps. When her father arranges for her to spend the summer in the beach house she is really anxious about it - however it turns out to be a very healing and growing time for her.

The setting:
If you love the beach and the sea and the sand and the romance of a beach house then you can indulge in this book - it is alive with the sights and sounds and beauty painted in words for you to envision by Mary Alice Monroe. The beach house - Primrose Cottage is delightful, who wouldn't want to spend a summer in it, no one in their right mind would sell it.

Nature:
As in all the novels I have read by Mary Alice Monroe the flora and fauna of the southern coast of Carolina is wonderfully brought to life. Through Heather's eyes we see the wonders of the birds and the turtles. We also get a peek into the life of canaries as Heather as three gorgeous birds that bring her so much joy. And of course there is a strong theme of environmental care running through the story.

The Extras
I liked the small cast of secondary characters, the men in Heather's and Cara's life, the friends they both make or already have. I especially enjoyed having a little mention of a couple of characters from the lowcountry series. All in all a very enjoyable read.

I had not read the previous books in the series, but this one works fine as a stand-alone novel. The good things about this book were the low country setting, the description of nature and art, and the bond between women from different generations. It took a while to find that emotional connection to the main characters, but the book does provide a satisfying conclusion.

This is pure Mary Alice Monroe. Beach House for Rent is a beautifully written, wonderful story of personal growth, love, loss and how to live a good and full life in the face of adversity. Mary Alice writes characters that live with you long after you put a book down, and when you happen to meet them again in another book, it's like finding an old friend. I look forward to finding these new friends again. I would highly recommend this book.

Escape again to the South Carolina low-country. The quiet roll of the tides, the sweet breezes that flow through the sea grass, the beauty of enduring female relationships that sustain us through every season of life. No one does slow, sultry, quintessential summer better than Mary Alice Monroe. In Beach House for Rent, the forth in the Beach House series, Monroe delivers another tale of Primrose Cottage her fans keep coming back for, and new readers will fall in love with.
Heather Wyatt is a young artist spending the summer season at Primrose Cottage studying shore birds for a commission to paint stamps. Eight years after the death of her mother she suffers debilitating social anxiety and survivors guilt. This summer away is a fresh start, a new page. Cara Rutledge suddenly finds herself in crisis, alone, in financial ruin, and the only thing she knows to do is return to Primrose Cottage where she has always felt closest to her mother. Two very different woman, in very different stages of their lives, both unmoored and drifting, both very alone. Although virtual strangers Cara and Heather quickly realize they must rely on each other.
Mary Alice Monroe takes a gamble here with long time readers of this series. It's a risk to take such a major leap with a character, and to place a new character in a potentially unlikable position. I'll be honest, I was not pleased at a very specific plot point. My frustration was very short lived, I understood pretty quickly where she was going. Have faith, stick with it, ride it out. It works. The payoff is worth it. Not everyone is going to feel this way, but if you do trust MAM, she doesn't disappoint!
I received an advanced reader copy (eGalley) from Gallery Books through NetGalley. This review reflects my honest and unbiased opinions.

“Honey, a lowcountry man never leaves a damsel in distress.”

Mary Alive Monroe writes and again lyrically "shows" us readers her beautiful South Carolina Lowcountry.

This story takes us back to the Isle of Palms and Primrose Cottage, owned by Cara Rutledge and in her family for years. She is lucky enough to rent it out for the entire summer this year because her and her husband, Brett, need some extra cash flow for their ecotourism business.

Heather Wyatt leaves her father's house to stay in the cottage. He is newly remarried and, not only wants some time with his new bride but wants Heather, who suffers a crippling anxiety disorder, to try living on her own for the first time at 26 years old.

So Heather, along with three canaries, moves to the beautiful, healing Primrose Cottage.

I loved this story of Monroe's - fully developed characters living in a gorgeous setting - with romance and soft peddled education about shore birds, canaries, anxiety disorders, grief and mostly just living life to its fullest day by day.

I received this book from Gallery Books through Net Galley in exchange for my unbiased review.

A great book for the beach or any vacation. I love the characters and the story- it made me laugh and cry. It is true to the belief that girlfriends are the very best and always got your back.