Cara Rutledge returns home to her beach house with her baby daughter Hope.to raise her in a slow and easy environment and work form home.

Her niece Linnea having recently graduated from college becomes Hope's nanny for the summer while she pursues getting a job in her field of study: :Environmental Science.

One day Cara meets an old friend, David while at the park with Hope. He is there with his grandson who is a few months older than Hope..
They soon get together for "playdates for the babies and Cara realizes she is attracted to David.. She is unsure of what to do about this since its been 3 years since her husband died and she feels as if she's betraying his memory somehow.

Linnea discovers she wants to go into the public education field-to educate the public about sea turtles.

She also learns to surf and meets a guy at a party that she previously saw at the beach while trying to surf. He is the son of Car's friend and he teaches her to surf. Sparks fly between the two of them as well.

This is a story of new beginnings for Cara and Linnea and of them each finding love.

A hurricane and a family crisis forces everyone to examine their lives more closely and to make changes.

Loved this book as much as the others in the Beach House series.

This is the first book of the Beach House series that I have read and I enjoyed it so much that I will be reading the others, too. It was such a comfortable and leisurely read with just the right amount of love and drama. It reminded me of a Hallmark movie, a story about family, friends, love, and relationships. New relationships were built, old relationships were repaired, and some fizzled away or were reborn. The characters felt familiar and I could imagine curling up on the couch to chat with them with them, or taking a stroll on the beach with them. I felt sadness and loss with them, as well as excitement and contentment. The writing was easy and I especially loved reading and learning about the turtles - the blurbs at the beginning of each chapter were perfect additions!

Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books for this advanced reader copy!

I loved this book! It a time if change for Cara and her niece Linnea and what better place to soul search than the beach house ! The house with a strong foundation !
As each try to move forward in their lives and careers we also get a chance to catch up with the Rutledge family and friends! This book is such a turning point in their lives and I didn’t want it to end !

This is the 5th installment of the Beach House series with Mary Alice Monroe and it was a fantastic entry to the series!

This novel is set 3 years after the last, Beach House For Rent. Unlike some of the previous entries into this series, this novel focuses solely on two members of the Rutledge family: Cara and Linnea. All of the characters from the previous novels do make an appearance or small cameo, along with Carson from the "Summer Girls" series which was a delightful treat!

Since I'm already invested so to say with these characters, I knew I was probably going to love this book but I wasn't prepared for just how much. Within pages I was back on the Isle of Palms along with Cara and it was hard to put down the story because I wanted to see what unfolded for her. It was a delight to see how much things have changed with these characters but also how much remained the same. The novel is set over the span of a summer and follows Cara as she returns to the cottage for good along with Linnea's path after graduation from college.

Part of the wonder of this series is how easy it is for new readers to pick up any novel and while the highlights of the previous books of the series will be spoiled, you won't be too lost without knowing the backstory. I think many will be picking this up for the beach this summer and then digging into the previous books once they fall in love with these characters she's so brilliantly created.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

The Rutledge family has quite a history in the town of Charleston SC. This, book 5, picks up the history with Linnea graduating college and starting out on her own, and Cara reopening the beach house as her permanent home. While this is the fifth book In the series, it can easily be read as a stand-alone novel. Yes, some secrets are revealed that would otherwise be told in sequence, but Mary Alice Monroe’s writing keeps you engaged in the story regardless.

I’ve always been a fan of beach stories. They are for good beach reads. They also are for brightening a winter day. Since this series revolves around the house and those who have inhabited it, the house becomes a central character of the story. I loved that Linnea is a kid of lost soul upon graduating college. How many of us have been in those shoes? While she has a degree in something she loves, she has no idea how to use this degree in the real world. The book clearly can resonate with those of us who have either been in that situation, or have kids going through that.

Cara is suddenly a new mom her 50s. A single new mom trying to figure out how to manage a career and a child and a relocation back to the place of her youth and life before being single. Many women today are juggling all those balls trying to keep nay from dropping. Cara also needs to figure out her path, so it is only fitting that this book focuses on the two of them.

Cara and Linnea are real people with real issues in a fabulous location. The characters are convincing, not fairytale people. The supporting cast are also well fleshed out. I felt as though I could actually picture these people and their lives.

The addition of the sea turtle information was amazing. I enjoyed learning about sea turtles and their current plight. This adds to the realism of the story. I loved that the sea turtles had bound Rutledge women to them and the beach for years.

I escape into this kind of fiction because I know that likely everything is going to work out In the end. It is almost what you would call “happy ending fiction.” Trials and tribulations abound for everyone, but the story ends on an upbeat note. I’m not left with a feeling of wanting when the book is over.

I was so glad to be approved by netgalley to be able this latest installment of the beach house series. This series is so good and real that it makes you want to move to South Carolina and buy yourself a beach house. Cara comes home for her last time but this time with new love and to finally let go of old love and to help make her family complete and whole. I would recommend every single one of Mary Alice Monroe's books especially the beach house series. This can be read as a standalone but if you do you will want to read the previous books also.

Great beach read. Love the turtle team angle. I read it in one sitting. Love the Charleston setting.

The Beach House Reunion sweeps you back into the world of Cara Rutledge and her family in the beautiful setting of Isle of Palms, SC. It's a journey of discovery. Like the Loggerhead Turtle who weaves her way through the sand to continue the circle of life, this amazing story takes you through life's journey of love, loss and new beginnings. And as she does do well, Mary Alice Monroe weaves in the characters we have come to know and love in her previous books.

Bring out your beach chair, put your toes in the sand and enjoy the Beach House Reunion as much as I did. It's worth every minute.

Good beach read and happy ending, with love along the way. What more could a reader ask? The characters are varied and interesting.

Lovely story about mothers and daughters, choices and how they affect us. I loved it. Perfectly scrumptious!

I love books by Mary Alice Monroe because they touch your heart and soul with the experiences, trials and tribulations of everyday life for a family in turmoil. The Beach House Reunion does not fail to live up to the excellence of Ms. Monroe’s writing and will take you on a journey through the upsets, love, family connections, and resolutions that are made at Primrose Cottage and in Charleston, as her family grapples with issues that tear at the heart and could bring a family to ruin. In amid the storm, is finding love new and love again for two women, neither of whom are looking for it and finding it fresh, confusing, and wonderful.

In this charming book, we return to Primrose Cottage on Isle of Palms, South Carolina.
Cara, still grieving the death of her husband, brings her newly-adopted daughter back to the cabin left to her by her mother.
Needing to work, but wanting to be with Hope, her daughter, Cara hires her niece to be a nanny, and they all settle in to a pleasant routine.
Cara meets a man who could be a large part of her life, if she can find the courage.
That courage becomes vital as the island prepares for Hurricane Irma and her brother's family implodes.
With information about sea turtles to start each chapter, the vivid descriptions of the Lowcountry, taut family drama and familiar characters you love to re-visit, this is a perfect addition to the series.

Beach House Reunion by Mary Alice Monroe is a great read featuring family, relationships, commitment, and love. A family torn by traditions and new beginnings is found inside these pages. A daughter who went to college, earned her degree, and is home looking for a job. Her father is pushing her to work for him. Her brother is forced to go to the same college as his dad and to work for the family business. This caused a tidal wave that is felt by the whole family. The mother is wanting her daughter to uphold the same principles she holds for the family. Then, there's an aunt who lost her love, adopted a baby, and is tackling on a new relationship. In the background, are the sea turtles that come back every 2-3 years to build a nest and lay new eggs. I loved how an older sea turtle came back to the beach and was found to have survived a shark atrack. The aunt in the family is finally returning back home to her beach house to stay. Her niece helps with babysitting while finding her own way in life. The plot was engaging, realistic, and steady. There was action, romance, and a destructive family force to be dealt with...but it was dragged out a little too much for me. Choices are presented and will be made. Where the characters and future of the sea turtles lie, is a journey for readers to find out...overall, it was a good story.

This is a great relaxing beach read! I love her Beach House series and catching up with Cara and the family. Mary Alice Monroe has a way with family stories. They are always emotional and tug on the heartstrings. I really love all the sea turtle information too, I've learned a lot!

Mary Alice Monroe has give us another great book in continuing the story of the Rutledge family and friends. The turtle information at the beginning of each chapter is informative and fun.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of Beach House Reunion. Really lucky because I read, and loved the other 4 Beach House books as well as many others by Mary Alice Munroe. The fifth and last book in the series begins with Cara Rutlege returning to Primrose Cottage three years after she left after her beloved husband's death. This time she is accompanied by her new baby daughter, Hope. Best friends Emmi and Flo are there as are characters that were introduced in the previous four books. Cara's niece, Linnea, joins the family on the island as nanny to Hope. She meets Emmi's son John who teaches Linnea how to surf as well a help her narrow down her job search. The stories are interspersed with facts about sea turtles, and conservation and rescue efforts as well as vivid descriptions of life on a coastal island. Cara and Linnea face life-changing circumstances good and bad and have to make some tough decisions about life and love. Munroe does not disappoint. Beach House Reunion maintains the high quality you expect from her novels - you can almost feel the ocean breeze and smell the beach as you read. A great story and an excellent vacation.
You could probably get through the book if you pick this one up first, but do yourself a favor and read the entire series!!!

I am so happy that Cara is back home on Isle of Palms. And she brought a pretty great surprise with her! Facing memories of her late husband and the special bond they had, as well as wishing her mother, Lovie, was still here to give her advice, she plows forward much like her beloved Loggerhead Turtles.

While she settles back into life at Primrose Cottage, her niece, Linnea, has graduated from college and is at loose ends. Feeling stifled in her family's Charleston mansion, she heads to the beach. Home to Cara and Primrose. With no expectations to be anything other than happy.

With new love a possibility and her mother to guide her, Cara will pull her family together and break a long cycle of bad behavior, freeing them all to be who they are and live their best lives.

This series is so loving and beautiful. While the bad habits in a family can be broken, the strong bonds of these women can not. Very well done!



Netgalley/SimonandSchuster May 22, 2018

The Rutledges were born and bred on the Isle of Palms. Palmer Rutledge and his wife and two grown children live at one of the beach houses, and Cara is moving back to the other one. Cara is still grieving the loss of the love of her life and trying to adjust to being a mom to her adopted daughter Hope. Linnea, Palmer's daughter, is fresh out of college and unable to find a job in the field of her dreams. They do what families should do when they are at a crossroads in life....band together. Linnea becomes Hope's nanny and Cara works to get her footing back.
This had a great storyline, the characters are all someone you want to root for, and to top it off there is a bit of romance. This should definitely be on everyone's beach read list for this summer!

Mary Alice Monroe has done it yet again ! I am sitting here crying at my desk. I read this book today. Have been waiting patiently for this next one in the series. Such a lovely, touching story ! So pure of heart ! I love all of these characters. I can only imagine the research she puts into these books as well, hurricanes, turtles, birds etc. This truly is a wonderful book. If you have not read this series, do yourself a favor start at the beginning and read them all. Hours well spent.

My book club had just finished reading Beach House for Rent for its April book choice, so I was delighted to see Beach House Reunion as a Net Galley title. Mary Alice Monroe wrote a beautiful ending to her Beach House series with this title.. Cara and her niece, Linnea return to the cottage at Isle of Palms and resume the turtle team expeditions while their lives are renewed with purpose, fulfillment and restoration of family ties. The novel lends romance, mystery and family togetherness in a great read.