The author adds another chapter to her Beach House Series. It was "heartwarming" but also so predictable. Glad, however, that Ms Monroe is continuing her education mission re loggerhead turtles.

Beach House Reunion - Mary Alice Monroe.  As always a pleasant reading experience about familiar characters and the beautiful Low Country. I enjoy the descriptions about the islands around Charleston and the community the residents enjoy. Add the aquarium and the beloved turtles and you have a bestseller.  Thank you Net Galley and Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books for the chance to read one of my favorite authors.

Beach House Reunion is a feel good novel with complex, well-developed characters and intriguing family dynamics. It is a story of family and friendship, of embracing life and living it to the fullest, of accepting change and moving forward, and of having enough conviction to stand up for yourself and others. I particularly loved the way each chapter started with information about turtles. I went to the internet to read about the various kinds of turtles mentioned and look at pictures of them. Since Beach House Reunion is part of a series it was like catching up with old friends, but it could also be enjoyed just as well as a stand alone read. I pictured it as a Hallmark kind of movie as I read.

I love these stories and this one captures all of the past along with the future in a beautiful way while not neglecting the wonderful turtles. Seeing new generations meld with the past and as always watching romance develop was a great way to spend my day.

I have no doubt that anyone who loves the south, beach and sea turtles will quickly be absorbed in this wonderful novel of hope, despair, family, friends and love.
Mary Alice Monroe does an amazing job of bringing all the feelings of summer and the ocean smells to you throughout each walk on the beach.
Every chapter had a snippet of info on sea turtles and I truly learned from these.
A beautiful summer read!

I was thrilled to jump back into Mary Alice Monroe’s Beach House series!

In Beach House Reunion we follow Cara Rutledge as she moves back to her beloved Isle of Palm. After losing her husband three years ago and then unexpectedly adopting a baby girl less then a year ago, Cara is trying to find her new normal and there is no other place she’s rather be than the beach house from her childhood. Luckily for Cara, her niece, Linnea, has just graduated college and since she hasn’t found a job yet she offers to be her daughter’s nanny. The women have always had so much in common and their encouragement for each other is exactly what they both need now!

Nobody combines South Carolina Lowcountry and family better than Mary Alice Monroe! I really enjoyed seeing both Cara and Linnea’s transformations throughout this novel!! The storyline was filled with so much depth and heart— which is the reason I devoured this book in one day! Beach House Reunion is a 5 star read that I needs to go on everybody’s summer reading list! I am already looking forward to the next installment in this fantastic series!

Beach House Reunion
Mary Alice Monroe


MY RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️▫️
PUBLISHER Gallery Books
PUBLISHED May 22, 2018
Beach House Reunion is light and breezy and a joy to read.

SUMMARY
Beach House Reunion is the fifth novel in the Beach House series by Mary Alice Monroe. The series weaves together the triumphs and struggles of the Rutledge family of Charleston South Carolina. Beachhouse Reunion is a tale of new beginnings, as Cara Rutledge, 53, returns from Tennessee to live once again in her beloved beach house on the Isle of Palms, with her newly adopted baby, Hope. In need of childcare, Cara hires her niece, Linnea, to help her for the summer. Linnea has recently graduated from college and is struggling to figure out her next steps and relishes the idea of living with her aunt at the beach until she knows what she wants to do. Both women join the “turtle team,” make new friends, explore new directions for their lives and find the strength to attempt to break destructive family patterns.

REVIEW
A perfect book for a day at the beach. It’s light and breezy and a joy to read. A delightful tale that can either be devoured in a day or savored over several. Mary Alice Monroe is known as an active conservationist, particularly regarding sea turtles, and sea turtles alway plays a meaningful role in the Beach House series. While you don’t need to read each book in the series in order, if you are anything like me, after reading one, you are going to want to go back and read the others. Now, I consider Cara Rutledge a good friend and totally enjoy reading her ongoing story Thanks to Netgalley, Mary Alice Monroe and Gallery Book for an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

The beach house is alive again! Cara Rutledge has come home to the Isle of Palms and Primrose Cottage to restart her life. At 53, she has adopted Hope, who is only a year old. She needs to build her career and find a way to lessen her grief from the loss of her husband, Brett. Since three years have gone by, she knows she needs to move on with life. Cara is flooded with memories as she settles in, especially of her mother, Lovie. A hint of jasmine is in the air. To help her with Hope, Cara hires Linnea, her brother Palmer’s daughter, to live with her for the summer. As the story unfolds, she finds that her brother Palmer’s family is in need. The tensions between Palmer, his wife Julia, and their young adult children, Linnea (22) and Cooper (18) are like a tropical storm building towards a hurricane. Linnea feels fortunate for being able to get away from all the turmoil. This multigenerational story deals with new beginnings, family struggles, love, and the beauty of the sea and its surroundings. Mary Alice Monroe’s vivid descriptions awakened my senses throughout this book. I saw the light from the moon reflecting on the water. I visualized the colors of the sunrises and sunsets. And the dolphins and loggerheads filled me with the awe that they deserve. Previous characters are brought back, and I especially squealed with delight when Toy, who is working with her beloved loggerheads at the aquarium, is a part of the story. The development of new loves from friendship is wonderful. I was drawn into the story from the first page to the last. I laughed like the dolphins, cried for the female loggerheads, and relished every moment. [I received a complimentary copy.]

4.5 stars Welcome back to the Isle of Palms and the Beach House. Cara Rutledge returns home to raise her daughter. Loved reconnecting with the whole Rutledge family, as well as the Turtle Ladies, Emmi, Toy, Flo, and meeting some new characters.All families have issues of some kind. But this large extended family of blood and friends helps each other work through issues and try to break destructive habits.
It is a heartwarming feel-good book.

I received this arc from NetGalley for an honest review. The Beach House reunion is the reunion of characters from all of the previous Beach House books. Cara Rutledge is returning to the beach house left to her by her mother after being gone for a few years. The beach has many memories both wonderful and difficult. Cara is returning with her newly adopted child and looking for a fresh start for them. Another great book in this series, though it wasn't my favorite of them all. The last few chapters felt rushed, and as usual, I am left wanting more.

Cara Rutledge I returning to her beach house on Isle of Palms with her adopted daughter Hope. It has been 3 years since she was widowed. Cara needs to make a living but is having a hard time working around her daughter. She needs help. Her niece Linnea has just graduated college and is using the summer to decide exactly what she wants to do. She comes to help take care of Hope.

This is part of a series but could be read as a stand alone. Every chapter starts with a fact about sea turtles. Cara is part of the turtle patrol on the island. This is a story about family, friendship, love, and learning to move forward after a loss. You will grow to love the characters in this book. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy of this book.

Once again, Cara Rutledge comes home to the Lowcountry. After living in Tennessee for a few years after her husband, Brett suddenly passed, Cara finds herself returning to Isle of Palms with a new purpose and a new role, mother to her new daughter, Hope. At the same time, we have Cara's niece, Linnea return home to Charleston upon her graduation from college. Both women, while residing at the beloved beach cottage that once belonged to Cara's mother, Lovie Rutledge, find their strength to begin anew. Over the course of that summer, friendships form, family disputes erupt, old memories buried, and new romance blossoms.

Mary Alice Monroe has once again written a beautifully woven novel that continues the story of Cara Rutledge and her cherished Lowcountry. The reunion of Cara, her family, her friends, and her treasured Loggerhead turtles, create an unfolding drama that makes this book hard to put down. Those new to this series will be inspired to catch up with the Rutledge family in Mary Alice Monroe's previous Beach House novels.

I was expecting an enjoyable beach read and this is so much more. It is a story of family and tradition and expectations and finding a way to break a cycle of expectations that eliminate authenticity and happiness. It is a story of love and loss and finding a way to be happy again. But ultimately it is a celebration of strong women finding a way to be happy and create the best life for themselves, their family and friends.

Read my 5-star review of Beach House Reunion by Mary Alice Monroe
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2333445861

I thought this was part of the Low Country series - that's why I requested it. When I realized it was a different series and this was the 5th book in, my total confusion over characters made sense. So sorry - Thank you!

LOVE Cara Rutledge. And now I have fallen in love with Linnea. Mary Alice Monroe's love of the coast comes through brilliantly, and her depth of understanding the ties some have with the ocean and all her gifts shines. Her keen observations of family ties, good and bad, is eloquently presented in her most recent novel.

Loved everything about this book! As soon as I finished reading Beach House Reunion I went back to The Beach House, the very first book in the series, because I just can’t say goodbye to Cara Rutledge and all the characters in this great series of books.

Have you ever read a book that pulls you in from the very first sentence? That’s how I felt reading Mary Alice Monroe’s new novel, Beach House Reunion. Cara, widowed for three years, is coming home to the Isle of Palms, bringing Hope, the baby she recently adopted. When she finds she needs child care help to successfully work from home, she asks her niece Linnea, a recent college graduate who has not yet found a full time job to stay with her for the summer. They are both members of the Turtle Team, a group that helps sea turtles. Cara, who for the first time since her husband’s passing, considers the possibility of love, and Linnea, who falls for a handsome neighbor teaching her to surf, are but two of the characters who are drawn with depth and understanding by this exceptional author. The beauty of the natural world and the importance of friends and family are essential to this novel, and help to make it something more than a simple beach read. Once I started reading Beach House Reunion, I couldn’t put it down--highly recommended

It was a chilly grey Saturday in my part of NC but I spent the weekend at the beach and never left home! Reading a Mary Alice Monroe book is like taking a vacation at the beach - her love of the lowcounty shines through in her books and her descriptions of the area make you feel like you're there.

This is book 5 in the Beach House series. It can be read as a stand-alone but all of the books in the series are so good that you need to read them all! In this book, Cara Rutledge returns to Primrose Cottage on Isle of Palms. She left three years earlier after her husband died but felt like it was time to go home to raise the new baby that she's adopted. When she tries to work from home, she finds out that it's difficult so asks her niece Linnea to move to the cottage to take care of the baby while she's job hunting. They both lead a more relaxed life style at the beach with lots of friends and a bit of romance for both of them. Through their time together and the beauty of the island, the Rutledge family is about to become even closer despite issues that have been passed down from previous generations.

This is a beautiful story of love and family, new beginnings and learning to live in the future instead of the past. As with all of Mary Alice's books, her love of the environment shines through her novel. In this book, its the loggerhead turtle and every chapter starts with a fact about sea turtles. There is also a lot of information about how pollution in the ocean hurts the turtles and other sea animals. So along with my mental trip to the beach, I was able to learn more about sea turtles! I highly recommend this book!

Thanks to the author for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.