Member Reviews
Oh my goodness! How could you not fall in love with Keaton. The other characters too, but especially Keaton. Keaton saw Annie on the beach when she was 14 and that was it for him. Now they are both grown up and Annie has come back to town to find her happy place. Annie faced a huge tragedy and couldn't seem to find her footing. She went back to the place that held so many good memories for her with her family. She found a new family while she was there. Keaton is such a gentle giant, has a big heart and thinks he doesn't know much about love. As Annie learns more about him, she knows that he does know a lot about love. But, she has a decision to make and isn't sure if she will be staying. What will they do?
Another hit by Debbie Macomber. Annie’s life changes in the blink of an eye. After suffering a devestating loss, Annie decides in order to heal she must return to where her heart was the most peaceful, back to the Cottage by the Sea. There her family spent every summer as a child. She is taken on a journey that will offer her healing, reveal just how strong she really is and enable her to move forward.
A story of loss, love, healing and friendships. This fast paced story will have you hooked from start to end.
This book will draw you in from the very beginning. Annie is a typical person. Loves her family but enjoys spending time with her friends. She is upbeat, loves to have fun and a physician assistant. She is a nurturer and doesn't tolerate meanness. Duncan has lived in this small ocean side town all his life. The kids made fun of him but it all rolled off. One summer he saw Annie and the earth moved. He never forgot her. Now she is back and time is giving him a chance to make a first impression. Be prepared for the emotional roller coaster. In the end, change can only start with one small step.
Debbie Macomber’s newest book, Cottage by the Sea is a sweet romance. There is no other description that works better. She takes characters that have been thrown curves in life (Curves that would take most people down.) and allows them to find a home with hope. This skill is highlighted in her newest novel.
Annie was enjoying life as a young person. She had a great career, friends and had a fun time. When she was asked to come home for Thanksgiving, she declined having made prior plans. It was that simple plan that changed Annie’s world and now she needs to find a way to move on. It is hard to start again, so she goes to her last happy place, a small beachtown in the Pacific Northwest.
Keaton has always known what it is like to be an outsider. He was big, ungainly and didn’t speak. He knew he was unloved and unlovable. He has a few friends and a life in the seaside town, when he saw the woman who was the girl he fell for so many years ago…
Keaton and Annie have a chance to change their hopes and expectations, but along the way they bring Mellie and Preston. The ability to move beyond the past and start again. The story takes many twists and turns and each step allows you to fall deeper and deeper in love with the characters and their plight.
This sweetness in a story is not my usual level of enjoyment. I like books that are a little edgier, but I will take a Debbie Macomber novel like this any day! It was a fast read, the characters, stories and problems to resolve. I was all in from the first.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity this book. A Cottage by the Sea by Debbie Macomber is a great read.
Debbie is one of my favorites, hands down, for wholesome romance reads. I love the easiness of her stories and how lost you can become in her tales. This book was the perfect escape for a weekend read. The little house near the water was the perfect back drop for the story to unfold. Annie Marlow loses her entire family on Thanksgiving and the pain you feel from the character is almost enough to paralyze you for a split second before watching this character blossom. Home isn't always where you were born but rather something that lives inside of you and Debbie explores that to the fullest content. I love this book. I will recommend to anyone looking for a story of triumph and love.
Annie chooses to spend Thanksgiving with friends instead of family, and her decision alters the course of her life. She suffers a deep depression and it isn't until she moves to Oceanside, the town that she grew up visiting with her family in the summer, that things start to look up for her. She makes a new life for herself, finds the perfect job and even falls in love. She learns that sometimes, good comes from even the worst of tragedies
I loved this book. It was so uplifting and it had a great storyline. This makes the perfect beach read!
Cottage by the Sea by Debbie Macomber is an amazing contemporary story that starts with an actual event and follows a grieving young woman, Annie Marlow, to a small seaside town she remembered from her childhood and used to recover from a romantic breakup and now feels that maybe she can once again find a sense of peace. Arriving in town she finds herself with lots of happy memories and decides that she wants to stay. She finds that the cottage her family rented for vacations was still there. Annie finds a job, finagles her way to renting the cottage once used by her family and gets involved with some unusual characters. There's Keaton, an interesting man who was interested in Annie when they were teenagers but she doesn't quite remember. Then there is Melody who owns the cottage and is agoraphobic and a hoarder. Finally there is Preston who is interested in Melody. More characters, with interesting situations, are found throughout the storyline. This book was a sweet, easy read and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
Debbie Macomber has quickly become for me an author that when picking up one of her books I have some pretty high expectations having enjoyed the previous titles I’ve read. Thankfully when finished with this new novel I can say that she completely met all my expectations and gave me a bit more.
Cottage by the Sea begins by introducing Annie Marlow as young and carefree with a bright future ahead of her. But for Annie things come crashing down in her world when she gets some devastating news and finding her way out of the despair seems like an impossible task.
Taking some advice from a friend Annie begins the task of picking herself back up by finding someplace that once made her happy. This triggers the move from California to the Pacific Northwest to a place that her family had once visited with the intention of trying to bring back those memories.
The ups and downs in Cottage by the Sea are safely categorized as an emotional roller coaster ride that readers may want to have some tissues handy. The book falls in the contemporary romance genre but it certainly isn’t your typical two beautiful singles meeting and falling in love cookie cutter read. Instead what you find within the pages are characters that mirror real people with real problems and the struggles to overcome them.
Not only are grief and tragedy addressed but so many other issues with not only the main character but many other secondary characters and the small town charm begins to work it’s magic and bring everyone together to build their strength and bonds to last a lifetime. A beautiful story that is sure to capture readers hearts.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
Cottage by the Sea is a very sweet gem of a book. I loved everything about this book. Even though Annie has a lot of healing to do she is strong and independent and finds love when she didn’t expect it.
3 Stars - This one is a little bit heavier than some of Macomber's stories, which isn't my favorite variety. I expected it to have heavy bits, but then fall into the sunny, hopeful pattern that her books often do. This one stayed pretty dramatic. This story deals with tragic death, abuse, teen pregnancy, agoraphobia, animal abuse, and hospice. It's not a light book. I was hoping for a bit more levity inbetween the issues, and as the characters overcome them. It felt like one thing after another. This wasn't my favorite Macomber book. I did like the characters, the found family aspect, and the little town of Oceanside. I liked Keaton a lot, it's unusual for Macomber's stories to feature a male lead that isn't super confident. It was kind of a nice change. Overall I can only recommend if you enjoy her more dramatic books.
Debbie Macomber never fails me. Cottage by the Sea is a wonderful book that drew me in from the first chapter. The pain Annie has experienced is one that will always be with her but starts to ease once back at a family vacation spot that helps her begin to heal and find herself. With the help of several locals she begins to start anew and cherish the newness of everything that happens. There is always light if you are brave enough to move through the darkness to find it.
Cottage by the Sea
Debbie Macomber
Available: July 17, 2018
Thank you to NetGalley.com for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
A Debbie Macomber book is like the hug you receive from an old friend – familiar, comforting, and welcome. You know you’re not going to get any amazing plot twists, no heart pounding drama, no sex. You usually also get a little creative plot and you know everything will work out in the end.
What I loved: Without giving away too much of the plot – I think the idea of an open adoption is a beautiful thing if that works for everyone involved.
What I didn’t love: Seriously? A mudslide? On a holiday? Wiping out the ENTIRE family??? It seems like a bit of an unreal stretch to find something dramatic to spurn Annie back to Oceanside. I would have also liked more from Keaton’s point of view? He is almost too intense of a character the way he is written – almost stalkerish. And a recipe for those brownies would have been a great touch!
What I learned: Some books are just there for an easy, peaceful reading ride.
Overall Grade: B-
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Another sweet story from Macomber! I really liked how Annie ended up in the Cottage by the Sea. It was just such a wonderful way for her to begin to find healing. I also really liked Keaton. I especially loved all the ways he found to show Annie love even before he might have categorized it as true love.
Mellie ended up being so much more than a side character. I really appreciated reading about a unique situation of a person who was literally terrified to even go to her own doorway. I loved the friendship that evolved for Annie and Mellie!
This book had a lot packed into it. In fact, in some ways, it was a little too much. Some of the issues the smaller characters were dealing with almost overpowered the main characters and even the secondary characters too. I almost wished the book had been a series and the first book had just focused mostly on Annie. It was still good, just a little overwhelming at times.
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This is my honest review.
Every time I think I have read Debbie's best book I am wrong.
Annie used to vacation with her family, at this cottage and this is her happy place.
Years later she is living in Seattle and tragedy strikes. Her whole family is killed in a mudslide on Thanksgiving weekend. She has no real will to live so a friend suggests she goes to get happy place.. She returns to the cottage.
Keaton, a boy she met there who was abused as a child still lives there. He is now a painter and they meet upon the beach. This book had me crying, laughing and just wanting more. I was given this book as an arc for an honest review. Try it you will love it.
WOW! I couldn’t put this book down! Annie has to figure out how to live without her family when they are killed in a mudslide on Thanksgiving. She’s lost until she takes a trip to Oceanside, where her family used to go for a week every summer. It’s like she’s found her place in life again in this little ocean town. There are many twists and turns as we see Annie come out of her shell again and find love of her own. I loved Mellie, Britt, Keaton, Annie and wish this was the start of a series! I’d love to see what happens to them in the future! Wonderful story and would definitely recommend to others!
This review is based on a galley copy from netgalley, courtesy of the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Debbie Macomber has created a perfect read in, Cottage by the Sea. It was heart lifting, inspiring, and emotionally charged. Anyone who wanted a sweet, yet clean romance will find it here. I love how the writer engaged me into her character's roles and lives. Their troubles come tumbling after just like the waves that crashed the beach shore. Sometimes they just needed to embrace their struggles and fears, before they could move forward. Love, peace, and healing are included as themes for this book. The choice between a successful career and a caring place to call home are a temptation. Annie chose one. Cottage by the Sea was entertaining. The characters were realistic. I felt like I have known them for years. This story felt like Hallmark channel movie. I fell in love. Overall, I would recommend this title to all readers.
I received this copy from the publisher. This is my voluntary review.
Simply wonderful! I love love love anything by Debbie! Her writing just simply brings you right into her stories. Can’t wait for the next one.
This book tells the story of Annie, who moves to a small oceanside community after a family tragedy. Annie is a physician's assistant and begins to heal as she serves the community. The story weaves the lives of several members of the community including a recluse, an outcast, and an abused wife and her family. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and consider it a sweet story of hope, healing, and love.
Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!
Cottage By The Sea is Debbie Macomber’s new stand alone novel. Following a tragedy Annie Marlow is faced with starting her life over. She returns to the little beach town where her family vacationed when she was young. It is a way to connect to everything she has missed from her past and soon becomes a way to create her future. With the help of new friends, all with issues of their own, that’s exactly what she does. The novel deals with some serious themes such as loss of loved ones, domestic abuse, and hoarding. Macomber conveys the emotions without getting too heavy which is what I’ve come to expect from her.
I enjoyed Debbie Macomber's Cottage by the Sea. I thought the story was sweet and delightful. I give it 5 stars.