All the feels. It was a beautiful and heart wrenching journey as Willa finds love while simultaneously experiencing a challenging time in her life.

It story takes you through so much. Love, loss, and grief. I really loved so much of it. It had some heavier topics including the loss of someone due to Cancer.

I found A Walk Along the Beach to be deeply moving poignantly beautiful, heart wrenching and endearing all at the same time. It moved me to tears more than once but on the flip side, it also moved me to joy and wonder regarding life, love, family and the ties that bind us.

Yes, I found this book bitter sweet but ultimately I found it to be an emotionally moving and wonderful book. I highly recommend it!

I received this book for free. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are my own. Thank you to Ballentine Books, Ms. Macomber and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book is somewhat different than Debbie Macomber's books. She tackles a very hard subject which affects many people. After the loss of their Mother and their father's battle with grief, Willa puts her life on hold to raise her sister and brother. When a life threatening illness hits Harper, Willa again puts her life on hold to nurse her through. Now they are moving forward. However, Willa feels that Harper may be going a little too fast. Will these two find an even ground? While Debbie has a way of taking on the hard topics, she brings the whole story to life. I look forward to more stories. I received a copy through Netgalley. A review was not required.

Harper and Willa are as close as sisters can be. That tends to happen when you go through hard times together. And Willa and Harper have gone through some of the toughest. They lost their mother and then Harper survived cancer.
But when Sean starts showing an interest in Willa and Harper starts wanting to spread her wings, things get a little rocky.
As much as Willa likes Sean, she doesn't know if she can depend on him. And when Harper can't make her goal of mountain climbing, she's crushed to learn the reason.
Tough times bring the sisters back together, but will there be a place for Sean in Willa's life?

First of all, I love this cover. It's beautiful. Second of all, I love the sister relationship of Harper and Willa. Their mother died, their father turned to alcohol leaving Willa to be the "mom" to Harper and their brother but not long after their mom died they are dealt another blows, as Harper is diagnosed with cancer. Will fought by her sister's side until she was in remission. Once in remission it was Willa's turn to start focusing on herself opening a coffee shop and finding love, with Harper's encouragement. Unfortunately, Willa is always waiting for the other shoe to drop and when it does it will take the healing power of love and the beach to get her through. This sums it up perfectly. "Walking along the beach had always had the power to help me clear my mind and soothe my soul."

Loved this book!!!! I couldn't put it down. As someone who has lost loved ones to cancer, I knew it would be a tear jerker. It took me back to those long hard days but in a good way. Debbie does a fabulous job with her books.

Debbie Macomber never fails to grab your heart with her books. Willa and Harper are sisters with such a strong tie that they seem to know each other without speaking and as you are drawn in to their lives the next life happening shows up. Family values are so important and A Walk Along the Beach shows it.

Debbie Macomber is a prolific writer of women's fiction.  This, her latest title, is dedicated to her very close friend, a woman who died of cancer.  Indeed, one of the two sisters in this title has had a bout with cancer as well.  As a result, Harper wants to live her life to the fullest. She is a risk taker. Older sister and caretaker Willa worries about her and so does the reader of the novel, wondering if she will stay healthy.


As Harper's story unfolds, so does Willa's.  She owns a coffee bar and bakery that I would love to visit.  Into the store walks Sean,  a former baseball player and now a photographer with a passion for good causes.  The title of the book comes from the location of their first date. Will his relationship with Willa make it? 


I know that Ms. Macomber is a knitter and one place Sean travels to is Bolivia where he wants to document the impact of climate issues on those who graze animals for wool.  I assume that the issue is a real one because of the author's interests. It adds an interesting travel story to the novel.


I enjoyed this book and its characters as they explored, faced challenges and cared about each other.  Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

I have read and enjoyed just about everything Debbie Macomber has written, and, after reading it, I think this one will never be one of my favorites. The book is somewhat depressing and lacks the “je ne sais quoi” of her other books. Still, the book was well-done and flowed easily, but I did not find a lot of plot or character development throughout.

In this story, Willa Lackey and her sister Harper live in a small town, each trying to make do the best they can. The sisters have a brother Lucas, who lives in Seattle, and a father who lives in the area. After their mother died suddenly years before, the family fell apart. Willa became the surrogate mother, as the oldest. Her brother Lucas managed his own way and now lives happily in Seattle with his girlfriend. Her sister Harper, the youngest, had her ups and downs, the biggest one being her diagnosis of leukemia several years back. Their father, who works in a casino, turned to alcohol to overcome his grief. Though they are all grown, Willa still remains in the mother role, worrying about everyone and everything, especially her sister’s fragile state after her bout with cancer. At this point, her sister Harper, perhaps as an antidote for her illness, is planning to climb Mt. Rainier, training and working out at a feverish phase to get ready for the rugged climb. Naturally, Willa worries about this, hoping her sister has not bitten off more than she can chew with her Mt. Rainier goal. Things come to a sudden halt when Harper’s medical issues once again crop up and push everything else aside, moving to the forefront. Everyone becomes involved in the issues that surround it. Their lives all change. All the while, they are struggling to come to grips with the Harper’s diagnosis and its impact on their lives.

As I said, this is a somewhat depressing book. The author really got caught up in the cancer thing, and, not to minimize the seriousness of it, it sort of took over the story line. There were other parts I would have liked see become a more prominent place in the story—such as Willa’s relationship with Sean, Lucas and his girlfriend’s/fiancée’s relationship, the movement of their father out of his alcoholic stupor, but it did not happen. With cancer taking up so much of the story, the characters, though meaningful and realistic, were not as developed as they could have been, and the story was not as interesting to read. In addition, I knew how the story was going to end almost from the very beginning, so there was no element of surprise to keep me going. However, the fact that I did read it quickly is a testament to the author’s writing ability. This is another book in Debbie Macomber’s long list of books, some in a series, some not. If you like her books, and her writing style, and read them religiously as I do, you will probably gravitate toward this one. As I said, it will never be among my favorites of hers, but it is worth the time and effort to read. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

I received this advanced reader from Netgalley. It was a good, quick read from Debbie Macomber. I read this on vacation and couldn’t put it down. A story of two sisters. One has always taken care of the other. A little romance, friends, running a business and family are what this story entails. You won’t be disappointed!

Heartwarming and sweet journey filled with interesting and engaging charters, witty dialog, fun twists and emotional turns. Highly entertaining adventure from beginning to end and so hard to put down.

This was a bit of a rollercoaster of a romance novel. Willa and Sean met at her coffee shop and it was love at first sight. However, his work and a family crisis threatens to tear them apart. As the yer progresses, they have to face whether they are right for each other and many other difficult changes in their lives. Very enjoyable and another great book by Debbie Macomber!

I really like Debbie Macomber's books and imperfect characters but nothing prepared me for all the emotions I felt with A Walk Along the Beach. Waht a beautiful journey!

First, because the book has two parts: the first one has a great focus on the friendship and affection between the two sisters and on winning Sean and Willa's love; in the second part, we already have an even greater focus on Willa.

This is one of those kinds of books that we can't talk about much, because everything can be a spoiler and it's also the kind that we want to read slowly, enjoying every moment and suffering in every situation presented.

I loved seeing again the characters of A Cottage by the Sea
4/5 stars

Debbie Macomber doesn’t disappoint! Such a great read. You instantly connect with the characters And I jumped right into the pages. Simply wonderful!

Debbie Macomber is one of my go to authors. This book was different, not what I was expecting. I enjoyed it. Great storyline and characters.

This book broke my heart in a million different ways. It is tragically beautiful and filled with hope, loss and love. Making decision to go on are difficult not matter what, but as my emotions went on a rollercoaster ride, I loved everything that I was reading. When a book makes me cry (more than once), it will be a book I remember forever.

This is the story of Willa and her sister, Harper and how they had moved on from Harper's Leukemia. The two sisters were tight and strong together. Until another obstacle is thrown in their face, you get to see how they pull together to try to overcome it.

5 stars

Sisters Support Each Other Through Tragedy and Love

When her mother died, Willa took on the role of raising her sister, Harper and brother, Lucas. She thought when they were grown she’d have her own life, but then Harper suffered a serious illness and Willa nursed her through it.

Now Harper is well and trying to live life to the fullest which worries Willa especially when she plans to climb to the summit of Mount Rushmore. Willa, too, has found her place serving her bake goods in her coffee shop. When she meets Sean O’Malley, they’re both interested but shy. They become close, but Sean has a demanding career and Willa still feels responsible for her family.

Harper urges Willa to take a chance on love, but then a recurrence of Harper’s illness makes the sisters rethink their priorities.

As usual with Debbie Macomber’s books this is a lovely romance. It’s filled with the importance of family and sisterhood. Harper and Willa are characters you can relate to. The setting is beautiful and Sean is a great hero.

If you enjoy romance, this is a good one.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

A Walk Along the Beach by Debbie Macomber is a novel that surprised me greatly. I have to be honest, as a long time fan of this author's work, I will pick up any book by this author and read it without question. So, the title of this book made me think that it would be the perfect summer beach read. So, I took it along to the beach this summer. And it blew me away! I truly believe that this author's books keep getting better and better, which is hard to imagine because they have always been characterized by stellar storytelling. Here, in this particular novel, Ms Macomber sets herself apart by creating highly developed characters and a story charged with intense emotion. I cried quite a bit while reading this story. While it is not exactly light-hearted, readers of women's fiction and romance will love this book. But I believe that this book would appeal to many, many readers. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

I absolutely love to read Debbie’s books. There is not a single one of her books that have read that I have fallen in love with! She has a way of writing that makes you feel like you are just another one of her great characters! Thank you Debbie for writing such great bookS for us tor fall in love with!!

A Walk Along the Beach has a more serious tone than previous reads of Debbie Macomber. Willa owns a coffee shop with the help of her sister Harper who is in remission from cancer. Sean is a cute charming photographer who come in every day to get his coffee. Little does Willa know he hates coffee and only comes in to see her. Sean and Willa relationship moves quickly, but complications due to Harper's health and Sean jobs puts there relationship on the rocks. This is a beautiful story about love and relationships.