I’ve loved the Beach House series from the beginning, and this book is another delightful book in the series. Mary Alice Monroe always has something to teach us about the environment, nature, birds, butterflies, turtles. This story takes place during the pandemic and while many books I read are a nice escape from Covid, this book helps me see it in a new perspective and see some of the positives that have come out of the past year. The book was emotional, heartwarming, and so real. I loved the story and enjoyed the chance to catch up with the Ruthledge family and friends.

Mary Alice Monroe returns to the world of fan favorite The Beach House. This edition is set in the age of COVID-19. Her characters struggle with relationships, finances, and health issues as they navigate the ever changing restrictions the virus has brought to us all. Recommended for fans of this series.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book early! I love, love, love these characters and this is a great continuation of the storyline. She brought the pandemic into the storyline and wove it in seamlessly as we all felt the same as these characters did about distancing and masking. Can’t wait to see what path the next book will choose to take us on.

Can someone please buy me a beach house on the Isle of Palms?

Every summer, I look forward to the latest book by Mary Alice Monroe and the chance to escape life with a good beach read. The Summer of Lost and Found is part of the Beach House series. If readers have not read the previous books in this series, I definitely recommend starting with the first book, but this book could be read on its own.

This story follows the Rutledge family, of Charleston South Carolina, and is set at the Isle of Palms during the Spring of 2020. Linnea Rutledge definitely has some choices to make when both her current love interest Gordon, returns from England. John from her past relationship also returns to the Isle from California and has to quarantine next door to Linnea. I was hesitant to read a book set during the pandemic, books are my way to escape from life and stress. With the pandemic still going on, I didn’t think that was possible. Even though it was difficult, at times to read about COVID, and I found myself disagreeing with a lot of the choices the characters made, regarding safety precautions. I still enjoyed this book and the feeling of change and happiness that Spring and Summer give me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the Advanced Reader Copy of The Summer of Lost and Found. #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley and Mary Alice Monroe for the ARC The Summer of Lost and Found. I love all of Mary Alice Monroe's books but I feel personally attached to the Rutledge family. When I have visited Charleston I feel like I could just go out to the beach and visit with Linnea and Cara. The 7th book in this series still leaves me wanting more stories. MAM leaves enough intrigue dangling so that she can continue if she would like. This book is for everyone that loves MAM or really good beach reads. Thanks again for giving us a great continuation of the Rutledge family.

I have thoroughly enjoyed following the Rutledge family through the Beach House series. This multigenerational saga has highlighted strong female protagonists, the beauty of the low country and the beloved sea turtles. Unfortunately this last offering was very disappointing.

The storyline features the CoVid pandemic far more than characters and the turtles. Perhaps if I were reading this at a future date with a more historical perspective, I would appreciate it more. At present, it just felt like overload on the topic. Additionally there were elements of the story that were questionable in terms of safe practices. For example, the group forms a “pod” with certain rules about interacting socially only with its members (from four different households!), but when some of the characters start to return to their respective work environments, the rules seem to be ignored.

There are two additional problems I have with the book. First, there are times when the dialogue shifts from a natural rhythm into a format that sound like a lecture on CoVid and even gets a bit preachy. The second issue relates to love triangles. I’m not a big fan of the dynamics between two people vying for the affections of another. This one drags on through the entire book and culminates in physical violence.

The author mentions in the Acknowledgements that this book was written through a very different developmental style and it is evident in comparing this book to the others in the series. Sadly, it was not a very satisfying read.

My thanks to the author, Gallery Books, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing a digital ARC in exchange for an independent, honest review.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

Reading this book is like catching up with old friends and is still as fresh, solidly written and Interesting as all the other books in this series. Worth noting is I started this series not from the beginning but from somewhere in the middle which doesn’t matter because each book gives you enough information about the characters and can read like a standalone in a series.

This book is like revisiting old friends. I enjoyed the story but probably would have liked it better without all coronavirus stuff. I understand what the author was doing but after the past year I just wasn’t interested in reading a book with it in.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy

I simply have adored The Beach House series by Mary Alice Monroe. From the first book to the one before this one they have been something to look forward to for me when they come out. I really liked that Ms. Monroe chose to revisit the Rutledge family when she decided to write about 2020 and the pandemic.

This book mostly follows along with Linnea's story starting in March when she is laid off from her dream job at the aquarium and follows along with her story through the end of summer. We have brief check ins with Julie and Cara as well but predominantly this is a story about Linnea.

I was hesitant to read about the pandemic but I found it enjoyable despite still being in it!

Overall this was a great addition to The Beach House series and I hope there are more!

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This book is so different from the rest of the Beach House series in that it is almost entirely about the pandemic. The story meanders with little dips for family and turtles then huge waves bringing us back to the pandemic. It is an important issue that does not need to be mentioned in each chapter. The story begins in March with Linnea getting furloughed from the Aquarium and trying to figure out what she is going to do next. Next thing she knows she has Hope, Annabelle, Cooper and Gordon living with her. Hope is only there for a few weeks because David comes back from England sick.and Annabelle is like a black rain cloud bringing gloom and doom to the usually sunny Primrose Cottage. Linnea also has to deal with John quarantining next door after having just arrived from California whom she has not seen in a year.

Thus the starting of her pod or bubble which include her parents and brother she then adds Cara, David and Hope along with Annabelle, John, Gordon, Emmi, Flo and Panadora. During Fourth of July she instructs everyone to stay away from the beach because she does not see much mask wearing or social distancing. This is just one example of the constant reminder about the pandemic which is overkill. The Rutledge family and the turtles are the whole basis for the series but the turtles are mentioned just three times in the book and seem like an afterthought. I would have enjoyed the book so much better without the pandemic playing center stage or in the book at all.

The story of a close knit family and friends group finding hope and joy throughout the unknowns and ups and downs of the pandemic. Mary Alice Monroe includes a nice mix of real life challenges combined with encouraging relationships to create a that fills me with hope for the future.

The latest in the Beach House series, The Summer of Lost and Found is the story of familiar characters caught in the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The author wrote the story in real time and accurately captures the fear and confusion the world has felt during this pandemic. I loved reading how the characters adapted to the resurrections that were imposed due to the virus, and seeing the relationships bloom among them!

The Summer of Lost and Found by Mary Alice Monroe. While I have enjoyed all of this series the last two have been disappointing. I do not particularly care for the Linnea character and it throws the entire book off for me.  She doesn't have the depth I found in the other Rutledge women in past books.  I thought it was a great idea to incoporate Covid19 into the story but wish I had read the acknowledgements section before the novel. I think I would have understood where the Author was coming from better.  While we may all be in a pandemic, we all experience and react to it differently.  I thank the publishers and Net Galley for the chance to read this novel by one of my favorite authors.

In The Summer of Lost and Found, Mary Alice Monroe, the Queen of Low Country Fiction, takes readers back to the Beach House of the Rutledge family. While I feared authors would be writing novels with coronavirus plots, I found that Monroe handled the story line with a calm but firm hand incorporating wearing masks, washing hands, and social distancing.

Linnea Rutledge, Lovie’s granddaughter, just lost her job at the aquarium because of the coronavirus pandemic. Fortunately, her aunt Cara owns the Beach House, and she assures Linnea that paying rent will cease during these difficult times. In exchange, Linnea will help Cara with her daughter Hope as husband David has just returned from England and must quarantine, although soon he has all the symptoms of the virus.

Linnea’s new boyfriend Gordon is struggling to get back to the Isle of Palms, but he is having difficulty getting out of England because of the pandemic. To complicate things, Linnea’s former boyfriend John is visiting his mother who lives next door to Linnea.

To say Linnea soon becomes confused about all her feelings regarding Gordon and John is an understatement. Too add to the growing pandemic concerns, she finds herself temporarily housing cousin Hope while her dad quarantines, her friend Annabelle who has no family to help during the pandemic, and her brother Cooper, who is fresh off of quarantine in his parents’ house where he is going crazy.

Six-year-old Hope helps bridge the gap between Linnea and her “lost” love John, starting first with the paper airplanes he sends down from the carriage house where he is quarantining. He and Linnea had a bad breakup, and he realizes he made a big mistake in letting Linnea go. With the paper airplane notes to Hope and fun games starting with leaving items in hiding places, Linnea has “found” her feelings for John softening and changing. To complicate matters, Gordon is back on US soil, and Linnea becomes overwhelmed with emotions and concerns.

Nobody handles complex family situations and relationships better than Mary Alice Monroe. She is one of my handful of go-to authors for “beach reads.” The late Dorothea Benton Frank called Monroe’s writing “sensitive and true.” Both of those qualities were desperately needed in a book capturing life during the pandemic.

This is Mary Alice Monroe’s 24th novel. Monroe is a conservationist and a turtle lady in South Carolina, where she lives with her husband on the Isle of Palms, a small barrier island just outside of Charleston. They also have a hideaway in the mountains somewhere in North Carolina. Her Beach House novel, the first in the Rutledge family series, was recently made into a Hallmark movie starring Andie MacDowell and Chad Michael Murray.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting March 2, 2021.

I would like to thank Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc., for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

Linnea is laid off from a job she loves at the Charleston Aquarium, so she's worried about paying the rent on the beach house owned by her Aunt Cara. Cara's OK with no rent, but then asks her niece to care for Cara's 6 year old daughter while her husband recovers from a possible bout with corona virus. Linnea has kindly offered a room in the beach house to Anna, who was also laid off, and her brother decides to move in too. Next, her boyfriend Gordon arrives from England, and she must decide if she loves him, or John, who says he made a mistake when he dumped her a few years ago. Cara advises Linnea to follow her heart, and it is only when an elderly neighbor with Alzheimer's disappears that Linnea begins to understand what she must do. Thanks to the publisher for allowing me to review this advance copy.

The Summer of Lost and Found is another great lowcountry book in the Beach House series by Mary Alice Monroe. The 2020 corona virus causes world wide shelter in place, social distancing, and business closures. Linnea is laid off from her much loved job at the South Carolina aquarium. This novel follows Linnea, her family, and friends through out the summer as they learn to deal with issues that arise from Covid-19 and everyday life. As long as you have family and friends you can survive, even the pandemic of 2020. I enjoyed this book. Fans of southern fiction should put The Summer of Lost and Found on their to read list. Thanks to the author Mary Alice Monroe, publisher Gallery Books, and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for a honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
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The New York Times bestselling Beach House series returns with this tender and compassionate novel following the Rutledge family as they face a summer of upheaval and change with perseverance, unity, and a dose of humor, discovering unexpected joys and lessons that will endure long past the season.

The coming of Spring usually means renewal, but for Linnea Rutledge, Spring 2020 threatens stagnation. Linnea faces another layoff, this time from the aquarium she adores. For her—and her family—finances, emotions, and health teeter at the brink. To complicate matters, her new love interest, Gordon, struggles to return to the Isle of Palms from England. Meanwhile, her old flame, John, turns up from California and is quarantining next door. She tries to ignore him, but when he sends her plaintive notes in the form of paper airplanes, old sparks ignite. When Gordon at last reaches the island, Linnea wonders—is it possible to love two men at the same time?

Love in the time of the coronavirus proves challenging, at times humorous, and ever changing. Relationships are redefined, friendships made and broken, and marriages tested. As the weeks turn to months, and another sea turtle season comes to a close, Linnea learns there are more meaningful lessons learned during this summer than opportunities lost, that summer is a time of wonder, and that the exotic lives in our own back yards. In The Summer of Lost and Found, Linnea and the Rutledge family continue to face their challenges with the strength, faith, and commitment that has inspired fans for decades.

Mary Alice Monroe once again delves into the complexities of family relationships and brings her signature “sensitive and true” (Dorothea Benton Frank, New York Times bestselling author) storytelling to this poignant and timely novel of love, courage, and resilience.
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A highlight of every summer for me is the publication of a new MAM book. When it's a return to her Beach House series, I am even more excited. However, I do have to admit I was a little taken aback when I read that this was going to be a coronavirus story. After all, I read for the escape. And one thing I have been reading to escape this past year was the coronavirus.

However, I have never really been let down by Mary Alice Monroe, and I was looking forward to reading more about what was happening with Linnea and the rest of the Rutledge family, so I was thrilled to get an early opportunity to read their coronavirus story. And true to most MAM books, I couldn't put it down, and I finished it early one morning (around 1:30 AM), after foregoing sleep in favor of "just one more page." My return to the Lowcountry was just what I needed, and I am happy to report that the pandemic was a very minor character in an entertaining new chapter to the Beach House story.

The latest installment of the Beach House series is a winner. Set in the present we see some of our favorite characters struggle, with change, love, finances and COVID while the beautiful beach setting and the amazing turtles remain ever present.

The Beach House series by Mary Alice Monroe have always been special to read for me. I have read all her novels that the author has written. But this one I didn't care for. Maybe because I am living in the Covid age, I didn't want to read more about it. I want to escape from it! Also, there were to many couples getting involved with each other, who landed up with who.. I did enjoy the continuation of the Rutledge family, but this was not one of my favorites

In the final book of the Beach House Series, The Summer of Lost and Found, the reader is once again reunited with the Rutledge family. This time the family faces some challenges during the Corona Virus Pandemic and the reader weathers the storm with them. Written much like the other books in the series the reader is instantly connected to the characters they have come to know and love. Told mostly from Linnea's perspective the book is light and easy to read. A good look at how some managed to pass the time, pressure and questions that lingered when the pandemic started. Filled with some love and a little romance as well as the anxiety that the pandemic brought. Overall this was a good, quick read that allowed the reader to have some closure to the Beach House series.


*** Thank you Netgalley and the publishing house for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book. *****