WOULD MAKE A FANTASTIC MOVIE!
If only I could make that happen!
This book had wonderful characters and plenty of them.
It was rather like a Jane Austen novel.
There were poor, village invalids, ladies of reduced circumstance, swoony neighbors in need of God's love as well as neighborly charity, snooty guests, dreadful weather, lawn games, cottages and seascapes. Various ages add to the depth of the story.
There is a bit of comedy as well; "The birdlike woman's mouth fell open, and Emily longed to drop a worm inside."
Action, mystery, faith, drama, romance, history, well-written... indeed something for everyone.
I cannot recommend it enough and look forward to finding out what happens next in the series!
I received an advanced eVersion of this story from the publisher without expectation or compensation.
All opinions are mine alone.

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Pending release date for Google Play Books, Amazon, Kobo

The author has written many novels, but I believe this one might be her best yet! This book is a warm reminiscence of a Jane Austen novel, and it is clear, as always, that Julie Klassen is a historian alongside her authorship (she knows regency England!). Wonderful, captivating writing and original plot gives this novel the depth and ability to pull in any reader. I highly recommend this author and all of her other books I have read have been nothing less than fantastic. She is definitely an auto-buy author for me, and I can't wait to own this novel in print.

THE SISTERS OF SEA VIEW is another winner from acclaimed author Julie Klassen. I have enjoyed her other books and immediately dove into this one.

Klassen does a terrific job of immersing the reader into the story right away. We can see the inn and the surrounding seaside village. Even with 4 sisters to keep up with (and a 5th who is off stage), the women are easily distinguishable.

Viola was probably my favorite, and I loved how the author handled her physical difference and wove that theme into the book. Sarah, with her work ethic and dedication to her family, is also immediately sympathetic. Right away we understand the sisters' plight in terms of caring for their ailing mother and opening the inn for financial reasons.

My one complaint is that the first part (maybe the entire first half, honestly) drags a bit. I understand that we need to be introduced to a lot of characters. Between the family, the people in the village/ neighbors, and the arriving guests, we do meet numerous well-written characters who play integral roles in the story. I only wish the pace had picked up sooner.

The second half of the book feels just right. Some storylines are resolved in a most charming way. Others are left to be addressed in later books in the series.

This is a story world I can't wait to re-enter just as soon as the next book comes out!

What can I say? Do we really expect anything less than excellence from Julie Klassen? This was another enjoyable read, set in a charming town with amusing characters throughout. This book has strong references to Austen classics that you’ll recognize if you are familiar with her works. The Summers sisters and their varying personalities also brought to mind the March sisters from Little Women. It’s a wholesome, enjoyable read. If you enjoy the regency period and clean, historical romances this is not a book to miss. There’s just one problem - how will we be able to wait a whole year before we get the sequel?!

4.25 ⭐️

The Sisters of Sea View is the first novel I’ve read by Julie Klassen, and not my last. I really enjoyed how real the relationships between Sarah, Emily, and Viola were—they had their ups and downs, their moments of closeness and others where they didn’t get along. The author did a great job with that family dynamic and making it both interesting and relatable. Also—the disability reps in this book was one of my favorite things. Without giving away spoilers, one of the MCs was born with cleft pallet and was left to navigate the scars her surgeries left in an unforgiving society that judged one’s physical impairments. The biggest takeaway with this MC, and another who was wounded in war and left with many physical/emotional scars, is this: Scars don’t make us less worthy of love. We are loved whether we are whole or broken.

(Also, can I just say—I loved Viola and Major Hutton’s story 🥲)

My only complaint is that the switch between the three sister’s POVs felt abrupt and difficult to transition into because they’re not sectioned off with ornamental breaks, indicating a switch in POV. They’re grouped together, which made it a bit tricky to remember what POV I was reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an eARC of The Sisters of Sea View. A positive review was not required, only my honest opinion. All thoughts are expressly my own.

THE SISTERS OF SEA VIEW is the first novel in the Secrets of Devonshire Shores series by JULIE KLASSEN and I am looking forward to the next book in the series. It is a delightful and inspiring read, as the author gives us insight into life in England in 1819 and into the various characters’ emotions, especially those of the Summers daughters as they, together with their widowed mother, open up their home to paying guests in order to make a living. It is a challenge, especially because their guests are not the elderly invalids they were expecting, and there is an interesting assortment, including several men. I like the the way the author uses Scripure verses and other apt quotations at the beginning of each chapter, quoting largely from Jane Austen, even using the obnoxious Eltons from Emma to stir things up in the guest house!
I love the descriptions of the beautiful Devonshire countryside and the seaside town of Sidmouth with the fishing community, lace making industry, and the medicinal qualities of sea bathing and the drinking of sea water, that were all the rage then. Superstition is also rife.
The theme of physically and emotionally damaged people is strong, together with a message of acceptance, hope and faith in the Lord, even when not understanding what He is allowing in one’s life.
A flooding of the town and the evacuation of the poor house play a role in drawing the townsfolk together.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Bethany House Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

The Sisters of Sea View by Julie Klassen has a Little Women by Louisa May Alcott feel to it. Four sisters close yet have to work together to bring in more income to their home. Sarah, the oldest sister is vibrant and authoritative. She takes charge and works really hard to balance the books and even taken on the opportunity to learn to bake, which she loves. Emily and Viola, twin sisters, are different, but vibrant characters. Emily is headstrong but wounded from a previous relationship. She wants to be married and have children. Whereas Viola was born with a birthmark that she likes to hide from the world. She has a kind soul and has learned to reach out to others who can’t see and help them to read and write. Finally, Georgie, the youngest sister, makes appearances now and then, but she is not a main character in the story. The plot does show the everyday struggle of these women trying to cope with strangers living in their house and how to cope with making extra funds outside the house. A touch of romance between the three older sisters and their guests. Overall, The Sisters of Sea View by Julie Klassen is a delightful story with four sisters and how they are going to survive and all the struggles they encounter to save their home.

I received a complimentary copy of The Sisters of Sea View by Julie Klassen from Bethany House Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

I am a longtime Klassen fan, but I have mixed feelings on this one. It was a combination of multiple Jane Austen stories and Little Women, which in some ways was nice for nostalgia's sake, but also seemed rather unoriginal.

The first half of the book was slow moving and not that interesting. I think this was because there are four main characters and she was trying to give equal time to developing them.

I also felt that the things that were supposed to be "mysterious" were quite obvious or not that big of a deal (Viola's condition, Claire's disappearance, one of the guests knowing details about the house). The author should have just been up front about some of the details and it would have moved the story right along.

The second half of the book was a lot better, as there were some terrific storylines happening. I liked how it all came together at the end. However, only one of the four main characters had closure in her story. I'm sure the reason was to continue the rest of the stories as part of a series, but if so, then it was unnecessary to spend so much time developing each individual sister's story in the first half of this book.

Overall, I liked this book, but it was not nearly as good as Castaway at Cornwall or Shadows of Swanford Abbey.

The Sisters of Sea View
by Julie Klassen
Pub Date: December 6, 2022
Bethany House
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
Klassen has done it again!~ Great book! I will be buying this for our library.
When their father's death leaves them impoverished, Sarah Summers convinces her sisters to open their seaside home to guests to provide for their ailing mother. Emily and Georgiana agree, but Viola, who wears a veil to cover a scar, detests the idea.

Determined to stay together, the sisters begin the new venture. Instead of the elderly invalids they expect, however, they find themselves hosting eligible gentlemen. Sarah is torn between a growing attraction to a mysterious Scottish widower and duty to her family. Meanwhile, the new situation exposes Viola's scars--both the visible and those hidden deep within--and her cloistered heart will never be the same. I love the subtle hints of Jane Austen and the flowy prose.
5 stars

The Sisters of Sea View is a sweet book that follows four sisters, Sarah, Viola, Emily, and Georgianna Summer.

With the death of their father, the girls find themselves in danger of losing their home and decide to turn it into a guest house. Living on the seacoast, they are sure they will have plenty of people wanting to stay with them.

The book follows the adventures of their many guests, all of whom have a hidden agenda, and we get to see the unfolding romance between Viola and a guest, both of whom have scars that they hide from the world.

They find a common ground and a common love for each other, each overcoming their insecurities to find who they really are.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for my honest review.

I first read Julie Klassen years ago at the suggestion of my librarian (the book was The Secret of Pembroke Park). I was immediately captivated by the subtle hints of Jane Austen and the flowy prose. Since then, I have read almost every book she published.

Of course, I would not pass up the opportunity to read The Sisters of Sea View and its promise of another fantastic series.

The book introduces the reader to five sisters who were displaced from their home after their father died and a male relative inherited it. But unlike Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret, the Summer Sisters were not left to fend for themselves. Instead, their father left them a summer house by the coast of Devon.

Struggling to cope with the expenses, the sisters opened their house to paying guests. While this solved their financial issues, it also brought new challenges, especially for Viola, one of the sisters with a scar on her mouth due to a cleft lip.

The romance has all my favorite elements: grumpy, scared, traumatized hero, strong, vulnerable, loyal, and loving heroine, slow-burn relationship, compelling relatives, and a little bit of angst.

I fell in love with Major Hutton right from the start, which is not surprising as I have a thing for convalescent soldiers. But he was incredibly loveable, as was his father and his valet Armaan.

The chemistry between him and Viola was wonderfully sweet, and their HEA filled my heart with joy.

The only sad part about the book is that I have already finished it. So now I have to wait to find out what will happen to Sarah, Emilly, Georgiana, and Claire (oh, I so much want to know what happened to Claire).

Fantastic read!

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The first book I read by Julie Klassen was The Lady of Milkweed Manor and I've been hooked on her writings ever since. The Sisters of Sea View is one of the sweetest books that Julie has written and I LOVED it.

The four Summers sisters are thrust into hard times following the death of their father, and they have to find a way to hold onto their house or sell it and buy something much smaller. As the oldest sister in the household, Sarah takes it upon herself to see that the family is not forced out into the street with the suggestion to turn the house into guest lodging. They are on the seacoast and have a lovely home that many guests would enjoy. Viola doesn't want to help with any household chores, but finds her way to help the family coffers by reading to invalids who need the companionship. She even finds herself volunteering to read to a lady at the poorhouse. Emily does a lot of writing for the advertisements for the home. Georgianna is too young to do much more than changing the sheets on the beds. Sarah takes on the lion's share of the work by learning to bake, taking care of the menus, and overseeing the running of the guest house. The girls' mother is too weak to be of much service at all.

There are a plethora of guests who show up to enjoy the hospitality of the girls and each has their own agenda.
Mr Henshall, along with his step-daughter, Effie, was looking for some gems his wife had stashed in the house a few summers ago. He wanted the jewelry pieces for Effie to have something of her mother's.
Mr and Mrs Elton--there's a lot to say about this couple. He is there to just enjoy himself, while she is the epitome of a social-climbing entitled woman (commonly known as a "Karen" in internet parlance). I guess those kinds of people existed even in the early 1800s.
Mr Stanley
Mr Gwint and his stuffed parrot, Parry
and a couple of other men whose presence made the book even richer.
Viola hides away much of the time because she was born with a cleft lip and she felt the scar was unsightly. She is engaged to read to a man who lives next door who was wounded in service to his country and bears scars of his own. They find a common ground and a common love for each other that is often found in Julie's books. This is a common theme with the way Julie writes--whether her characters have visible or hidden scars, they have to overcome some hardship to find who they really are and to find their own soul-mates.

This is a five star book, with two thumbs up, and a trip to the seashore.

Bethany House Publishing provided the copy I read for this review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

I was so happy to see another novel from Klassen that I jumped up and down for joy!
I finished this book late last night and oh my is it ever so good!
This is such a remarkable book that I didn't want it to end! It is a teaching story that I took away from.
One is never judge a book by its cover so to speak. Always look at what's inside the heart. Things happen in life. It's what life is about. Changes.
Two never take family for granted because you never know when they might not be there anymore.
Three the scenery was so beautiful that I felt like I lived there myself! I also adopted a new family through Sarah,Emily Viola and Georgiana. I didn't have a favorite sister because I loved them all.
One favorite thing about this story is humility. By that I mean learning to be humble like this family did and learning to put up with what you didn't like and making friends along the way.
There were a few characters that I didnt like either but in the end I ended up feeling sorry for them. Attention getters I definitely don't like. That's what Mr and Mrs.E were. Ugh!
I think I can relate most with Sarah the elsdest. She's a people pleaser like I am and that's bad bad. Because then you wear yourself down.
The two sisters that tickled me the most was Emily and Viola. They had a special knack for well... I'll let y'all find out.
5 stars for a job well done! I highly recommend
My thanks for a copy of this great book. I was NOT required to write a positive review of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Sisters of Sea View is the very definition of a cozy read! Suffering from the financial setbacks of their father’s recent death, the four Summer’s sisters rally together with their ailing mother to opens a boarding house to try and save their property. We follow three of the sisters’ perspectives throughout the story which seamlessly flows to create a rich setting full of historical details and budding romance. My favorite part of this book is Viola’s relationship with the Major! A must read.