Thank you to NetGalley.com and Celadon Books for advanced access to this lovely book in exchange for an honest review.

Beatrix's parents make the difficult decision to send her overseas, to Boston, to live safely with an American family at the height of the Second World War and bombings in London. Bea is placed with the Gregorys and finds two new friends in the brothers, William and Gerald. Bea ends up staying in Boston for five years, taking summer vacations to the family home in Maine each year. When war ends and the time comes for Bea to return to London, a piece of her always remains with her American family, who she remains in periodic contact with through her adult life.

This book was so sweet and ultimately very readable. The chapters were short and the perspective rotated between the characters on both sides of the Atlantic. I flew through this one quickly because I was constantly wanting to see what happened next. I think some of my favourite chapters were those from the perspective of the mothers - Nancy in America, and Millie in London. The difficulty of both sending a child away and becoming a pseudo-mother to a stranger is hard to imagine. I feel like the resolution of this book was fairly set in stone from the beginning, but at the same time almost happened too quickly, but I was satisfied at the ending. I'd recommend this to anyone who's a fan of character-driven historical fiction.

Beyond That, the Sea is a beautiful historical novel sure to charm readers of WW2 fiction.

The author's narrative style leans toward the literary so readers looking for a Beatriz Williams-type novel might want to look elsewhere. But I appreciated the elegance to the storytelling. The short chapters keep us turning the pages, and the jumps in time are handled well. There are many characters and storylines to follow, which adds to the literary feel. At times the reader can feel a bit disconnected and I wanted more emotion. However, overall this is lovely and such a treasure in the historical genre.

Thank you so much Celedon Books for sending me an advanced copy of this book that releases March 21st, 2023!

This book came with a little recipe card for blueberry muffins, not just any blueberry muffins but Nancy Gregory's blueberry muffins, which are mentioned within the story multiple times - I LOVE THAT! I made these muffins right away because they sounded delicious, and yum! They were so good! What a fun way to bring one of the main characters to life!

The layout of this book was fantastic, short chapters that were easy to follow. There are 8 characters that we follow in this book and the way it was laid out was perfect, I was never confused as to who is who.

*** Note : I have been told that the audiobook for this one is told by only one narrator and that made it super confusing to follow along with, so if you are planning on giving this story a go, I HIGHLY recommend reading it and not listening to it.

Part 1 was PHENOMENAL. I was super invested in the story and definitely felt a pinch in my heart , I was 100% confident I was going to love this book with a passion...

Then, it went downhill for me from there. I absolutely cannot believe we don't get to hear anything about the reuinon of Beatrix and her mother. This should have been the ultimate scene of the book that was bound to make tears flow, but NOPE, just just jump ahead 6 years... I was so disappointed. The book then took a turn and the story went a completely different direction than I was wanting/expected, leaving me super underwhelmed and at times, annoyed.

Also, hopefully this will be corrected in the final copy but the timelines do not add up with the story. The book starts off with a Prologue that takes place in October, 1963. When we get to this timeframe in the story its written in September 1963... Also it is mentioned that the children's birthdays are in August ... so why are they blowing out candles in October ... The timelines are just wonky and they just don't make sense in the end!

4/5 stars! This was a beautiful and all-encompassing historical fiction story. I don't think I've ever read a story that covers what it was like to be a displaced immigrant child during World War II. I felt the author did such a great job of narrating this subject while drawing the reading into Beatrix's story. It was a very unique read and I really enjoyed it.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

This was a great twist on the Woman on the cover World War 2 fiction I've been getting, a solid purchase for most libraries.

Beyond That, the Sea lives up to its pre-publication hype - warm-hearted, magnetic, well-rounded characters, satisfying plot. One of those can't-put-it-down books. Only one historical anomaly (that I caught) - the draft didn't end with the end of the war and US boys who turned 18 in August 1945 still went into the military - but it was only irritating, and didn't change the story arch. Still, I wish Spence-Ash had accounted for it. Overall, highly recommended.

11 year old Beatrice is sent to a family in the US in 1939 to insure her safety from the German bombing of London. She remains in Boston with the Gregory ffamily for 5 years.. The book poignantly describes their lives over the next 40 years,
I was not aware that English children were voluntarily sent to the US before our involvement in WW2. The relationships between the characters is lovely though heartbreaking and complex
It does get a bit sentimental and a trifle mawkish towards the end.
The authors device of separate chapters highlighting individual characters makes it easy to keep track of
everyone.

I wanted to love this one as the summary really intrigued me and I LOVE the cover. However I just did not connect to the writing/the way the author wrote the story. I enjoyed the short chapters but wanted more detail. I do know that this will be a hit for those who adore WW2 books, though.