An amusing tale about a woman divorcing and , on a whim, buys beachfront property based only on an internet picture.
When she arrives, all is not as it should be.
We spend the remaining pages learning about the dynamics of a small beachfront town along with the many issues therein. Tourists, garbage failures, sewer failures and building that is in violation of building codes.
Later her almost ex husband arrives to add to the fun.
The lady in question develops a love hate relationship with the town and its people.
It is an entertaining novel. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an ARC.

Kathleen and her husband Tom were originally from the Boston area but they moved to Kansas City due to his cardiologist job. Kathleen really didn’t want to move but she wanted to be with Tom. They had a set pattern to where they ate breakfast and out of the blue Tom said he was leaving. They had a grown daughter named Hattie and she and her husband lived in Seattle. Kathleen had been friends with Josie for years after they met at camp. Josie told Kathleen to come to the beachside town that her and her husband lived in. Kathleen bought a small house sight unseen and drove there.
She was shocked when she saw the house it had been an oyster shack previously. She quickly became friends with the neighbor across the street Rosemary Preston. Rosemary was known as a pot stirrer and was never happy and Kathleen feel right into her steps. They both constantly wrote letters to the city council about all the violation’s happening around them. In the meantime Tom was going on a big cruise and when he got done with the cruise he was going to purchase a camper and travel. Lo and behold he shows up on Kathleen’s doorstep.
Then you have Hattie and she was expecting her first child and she and her mom got into a big fight. Hattie was a little self centered and maybe that was brought on by the parents.

I loved this book and hope this author continues to write.

I received this ARC from Netgalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Know that this is snarky in spots and that Kathleen is one angry woman. Her husband's left here and she's impulsively sold her stuff and bought a beach house in a town where she only knows her old pal Josie. The town isn't what she thought it would be and her new home is nice but there's a mega mansion being built next door. Kathleen channels her energy into fighting city hall along with Rosemary to force the builders and owners to change their ways. She's unhappy, to be sure, and if you can see past some of that, this is an interesting tale of a woman who takes charge, Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, Liked it.

I really hate to give a book a two star review but I have to admit that the only reason I kept reading is because I wanted to see if Kathleen ever got happy.

I'm a really positive person and Kathleen Deane is not. Nor did it seem she wanted to be. I got 73% of the way through the book before I learned that Kathleen was turning 60. I'm 63 and I figured she was at least 20 years older than I am, crotchety, grumpy, with nothing better to do than write letters to government officials and bemoan her life.

I will say that the author is a good writer and I wouldn't rule out reading another of her books in the future but this book just didn't do it for me.

Never before have I been so conflicted over a story or character as I have been with Kathleen and Save What’s Left. Do I pity her? Loathe her? Or admire her? Or all three? I mean we take an average woman (retiree) whose husband leaves her after thirty years and she moves to her “dream” location. So, at first, I felt bad for her, but then I admired her and this continued when she arrived to discover her beach cottage had been an oyster shack and they were building a McMansion next door and she stood up for her rights. But then she became this bitter, twisted, negative person and it didn’t stop.

There were moments that were meant to be humorous such as the letters to the superintendent and I suppose some of her descriptions of the town’s residents, but most missed the mark for me. But what really made me loathe Kathleen was when Tom resurfaced and she became a doormat…a negative, bitter, doormat. Fine, every story has to have its dark moments so we can find the light and the characters can grow, but I never saw Kathleen do that, if anything she kept shrinking into this small-minded person.

The end brought no satisfaction for me. Yes, Kathleen got one happy resolution or two for her, but the character didn’t grow into a better person. If anything, she wrapped that negativity around her like a security blanket and zipped it up tight. After laying out my thoughts, if this story did anything it was to show me what kind of person I hope never to become in my retirement years, and well, steer me away from beach life.

This book is about a woman named Kathleen who decides to leave her hometown of Kansas to relocate to the beach. She was in the process of divorcing her husband, Tom. Kathleen arrives to her new home and finds it to be in horrible condition with major construction going on next door. Tom ends up showing back up halfway through the book. He sleeps in his new bus in the driveway. Kathleen was very unhappy about her new town. This unhappiness carried on throughout the entire book. She had her funny moments but overall I give this one three stars due to all of the complaining and negativity. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

I was looking for a summery beach read that would feel escapist and lovely. This wasn't it. The characters weren't particularly likable, very glass half empty the pacing wasn't great, I gave up at the 20% mark. This might be for others, but wasn't right for me. Some reviews suggest if you get past the half-way mark it gets better.

Thank you to Netgalley and Vintage Anchor for the advanced reader copy.

I was so looking forward to Save What's Left by Elizabeth Castellano but was severely disappointed. I was excited to read about a woman who started a new life on her own, but found it to be about a whining, unhappy woman who made poor decisions and couldn't live with them. I read the whole thing but struggled to finish. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this tongue-in-cheek account of life in a beach town. The narrator never takes herself too seriously, even when she’s railing against City Hall, feuding with neighbors, tracking parking violations, and filing complaints about all of the above. She leaves her average Kansas life behind for a luxurious seaside lifestyle, only to find that people are people wherever you go.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC; I look forward to reading more by this debut author!

4 stars / This review will be posted on goodreads.com today.


After 30 years of marriage, Kathleen’s husband has decided he’s through. Done. Going on a months long cruise aboard the Queen Mary. Kathleen is perplexed, stunned, and just a little bit sad. What will she do here in Kansas City without him?

When all else fails, it’s time to shop. Only Kathleen doesn’t buy a new purse, she buys a house. On the beach in a small town called Whitbey that her lifelong friend Josie moved to many years ago. Sight unseen, Kathleen sells all her prized possessions and heads to Whitbey. She finds a new life, but it’s not a happy new life. The owners next door are building a colossal modern house. They’re breaking so many codes and statutes. And with this, Kathleen has found purpose for her new life.

Only the husband Tom keeps sending her postcards. Her friend Josie is almost too busy with her shop and farm to keep Kathleen company. So Kathleen befriends the woman across the street who also has a gripe with the monstrosity being built. Together they stage a war against the town, and in that, Kathleen finds purpose.

This book is so funny. It’s wise and witty and just fun to read. Nothing like reading a book about a beach town when you’re lounging on a beach. I would read this book again and again. Castellano has a gift for humor. We all dream of living on the beach, but this town definitely does not seem like a dream!

After being married to Kathleen for 30 years, Tom comes home one day & tells her that he is unhappy, and is leaving on a six-month cruise around the world. Kathleen decides to file for a divorce and move to a small east coast beach town where her childhood friend Josie lives & sends pictures of the quaint seaside town on her Christmas cards. Well Kathleen decides with the divorce she will make a life altering change & move there. She buys a cottage on the beach without seeing it, of course to her surprise when she arrives, it's a two-room oyster shack with a leaky roof. From there things only get worse for her. I didn't love this book, but parts were entertaining. Kathleen writes letters to the town supervisor, whom never responds back, she has ongoing issues with her neighbors & beach life is not all it is cracked up to be for Kathleen.

Save What’s Left by Elizabeth Castellana
A quick, slightly humorous story. Kathleen’s husband decided he wants a divorce after 30 years of marriage.Kathleen is devastated and decides to sell her home and buys a home sight unseen in a small beach town. Drama and problems occur right away with the neighborhood and the town government. After about 40% into the book it fell flat for me. I kept reading because the beginning was good and I really enjoyed the writing style. To me it was too much complaining by the protagonist. I’m really looking forward to seeing what this author does next in her journey.

Thank you Netgalley and Vintage Anchor for the Arc in exchange for my honest review.

Save What’s Left is the story of Kathleen Deane who is trying to start over after her husband left her. She sells their house in Kansas and moves to a small beach town on the east coast near her friend Josie. She buys a small, two room house on the beach and that’s when things seem to go wrong. The house next door is supposedly being renovated but they are not following any building codes or even what their permit says they are doing. She and another neighbor Rosemary get involved with city hall and the zoning committee. They learn a lot, not all of it good, about how things work in this small beach town. Will she ever find herself and happiness in her new place? To make matters worse her soon to be ex-husband shows up with his new Airstream and parks it in her driveway. He has not enjoyed his cruise around the world and is still trying to find himself also.
This story is one of a lot of complaints and unhappiness. At times it is funny due to some situations the characters get into. The end ties things together well and for that I give it 4 of 5 stars.
I received an advance copy of this book from the Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is the story of Kathleen, a woman who has been married to her cardiologist husband Tom for over 30 years. Suddenly Tom announces he’s unhappy, and decides to “find himself” by taking a six-month cruise around the world. In response to this, Kathleen sells most of everything she owns and moves to a seaside town off Long Island.

This is a book filled with quirky characters. Quirky characters can be interesting and entertaining. But they can also be annoying. I felt like some of the characters in this book leaned far too heavily to the annoying side. Yet, I was constantly coming back to the book, turning the pages to find out what happens. I don’t agree with a lot of Kathleen‘s viewpoints, or her choices. But I found the writing delightful, and would definitely read this author again.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Just not my favorite book - I was definitely thinking it would be more of a rom/com type book and less of a "Karen" main character. That said, I am sure it is someone else's cup of tea! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I loved this story about a sixty year old woman moving to a beach town. I laughed out loud so many times at the situations she got herself in. Kathleen is a relatable and well written character, and if you are a certain age, it will be quite easy to relate to her reactions to things.
A times a bit repetitive, but I really liked how the author moved the story forward, and created a great cast of secondary characters to round out this novel. ( Her Neighbour, Rosemary who lives across the road is a hoot)
Perfect summer beach reading!

Save What's Left started out really good for me and then by middle I felt like something was missing. Overall worth a read if the premise sounds interesting to you.

The theme of this story is "be careful what you wish for and I think it has universal appeal. Most people have visualized themselves somewhere else--a new job, a vacation, successful kids, etc. only to discover that the new job has a horrible boss, the airBNB has roaches, and your lovely baby grows up to live in your basement. I love Kathleen and really admire her for wanting to make a difference. Another favorite character is Rosemary, her neighbor, everybody knows someone like her. Actually all the characters do ring true, but put them all together and you have a town that even though they are all frustrating you love them all.

This one has a lot of buzz about it. I was excited to read it.
As I was reading, I was on and off about it. I liked the main character, I didn't like her.
Bottom line is that the story had a lot of promise but it just went on far too long. It was kind of exhausting. I think it could have been a really funny, quirky book but just got bogged down in way too many sub-plot lines.

I guess not everyone wants to read a beach read. That's the premise of this book because the main character buys a beach house, and spends most of the book complaining about either the house, the beach town its in, or her neighbors. I was hoping that she would lighten up, but the end of the book is still another way of her saying that she doesn't fit in. She comes to realize that she loves to hate the town. She's not a native, but she has come to know every single person, house, and street there. There are definitely some characters (ornery, feisty) and comedic moments in the text. If you're looking for a character-driven book about a big change in midlife for later, this might be a good one for you to pick up.

Thank you, NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book.