Read 3/4 of the book involving neighbors and relationships in a shore development. I needed more dialogue and less letters., I'm sure other readers will totally enjoy the story.

This book is a lot. A lot of humor and insight into the life of a newly divorced woman who moves into a beach shack next to a new beach mansion being built mere feet from her door. Light, funny reading. Crazy situations, but not totally unreal. This is a fun read. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an advance copy of this book.

Kathleen has been living an unexamined life. When her husband of thirty years dumps her, she buys a shack on the beach sight unseen, and then tells us how awful it is. She was funny and wry, I'll concede that, but her negativity made it hard for me to finish the book.

Thank you to Net Galley and the author for the ARC for an honest review. But I could not complete this book. It was rather interesting to start but then with the letters and the constant complaining was just annoying. I thought it was going to be a nice beach read of getting your life back together after your husband decides that your 30 year marriage is over. It just did not do it for me.

Save Whats Left is a funny and quirky novel about a woman whose husband has left her and gone on a cruise while she blindly buys a beach house in a small town her best friend lives in. The back and forth with the supervisor for the city is funny…for about 4 chapters and then it gets redundant. I was expecting more of a storyline out of this one so I’m a bit disappointed that it did t develop into more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel. The opinion shared is my own.

What a nice change of pace to read a story about an older woman! Quirky and witty writing and some colorful characters make this a very entertaining read. We need more stories about women over 60!

Kathleen Dean's life has abruptly entered a new chapter when her husband decides that their very vanilla relationship isn't working for him anymore and books himself on a 6-month around-the-world cruise. Instead of wallowing about it in Kansas, Kathleen sells everything and moves to a 700 sq. ft. oyster shack in a beach town on Long Island. Here Kathleen ingratiates herself into the community and with her busy-body neighbor takes up the fight against the new-build construction with letters to the town supervisor giving him the play-by-play of goings on.

Save What's Left is fun if you honestly give up any idea or preconception that you are going to get a story about a woman who experiences growth or comes into her own. This is a sitcom in book form. Her husband leaves her, and she sells everything but takes and ships his collection of old radios to her new house, he goes on this cruise, where he just overeats and hangs out with old people, so he cuts the trip short, buys an airstream and drives to her shack and parks it in her driveway and they both are just like - yeah, this is fine. It's a sitcom - not to be taken in any way seriously or layered with real-world events.

Just enjoy the ride. If you aren't vibing it by the first few chapters then it probably isn't for you - the style and person that is Kathleen does not change, grow, or get better. Again, relax - enjoy the book - it's not that serious.

I didnt really care for this book. I felt the mix of letters and storytelling was not for me. I do understand what the author was trying to portray and it was done in a manner that people could follow, but it just isn't what I would choose.

I started this book, but I do not think it is for me. The main character is negative, whiny, and on my last nerve - and I’m only two chapters in. There’s a lot on my TBR and this book is just not for me.

Cannot emphasize enough how much I loved this book...it's a laugh out loud story....highly recommended for fans of Elinor Lipman or Susan Issacs. Looking forward to her next book, please and thank you!

Tom and Kathleen are getting a divorce. Kathleen is devastated and decides to sell her house in Kansas City and move to a small northern beach town. She purchases a house sight unseen, except for a few blurry photos and when she gets there, she realizes she purchased a tiny home next to a building site of a McMansion. So much for her waterfront dream home. She is constantly fighting and writing emails to the dispute the building permits with her neighbor.
Not your typical beach story, but somewhat entertaining. Thank you Net Galley for the ARC.

Where do I start? I guess, with how much I enjoyed it. Thanks Anchor and NetGalley for the advanced copy.
This book was recommended to me by another NetGalley reviewer who said it was hilarious. I have to agree. Kathleen's quirks and issues surrounding her separation from her cardiologist husband, then rushing to buy a beach shanty right on the ocean was a fantastic read.
I laughed and marveled at the writer's ability to capture exactly how it is in upscale, small beach towns where rules are meant to be absurd....and broken. Having owned a beach house for years, Castellano's depiction was spot-on. Loved it. The only quibble is that Kathleen's character read a bit older than early 60s. Cheers for us high-spirited grump-pots!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this ARC. The description sounded promising, as a find yourself in the next life chapter book set in a beach house. It quickly went downhill from the start, for me. Like other reviewers, this fell short for me, as it was disjointed with pieces that didn't even make sense. I skimmed to the end to be able to move on to others on my shelf.

First of all, thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this ahead of the publication date.
This started out funny and quirky and I was quite entertained. However, the second half of the book was too bogged down with commentaries and communications about the town’s rules and regulations. I felt that the humor started to disappear at that point. The wrap up ending was a bit of a surprise.
I liked Kathleen until she accepted her estranged husband back with an airstream in her driveway.

Kathleen’s husband is not happy. She wonders what happy means. A story of love and romance, and breakups, ensues. This is a quick read with quirky characters. This author has written a compelling story. This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. Be prepared to chuckle…be ready to wonder if the beach is the best place to go. It is. Enjoy this unique story.

Thanks once again to NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
This was one of those emails I got at work, sharing this uproariously funny book that I might enjoy. I do like to swerve off historical fiction on the rare occasion and who doesn’t love a laugh? So I requested it,
This book was pretty funny, but I think if I ever purchased an oyster shack, I would become this person! A woman at a low point in her marriage, a husband runs off on a world cruise, and a shack near the beach purchased sight-unseen is a recipe for trouble! I grew up near the ocean and have seen or heard about many of the complaints. It’s all too real! The trash on the beach, the out of towners parking everywhere, the nosy neighbors and the construction in conservation areas….yep, seen it all.
I can see readers in this book falling into categories….hating the main character as a Karen, empathizing with her as a middle aged woman in the same place, or reading the book and enjoying the humorous outtakes that unfold.
I think this would make an excellent audiobook if performed well. For me it would have been funnier if it weren’t so real to me. I’ll just go scratch off “retire to the beach” off my list now. That artist colony? Yeah that’s gone too. Small towns are no fun as an outsider!
I liked how it turned out…so dear reader, keep on.
3 stars

Save What's Left by Elizabeth Castellano was a funny and heartwarming novel about a woman who decides she needs to make a big change in her life after her husband of thirty years leaves her. And... that change does not go as well as anticipated. She moves to a town her bestie led her to believe was a perfect beauty oasis. But it's filled with a not so perfect cast of characters. Oh, and then her husband comes back! Definitely a fabulous beach read!!

This was such a quirky book! I wouldn't say I loved it but I did like it, a lot!!

Kathleen is who I see myself becoming in a few years, but maybe to a lesser degree. Her husband, Tom, leaving her suddenly is just the tip of the iceberg. She moves to a small town, into a ramshackle home on the water, and quickly starts to complain. About everything! She finds a partner in crime across the street, Rosemary, who constantly cracked me up!! The two of them were a force to be reckoned with.

The emails were passive-aggresive in their viciousness and make me chuckle. Their presence at the town meetings were great and the fact that they were basically ignored only added to it all.

The whole thing with Josie (her childhood friend who lives in the same town) seemed pretty far-fetched and kinda unnecessary to the story but I can overlook it for the most part.

As someone who hates when anyone parks in front of our house, walks through our yard or lets their animals tramp through our years, I see a little of Kathleen in my future!! :)

Kathleen Deane is going through life, not happy, not sad just existing in her life. When her husband Tom announces he is leaving her and going on a world cruise, Kathleen decides to move to a beach community. Whitbey is a town, her friend Josie lives in and describes as an ideal place to live. When Kathleen moves to Whitbey, things don’t go as planned.

I thought this book would be about a woman rebuilding her life in a beach town, overcoming some problems but ultimately finding her best self. Nope! This book, which I found so hard to finish, is about a woman who becomes a “Karen”. The very first paragraph is full of negativity and complaining and it doesn’t stop there. The main character writes emails to the Town Supervisor at the beginning of each chapter, detailing her complaints, the violations of code by the neighbors, and ends up becoming the person you avoid when you see them. I just couldn’t get into this book, the description states its outrageously funny, I did not see the humor. The main character in the last chapter finally comes to peace with everything that has happen to her and accepts some grace into her life but it’s a long read to get there. Not my cup of tea, the writing was okay, parts of the book I skimmed, have to say I am unable to recommend.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Save What’s Left is the funny and quirky story of Kathleen Deane from Kansas. Over pancakes one morning, Tom, her husband, announces that he is divorcing her and taking a four-month world cruise. After 30 years of marriage, Kathleen decides maybe she needs a fresh start. She purchases a two-room beach shack, sight unseen. Unfortunately, her dream of imitating Ina Garten, cooking, entertaining and drinking wine on her private beach, soon turns to a nightmare. The next-door neighbors are building a gigantic home, and Kathleen turns into the person who reads all the zoning ordinances and has the supervisor’s cell phone number.

The story is told with wry humor that did make me laugh. While it was enjoyable, at times it went a bit overboard. Still, it was an enjoyable story and you couldn’t help but root for Kathleen while she attempted to fight city hall and get her life back on track.

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