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Summary: A Great Summer Read!
Review: I loved The Beach House. Couldn't put it down from the first page. Mary Alice Monroe taps into the deepest parts of relationships to touch your heart, and describes everything with such vivid detail you feel like you are right in the scene. Fans of Mary Alice Monroe will absolutely love Shade of the Maple by Kirk Martin - a very unique story that will leave you breathless. Both are perfect for summer reading!
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Summary: Such an emotionally moving book!
Review: I loved this book. I had never read any of Mary Alice Monroe's work, but I was moved by this book. Read this book, you won't be able to put it down. It was completely satisfying start to finish!
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Summary: A great summer read!!!
Review: I picked up this book on a whim, needing a beach book. It was a great choice. Having just returned from my bachelorette weekend on Isle of Palms it was like being there all over again. She describes the island and Charleston to a tee. The Turtle Ladies do really exist, not just there, but on other islands/beaches in the Carolinas. I've grown up watching the rituals of marking the nests, and then waiting for the hatch in Brunswick Co. N.C for many a summer. This is one you will not want to put down!!!
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Summary: The Beach House
Review: I really enjoyed reading The Beach House. I can't wait for my mom to read it!! I Love the Beach and that's what caught my eye.
Once I started reading this book I couldn't put it down. It was a quick read and I think I'll read it again before I pass it on to my mom and sister.
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Summary: A surprisingly good read
Review: I say "surprisingly" because a) I have a presumptively dim view of contemporary "women's fiction" as it often drowns in estrogen and treacle and b) advocating and educating about an endangered species is difficult to do in the context of adult fiction. Other books that have used the sea turtle nesting cycle as a device around which to wrap the plot include Greg Lewbart's <Pavilion Key> and Nevada Barr's <Endangered Species>. Of these, the latter is only marginally concerned with the turtle theme, and the former, while obviously well-meaning, is rather clunky and awkward about it. (Although both books have merits outside of this thematic springboard.) In comparison, <The Beach House> is a superior effort in blending an element of natural history education and conservation advocacy almost seamlessly, and even elegantly, into a compelling tale of a mother and daughter reunion.Monroe's characters are multi-dimensional and her depiction of abuse and empty marriages credible. While the plot edges toward the dramatic, it is not unforgivably so, and if the ending is somewhat predictable it is not unsatisfying. Additionally, this little gem of beach reading, circa Summer 2002, is certainly not an embarrassment to the long, proud tradition of Southern fiction. Especially recommended to South Carolinians.
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Summary: WOW -- the beautiful cover is only a teaser for the contents
Review: I seldom by a book by its cover but the cover and title jumped out at me and so I bought it. NEVER could I have imagined what a great read it would be. I devored it! The story has vivid characters with suspense, love and drama woven throughout. The conservation message influences not only you as a reader, but the family and island community within the book. The loggerhead turtles are woven into the story in a clever and entertaining manner. Cara is a career driven woman who returns to her beloved childhood summer home at the request of her mother. Twenty years have passed since she left Charleston and the painful home life there. Things need resolution....and uncovering. You'll find something on each page to make you keep turning to the next. The descriptions are vivid and delightful. Journey with the characters and explore the spectrum of human emotions with their friends and families. It will captivate you.
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Summary: A Perfect Summertime Read
Review: I wanted to bestow 3 and a half stars on this book because some of the dialogue was stilted and unreal, and then I thought, "Are you kidding? You loved this book!" Anyway, there are no half stars available. OK, so maybe some of the plot was a bit far-fetched. And maybe the three-page soliloquy by the dying mother, Lovie, was in words that no real person would use. And maybe the corporate circumstances of our heroine, Caretta (Cara) Rutledge, were a bit unreal. I realized at the end, which found me crying my eyes out, that I simply did not care. This was a perfect summertime read for me, and I suspect will be so for many others. The plot is nothing new: An independent Chicago woman, Cara, comes home to the Carolina Low Country (The Isle of Palms, beautifully and evocatively described) at the behest of her long-estranged mother, Olivia (Lovie). It is only after a week of licking her wounds (for she was fired from her high-powered job right before leaving on her visit) that Cara comes awake and realizes that her mother is very ill. And it takes all summer for the two to reconcile and reach an understanding granted to very few. As a backdrop to the story is a wonderful, absolutely wonderful, side plot about the real-life Isle of Palms/Sullivan Island Turtle Team, and its heroic efforts to save the loggerhead turtles. The author is a proud member of the team, which figures prominently in the story; and in fact, her "author picture" is a portrait of the real-life "Turtle Ladies" and herself. I was so fascinated by the turtle team, and so profoundly affected by the wonderful descriptions of the island, I would probably be on the next plane if I could. There are some other satisfying subplots as well: One is about a young unwed mother from a trailer park, who is taken in by Lovie not only as a companion, but to protect the young woman from her abusive boyfriend; the other is the growing love affair between hard-bitten Cara and quintessential Low Country man, the hunky Brett Beauchamps. I have to admit that I was enchanted by this book. And all I want to do is relocate to Palm Island and help save the turtles. I wish that real life were as easy to reconcile as that in this lovely book! Read it and enjoy.
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Summary: You Can Go Home Again
Review: If you left home at 18 because your father emotionally abused you and you hated your mother for not protecting you, should you go home again? If you find yourself at the height of your career in fast-paced Chicago, should you return to the laid-back life of the South Carolina low country? If your name is Cara Rutledge, the answer to both questions is yes. When Cara finds herself ousted from her ad agency position, her ongoing love affair not fulfilling, and nowhere else to turn, she reluctantly answers her mother's call to come for a visit. The reader will be drawn immediately into this story mainly because of well-defined characters who tug at your heartstrings. From the headstrong yet vulnerable Cara to her terminally ill mother Lovie and the pregnant teenager Toy, readers will bond with these multi-faceted characters as they try to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives and each moves on with the support of the others. This book is a great tribute to the eternal bond between mothers and daughters as it examines the actions that part us from our loved ones and the painful road back to rediscovering love. It is also a great love story as Cara finds her soulmate in the most unexpected place, her mother reveals a long-held secret love affair,and Toy faces some serious truths about the father of her unborn child. It is also a story about turtles. Yes, turtles. Specifically, the loggerhead turtles who travel hundreds of miles to hatch their young along the South Carolina coast each year. Even if you've never given the first thought to turtles, you will be captivated by the turtle trivia that fills this book. I highly recommend you curl up in your favorite reading spot for a most enjoyable read about an unforgettable family. And don't forget the tissues.
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Summary: Loved it, loved it, loved it!!
Review: It's not often that a book brings me to Amazon.com and makes me want to write a review. I read other reviews constantly, but I don't often write them. Well, I loved this book so much, I just had to share. I loved the whole beach theme, I loved learning about the loggerhead turtles and their significance to the story, I loved that Cara was not a whimp (especially when she confronts Richard towards to end), who could not love Brett???, I loved the way Mary Alice Monroe makes you feel you are right there on the beach and the way she makes you truly FEEL for these characters. I loved the way the author had several stories going on a once and concluded them all in a fine manner. This was a truly wonderful read and I highly recommend it - get lost in South Carolina on the Isle of Palms with the loggerhead turtles and some fine characters. ENJOY!!
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Summary: Yes, you CAN see sunsets on the east coast!
Review: Just a quick response to the READER FROM ORANGE PARK FL's review: While South Carolina is indeed on the east coast, and the sun does set in the west ... remember that this takes place on an ISLAND. When you are on the west side of one of the islands and looking over the water, you can, indeed, enjoy incredible sunsets over the Atlantic ocean. I have seen many of them, and they are breathtaking!
This book is fabulous!!!
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