Loved this fifth book in the series. I enjoyed spending more time with Cara at Primrose Cottage. ( )

Love this series. ( )

Ever a fan of Mary Alice Monroe, and in particular, the stories of the Rutledge family in her Beach House series, Beach House Reunion doesn't disappoint.

Mary Alice Monroe has a magical way of capturing this part of coast Carolina - not just the scenery, but the innate nature of the two spots - Isle of Palms and Charleston. We get to catch up with some beloved characters ten years on in this story of family history and breaking bad cycles, of new beginnings, and of how the familiar characters stand up for themselves and are true to themselves.

This was a lovely read, a reward at the end of a stressful day as I lost myself in the pages. I only hope that Mary Alice continues to write about this family, as there are many good years left in the beloved beach house.

I was provided a copy of the book by NetGalley. This had no influence on my review of the book; all thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )

Spoilers for readers who have not read the Beach House series. You do not want to start with this fifth book since it will spoil events from the prior books.

Wow. This was great. I do wish that Monroe didn't feel the need to always have two female characters to focus on in these books. I was fine with just following along with Cara's story personally. Us shifting back and forth between her and her niece Linnea. Even though I gave this book five stars, I just didn't find myself too engaged with Linnea's romance personally, though I thought it was a nice closing the circle moment for long-time readers. I was just thinking I would love to read a story told from Cara's sister in law's point of view.

It's been three years since Cara Rutledge left Isle of Palms for Tennessee. After the death of her husband Brett, Cara spread her wings to go to someplace that would not have her thinking of him every moment. Now returning home, she has someone new to think about she wants to be around her friends and family. I really can't tell you why Cara returns home, it will end up spoiling things for long-time readers. I can just say though that this was a satisfying conclusion to Cara's story. Cara is a consultant and ends up needing another pair of hands to help her out and thinks of her niece Linnea who is struggling to find a job after graduation.

Monroe once again shows us Cara going through a lot of changes (big and small) at the age of 53 and definitely showing she's older and wiser in this one.

Linnea is dealing with family troubles in this one and is glad to be away from her family home. Her younger brother seems to be going through some things, but her family keeps insisting things are fine.

We revisit other characters like Toy and her family (yes) and we even get characters from her other series (Lowcountry Summer) making appearances so that was pretty cool. We also get to see Heather and how her life has changed in three years since the last book.

The love interest for both women in this one were done very well. I want to applaud Mary Alice Monroe for showing widowhood in a romance novel in a realistic way. For once you didn't have the new love interest acting like a jackass that someone had loved again. And we don't have the heroine acting ashamed of that love. We have Cara still struggling to let go of Brett, but she has someone who is patience and understands what she is going through. And they are not asking her to pretend as if she didn't love someone else or was married before.

The writing was very good and honestly made me want to break open some wine and eat some boiled shrimp. Don't read this book if you are hungry.

The flow was really good in this one from start to finish.

The Isle of Palms is always a great setting. We do have Cara and her family dealing with another Hurricane that threatens everything (why do people live among the beach????) and how they deal with that.

The ending was so good though. The way things ends though you have a feeling this is the last book in the series. ( )

My Review Of
BEACH HOUSE REUNION BY MARY ALICE MONROE
We begin this tale with the return of Cara to the beach house where it really all began for her. Cara has a baby now that she adopted named Hope and now Cara is struggling with the demands of motherhood verses career and her guilt at enjoying work while struggling with adjusting to motherhood. Meanwhile things are going downhill fast for Cara’s brother Palmer’s family. Linnea, Cara’s niece, cannot leave the her family’s beautiful and historic house in Charleston fast enough, she takes the nanny position for Hope and moves in with Cara for the summer. I enjoyed how this installment of the Beach House series continued to deal with the environment. I have really learned so much about turtles and birds from this series. We also deal with issues such as alcohol, drugs and verbal abuse. This book gets heavy at times in some places then becomes light and romantic in all the right places. We learn more about what Lovey, Cara’s mom, had to endure from a verbally abusive and controlling husband. We see the effects that it has on Palmer and how he tries to control his family as well. Meanwhile Cara has found romance in the most unlikely of places.

Sit back, sip wine or lemonade and savor this installment of the Beach House Series. ( )