Georgia BockovenRecensioni

Nice story. Four sisters and the father who left them.

good beach read

This is a unique book with many stories in one. I enjoyed it! It was more emotional than I expected and made me feel a myriad of sentiments. And I love the California beach setting. And a happy ending!

This is a unique book with many stories in one. I enjoyed it! It was more emotional than I expected and made me feel a myriad of sentiments. And I love the California beach setting. And a happy ending!

This is a unique book with many stories in one. I enjoyed it! It was more emotional than I expected and made me feel a myriad of sentiments. And I love the California beach setting. And a happy ending!

This is a unique book with many stories in one. I enjoyed it! It was more emotional than I expected and made me feel a myriad of sentiments. And I love the California beach setting. And a happy ending!

It was okay. A little predictable toward the end. I enjoyed getting to know the four sisters and hearing the story. I couldn't put the book down for the first half but after the one of the sister's "plot/story lines" I almost wanted to just put it down and guess what happened. Christina's story felt a little fake and Rachel and Elizabeth's was incredibly predictable ( almost). Overall an enjoyable read.

The first book in the series was much better.½

One day to read a book, that's more like it. I finally had a blustery day to sit and read and this book was perfect. The story had great characters and developed quickly, it was nice to read about the beach house that we have been waiting to read more about. Good book.½

It definitely had its moments - a good enough beach read.

The Cottage Next Door is a delicious little nugget, which left me wanting SO much more! It all starts with a magic piece of sea glass, which gets lost in a cottage by the sea, and changes everyone’s life for the better.
Diana Wagnor has left Kansas and has finally put her feet in the ocean, and has started a new life, one without cheating boyfriend and best friend, which leads to your house burning down. Being in California is a fresh start for Diana; but then she surprisingly bumps into her new boss and suddenly her heart is a flutter.
Michael Williams is happy but also dismayed that Diana has not only arrived early. He is thrilled, because he is drawn to her. She evokes feelings within him. Bet he is anxious that there has been a crime committed at his store, but he not only wants to protect the person whom committed the crime, but also to protect Diana….What will happen when you truth comes out!
This book is such a cute little tale. I will admit that it was a little confusing and the story was a little messy in the beginning. But after a chapter, it sorted itself out and then turned into a magical love story.
So down to the nitty gritty! As I stated before, the writing was a little messy in the beginning, where that author was trying to tell too much of the story all at once. But after the first few chapters, everything smoothed out and the story became enchanting.
I give The Cottage Next Door novella a well-deserved 8 out of 10.

I am going to start out by saying I was disappointed with this book. I wanted the story of the characters in the Beach House to continue. I wanted to know what happened to Peter and Katherine and Chris. But, that wasn't the way this book worked. You do find out about Julia - she still owns the house. But she isn't really a character in this story.

The format is the same with different tenants each month of summer. The continuing characters are the girls who live next door and help care for the house instead of Julia.

Again, I cared about the characters. But, not as much.
I felt a little cheated.
I am a series gal - I like stories that continue through volumes like Harry Potter and Gabladon's Outlander series.
I am not so interested in vignettes.

So - although the book was fun to read. It was also ok to end.

My 4th vacation book!! Yippee!!

What a refreshing different read. Just a little tough to keep track of the sisters, but enjoyable because it lead in different directions then most books of this nature.

Three novellas wrapped up together in a beach house on the coast of California. The book is a follow up to The Beach House, but it wasn't necessary to have read the first. The tales are of a grandmother and her college age grandson, four women holding a reunion, and two photographers who have always put their jobs before their relationship. The stories follow each other over the course of one year in the life of the house. I enjoyed the descriptions of the coastline and the warmth of the stories. The ages of the characters were varied and the stories differed as a result. While I'm not a big fan of novellas, I spend a couple of pleasant evening reading this book.

This novel made me smile, a continuation from THE BEACH HOUSE and ANOTHER SUMMER, I believe. It involved new people and old coming together once again to share in different phases of their life. This one dealt with younger adults starting their life so it will be a great addition to my 21 year old daughters christmas stocking.½

I am not usually one to read a book that is part of a series without first reading the rest of the series but this book is a great stand alone book. It is a book that includes a few takes revolving around one beach house. The characters in the book were well developed and I felt I really had time to get to know each one even though the book was really three short stories in one. I would definatly recommend this book to others.

This seemed an appropriate book for a beach read.

This is the story of a house, a beach cottage nestled on the coast of California, battered by sea and wind and lovingly cared for. A house that welcomes families to the freedom of summer each year. But this summer is a year of lasts for the house and the people who love it.

This house has a variety of caretakers - there is Julia, it's owner, a woman drowning in the sorrow of her husband's unexpected death. Julia has come to the house as she did every summer - but this year will be her last. Owning the house that was filled with such love is just too difficult for her. - so she has come to get it ready to sell.

The house used to be owned by Maggie and Joe. And part of the agreement when they sold it to Julia's husband was that they would still spend a month there each summer. As they arrive this year - they know it will be their last, Maggie is dying of cancer. So they have decided to fill their last summer with all their favorite things. But, neighbor children make them reconsider a summer filled with doing. Instead, they become surrogate grandparents and spend their summer just being. But, as their month comes to a close, Maggie and Joe make a decision that changes everything.

August brings a new family to the house. But, this year it isn't a family. Instead it is only Katherine, the wife of a preacher and mom to two growing boys who is hiding a secret.

I liked the easy read with hints of depth. The story about Maggie and Joe was hard to read - but gave me lots to think about. I cared about the summer visitors and wanted to see joy in their lives - they each seemed so full of pain.

This was another great beach read - and vacation book #4.

I got half way through this and realized I had already read this book. I'm sure I enjoyed it the first time but didn't review it, must have found it on vacation and left it behind for someone else to enjoy.

I hate starting in the middle of a series so I was happy to find that Return to the Beach House stands alone very nicely. The author does throw a lot of names at you at the beginning of each of the three short stories, but it’s manageable. With all the different characters in each story, I thought the author did a great job sharing everyone’s perspectives and transitioning smoothly between characters.

My one complaint with this book is that it was simply too short. I loved that each story involved characters dealing with relatable life challenges. They were all very emotional and really pulled me in. However, the short length made it inevitable that conflicts would often be tied up too neatly or inadequately. That meant this book fell squarely in the light, feel-good, beach read category for me. I was still impressed by some of the tough topics that were tackled though and overall I found the book a fun, enjoyable read.

This review first published at Doing Dewey.

This is a most entertaining read. Two two-somes and a quartet rent the same beach house at different times of the year. The first is a grandmother and her grandson who both fall in love quickly, she with a used car salesman (who is much more) and he with the girl next door. The quartet is a group of four college friends who are having a reunion after a long absence with each other. They re-learn how to lean on each other in times of need. The last couple are lovers who see each other infrequently because of their demanding careers. This time in the beach house could heal their relationship or finish them forever. The overall theme is love and reconciliation, finding out what is really important. The beach can do that for you. This book can get you started. It's a one evening read of pure pleasure. My thanks to the author and The Reading Room for a complimentary copy.

I enjoyed this very good beach read. Return to the Beach House was more than good and I especially liked the characters and the beach location. Being a grandmother myself, I thought the relationship between grandmother and grandson was interesting. Since the summer beach season is upon us, readers who like this genre won' go wrong taking this novel with them to the beach!

Never having read the first two novels in the series preceding this book I decided it would be best to start with them. Many times authors make references to characters and events in previous books in a and it can be confusing to the reader if you are not familiar. This was the case with Return to the Beach House. Though you could have enjoyed the book without having done so it enriched the reading experience having done so. Anyway, to continue, I am not normally a romance novel type person but these stories were somehow captivating and charming enough to want to keep reading each until I felt I was wrapped up in the life of the beach house itself. Kind of sad for the book to end!

Received pre-publication copy from TheReadingRoom and HarperCollins Publishers.

I know that many readers pay very close attention to book covers. I usually do not. However, I was very attracted to this cover from first glance, and then the description captivated my attention to request the novel and I was lucky enough to receive a copy.

Publisher's description:
"Over the course of one year, in a charming cottage by the sea, eight people will discover love and remembrance, reconciliation and reunion, beginnings and endings in this unforgettable sequel to Georgia Bockhoven's 'The Beach House' and 'Another Summer'..."
The illustration on the title page is the image in my mind as I reflect on treasured vacation memories and the dreams of vacation times yet to be. The illustration is then repeated on the pages that introduce Part 1: June; Part 2: August; and Part 3: January. There is also an illustration of a seashell which opens the first paragraph of each chapter. I became thoroughly ensconced in Part 1 and was absolutely taken by surprise when it came to a crashing halt. I immediately identified with the owner of the beach house as I turned the same age this year. Then as Alison, the first rental client met the next-door neighbor Grace with the perfectly organized binder to welcome Alison 'home' to the beach house, the story that evolved became a page-turner for me. I had long forgotten the publisher's description and didn't read the back cover of the book before reading the novel so I missed the clues that Part 1 would come to as crashing a halt as the crashing ocean waves on the jetty.

Although I could appreciate the friendship of the women being introduced in Part 2, I wasn't ready to meet them as I was still longing to read more about Alison, Grace, Kyle, and Christopher. But as I began Part 3, I truly understood that I had started to think about the novel from the wrong perspective. As I adjusted my thoughts to the part of treasured vacation memories from early adulthood, I remembered the years that my Mother and I returned to the same beach house rental each summer after my Father died. It was a very cathartic time for us - still enjoying vacation time at the beloved ocean shore but in a different neighboring beach community to create new memories of our own and to share that special bond in the same beach house rental each year with the owners that Mother and I had developed our own unique relationship.

As I came to the different perspective to the author's presentation of the story, I can say that I loved the novel in its entirety. The author and publisher gave me a special gift in receiving this novel - not only for the gift of a beautifully illustrated paperback with perfect touches to envelope me as a reader into the setting of the story but also to ponder that there are many twists and turns in life where a brief change of perspective can bring new delights and appreciation to our world if only we were always open to more possibilities. The novel touched my heart in ways I couldn't have even perceived possible when I requested a copy to read. I can't wait to read 'The Beach House', 'Another Summer' and more titles written by Georgia Bockoven.

Before I started this one I had to read the book that comes before this (The Beach House)! I am so glad that I did. I loved this story, from the setting to the characters to the storyline...all of it. It is a book that makes you crave warm weather and summer. But it was more than that...the story made you savor each word because you cared about what happened to all these characters. What a great read. I recommend this series for a great summer read. 4 stars

When I read The Beach House by Bockoven, I really enjoyed the story, the setting and the main character, young widow, Julia, who decided to rent out her California beach house. The book is comprised of stories of the different couples/people who rented the house and how it changed their lives. In Return to the Beach House, Bockoven continues the same theme and it is every bit as wonderful as the first book.

I think I really liked the first story best; Allison, who lost both her son and husband in a tragedy, wants to spend a month getting in some quality time with her grandson before he goes off to college. Bockoven does an amazing job at bringing these characters to life while showing their inner emotions and how they coped with changes in their life. Such a heartwarming story!

The next story was about four college friends who have had some adverse things in life to cope with. Some fun times, some very emotional times and some secrets are shared.

The last story is about two lovers, one a photographer and one a war weary photo=journalist. They finally make some time to come together, put their jobs aside for the present and come to realize what is most important in their lives.

All three stories are very entertaining with the magic of the setting and the house itself helping to heal and nurture. Bockoven fleshes out each character to the fullest and I was really invested emotionally in their lives. Recommended for readers who love family/friends' stories, coming of age and love stories.

Disclosure: A review copy of the book was provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.