Greetings! What You Wish For by Katherine Center and A Walk Along the Beach by Debbie Macomber are out today. The cover on Debbie Macomber's book is so lovely (I wish I lived there). What book are you currently reading?
A Walk Along the Beach by Debbie Macomber has Willa Lakey owning Bean There in Oceanside, Washington. Willa lives with her sister, Harper who she
raised after their mother passed away when she was thirteen. As a teen, Willa took care of the household
chores along with her brother, sister, and father. Their father was lost without the love of his
life. He became depressed and buried
himself in alcohol. The family suffered
another tragedy when Harper was diagnosed with leukemia. She barely survived and Willa worries that
Harper will become ill again. Their
brother, Lucas lives in Seattle and has a girlfriend that they hope will become
a permanent family member. Harper is always on the go lately. When she is not teaching yoga or helping at
the café, Harper is training to climb Mount Rainier. Harper notices that Sean O’Malley, a frequent
customer, has his eye on Willa. Harper
pushes the two together and they soon find themselves spending time with each
other every day. Unfortunately, Sean, a
freelance photographer, will be leaving soon on a long assignment. The pair find themselves falling in love
despite Sean’s long assignments. Love is
not without risk. Can their relationship
withstand a major challenge?
A Walk Along the Beach by Debbie Macomber takes readers to Oceanside, Washington. The Lackey family has had its share of
tragedies over the years and now they are all on the right track. Willa has the bakery/café she has dreamed of
and it is popular with the locals. I
liked the strong characters the author created for this story. Willa became the “mother” of the family after
their matriarch died when she was thirteen.
She was there for her younger sister, Harper when she received her
treatment for leukemia. Willa worries
that Harper will have a reoccurrence and tends to hover. Harper is full of life and always on the move. She is training with a group to climb Mt.
Rainier at the end of the summer. Harper
pushes her sister into dating freelance photographer, Sean O’Malley. Loving someone is a risk because you never
know how it will turn out. A Walk Along
the Beach is an emotional novel. I
thought it was well-written with steady pacing.
We see a close-knit family and community that rally around each
other. I found it to be a realistic
novel. Life is never smooth sailing and
that is true for our characters in this story.
The developed characters had good traits and weaknesses. Alcoholism, illness, long distance
relationship, and financial troubles are some of the problems our characters
deal handle in the story. I did feel
that it was rushed at the end and I would have liked an epilogue that showed how
the family was doing in a year or two. A
walk Along the Beach is a lovely story, but I do not feel it compares with some
of Debbie Macomber’s other novels (especially A Blossom Street Novel series). I did like how Willa enjoyed walking along the
beach to clear her head and how it felt soothing to the soul. I know I find looking at the Gulf of Mexico
to be soothing. A Walk Along the Beach
is a poignant tale with a cute kitten, a clever canine, a preoccupied
photographer, a fraught father, and a caring community.
A Walk Along the Beach can be found on Amazon* plus other major bookshops. You can find other books by Debbie Macomber here. Her next publication is A Christmas Message which will be out on October 27. I look forward to reading this author's Christmas novel each year. Thank you for visiting today and reading my review. Tomorrow I am reviewing What You Wish For by Katherine Center. I hope that you have a hopeful day. Take care, stay safe, and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
*This
post contains affiliate links.
No comments:
Post a Comment