REVIEW: THE BEACH INN, BY JOANNE DEMAIO

 

It was going to be exquisite: a rambling, shingled New England cottage converted into a grand beach inn. Nestled among hydrangeas and swaying dune grasses, this seaside haven would welcome guests on the Connecticut shore. Except the little beach town of Stony Point is no longer feeling like a haven to its residents. Residents including a brooding Jason Barlow, the esteemed architect in charge of the inn’s renovation–until a stubborn, grief-induced For Sale sign puts an end to that.

But with a little help from the beach friends, anything is possible. In an effort to save the inn and convince its cherished owner to stay, the friends band together to stage an inn-tervention, shaking up their own lives in the process.

My Thoughts: All the usual characters are enjoying fall in Stony Point, Connecticut, and everyone is trying to help Elsa, who is grieving the loss of her son Sal, encouraging her to keep going with the plans they had made.  Lovely plans to turn her cottage and adjacent hang-out into an inn.  Previous books have brought stories about that unique hang-out, which has much sentimental value.

When I read one of these books, I feel as though I’m there with them.  They are so familiar to me, I don’t even need to take notes.  Although there are occasional “new” characters, the primary cast is in place, and we rejoin them in their usual struggles…and conflicts.

As we reconnect with Jason, Maris, Kyle, Lauren, Celia—and remember those they have lost—as we listen to their stories, remember special moments, and tell them all to entice Elsa that home is here, on Stony Point, we count on the sentimental journey to light the way.

One night Maris brings out the home movies and shows them to the gang on the beach. As Elsa sees the 8mm film from thirty-five years ago, when her niece Maris was small, when her sister June was carrying her Happiness Jars, something definitely tugs at her heart. But will it be enough?

Will Jason give in to the special invitation to shoot a pilot for a home renovation show? Can he finally find his brother Neil’s voice again? And will his special project for Neil’s beach shack come to fruition?

In The Beach Inn, the author brings the reader right into the story and shows how sorrow can turn to joy again with the magic of the shore. 5 stars.

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