How
do you start a new chapter of your life when you haven’t closed the book on the
previous one?
Eighteen months ago, Autumn Divac’s husband went missing. Her desperate search
has yielded no answers, and she can’t imagine moving forward without him. But
for the sake of their two teenage children, she has to try.
Autumn takes her kids home for the summer to the charming beachside town where
she was raised. She seeks comfort working alongside her mother and aunt at
their bookshop, only to learn that her daughter is facing a huge life change
and her mother has been hiding a terrible secret for years. And when she runs
into the boy who stole her heart in high school, old feelings start to bubble
up again. Is she free to love him, or should she hold out hope for her
husband’s return? She can only trust her heart… and hope it won’t lead her
astray.
Buy Links
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Audiobook (US) ~ Hardcover (US) ~ Paperback (US)
Harlequin
Q: Did you go to the library when you were in elementary school? If so, do you remember any of your favorite books or series from childhood?
A: The library in elementary school was where I developed my love of reading. I remember hating to read in the beginning, but once my teacher took us to the library and let us choose any book we wanted, I happened upon a shelf of classics. I picked up Jane Eyre and absolutely devoured it. Then I went back and got The Secret Garden and moved through that entire shelf within weeks. I remember thinking, “So this is reading!” And I’ve loved it ever since.
Q: What hobbies do you enjoy?
A: I love to play pickleball. My oldest son introduced me to the game and gave me a racquet for Mother’s Day, and I’ve been playing ever since. It’s such a fun/addictive thing to do. I also spend a lot of time with my two grandchildren. They’re not quite a hobby, of course, but if I’m not working that’s where I spend most of my time.
Q: What is your favorite food/dessert/cuisine?
A: I love Mexican food, and I’m fortunate to live in California, where it’s easy to find really great tacos. There are some smoked tri-tip tacos at a little delicatessen my husband discovered that are to die for. They only serve them three days a week, though, so we have to plan out our trips.
Q: Where would you choose to go on holiday if time and money were not of consideration?
A: Two years ago, I would’ve said Egypt, but I was able to go there the year before the pandemic started, and I absolutely loved it. I’ve always been fascinated by their antiquities. They have an absolute embarrassment of riches when it comes to relics from two thousand or more years ago. Now I would have to say India. I don’t yet know a lot about that, but it seems so exotic and wonderful to me--and I love the food. India is definitely on my bucket list!
Q: Is there a book you would like to write that would require in person research that would take you to a foreign country and if so, where would you be heading to do research?
A: Because I write women’s fiction, I would have to say France, Italy, Ireland or Scotland. I started my career writing English historicals, so I actually have traveled to a foreign country for research. (Of Noble Birth, Honor Bound, Through the Smoke, and A Matter Of Grave Concern)
Q: Is there a genre that you have not written in that you might like to try some day?
A: I would love to write a long historical saga. I actually have one brewing in my mind, so... who knows? Maybe one day I’ll get around to writing it.
Q: Do you write under other pen names?
A: No. It’s hard enough to promote one name! LOL
Q: Do you have pets or animals you would like to have as pets?
A: I raised five kids, so I’m taking a break from being responsible for other people—even animals. But I have a grand-dog—a Chow Chow named Simba, and he’s so fluffy and mild tempered. It’s the same as having grandbabies. I get all the fun without the hard work! Ha!
Mary
– ☆☆☆☆
As with most Brenda Novak stories, there is a lot going on in this great story.
Autumn and her children are going to her mother's for the summer. After her
husband has been missing for 18 months, she thinks it might be time to let him
go, that he might be gone forever.
Mary, Autumn's mother, and her Aunt Laura own a bookstore on a beach in a
charming town. It is just the setting that Autumn and her kids need to start
over. The kids find friends at the beach and Autumn rekindles an old love.
Well, she was in love and Quinn was her first. Now Quinn wants to be friends
and that turns into more than Autumn wanted it to, but it was something she
couldn't stop.
As Autumn questions her mom about who her dad was, Mary doesn't want to tell
her all the pain and heartache about the past. But when a private eye shows up,
Autumn ends up doing some research and finding out things on her own.
With all the directions that the drama is going in in this book, you might need
to keep a notebook handy. But don't let that drive you away from reading this
one. It is filled with twists and turns, mystery and a little scandal, lost
love, and there is a bookstore on the beach. What could be better?
I loved this book and I hope you do too.
Ruthie
– ☆☆☆☆
This is really beautiful book – it is a wonderfully rich story with many
strands of great interest; a happy beach side holiday for a woman and her
children who are dealing with a traumatic loss; a second-chance romance for her
and the much-wronged Quinn; the relationship between three generations of women
as each deals with their own serious issues; the deep friendship of siblings;
and finally, of secrets no one would want to share and dilemmas that no one
would ever want to face.
The writing is so smooth, that it is almost impossible to stop turning the
pages once you start... be warned! I was so engrossed that I really did read it
until very late into the night – but it was worth every second of missed sleep.
I absolutely loved Autumn, and completely understood her uncertainty given the
untenable state of her life when she decides to spend the summer with her
mother where she grew up – even if she knew that her situation would be the
subject of local interest when she got there. It was unbelievable the
difficulty that she faced following her husband's disappearance. We get to
learn some of what might have happened, but it is a huge mystery and one which
it seems will never be solved. How does one decide how long to wait, how much
hope to hold on to, and how to help her children also make a similar decision?
Quinn is like a breath of fresh air, but also brings on thoughts of terrible
guilt.
I should not neglect to mention that we spend quite a lot of time in a bookstore
and understanding how it was a safe space for Autumn and her mother, Mary. I am
not going to say more, because there are lots of strands and plots which
intertwine to give a really rich experience – all I can say is it is definitely
worth it!
BRENDA NOVAK, a New York Times and USA Today
bestselling author, has penned over sixty novels. She is a five-time nominee
for the RITA Award and has won the National Reader's Choice, the Bookseller's
Best, the Bookbuyer's Best, and many other awards. She also runs Brenda Novak
for the Cure, a charity to raise money for diabetes research (her youngest son
has this disease). To date, she’s raised $2.5 million. For more about Brenda,
please visit her website.
Connect with
Brenda
Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Website ~ Goodreads
Facebook
Group: Brenda Novak's Book Group
Hosted by
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided
a free copy of The Bookstore on the Beach by Brenda Novak to read and review
for this tour.
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