The sequel to the Beach House. One of my favorite writers. It's set in the Carolina Lowcountry on the Isle of Palms. A young woman finds she has many friends after a rocky teenage. Believable characters and situations.
This book was SO GOOD!! I am a huge fan of Mary Alice Monroe's books and this one as usual did not disappoint one bit. A MUST READ!!
I read SWIMMING LESSONS this month with my online book club, The Reading Cove. Wish I could say I enjoyed it, but sadly, I cannot.
The first half of the story was akin to a sleeping pill for most of us. If you have no interest in sea turtles and loggerheads, it'll probably be hard to keep turning the pages. The main character, Toy (I'll get to the ridiculous names in a minute), works as a South Carolina aquarist and loves them. The story opens with her finding a near-dead turtle and proceeding to nurse it back to life with a poorly written parallel to her own growth as a single mom.
The narrative had an old-fashioned 1980s tone and did nothing to spark an interest in the subject-matter for me at all. I finished only for book club.
The other thing that kept me from getting into it more were the corny and obvious tropes of the names. We never really know why the main character is called 'Toy' and her daughter is ever so cutely called 'Little Lovie' after a 'Miss Lovie' who passed away.
The last half of the story picked up the pace and became a little more interesting, but not much. The romance was two-dimensional, the tension non-existent.
Unless you're really into aquatic life or sea turtles in general, I recommend skipping this and reading Mary Alice Monroe's SWEETGRASS or THE BOOK CLUB instead. C-.
The first half of the story was akin to a sleeping pill for most of us. If you have no interest in sea turtles and loggerheads, it'll probably be hard to keep turning the pages. The main character, Toy (I'll get to the ridiculous names in a minute), works as a South Carolina aquarist and loves them. The story opens with her finding a near-dead turtle and proceeding to nurse it back to life with a poorly written parallel to her own growth as a single mom.
The narrative had an old-fashioned 1980s tone and did nothing to spark an interest in the subject-matter for me at all. I finished only for book club.
The other thing that kept me from getting into it more were the corny and obvious tropes of the names. We never really know why the main character is called 'Toy' and her daughter is ever so cutely called 'Little Lovie' after a 'Miss Lovie' who passed away.
The last half of the story picked up the pace and became a little more interesting, but not much. The romance was two-dimensional, the tension non-existent.
Unless you're really into aquatic life or sea turtles in general, I recommend skipping this and reading Mary Alice Monroe's SWEETGRASS or THE BOOK CLUB instead. C-.
A great story about the characters you loved from The Beach House. It was great to get to know Toy better.
