On the Crystal Coast of North Carolina, in the small town of Emerald Isle…
Juli Cooke, hard-working and getting nowhere fast, marries a dying man, Ben Bradshaw, for a financial settlement, not expecting he will set her on a journey of hope and love. The journey brings her to Luke Winters, a local art dealer, but Luke resents the woman who married his sick friend and warns her not to hurt Ben—and … hurt Ben—and he’s watching to make sure she doesn’t.
Until Ben dies and the stakes change.
Framed by the timelessness of the Atlantic Ocean and the brilliant blue of the beach sky, Juli struggles against her past, the opposition of Ben’s and Luke’s families, and even the living reminder of her marriage—to build a future with hope and perhaps to find the love of her life—if she can survive the danger from her past.
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You’ll feel the sea spray on your face, and grab your tissues. You’re going to be right there with these wonderful characters to the very last page. A beautiful read.
Great Christian Read
What I love the most about this book is how faith was so easily obtained with the romance and the story without any one part being overdone. I thought it was going to go a certain way but the author surprised me on more than once occasion in the most delightful ways. The character development was wonderful – I loved watching the two fall in love. It was just like watching a movie. It was sweet but raw and honest. I fell in love with the hero and I was rooting for the heroine the entire way.
There are lots of characters and their storylines mesh perfectly. It’s warm hearted and it will make you cry but in the best way.
This is the first book I read by the author and it definitely won’t be my last. 5 starts.
Grace Green weaves a heart-wrenching tale of love in this book. A clean Christian read. I loved the characters and the way she developed them from brokenness to wholeness and used the most unusual circumstances to bring them together.
The storyline, though unlikely, was made believable through her simple but elegant prose. You’ll need Kleenex handy, but you’ll be smiling by the end. Wonderful read.
This was the first book that I have read by Grace Greene, I did not want to put it down!! The characters were so realistic, a little romance, a little mystery and lots of tears.
Good book until the end when it really just ends abruptly. People who disliked each other throughout the whole book suddenly loved each other. Very corny and unbelievable scene.
Beach Rental by Grace Greene is the first book in the Emerald Isle, NC series. On the Crystal Coast of North Carolina, in the small town of Emerald Isle, Juli Cooke is a hard-working woman who is getting nowhere fast. Until she accepts the proposal from Ben Bradshaw. He wishes for her companionship in his final days as he is dying from an incurable disease. He offers a financial incentive, which she accepts. A marriage of convenience that she has no idea will set her on a journey of hope and love. Luke Winters, a local art dealer, is Ben’s cousin and best friend. He resents Juli and warns her not to hurt Ben and he’s watching to make sure she doesn’t. Then suddenly, Ben dies, and everything changes. Juli struggles with her new role as widow, her place in the community, as well as the dangers from her past that won’t leave her alone. She is determined to fight for her new found future, filled with hope and love.
Beach Rental is a beautiful story of faith, love and miracles. I enjoyed every character. Juli comes from a harsh background. When she meets Ben, she enters into the relationship as the financial settlement would help her leave her dead-end jobs and give her the security she needs. What she doesn’t count on is enjoying Ben’s company and learning to care for him. Ben is a man of faith who doesn’t fear dying. He simply wants his last days to be happy and joyful and he wants Juli to help him fill those days. There were a few surprises that were unexpected and added to the story’s drama and resolution. Even Luke, who is harsh and skeptical of the relationship at the beginning, begins to see the effect Juli has on Ben. When danger comes to Juli’s door, Luke is ready to help her, for Ben’s sake…or so he thinks. I highly recommend Beach Rental. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Juli and Ben’s story and look forward to reading the rest of the series.
Beach Rental is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook.
Just a wonderful read! Great characters, story, plot! It was hard to put down!!
I loved this novel. It is unique in story and in characters. I love well written books, and this is one of them. I feel like I know the people in the story, and their personalities are alive. I lost sleep reading until my eyes wouldn’t stay open.
This book had a unique storyline. A very unusual request made to an acquaintence at a party leads to love. Relatives have misgivings and voice disapproval but the end result is not what you expect.
Very much enjoyed this read. Actually shed a tear at one point. You will find out where. Worth reading and enjoying.
This was my first Grace Green novel, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, there were parts of the story that stretched credibility, but this modern marriage-of-convenience tale captivated me from the start. I couldn’t help being caught up in the characters of Juli, Ben, and Luke and watching how the love story unfolded in surprising (and sometimes tragic) ways.
If I have one complaint, it is with the proofreading and format problems in the Kindle edition, which for me was a distraction but obviously no fault of the author’s. It’s a charming story, and I highly recommend this book.
It was a good romantic novel and was original to me. The characters were good but didn’t shine as much as I wanted hence the 4 stars instead of 5. Overall a good book.
I really appreciate how the story progressed from a business deal to respect and admiration. A wonderful ending!
This was a sweet story! Juli Cooke hasn’t had it easy, working 2 dead-end jobs to make ends meet was her life until a chance meeting with a complete stranger, Ben, ends all that. Ben saw something in Juli. Meeting him changed her life, gave her a renewed faith in people, love and security. Ben’s greatest gift to Juli was believing she was worthy and deserved so much more out of life than she had.
I fell in love with Emerald Isle. The book has a lot of things happening; a bit of mystery in Juli’s background, the building of friendship, trust and of course love. It has both laugh out loud moments and tears. It was a wonderful read.
The first book in a series of three. All were very entertaining! Great beach reads.