Georgia had the perfect life—until her husband of nearly forty years leaves her for their inn’s much younger housekeeper
Starting over at fifty-eight is a terrifying prospect. But a mysterious new guest may make the heartbreak easier.And her children are going through troubles of their own.Georgia’s younger daughter, Tasha, left Willow Beach to make it in Hollywood. But a manipulative boyfriend … Hollywood. But a manipulative boyfriend is making her risk her career and face the wrath of her A-list diva boss.
Tasha’s sister, Melanie, is trying to pick up the pieces of her broken heart after a difficult break-up. Just when she seems to be turning a corner, the man who left her comes back and begs for a second chance.
Golden child Drew has made mistake after mistake. Can helping his mother renovate the Inn be the project he needs to put his life back together?
Running the Willow Beach Inn, helping her grown children navigate the choppy waters of life, and rediscovering her own passions is no easy feat. Is there hope for Georgia to find happiness in the wake of heartbreak?
Taste the salt on the air and feel the warm love of the Baldwin family in Book One of the Willow Beach Inn series from heartwarming women’s fiction author Grace Palmer.
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I enjoyed but the ending left me hanging.
Great start for a new series
Great interplay of characters returning home for different reasons and finding new adventures in life and love.
Love the characters.
I like that the family in this story. They are a good family with normal problems. The mom runs a B&B with her husband until he runs off with the maid. Two of her three adult children have a crisis and have to move home. The third child is trying to figure out if she’s ready to try dating again.
Too predictable.
This book is very, very similar to Murphy’s Romance. About a third of the way into the book, I knew what was coming because it followed Murphy’s Romance. Minor changes.
This is an easy to read book – it skips around a bit between the characters.
Georgia Palmer woke up one morning in the lovely home/inn that she owned with her husband and he was gone. He just left a note on her pillow saying that he needed some changes and he was leaving, with all their money. She was dumbfounded because it was something she never saw coming. Could she handle being left with the whole place to run?
Tasha thought she was making it in California in the celebrity scene being an assistant to a big actress and having a boyfriend. But it wasn’t going that way at all and suddenly it came to a screeching halt when she truly found out why her boyfriend was involved with her. Would going home actually help her remember why she tried to make it big?
Melanie’s husband had left her years ago but she never truly go over him. All because she didn’t want to leave the area at all. She was scared to start dating again and just focused on running her veterinarian clinic. That was until a late night knock on her door that made her realize maybe she did need to open her mind and her heart again.
Drew was trying to make it big in baseball, he thought he was heading in the right direction, especially after he hit a home run in his last game. But when he got called into the manager’s office he didn’t expect at a young age to be looking for a new career because baseball wasn’t going anywhere anymore. He headed for home, hoping to find some answers.
In all honesty the book was disappointing that is why I am giving it 3 stars and glad I didn’t pay full price for it. This is the reason, it is a great plot line but it fizzled in the way it was written. When you read the plot line you would think it would be about the struggles of Georgia trying to overcome being left by her husband suddenly and still running the Inn they own which isn’t an easy process when you have been married for that long. You would think when her children are all home suddenly she would offer advice and help them overcome things. But none of that happened at all. The few scenes with Georgia were her being upset and crying over memories or fawning over Joel the guy that was staying there who offered to help out on a few things. You never were told how she handled the business, especially since her husband left her high and dry as he took all the money money or a maid (who he apparently ran off with) or if they got a divorce or anything else. I mean you can’t be married for that long with a business and adult kids then in less than 2 months be with someone else, then throw in that magically all your kids are fine and dandy after being fired/dumped and unemployed or facing someone from the past.
I read both series. I really liked the characters.
ha nigga you thought ive never read this
Another Good Family Drama
Having recently read and thoroughly enjoyed this author’s Nantucket series, I was happily anticipating her next book. Like the Nantucket series, this is a complex, well-drawn family drama focusing on middle-aged parents and their adult children. Like the Nantucket series, this one is sparked by difficulties with the patriarch that affect the parents’ marriage, their business, and the lives of their grown children. Of course, the children have issues of their own, one with relationship troubles and two with professional problems, all of which lead to some soul-searching. The book’s perspectives alternate between the mom, the two daughters, and the son, giving us a glimpse into each life and their particular ups and downs. Someone annoyingly—and this is a “me” thing—the book is written in the third-person present. Because I’ve read thousands of books in the past tense over the course of my 50 years, the present tense sticks out to me like a sore thumb, making itself known instead of fading into the background like the past tense does. I think authors believe that it creates a certain level of immediacy and intimacy, but for me, it is quite the opposite. But that was the only thing about the book I didn’t like. The author has done an excellent job creating an engrossing family drama.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
Entertaining and interesting characters. Witty and charming story with characters that have to journey to happiness and romance. Wonderful read!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A brand new series by the very talented Ms. Palmer. Please excuse me if I let out a little squeal of delight. Ms. Palmer is one of my all-time favorite authors and I am always excited when one of her books comes my way! I fell in love with this book from the moment I started reading it. I was completely pulled in to the beautiful coastal town and setting of Willow Beach Inn and the lives of the Baldwin family. Ms. Palmer has a unique way of making the story and the characters come to life. You see what they see, feel what they feel. It is almost as if you are in the story yourself. This is a beautifully written story with so much emotion and depth, that I became invested in the story from the beginning and could not put it down. The characters all face their own struggles and challenges which Ms. Palmer portrays very well through her writing. It’s a beautifully crafted story of strength, dealing with pain, and healing. And through it all, family is key. I’m excited to see what more stories Ms. Palmer brings us from Willow Beach Inn!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Book one in the Willow Beach Inn series a well written story of the Baldwin family from Georgia the mother and her children Melanie, Tasha, and Drew. I enjoyed seeing each of them find room in their lifes from the men and the one woman for Drew that comes into their lifes. I wonder what is going to happen next for this family. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Having read all if Grace Palmer’s wonderful beach side tales I can tell she is getting stronger in her storytelling and putting more confidence in her heroines. Truly a feminist tale, Liza knows she is better off being single than with someone who doesn’t love and respect her…right? But enter Benjamin, who needs to hire the caterer Liza and she can’t pass up the money even if he has broken her heart before. Then enter the side drama of family that is present in all of Grace Palmer’s novels and you have a wonderful stand a lone novel where only Liza knows what is best for her. It is always wonderful to read a novel where the woman can make her own decisions without the influence of a man or needing the man , thus she can be single…or coupled, by choice.
The author knows how to capture your attention when you start reading this book. The way she writes the story you feel like you’re actually at the location and the characters feel like family. The story flows smoothly from page to page grabbing your attention and holding it until you read the last words. A perfect read while you sit on the beach or relax in the shade.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received an ARC from Grace Palmer for an honest review. I fell in love with this book. Being from Maine and Willow Beach Inn series is based in Maine was wonderful, plus she captured the true spirit of Mainers.
We have all learned that life is unpredictable and once again Grace has captured life in the story about Georgia Baldwin. There is a saying when it rains it pours and you could definitely see that in this book. But the rain doesn’t last forever and neither does the pain that not only Georgia has to go through, but her 3 children are home dealing with their own pain.
Grace has a way of making the people in her books come alive and that is still true here. As she said, Georgia Baldwin is just south of paradise, and just shy of a happy ending. Sometimes that is life, so grab a copy of Just South of Paradise and welcome to a small town in Maine, where you can see how one family copes with learning the life you think you have isn’t that life after all. So what do you, you will have to read this wonderful book to see how it is done. You won’t be disappointed.
Thank you Grace for the ARC and this is a book that will remind you of childhood places and hidden treasures. Whether you’re from Maine or really where ever you live, I think we all have childhood memories that have been forgotten for a while, and reading this book reminded me of some of those places and hidden treasures of my childhood. There is so much to this story that as I was reading it, I thought Grace shows us not only the, what is happening now but things under the surface of what is going on.