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    Beach House Memories
    Beach House Memories
    Beach House Memories
    Audiobook12 hours

    Beach House Memories

    Written by Mary Alice Monroe

    Narrated by Mary Alice Monroe

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Mary Alice Monroe, New York Times bestselling author of the Lowcountry Summer trilogy, returns to her beloved South with Beach House Memories, the sequel to The Beach House.

    Autumn brings haunting beauty to the sun-soaked dunes on Isle of Palms, where Olivia “Lovie” Rutledge lives in her beloved Primrose Cottage. As the seasons change, Lovie remembers one special summer.…

    In 1974, America is changing, but Charleston remains eternally the same. When Lovie married aristocratic, well-connected businessman Stratton Rutledge, she turned over her fortune and fate to his control. But she refused to relinquish one thing: her family’s old seaside cottage. Precious summers with her children on the barrier island are Lovie’s refuge from social expectations and her overbearing husband’s philandering. Here, she is the “Turtle Lady,” tending the loggerhead turtles that lay their eggs in the warm night sand and then slip back into the sea.

    Then, in the summer of ’74, biologist Russell Bennett visits to research the loggerheads. Their shared interest brings them together, and soon it blooms into a passionate, profound love—forcing Lovie to face an agonizing decision. Stratton’s influence is far-reaching, and if she dares to dream beyond a summer affair, she risks losing her reputation, her wealth, even her children.

    This emotional tale of a strong woman torn between duty and desire, between tradition and change, is an empowering journey through the seasons of self-discovery. Until this autumn, this time of winds and tides, of holding on and letting go.…

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateMay 8, 2012
    ISBN9781441813176
    Author

    Mary Alice Monroe

    Mary Alice Monroe is the New York Times bestselling author of 27 books including her newest novel The Summer of Lost and Found (May 2021, Gallery Books), and her first Middle Grade book The Islanders (June 2021, Aladdin Books). Monroe’s books have been published worldwide. She’s earned numerous accolades and awards, including: Induction into the South Carolina Academy of Authors’ Hall of Fame; Southwest Florida Author of Distinction Award; South Carolina Award for Literary Excellence; RT Lifetime Achievement Award; the International Book Award for Green Fiction, and the prestigious Southern Book Prize for Fiction. Her bestselling novel The Beach House is a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. Mary Alice Monroe is also the co-creator and co-host of the weekly webshow and podcast Friends and Fiction. Monroe found her true calling in environmental fiction when she moved to the Isle of Palms, South Carolina. Captivated by the beauty and fragility of her new home in the lowcountry, Monroe’s experiences gave her a strong and important focus for her novels. Monroe and Dorothea Benton Frank were lowcountry neighbors. Dottie--as she was called among friends-- lived across the inlet from Isle of Palms on the neighboring Sullivan’s Island. Together they became part of a small tribe of Lowcountry writers who gathered together over the years for meals and conversation supporting each other’s careers and personal lives. Dottie’s energy and spirit will be forever missed.  

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    Reviews for Beach House Memories

    4.5/5

    125 ratings8 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This book is probably one of favorite is this series. A story of what true love, friendship, and faith can be in our lives. Thank Mary Alice Monroe!
    • 5/5
      The reader had a lovely voice. I cried on Several occasions! A really interesting listen, I will look for more by this author.
    • 5/5
      Beach House Memories by Mary Alice Monroe is a 2012 Gallery Books publication. This bittersweet story takes fans of this series back to 1974 when Lovey and her two children spend the summer at her beloved cottage on Isle of Palm. Lovey, known as ‘The Turtle Lady,’ takes part in an official study of the Loggerhead turtles with a man named Russell Bennett. With a philandering husband leaving her for long periods of time, Lovey finds a strong connection with Bennett tempting her to risk the life she has built for the type of passionate love her soul is starving for…. As the story begins, we are reminded of Lovey’s ‘current day’ situation, as her memories sweep her away to the past as she awaits the chance to reunite with the love of her life. Nearly every summer for some time now, I have enjoyed a book by Mary Alice Monroe. It’s a tradition and while the author has other series, this is my very favorite. This year, she did not a release a book in this series. But, as luck would have it, for some reason, as I was reading through the series, I skipped over this one, thinking that because the storyline didn’t involve Cara’s adult dramas, I could always come back and read it later without missing out on anything. Though I have been chided occasionally for ‘reading out of order’- I’m glad I held back on this one. As always, the turtles play a big role in the story, and it is always a pleasure to be reminded of the great miracle of these fascinating creatures that brought Lovey so much joy. The author captures perfectly the time and place and struggles of women who carried the burden of appearances, duty, and expectations, who suffered and bent under the pressure, but was forced to relent and conform in a time where choices were still very limited. I was aware, due to reading later installments in this series, that Lovey had known true love in her life, and it added yet another layer of attachment to the cottage and the time she spent there. Yet, I was not prepared for such a gripping emotional story that left tears standing in my eyes. It is strange that of all the wonderful Rutledge family stories I’ve read nearly every summer for a while now, this one, that has spent years gathering virtual dust on my Kindle, is the one that may have left the biggest emotional imprint on my heart. “The mind often dictates the heart. Yet, I believe that the heart is the truer guide”While the Beach House series may have run its course, or is at my most optimistic, simply on hiatus, this story has reminded me of all the beloved characters that brought me my own wonderful summer memories. I do hope we meet them all again someday…
    • 5/5
      Lovie and her two children spend every summer at the beach house inherited from her parents. She becomes involved in saving the sea turtles, marking their nests and documenting their offsprings. It becomes her lifetime passion and because of it she meets the love of her life. When her husband physically abuses her (he drinks a lot) she asks for a divorce3. There are twists and turns in all their lives. To find the ending read this book - it is good!
    • 4/5
      Disclosure: I won a free copy through Good Reads First Reads. Thanks!

      Lovie tries to meet expectations, keep her family together, and find her own happiness. Lovie and her children travel to Primrose Cottage, the Beach House for the summer. Lovie is known as the Turtle Lady; she has been monitoring Loggerhead Sea Turtle activity for over ten years. She notices a flyer for a Sea Turtle Study led by Dr. Russell Bennett. Working as partners, over the summer, Lovie and Russell fall in love and have an affair. “I propose we make a promise. We will wait six months. Time enough for us to return to our lives, to cool our heads, and to think through all the ramifications of our decisions. Carefully and deliberately. There must be no contact until the six months are over. None at all. No pressure of any kind…If in March—the Ides of March—if on March fifteenth either one of us chooses to leave our spouse, we will come back here to the beach house. If I come and you are not there—…If either of us chooses not to show up, the other will never call again. We will abide by the decision, no matter how hard it may be to accept. Are we agreed?” The Pact is made; divorce is thought about. Lovie sustains domestic violence causing broken ribs. She makes her decisions and abides by them, though she still remembers Russell and those Beach House Memories.

      This book raises many issues: environmental issues (Loggerhead Sea Turtles); domestic violence; class; and women’s rights. Many life’s lessons are learned from Lovie from the Loggerhead Sea Turtles.
    • 4/5
      Enjoyable beach read. Lovey fans will like knowing her backstory, although it is a standalone book.
    • 3/5
      I learned more than I ever thought to know about loggerhead turtles! But the details about their nests, the hatchlings, the return to the sea, etc. certainly linked Lovie, the protagonist, with the love of her life, Dr. Russell Bennett in short order! The author's descriptions of the sea and life in the Carolina Lowcountry in the seaside community of Isle of Palms put you right there. Also her glimpses into Charleston society were well done. Monroe also did an excellent job of presenting the obstacles facing women in the 1970s and before, when it came to initiating a divorce from an unwilling and abusive spouse. I became caught up in the love affair right along with Lovie, and was reaching for the kleenex long before the ending. I have to say that some of the scenes were a stretch -- Russell, returning to the cottage in mid-March in the middle of "... a nor'easter. Bitter cold winds whipped the Lowcountry, spitting out icy drops that clung to trees ...." Yet we read that Russell, with only his love to keep him warm, remained waiting outside all night in the freezing cold. Kind of hard to imagine. This is a good novel for those who enjoy romance stories with some substance and love scenes that leave things to the imagination.
    • 4/5
      In the opening scene, Olivia "Lovie" Rutledge lays dying with her daughter Cara by her side in a cottage on the Isle of Palms. She is looking forward to being reunited with Russell Bennett. The reader is then taken back to 1974. Lovie discovers a second set of tickets for her husband's flights around Europe just before she heads to the beach house on the Isle of Palms for the summer. He claims they are for his secretary, but she knows better. She is anxious to get back to her work with the loggerhead turtles that nest on the Isle of Palms. She discovers a notice at the grocery store about a study of the sea turtles being conducted by a man named Russell Bennett. She discovers he's been hired by developers to find what impact the proposed development would have on them. Lovie joins up just to keep an eye on things. She is able to recruit more volunteers than ever before and learns things from Bennett that will help her protect even more of the nests. She also finds love. The novel deals with issues such as marital infidelity, spousal abuse, and much more. I'm not going to say a lot about my reactions to certain plot elements as it would give away too much of the story. If you are looking for a good beach read, this is one to savor. Although I have the first in this trilogy in my to be read pile, I read this one which had just arrived at the library, not realizing that it was part of a trilogy. It works fine as a stand alone novel. I'm going to have to go back and read the first one now, and I will look forward to the third.