Rules at the School by the Sea

Little School by the Sea, Book 2

By: Jenny Colgan

Narrated by: Jilly Bond

Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

It’s summer, but school is in session in the delightful second book of New York Times bestselling author Jenny Colgan’s utterly charming School by the Sea series, set at a girls’ boarding school in Cornwall.

For the second year at Downey House, it's getting harder and harder to stick to the rules . . .

Maggie Adair’s first year as a teacher at Downey House was a surprising success. After making the leap from an inner-city school in Glasgow, she’s learned to appreciate the mellower pace of the girls’ boarding school by the sea.

Now engaged to her longtime boyfriend, sweet and steady Stan, Maggie’s just got to stop thinking about David McDonald, her colleague at the boys’ school down the road. Well, hasn’t she? Can Maggie take a leaf out of the Well Behaved Teacher’s exercise book and stick to her plan for a small but elegant wedding and settled life of matrimony?

Even as Maggie tries to stay within the lines, rules are being broken all around her. Maggie’s boss, headmistress Veronica Deveral, has more to lose than anyone. When Daniel Stapleton joins the faculty, Veronica finds herself forced to confront a scandalous secret she thought she’d carefully buried forever. How long will she be able to keep her past under wraps?

What does a new year of classes, rules, and camaraderie hold for the students and faculty at Downey House?

©2022 Jenny Colgan (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

Clffhangers in a romcom? no thanks

I am not happy with this one! Save yourself. Wait 4 #3 before listening.

Fun book. Series for educators!

I love Jenny Colgan and her fun, life lesson books . Her characters are all unique and I interesting. She makes me feel as though I’m in Cornwall and sitting with theses people at a cafe.

even better than first in this series!

enjoyed the first in this school by the sea series. it was good. I tried this book, and it was even better. It was great! can wait to start the next book!!

A little disappointed

I am usually a fan of Jenny Colgan books but this one seems that it might have been written too quickly and left itself too open for the next book. Filling the final 15 minutes or so with poetry, in my opinion, seemed to be a way to stretch the time and make it longer. The plot was definitely missing some thin at the end. Suddenly having the book end (without any type of satisfying ending) and then poems read was a disappointment. Audible books aren’t cheap and I don’t feel this one was worth it.

Not a fan

I normally love Jenny Colgan’s novels. This one is off the mark, though. The story is okay but frustrating. David is a wet noodle and Maggie is getting harder to like. Her selfishness and wallowing is wearing thin!

For what it’s worth, slow down the speed in this one. The narrator talks too fast and does a horrible American accent! Especially when she tries to add a drawl.

Frustrating

Storyline of Maggie and David and Stan were frustrating, drawn out, we’re like teenagers not adults. Very disappointing for a Jenny Colgan novel.

Very disappointing.

I have loved many of Jenny Colgan’s books so if she’s new to you, try an earlier series! This one was terribly disappointing - shallow with unenlightened undertones concerning serious life struggles. The narrator’s desire to bring the characters to life unfortunately diminished several of them because everything (except make characters) was overly dramatic, making that sort of person the norm rather than adding color here and there. By contrast, make characters were made to be dull and lacking depth. I hated the ending; it seemed contrived and calculating - something I feel Colgan has been able to avoid in the past. I didn’t love the first book in this series either so perhaps I am finished with this author?

Transphobic and more

I am a big Jenny Colgan fan however this book is transphobic and contains all sorts of weird messages about body image. Why bother describing the female sports teacher as very male for example? Why can’t she just be a strong sporty woman? In a book that is supposed to be dealing with issues of anorexia and body image, why describe one of the interviewers as dumpy and fat?

I feel like the author was trying to tackle some important issues but has so much subconscious prejudice that it just leaked out. Very disappointing.