The Summer of Lost and Found

The Beach House

By: Mary Alice Monroe

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

A timely, tender, and compassionate tale of perseverance, love, and the bonds of family in the face of tremendous and sometimes painful upheaval in this latest novel in the New York Times bestselling Beach House series.

The coming of spring usually means renewal, but for Linnea Rutledge, this spring is a season of challenge. Linnea faces another layoff, this time from the aquarium she adores, and her family’s finances, emotions, and health teeter on the brink. To complicate matters, her new love interest, Gordon, struggles to return to the Isle of Palms from England. Meanwhile, her old flame, John, turns up from California and is quarantining next door. She tries to ignore him, but when he sends her plaintive notes in the form of paper airplanes, old sparks ignite. When Gordon at last reaches the island, Linnea wonders - is it possible to love two men at the same time?

Love in the time of COVID-19 proves challenging, at times humorous, and ever changing. Relationships are redefined, friendships made and broken, and marriages tested. As the weeks turn to months, and another sea turtle season comes to a close, Linnea learns there are more meaningful lessons during this summer than opportunities lost: that summer is a time of wonder, and that the exotic lives in our own backyards.

Poignant and moving, The Summer of Lost and Found is “a novel of growing up, saying goodbye to the past, and learning to ask yourself the hard questions, including one of the most vital of all: ‘Who do you really want to be’” (Kristin Harmel, New York Times best-selling author).

©2021 Mary Alice Monroe. All rights reserved. (P)2021 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

2020 Pandemic Story

I love all of Mary Alice Monroe’s books, especially the Beach House series. So glad she wrote a true to life story about living during the 2020 pandemic.&

Love this book!

Loved the whole series and didn't want it to end! Looking another books by this author!

Mary Alice narrator

Mary Alice did such a great job of narrating many of her novels. Why she chose not to do this one I don’t know. And I see that Cassandra has done another one or two which I will not be purchasing. The first half of the book I felt like I was listening to see Dick run CJ run. The board and has the pessimism that came through was distracting. While I am such a big fan of Mary Alice., This time was not the same. I felt as if, and it was a recycled story for the most part with nothing happening, and sometimes it’s nice to just listen to someone talk, but the lack of plot was also a distraction we all have a good days and bad days I regret that so much for all of us 

Love it realistic to the time period

Didn’t like the reader’s accent and depiction of 50 yo voices. Coastal was pronounced cost and I need a southern person reading.
Loved the story line can’t wait to hear more about them.
Glad you took multiple pov about Covid.
Keep them coming.

Good book but….

WAY TOO PREACHY about masks, social distancing, quarantine, pods. At times I felt like I was at a CDC lecture. There were times I almost stopped listening. The story was good but the COVID part was overdone and over bearing.

Always good from Mary Alice!!

Pretty ready for Lynea to finally get married!! Sweet remembering Lovie! Mad me want a Caviler even more!

Good series

I enjoyed the series. Some of the readers weren’t my favorite and I do not like British accents. They were especially annoying in the book. Overall was a good clean story.

OUTSTANDING AS ALWAYS

The author is incredible ans I love Cassandra Campbell's narration. She is wonderful at intonation and dialect expect: we DO NOT say AUNT in SC. We say Aint or Ant. lol But it is true! This book series has become a special part of my life since I adore the coast of my home state, especially the IOP! READ ALL OF THIS SERIES!!!

covid favorite

I enjoyed this story. It continued on the story of the next generation of the Rutledge's. I happen to think that a story about family's members who pulled together during the pandemic and helped each other is enduring. I know that my family endured to support each other thru these tough times. I thought it was very realistic to the time we are living in. I don't understand how others have been so cruel as to fight the common sense precautions about the pandemic. I read some of the reviews of others and was horrified. Is this who we have become? If so we are not as a nation going to pull together to beat these horrible times ahead, but I only hope I am wrong.
I loved the narrator too, I have listened to many books and have enjoyed the soothing voice of Cassandra Campbell.

Good narrator, disappointing gender norms

I have loved other books by this author but I am frustrated by the immature behavior of the male characters in this story, and further frustrated by the female characters acceptance of such behavior. Hopefully this was a one-off.