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Cottage by the Sea
From bestselling and award-winning author Robin Jones Gunn—a poignant novel about a woman who must care for her ill and elderly father, hoping to mend both his health and their relationship.
A daughter’s gift of time, a father’s silent wish.
Erin Bryce and her best friend, Sharlene, count the day they start their wedding planning business as a very happy day. So much so that they name their company The Happiest Day to reflect the fulfillment of their long-held dream as well as their clients’ longing for a wedding celebration to match the exhilaration of being in love. As a bonus, the two women utilize their business to help Erin’s son Jordan and his fiancée, Sierra, plan a grand wedding.
But the two friends aren’t prepared for the cloud moving in to cover the sunny, successful start of their business. Erin’s father, who lives in a small coastal Oregon community with his brusque, downright odd second wife, Delores, develops a medical problem that puts him in the hospital. Erin responds by rushing from Southern California to her father’s—and oh, yeah, Delores’s—cottage by the sea.
What greets Erin when she arrives sends her tumbling down a bewildering path to a different kind of happiest day. Her journey tosses her through highs and lows of hurt and healing, betrayal and renewal, wrong assumptions righted, and the brightest future one could ever hope for. All just around the corner, at the cottage by the sea.
A daughter’s gift of time, a father’s silent wish.
Erin Bryce and her best friend, Sharlene, count the day they start their wedding planning business as a very happy day. So much so that they name their company The Happiest Day to reflect the fulfillment of their long-held dream as well as their clients’ longing for a wedding celebration to match the exhilaration of being in love. As a bonus, the two women utilize their business to help Erin’s son Jordan and his fiancée, Sierra, plan a grand wedding.
But the two friends aren’t prepared for the cloud moving in to cover the sunny, successful start of their business. Erin’s father, who lives in a small coastal Oregon community with his brusque, downright odd second wife, Delores, develops a medical problem that puts him in the hospital. Erin responds by rushing from Southern California to her father’s—and oh, yeah, Delores’s—cottage by the sea.
What greets Erin when she arrives sends her tumbling down a bewildering path to a different kind of happiest day. Her journey tosses her through highs and lows of hurt and healing, betrayal and renewal, wrong assumptions righted, and the brightest future one could ever hope for. All just around the corner, at the cottage by the sea.
261 pages, Paperback
First published July 3, 2012
41 people are currently reading
708 people want to read
About the author
Robin Jones Gunn
162 books2,634 followersROBIN JONES GUNN has written more than 100 books with over 6.5 million copies sold worldwide. Her Father Christmas books have been made into three Hallmark Christmas movies. The timeless Christy Miller series now continues in Christy & Todd: The College Years, Married Years, Baby Years, and the Haven Maker series. Robin's novels and non-fiction works include Before Your Tween Daughter Becomes a Woman, Victim of Grace, Praying for Your Future Husband, and Before You Meet Your Future Husband co-authored with Tricia Goyer. Her books have received multiple awards and are a favorite with book clubs and study groups. Many of Robin's books are in eBook, audiobook, large print, and foreign editions. Robin does a weekly Podcast called "Women Worth Knowing" with Cheryl Brodersen. Robin and her husband have a grown son and daughter and live in California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
July 19, 2012
My opinions on this book are mixed-- conflicted, even.
I have to start out by saying that I've been reluctant to read Christian fiction. One reason is that I really don't want to read a book that preaches at me. That was not an issue at all with this book. The other is that I really don't want there to be a shortcut, where God reaches down and fixes everything, and the righteous live happily ever after. This was an issue for me with Cottage by the Sea.
On the one hand, I really liked Erin and the way she handled a very tough situation with faith and strength. In fact, I thought all of the characters were interesting. I liked the writing in this book, and I felt it delivered the story as intended, with only a few exceptions.
I thought the book portrayed a very real, very tough situation, as Erin attempts to come to terms with the ups and downs of her past, and she tries to mend ties with her father who both loved her and hurt her. Overall, her reactions were exactly as they should have been.
So why am I conflicted about this book?
There is an early section where Erin describes her husband's history of depression. The book gives realistic detail about his sinking into a state which threatened her family. When she couldm't take any more, she turned to her mother, who told her to pray. And she did. And everything got better. By the time the book takes place, he is the rock she can rely on. And this bothered me. Because if prayer was the cure for depression, I know of several people that would be living happier lives. If prayer had given her strength, and pointed her to someone (a therapist, a religious leader) that had given him the help to fight his way out, with her by his side, I would have been very happy. But that's not what happened.
On the other hand, this was a bit of history, not the meat of the book. So I wasn't going to let it get in my way. And indeed, there were no more miraculous interventions through the majority of the book.
Unfortunately, the end of the book was riddled with them, situations which suddenly veered off the path that events were leading them to. Erin still suffered loss, but too many other things were cleaned up far too neatly for me, in a way that I didn't feel honored the rest of the events or her journey.
I'm not sure if I should just accept this as part of the Christian Fiction genre, and give this book a shrug, but avoid the genre, or count it as a weakness of this book, and continue to carefully explore others.
I have to start out by saying that I've been reluctant to read Christian fiction. One reason is that I really don't want to read a book that preaches at me. That was not an issue at all with this book. The other is that I really don't want there to be a shortcut, where God reaches down and fixes everything, and the righteous live happily ever after. This was an issue for me with Cottage by the Sea.
On the one hand, I really liked Erin and the way she handled a very tough situation with faith and strength. In fact, I thought all of the characters were interesting. I liked the writing in this book, and I felt it delivered the story as intended, with only a few exceptions.
I thought the book portrayed a very real, very tough situation, as Erin attempts to come to terms with the ups and downs of her past, and she tries to mend ties with her father who both loved her and hurt her. Overall, her reactions were exactly as they should have been.
So why am I conflicted about this book?
There is an early section where Erin describes her husband's history of depression. The book gives realistic detail about his sinking into a state which threatened her family. When she couldm't take any more, she turned to her mother, who told her to pray. And she did. And everything got better. By the time the book takes place, he is the rock she can rely on. And this bothered me. Because if prayer was the cure for depression, I know of several people that would be living happier lives. If prayer had given her strength, and pointed her to someone (a therapist, a religious leader) that had given him the help to fight his way out, with her by his side, I would have been very happy. But that's not what happened.
On the other hand, this was a bit of history, not the meat of the book. So I wasn't going to let it get in my way. And indeed, there were no more miraculous interventions through the majority of the book.
Unfortunately, the end of the book was riddled with them, situations which suddenly veered off the path that events were leading them to. Erin still suffered loss, but too many other things were cleaned up far too neatly for me, in a way that I didn't feel honored the rest of the events or her journey.
I'm not sure if I should just accept this as part of the Christian Fiction genre, and give this book a shrug, but avoid the genre, or count it as a weakness of this book, and continue to carefully explore others.
June 27, 2020
A sweet, gentle and realistic story about a life’s important decision. Move and take care of a father on his death bed or carry on with your own life. Heartfelt.
February 14, 2013
Wow! I am still trembling with the emotions! This is one of the best books I have ever read. There was SO MUCH to like I hardly know where to begin.
1. Each chapter began with an Irish blessing. I am in love with all things Irish, so this made it special to me from the beginning!
2. The protagonist of the story constantly reflects on things her mother said, or things her mother had written in her journal, and they were truly profound things, all helping me with my current journey to develop a more intimate relationship with God.
3. It was about an aging parent, facing his last days of life ... since I just put both my parents in a nursing home last summer, this was subject matter that really hit home to me.
4. There were depictions of one of the prettiest parts of our country ... the Oregon coast ... with it's beautiful sunsets ... but even descriptions that made the many gray days shine with a beauty of their own.
5. There were lots of people relationships ... some good, some not so good ... and many lessons for each of us to learn about those relationships.
6. It was a tender story of love ... between a father and daughter ... between a father and son ... between a sister and brother ... between a husband and wife ... between business partners and best friends.
7. There were a few comical moments ... MANY tears shed as I read the book ... delightful scenes and horrible scenes ... and the entire book can be summed up in this quote: "It's a brutal mercy when things like this happen. But you and I both know that if you dig past the brutal part, you'll find the mercy."
WHAT A FANTASTIC BOOK!
1. Each chapter began with an Irish blessing. I am in love with all things Irish, so this made it special to me from the beginning!
2. The protagonist of the story constantly reflects on things her mother said, or things her mother had written in her journal, and they were truly profound things, all helping me with my current journey to develop a more intimate relationship with God.
3. It was about an aging parent, facing his last days of life ... since I just put both my parents in a nursing home last summer, this was subject matter that really hit home to me.
4. There were depictions of one of the prettiest parts of our country ... the Oregon coast ... with it's beautiful sunsets ... but even descriptions that made the many gray days shine with a beauty of their own.
5. There were lots of people relationships ... some good, some not so good ... and many lessons for each of us to learn about those relationships.
6. It was a tender story of love ... between a father and daughter ... between a father and son ... between a sister and brother ... between a husband and wife ... between business partners and best friends.
7. There were a few comical moments ... MANY tears shed as I read the book ... delightful scenes and horrible scenes ... and the entire book can be summed up in this quote: "It's a brutal mercy when things like this happen. But you and I both know that if you dig past the brutal part, you'll find the mercy."
WHAT A FANTASTIC BOOK!
November 7, 2012
I found myself frustrated by this book. I was excited with her starting her new business and wanted to hear how that was going to work out. Then before she even went on her first appointment she gets the call that sends her rushing to visit her father (which I would have too, don't get me wrong). While there we see that she hasn't had the best relationship with her father because he remarried and moved away after her mother died. He expresses in his way that he wishes she had visited before and she promises to come again soon. But once she is home, she finds other things that are more important than her relationship with her father and doesn't visit him or seem to keep in very good contact with him for the next 18 months. She finds out that he has had relapses in his illness quite a few times over the past 18 months and now is bedridden (for the past 3 weeks and she had no idea!!). She rushes up to see him and finds that she will have to be the main caretaker for him.
Mixed in with all of this are offshoots about her previously bad relationship with her husband, how her mother was perfect, her business partner wanting to sever their partnership, her step-mother leaving for what seems no reason, and what a horrible relationship her brother has with their father.
I felt it was hypocritical when she would comment about wanting to heal the relationship between her father and brother. SHE didn't even have a good relationship with her father.
I was frustrated by the whole business partnership topic also. I didn't see how that actually made the book better.
Mixed in with all of this are offshoots about her previously bad relationship with her husband, how her mother was perfect, her business partner wanting to sever their partnership, her step-mother leaving for what seems no reason, and what a horrible relationship her brother has with their father.
I felt it was hypocritical when she would comment about wanting to heal the relationship between her father and brother. SHE didn't even have a good relationship with her father.
I was frustrated by the whole business partnership topic also. I didn't see how that actually made the book better.
July 21, 2018
I really don't like it when I feel like books are in between 2 or 3 stars. :/ That's the case for this book.
I like Robin Jones Gunn's writing, but it seems I need to be in a certain mood for reading. Robin's stories are usually more focused on emotions and deep truths rather than original plots and plot twists. That's totally okay, I think, but I feel like reading a book with a really engaging plot right now. That's why I gave it a lower rating.
The story was pretty good, and I felt the emotions were realistic. Robin knew what she was doing as she wrote. It was sad, but also infuriating how Delores acted (at least at first), but it was wonderful seeing how Tony came back.
I recommend this book to anyone who's looking for a light and sentimental read. The rating I gave it is because of the way I felt about it as I read. However, I know that Robin's style is more ordinary and simple because of her audience. That's alright, but it just isn't for me.
I like Robin Jones Gunn's writing, but it seems I need to be in a certain mood for reading. Robin's stories are usually more focused on emotions and deep truths rather than original plots and plot twists. That's totally okay, I think, but I feel like reading a book with a really engaging plot right now. That's why I gave it a lower rating.
The story was pretty good, and I felt the emotions were realistic. Robin knew what she was doing as she wrote. It was sad, but also infuriating how Delores acted (at least at first), but it was wonderful seeing how Tony came back.
I recommend this book to anyone who's looking for a light and sentimental read. The rating I gave it is because of the way I felt about it as I read. However, I know that Robin's style is more ordinary and simple because of her audience. That's alright, but it just isn't for me.
July 10, 2012
Erin and her friend Sharlene have just started their own wedding business called The Happiest Day, when Erin receives a phone call that her dad has had a stroke, she rushes to the Oregon coast to see how he is because his new wife Delores is not at all what Erin believes is right for her dad. Her father tells her to go back home since she has just started her own business, she does. During her son Jordon's wedding reception which her father and Delores were suppose to attend she finds out that her father has had more strokes. When she arrives again her father is a shell of a man. This breaks Erin's heart. To her surprise her husband Mike, thinks the cottage that her dad and Delores have fixed up is quite appealing and the coast as well. This book hit home as a dear friend suffered a stroke two years ago and it's been hard to watch him suffer. I've known him since I was a baby. I loved how this book had characters from Love Finds You in Sunset Beach Hawaii.
Robin has written a book of healing and love. This is one you don't want to miss!
Robin has written a book of healing and love. This is one you don't want to miss!
August 7, 2013
Loved it! For anyone going through the death of a loved one, or previously unloved one, this is a great journey of self-inspection and learning to put yourself in other's shoes.
February 26, 2018
A daughter’s gift of time, a father’s silent wish.
Erin Bryce and her best friend, Sharlene, count the day they start their wedding planning business as a very happy day. So much so that they name their company The Happiest Day to reflect the fulfillment of their long-held dream as well as their clients’ longing for a wedding celebration to match the exhilaration of being in love. As a bonus, the two women utilize their business to help Erin’s son Jordan and his fiancée, Sierra, plan a grand wedding.
But the two friends aren’t prepared for the cloud moving in to cover the sunny, successful start of their business. Erin’s father, who lives in a small coastal Oregon community with his brusque, downright odd second wife, Delores, develops a medical problem that puts him in the hospital. Erin responds by rushing from Southern California to her father’s—and oh, yeah, Delores’s—cottage by the sea.
What greets Erin when she arrives sends her tumbling down a bewildering path to a different kind of happiest day. Her journey tosses her through highs and lows of hurt and healing, betrayal and renewal, wrong assumptions righted, and the brightest future one could ever hope for. All just around the corner, at the cottage by the sea.
Erin Bryce and her best friend, Sharlene, count the day they start their wedding planning business as a very happy day. So much so that they name their company The Happiest Day to reflect the fulfillment of their long-held dream as well as their clients’ longing for a wedding celebration to match the exhilaration of being in love. As a bonus, the two women utilize their business to help Erin’s son Jordan and his fiancée, Sierra, plan a grand wedding.
But the two friends aren’t prepared for the cloud moving in to cover the sunny, successful start of their business. Erin’s father, who lives in a small coastal Oregon community with his brusque, downright odd second wife, Delores, develops a medical problem that puts him in the hospital. Erin responds by rushing from Southern California to her father’s—and oh, yeah, Delores’s—cottage by the sea.
What greets Erin when she arrives sends her tumbling down a bewildering path to a different kind of happiest day. Her journey tosses her through highs and lows of hurt and healing, betrayal and renewal, wrong assumptions righted, and the brightest future one could ever hope for. All just around the corner, at the cottage by the sea.
March 4, 2025
Normally, I veer right away from Christian fiction, and somehow grabbed this out of a Little Free Library full of interesting books...........and this one. Which turned out to be interesting too, and palatable even with the main character asking god for guidance alot. The situations and characters were well drawn and events believable, as I'm at an age where I and alot of friends are going through eldercare and all its issues. One feature was the portrait of how the "greatest" generation and the boomer generation are so different regarding sharing emotions, fears and life philosophies. Erin, the protagonist, receives one shock after another regarding hidden health situations of her widowed elder dad and his relatively new wife, which really rings true for this reader. The end is tiny bit smarmy, but didn't throw shade on enjoyment of the book.
June 14, 2021
I’ll always love Robin Jones Gunn’s books. They always touch my sentimental and dreamy heart, and I love how she weaves all her stories together with cameos of beloved characters from other books. This one included Sierra from the Sierra Jenson series, Love Finds You on Sunset Beach, and many others as well as a quick visit to Glenbrooke and the Wildflower Café that you can read more about in the Glenbrooke series (love that series!). This one I only gave 3 stars because I didn’t connect with the story as much as I have with the others, maybe just because of the older age of the characters.
August 8, 2018
This is by far one of my favorite reads. I could relate to Erin in so many ways as my mother had many strokes and I was her caregiver. How this author wrote this is exactly how I felt during my journey with my mother and her health. Thank you for putting it all on paper so others can read and possibly feel how it is to live through such an experience.
October 12, 2018
A poignant story about a daughter's decision to stay with her father after he falls ill. She must decide the best course of action because she's being pulled between caring for him, having him move back to where she lives and the fact that she just started a business with her best friend.
It was a very good read with a pleasant ending.
It was a very good read with a pleasant ending.
August 2, 2020
This was a hard one to read. It is a beautiful story that I can relate to on an intimate level. Having recently lost my beloved grandmother, being in the room with her when she took her last breath, reading about Erin and her father reopened that sore spot in my heart. Have your tissues ready when you read this one, it’s a tearjerker.
February 22, 2018
Another poignant read by Robin Jones Gunn. She takes a difficult topic, an aging parent, and makes it a realistic story of a daughter's struggle, caught between conflicting emotions and responsibilities.
April 27, 2018
Isn't it amazing how you think you have things all set up for your life and your future and then just in one second, everything changes. i like this book because this is what happened, and Erin really learned a lot and was drawn closer to God in the process. Very well done!
May 9, 2020
I really enjoyed this book with all the emotions and phases a person/family goes though when health issues arise. The author did a great job making you feel like you were there or you knew someone in that situation.
December 19, 2020
A pleasant read. Begins each chapter with a lovely Irish blessing. A little too much Bible quoting for me, as I like people to describe their personal experiences with the oneness.
Beautiful descriptions of the Oregon coast and the feelings of being there.
Beautiful descriptions of the Oregon coast and the feelings of being there.
November 19, 2023
A beautiful story of honoring a parent, maintaining a healthy marriage in the midst of a temporary separation to help with ailing parent and how misunderstanding/not seeing the whole story can cause my resentment towards others.
March 15, 2024
Even though the story is sad, it's also beautiful. The cottage by the sea sounds lovely, and I love that we get to see newlywed Sierra a bit and get to know the family she married into. Several of Erin's mom's quotes really hit home for me.
June 15, 2018
I enjoyed this book and it was a very easy read. Very touching and emotional.
July 6, 2018
A sweet book about doing what is right even when it is difficult and the hidden blessings God sprinkles in our lives.
July 21, 2018
Family relationships are difficult. This book deals with them honestly.
September 1, 2018
A little heavier than the usual Robin Jones Gunn; however, still an amazing book!
October 4, 2018
Liked the Irish blessings at beginning of each chapter.
November 5, 2018
A beautifully crafted, heart warming and tear bringing story of a daughter's love for her father.
December 21, 2019
This is a a stand alone.
August 29, 2020
Christian author- fiction book, easy read
October 10, 2020
Sad, poignant, hopeful. Have the tissues ready. ❤️ As usual Robin gives us encouragement for our Christian walk. 15+
February 17, 2021
Parts of it I loved and parts upset me. Without spoilers, there were some conflicts between the narrator and the antagonist that frustrated me.
January 10, 2023
Enjoyed this story
Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews