Miss Moonchild Starbeam

The Seaside Saga #22

by Joanne DeMaio

From New York Times bestselling author Joanne DeMaio comes Miss Moonchild Starbeam, Book 22 of The Seaside Saga.

As turmoil swirls for some in the emotional waters of Stony Point, others take to the skies. Elsa DeLuca, once known as Miss Moonchild Starbeam, is reuniting with a dear friend on a special California trip. But while Elsa has flowers in her hair, her travel companion Celia has an aching in her heart. Which is why Shane's secretly come along, too. Can the getaway offer hope and healing? Still, as the wind cries off the beautiful Bay, it whispers sadness.

And The Seaside Saga continues.

The Seaside Saga Reading Order
Book 1 - Blue Jeans and Coffee Beans
Book 2 - The Denim Blue Sea
Book 3 - Beach Blues
Book 4 - Beach Breeze
Book 5 - The Beach Inn
Book 6 - Beach Bliss
Book 7 - Castaway Cottage
Book 8 - Night Beach
Book 9 - Little Beach Bungalow
Book 10 - Every Summer
Book 11 - Salt Air Secrets
Book 12 - Stony Point Summer
Book 13 - The Beachgoers
Book 14 - Shore Road
Book 15 - The Wait
Book 16 - The Goodbye
Book 17 - The Barlows
Book 18 - The Visitor
Book 19 - Stairway to the Sea
Book 20 - The Liars
Book 21 - The Mistake
Book 22 - Miss Moonchild Starbeam
And more Seaside Saga Books

292 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 17, 2024

About the author

Joanne DeMaio is the prolific New York Times bestselling author of The Seaside Saga and other novels. She lives with her family in Connecticut and is currently at work on upcoming books.

Joanne enjoys hearing from readers at Facebook.com/JoanneDeMaioAuthor.

Reviews

[Kathie Hendrickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ending kist makes me want more

[Susan Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s hard to believe that this is the 22nd book in this series! I feel like I know these characters intimately—I know their loves, their fears, their joys, their pain. My two favorite couples are Jason and Maris, Shane and Celia, so I was totally invested in their stories. I feel everything they feel! The author has such a unique voice as she weaves these stories, often leaving me breathless. My time with these characters and their stories is always well-spent, and I’ll miss them until the next installment!

[Susan (The Book Bag) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Seaside Saga continues with another installment, Miss Moonchild Starbeam. This wonderful series reads like a soap opera with lots of love, adventure, and drama. This time we are whisked away to California as Elsa reconnects with an old friend and Celia hopes to reunite with someone from her past.

Elsa's trip is full of memories as she and her friend relive their past and have a relaxing time. On the other hand, Celia's trip, while it's enjoyable spending time with her daughter and Shane, is also full of trepidation and worry as she comes face-to-face with her past. What will the outcome be?

Once again, I was swept up in the worlds of the residents of Stony Point. I love each visit to that interesting community and its people. I'm always excited to go back. And as always, I am left with wanting more when I finish each story.

I highly recommend this series, I've loved every single one of the stories and getting to know all of the characters of this amazing community. If you have not picked up these books yet, you really should. You will come to love this community and these people as much as I do.

[Penny Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every book in this series is like returning to a family reunion. The characters have all become so real and you just want to catch up with their lives. This book was particularly captivating.
Elsa and Cliff are confronted head on with where their relationship is.
Elsa, Celia and Aria plan a trip to see an old friend of Elsa’s from college. Celia has a little secret that she plans on following through with while vacationing with Elsa.
Will this secret of Celia’s turn out the way she hopes? Or could it make a drastic change in her relationship with Elsa?
I can’t wait to read the next episode!!!

[Kristen Karter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this book in the Seaside Saga series really surprised me with new shocking discoveries, it also tugged at my heart knowing that Maris and Jason are finally together, that Elsa got to get together with an old friend, and now makes me eager to read the next book with the cliffhanger at the end of this story. Thank you Joanne for all your great stories within this series.

[Karen Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miss Moonchild Starbeam takes up right where the Mistake leaves off. It goes into a little more detail about Jason's accident and recovery. Most of the book centers around the girl's trip Elsa and Celia are taking to San Francisco, CA. Elsa will meet up with her longtime friend, Wren, for a couple days while Celia contemplates going to meet her estranged mother, Heather, who owns a jewelry shop there. Secretly, Shane follows them to San Francisco to be there for Celia as he doesn't think it's a good idea for Celia to reach out to her mother. What transpires next leads to a cliffhanger that make it so you can't wait for The Shack to come out and see what happens next. Once you start reading The Seaside Saga books, you can't wait for the next book to come out. If you haven't started reading The Seaside Saga, pick up Blue Jeans and Coffee Beans (Book 1 of this series), you will be hooked.

[Margie Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miss Moonchild Starbeam is the 22nd installment in Joanne DeMaio’s seaside saga. That’s right, 22 books and I’m still as invested and in love with reading them as I was from the start. It’s a series that takes place in Stony Point, Connecticut, right along the waters edge and it sounds absolutely beautiful there. All the characters are either friends or family and I feel like I have come to know them all personally and I’ve grown to really care about them. It’s something how an author can make fictitious characters seem so real to us, but Joanne DeMaio has that ability. This book mainly centers around Elsa, Celia and Shane. Elsa and Celia plan a trip to San Francisco, California so Elsa can reunite with an old college friend. Celia has other intentions for the trip. Shane secretly tags along for moral support for Celia and oops, accidentally the cat is out of the bag! I loved returning to Stony Point and catching up with all my favorite characters. I can’t wait to read The Shack which is set to release March 3, 2025 to see what Elsa’s reaction will be to what she witnessed in California and to catch up with all the rest of the gang back in Stony Point. This series is so addicting, I swear it gets better with each new book. It’s the waiting for the next book to come out that’s torture!

[Paulette · Rating 5 out of 5]

A getaway from Stony Point to San Francisco is just what Elsa and Celia need. Elsa to see her college friend, Wren, that she lost track of so long ago. For Celia, a chance to see her past face to face. A reunion of joy and reminiscing for Elsa. But for Celia her reunion has no joy, no reminiscing. Just grief and sadness. Once again, the author tugs on our hearts as she writes of the friendships, secrets and relationships of our friends that are living their lives in her Seaside Saga. A wonderful addition to this her 22nd book. Looking forward to what she has in store for her readers and listeners in her next book. Whether reading or listening, this book was captivating and enjoyable. I received an early audible arc from the author. Her choice of Steven Barnett as the outstanding narrator of her audio books is a treat, especially knowing that listening enjoyment is just ahead. This review is my honest opinion.

[Shelby Clinard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another perfect read and hanging on the stunning ending?! What will become of all the love and heartbreak. 💞

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Onto book #22…this one was better than the last but I’m growing weary of how messed up all of their relationships are. Elsa being in San Francisco with her college friend was a bit disappointing. It was reliving the past but very little about what has gone on since then. The descriptive scenery and clothing seems like filler. The secrecy of Cecilia and Shane is growing old. You’re all supposed to be adults. Where is the adult behavior? The cat and mouse with Elsa and Cliff has grown old, too. I’ll stick it out for the next installment. Hopefully, it’ll be better.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Miss Moonchild Starbeam, the beach friends' story continues where The Mistake left off. Author Joanne DeMaio transports the reader back to the tranquil seashore town of Stony Point, Connecticut. The story takes place in early October, and the readers will catch up with the beach friends' lives.

Miss Moonchild Starbeam is an intricate story of interweaving friendships and ever-changing life events. In this twenty-second installment in The Seaside Saga Series, the author weaves a story that focuses on Elsa, Celia, and Shane. Elsa reconnects with Wren, her college roommate from their time in San Francisco, and after reminiscing about that time in her life as Miss Moonchild Starbeam, she decides to visit Wren, and bring Celia and baby Aria with her on a girl's trip. It's the perfect opportunity for Celia to look up her estranged mom, Heather, who owns a jewelry store called August Dove, and try to reconnect with her. Celia doesn't tell Elsa about her side plan, but she does tell Shane, who is in a secret relationship with Celia, and he wants to accompany them, but they have to make sure that they keep their secret relationship from Elsa. While the trip to San Francisco is magical for Elsa as she reconnects with Wren and reminisces about their college days, Celia's plans to reconnect with her estranged mom doesn't go as well, and neither does keeping her and Shane's relationship a secret.

I loved how this installment focused on Elsa, Celia, and Shane. It's about time that the readers got to follow Elsa's story! I loved how Elsa reconnected with her college roommate Wren, and how she got the nickname, Miss Moonchild Starbeam. For Elsa, the trip was very much needed after a difficult year, and it was wonderful to follow along as she enjoyed spending time with Wren.

But for Celia, her plan to try and reconnect with her estranged mom didn't go as well. Shane had a bad feeling it wouldn't go well, and he tried to talk Celia out of visiting her mom, but she was adamant, so Shane was determined to protect her at all costs. You can't help but feel the full gamut of emotions as Celia struggles with her decision to visit with her mom, it will pull at your heartstrings. You just know that this isn't going to be easy for Celia to relive the past hurt that her mom caused her family, it is the most heart wrenching decision that had my eyes tearing up when she tells Shane what happened in the past.

The author teases her readers with another cliffhanger ending that keeps the reader waiting to see what happens in the aftermath of Celia's visit to her mom, and let's just say secrets are revealed in a stunning manner. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what is revealed in The Shack, the twenty-third installment of the series ... sigh.

In this installment in the series, the reader follows along with the beach friends' lives that are full of friendship, love, secrets, lies, mistakes, regrets, challenges, heartbreak, grief, surprises, and second chances. As you read this installment, the beach friends continue along in their life journey in Stony Point.

So now that I have whet your interest in the beach friends' latest comings and goings, drive under the railroad trestle and enter the enchanting beach town of Stony Point ... pull up a beach chair ... and visit with the close-knit longtime friends in author Joanne DeMaio's delightful novel, Miss Moonchild Starbeam.

The Seaside Saga Series is a heartwarming series of stories of friendship, family, painful secrets, lies, and regrets, new beginnings and second chances. Author Joanne DeMaio weaves a wonderful tale written in the third person narrative, which is set in the present with flashbacks to the past. The reader is transported to the tranquil seashore town of Stony Point, Connecticut, where they follow along with Celia, Maris, Eva, Matt, Jason, Kyle, Lauren, Nick, Elsa, Cliff, Mitch, and Shane as their lives change like the tide's ebb and flow on their little tranquil coastal town.

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[Mitchy Beach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joann Demaio has delivered yet another delightful installment in this amazing series. After a few heavier volumes filled with complex conflicts among the characters, this book brings a refreshing wave of happiness and uplifting moments that truly stand out.
The rekindling of Maris and Jason’s relationship is a highlight. It is so nice to see them on even ground again. Their love is true and after a rough summer, it's great to see that they worked things out. Readers will also appreciate the nostalgic trip down memory lane with Elsa, which adds depth and charm to the narrative.
Shane and Celia's relationship is beautifully portrayed, though it comes with its own frustrations. Their struggle to openly express their love creates tension that impacts not only their bond, but also could jeopardize Shane's fragile relationship with his brother. This dynamic adds a layer of realism and complexity to the story, making readers invested in their outcomes.
The author masterfully weaves together moments of joy and tension, leaving the audience eagerly anticipating what comes next. As always, the cliffhanger ending will keep fans on the edge of their seats until the next book is released next year.
This series has become one that I look forward to every year, and for good reason. It is well-written, emotionally evocative, and immerses you in the lives of its characters, who feel like family. If you’re looking for a series that balances joy and drama while keeping you hooked, I highly recommend diving in. You won’t be disappointed!

[Julie Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miss Moonchild Starbeam (The Seaside Saga Book 22) by Joanne DeMaio
Such a fun entertaining read. Love that you can catch up with everything that is going on with everybody from Stony Point.
Love hearing about the trip to CA, what descriptions. I can feel the wind there, water spray and the sunshine along with everything about the beaches.
So glad the girls get to go. So many secrets and not everyone knows them all.
Love that Maris has great news and more about the rowboat is uncovered, but not quite the whole story yet. Love how the whole clan stick together. Turmoil ahead as new beach laws will be put in place.....So emotional, fun, sad at times and overwhelming grief....
Can't wait for the next story.

[Phylis Carpenter · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with any book that you pick up by this author you know it will be a really good book. This one does not disappoint. I enjoy all of her books but it is especially nice to be able to return to Stoney Pointe and see all our beach friends.

This book has a little bit of all of them in it but it centers mostly around Celia and Elsa going to San Francisco to see her friend from college. The one who originally gave Elsa the name Miss Moonchild Starbeam back in their younger days.

This book was really good and it is one of those books that you want to read slow so that it will last longer but you can't because you want to see what happens next.

[Elyse Mcnulty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miss Moonchild Starbeam by Joanne DeMaio is book # 22 in Joanne’s Seaside Saga. This edition finds Elsa revisiting her early days as a Hippy in San Francisco with a visit to her friend Wren. Celia and her baby Aria will accompany Elsa on the trip. Celia is in search of her mother who left them when she was very young. Shane is also going to support Celia, unbeknownst to Elsa. Be sure to tune in and, as always, there is a cliffhanger at the end leaving us waiting for the next in the series. If you have not started this series, start with book one and enjoy the ride!!!!!!!

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m bored, is anyone else? I’ve read every one of Ms DeMaio’s books so I am invested in the series and I do understand she writes these stories as a soap opera script, but knowing that doesn’t help the read. I find myself skimming two thirds of these books with the overwritten descriptions of landscapes, clothing outfits, interiors and exteriors (two books include painting the storage shed and its not painted yet!). There are plenty of people in the group to build relatable and fascinating stories to keep me coming back…hope that happens.

[Christie Marks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this is my favorite (I know - I say that after every book). Without leaving spoilers, I loved that: Elsa finally came to her senses and made up her mind about Cliff vs Mitch; I'm unabashedly Team Shane & Celia; Elsa and Wren's reminiscing about their college years; Elsa's recounting of the story behind the ocean stars. Of course, the cliffhanger ending has me wishing my life away and I count down the days until the March 3rd release of The Shack.

[Becky Rathke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seaside friends are the best friends

Once again, the seaside saga delivers!
So many storylines have been working out and this book has not disappointed.
Jason and Maris are back stronger than ever, the novel is coming along, what color will the shack be? Elsa and her college friend reconnecting in CA and a girls trip with Celia and Aria (and Shane secretly) what an incredible trip. So many memories, I hope Celia can be brave enough to face her mother before they leave.

[Lynn Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book! have read all of her books and the characters have become like friends And family and you feel their pain and joys. That’s how well they are written and you should grab them up and meet them. You can read them alone but they are best read in order. You will absolutely love each and every single one of them! Thank you Joanne for writing such great books!

[Carol Boyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a wonderful book to keep all the relation ships and their current struggles and renewed commitments tied together!! I am always curious to see what happens with Jason and Maris and Shane and Cecilia! I was even more excited to see what Elsa's trip was going to be like! I just love getting the Seaside Updates! These are such heart felt sagas!

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing book in the Seaside Saga.As always it is hard to pace yourself.You want to catchup with the beach gang.Jason and Maris struggle as she feels he is not being completely honest with her.Can they work thru this next hurdle?Maris has made startlingly progress on the novel.But will having an editor be beneficial?Elsa and Celia travel together to California for different reasons.Why did Celia decide not to go thru with her original plan?Elsa relives her college hippie days reconnecting with her college roommate.How will Elsa deal with her recent discovery?Shane is rethinking his life choices.Will he remain in Maine lobstering?The cliff hanger ending has you hungry for more.It is a long wait until March to reconnect with our beach gang.

[Sharon Schaffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story. It was a great picture of the lives of the characters in several families. I was disappointed in Celia, but could understand why she did what she did. Now what will Elsa do. Can't wait for the next one to come out.

[Constance · Rating 5 out of 5]

happiness filed with love and sadness

The wonder of sweet love blooming and returning to give new dreams. These characters give much to consider while tugging at the heart. Thank you very much ❤️

[Cindy Reddick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so look forward to continue reading this series. All the characters have become like family that I know intimately. This book was so good with lots of feelings both good and bad. Do yourself a favor and start reading this series!

[Lisa Abruzzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good series. Kinda like watching a series on TV. I’m invested in the characters. I’m kinda tired of all the lies and can’t figure out why there has to be so many secrets. Shane and Celia are my favorites.

[Jean Carson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the continued story but sometimes it gets too wordy. Suspense at the end makes me want to keep reading.

How do I order the next book? Cannot gets to it. Please help to get me out of here please

[Teresa Tipton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this continuing series about friends. I have read all of Joanne's books and love them all. highly recommend

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again I loved this book about the people at the Seaside Saga! Great series and great reads!

[Katrina Murray-hesterlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

🙏💐

[BeverlyB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Seaside Saga! Another cliffhanger! Nuts! I have to wait to find out what happens next to my favorite Stony Point characters!