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Whisper Beach #1
Whisper Beach
From the New York Times bestselling author of Beach Colors and Breakwater Bay comes this unforgettable story—reminiscent of Kristin Hannah’s beloved novels—of friends, loyalty, and love as three women who are reunited in the idyllic beach town where they grew up are forced to re-evaluate their bonds
Fifteen years ago, seventeen-year-old Vanessa Moran fell in love and lost her virginity but not to the same boy. Pregnant, desperate, and humiliated, she fled friends and family and Whisper Beach, New Jersey, never breathing a word about her secret to anyone. She hasn’t been back since. Now a professional Manhattan organizer, she returns to the funeral of her best friend’s husband. She intends on just paying her respects and leaving—though she can’t deny she also wants the town to see how far she’s come as a successful business woman. But her plans to make this a short visit fall by the wayside when her girlfriends have other ideas.
Dorie, the owner of the pier’s Blue Crab Restaurant where Van and her friends worked as teenagers, needs help. Dorie’s roving husband spends every penny they make and now their restaurant is failing.
Joe, the boy Van left behind without an explanation, has never stopped loving her. While he’s wary of getting hurt again, he also can’t help wondering what would happen if they took up where they left off.
As the summer progresses and the restaurant takes on a new look, trouble comes from unexpected sources. For Van, this summer will test the meaning of friendship and trust—and how far love can bend before it breaks.
Fifteen years ago, seventeen-year-old Vanessa Moran fell in love and lost her virginity but not to the same boy. Pregnant, desperate, and humiliated, she fled friends and family and Whisper Beach, New Jersey, never breathing a word about her secret to anyone. She hasn’t been back since. Now a professional Manhattan organizer, she returns to the funeral of her best friend’s husband. She intends on just paying her respects and leaving—though she can’t deny she also wants the town to see how far she’s come as a successful business woman. But her plans to make this a short visit fall by the wayside when her girlfriends have other ideas.
Dorie, the owner of the pier’s Blue Crab Restaurant where Van and her friends worked as teenagers, needs help. Dorie’s roving husband spends every penny they make and now their restaurant is failing.
Joe, the boy Van left behind without an explanation, has never stopped loving her. While he’s wary of getting hurt again, he also can’t help wondering what would happen if they took up where they left off.
As the summer progresses and the restaurant takes on a new look, trouble comes from unexpected sources. For Van, this summer will test the meaning of friendship and trust—and how far love can bend before it breaks.
416 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 2, 2015
984 people are currently reading
5803 people want to read
About the author
Shelley Noble
31 books1,223 followersShelley Noble is a multi published fiction author whose books have been translated into seven languages. She writes women’s fiction as Shelley Noble and is also the author of several amateur sleuth mystery series, written as Shelley Freydont.
A former professional dancer and choreographer, she most recently worked on the films, Mona Lisa Smile and The Game Plan. She also consults on various dance and theatre projects, most recently the world premiere of a full length Tom Sawyer ballet commissioned by Kansas City Ballet.
Shelley is a member of Sisters-in-Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, and Liberty States Fiction Writers.
She lives near the New Jersey shore. In her spare time she loves to discover new beaches and indulge her passion for lighthouses and boardwalks with vintage carousels.
A former professional dancer and choreographer, she most recently worked on the films, Mona Lisa Smile and The Game Plan. She also consults on various dance and theatre projects, most recently the world premiere of a full length Tom Sawyer ballet commissioned by Kansas City Ballet.
Shelley is a member of Sisters-in-Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, and Liberty States Fiction Writers.
She lives near the New Jersey shore. In her spare time she loves to discover new beaches and indulge her passion for lighthouses and boardwalks with vintage carousels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 279 reviews
June 7, 2016
Please note that I gave this book no stars. I had to round up on Goodreads since it doesn't allow you to not star a book.
This is a straight up terrible book showing that no matter what a man does, it's the woman's fault for not being understanding. Oh and there's a lesson in there somewhere that even if you are smart and successful, you need to give up what makes you happy in order to make a guy you haven't seen in 12 years happy because apparently men never relocate for women, ever. It's a freaking law in romance novel land and I am tired of it.
"Whisper Beach" revolves around several characters, but for most of the book we get differing third person points of view from Vanessa Moran (Van) and Joe, Van's old boyfriend.
Van returns to Whisper Beach to attend her cousin Gig's husband's funeral. Van has not been home for 12 years, after breaking up with Joe, falling pregnant, and then being thrown out by her father. Borrowing money from her cousin Gigi, Van goes to Manhattan and after suffering a miscarriage that leaves her unable to have any more children (because of course she did, she's terrible for having pre-marital sex so therefore she can no longer have kids) she stays away from Whisper Beach.
I at times felt sorry for and than just sick of Van. I went a good 50 percent of the book loathing her character after we get to read her thoughts concerning one of her former friend's named Dana who she thought was partly responsible for getting abused by her boyfriend. Reasons why were because she would never put up with that, and Dana could just leave.
I don't know what Ms. Noble was thinking, but to have a plot point dealing with domestic violence and having characters in the book acting and saying that it is the abused woman's fault several times left a bad taste in my mouth. Let's not forget that the same character still wasn't charged for abusing Dana, getting into fights with other people, and straight up stalking and harassment. And the other townspeople knew about it and still kept talking to this piece of crap. There could and should have been some commentary about the fact the guy was a police officer and the fact that the town and police force should be held accountable for even letting the guy sashay around with him having access to firearms.
Van was bullied by her long-term friends Suze and Dorie into staying though she didn't want to and was constantly told by them and other people, Joe and her uncle Nate how to feel about things that she experienced because of her alcoholic father. I really wanted her to just peace the hell out of the town at the end of the book and be done with everyone.
I couldn't stand the character of Joe. Sitting around pining after Van for 12 years though it is pointed out by him and everyone he knew where she was because you know the internet. Van at this point is a successful businesswoman so if he really did want to clear things up with her and to check on her he could have. I hate storylines that do this mess where the male heroine is just some passive guy until the heroine shows back up and then she must change her life up and down because he decides that she needs to give them a chance.
I hate, hate, hate romance books that keep doing this. Fine if you want to center a romance novel around a heroine returning back to her hometown (I have read enough of them) quit making them seen as standoffish and wrong for daring to accomplish their dreams and be successful. And you know what else would be great, quit making them sterile because of things they did in their youth. It's a fucking insult. What really peeved me about this whole thing was that Van even mentions not being that too into kids anyway, but this is glossed over because Joe has always wanted a huge family, his family after she sees them starts talking about grandkids (super subtle) and then his mother discusses adoption with Joe because Van can't have kids. I mean...my God, I hate reading about other people discussing another character's womb. Just knock it off.
So I hated every character in this book except for Dana. The character of Dana seemed to be the only character that saw people and circumstances clearly. I felt for her, since she feels like she has no other options besides staying with her abusive boyfriend. Since the whole town talks shit about her behind her back and in front of her face I can see why she would feel that way.
The character of Dorie irked the living life out of me. She is older than the other characters by at least 30 years and is seen as a surrogate mom by Van and her friends. Dorie feels the need to meddle and tell Van how lacking her life is all of the time. This is after we realize that Dorie's husband is a philanderer and also sexually harassed the waitresses at the restaurant they run. And Dorie goes to say her husband is still better than other husbands. And she knows about his wandering eye, but hey, he always comes back to her, so winning? All Dorie does is act like she knows best and tells Van needs to just be with Joe, because you know when one is 17 years old you should totally settle down with a guy who you broke up with after he was flirting with a friend and then you totally saw him having sex with someone in his truck.
Oh did I forget to mention that? There's another side plot about who Joe was with and how that caused Van to just run off and have sex with someone and how she was a whore just like her mother. God. I just can't. I am going to need to stop soon. I just feel really ticked off right now. This is not a romance book. I don't know what this is besides a really long book that showed how every man is to be treated with kid gloves, but every woman is wrong. Always.
There is some nonsense with the characters trying to help Dorie save her restaurant because her craptastic husband ran off with their money and has bankrupted them. Yeah, this is the same woman anyone listens to, about anything. And of course Van is once again told to get over what her father did to her and her mother because he was angry that her mother trapped him by getting pregnant with her and he was in love with someone else the whole time. By the way, we don't really get to see Van's father speak much. Instead two other characters stand up for his selfish ass and I wish Van would have cursed them all out. I don't care about how angry you feel because you felt trapped and your dreams got deferred, you still took it out on your wife and kid. Having to read paragraphs about what a bad person Van's mother was made me ill. I doubt she enjoyed being married to a man who made her life a living hell and based on what was said, didn't even work so she was responsible for everything.
The writing just pissed me off (as you can see), if you are going to write books about domestic violence, alcoholism, etc. it would behoove people to actually do research on it. To have characters act like people should just forgive and forget and or hey, kind of your fault you get hit is just shocking to read in a contemporary romance book.
The flow was terrible from beginning to end. The book was repetitive. You had characters saying the same things to each other and repeating things we just learned to other characters repeatedly.
The setting of Whisper Beach is supposed to be in New Jersey somewhere. Besides people saying beach a lot and the characters going to the beach here and there, the whole place felt deserted. You just kept reading about the same people over and over. I kept wondering where the heck the tourists were.
The ending was very abrupt. At least you don't get a happily ever after spelled out for everyone. But you can put bits and pieces together and realize that Van is going to be visiting Whisper Beach all of the time and making sure that she is there in order to give being a couple with Joe a try.
This is a straight up terrible book showing that no matter what a man does, it's the woman's fault for not being understanding. Oh and there's a lesson in there somewhere that even if you are smart and successful, you need to give up what makes you happy in order to make a guy you haven't seen in 12 years happy because apparently men never relocate for women, ever. It's a freaking law in romance novel land and I am tired of it.
"Whisper Beach" revolves around several characters, but for most of the book we get differing third person points of view from Vanessa Moran (Van) and Joe, Van's old boyfriend.
Van returns to Whisper Beach to attend her cousin Gig's husband's funeral. Van has not been home for 12 years, after breaking up with Joe, falling pregnant, and then being thrown out by her father. Borrowing money from her cousin Gigi, Van goes to Manhattan and after suffering a miscarriage that leaves her unable to have any more children (because of course she did, she's terrible for having pre-marital sex so therefore she can no longer have kids) she stays away from Whisper Beach.
I at times felt sorry for and than just sick of Van. I went a good 50 percent of the book loathing her character after we get to read her thoughts concerning one of her former friend's named Dana who she thought was partly responsible for getting abused by her boyfriend. Reasons why were because she would never put up with that, and Dana could just leave.
I don't know what Ms. Noble was thinking, but to have a plot point dealing with domestic violence and having characters in the book acting and saying that it is the abused woman's fault several times left a bad taste in my mouth. Let's not forget that the same character still wasn't charged for abusing Dana, getting into fights with other people, and straight up stalking and harassment. And the other townspeople knew about it and still kept talking to this piece of crap. There could and should have been some commentary about the fact the guy was a police officer and the fact that the town and police force should be held accountable for even letting the guy sashay around with him having access to firearms.
Van was bullied by her long-term friends Suze and Dorie into staying though she didn't want to and was constantly told by them and other people, Joe and her uncle Nate how to feel about things that she experienced because of her alcoholic father. I really wanted her to just peace the hell out of the town at the end of the book and be done with everyone.
I couldn't stand the character of Joe. Sitting around pining after Van for 12 years though it is pointed out by him and everyone he knew where she was because you know the internet. Van at this point is a successful businesswoman so if he really did want to clear things up with her and to check on her he could have. I hate storylines that do this mess where the male heroine is just some passive guy until the heroine shows back up and then she must change her life up and down because he decides that she needs to give them a chance.
I hate, hate, hate romance books that keep doing this. Fine if you want to center a romance novel around a heroine returning back to her hometown (I have read enough of them) quit making them seen as standoffish and wrong for daring to accomplish their dreams and be successful. And you know what else would be great, quit making them sterile because of things they did in their youth. It's a fucking insult. What really peeved me about this whole thing was that Van even mentions not being that too into kids anyway, but this is glossed over because Joe has always wanted a huge family, his family after she sees them starts talking about grandkids (super subtle) and then his mother discusses adoption with Joe because Van can't have kids. I mean...my God, I hate reading about other people discussing another character's womb. Just knock it off.
So I hated every character in this book except for Dana. The character of Dana seemed to be the only character that saw people and circumstances clearly. I felt for her, since she feels like she has no other options besides staying with her abusive boyfriend. Since the whole town talks shit about her behind her back and in front of her face I can see why she would feel that way.
The character of Dorie irked the living life out of me. She is older than the other characters by at least 30 years and is seen as a surrogate mom by Van and her friends. Dorie feels the need to meddle and tell Van how lacking her life is all of the time. This is after we realize that Dorie's husband is a philanderer and also sexually harassed the waitresses at the restaurant they run. And Dorie goes to say her husband is still better than other husbands. And she knows about his wandering eye, but hey, he always comes back to her, so winning? All Dorie does is act like she knows best and tells Van needs to just be with Joe, because you know when one is 17 years old you should totally settle down with a guy who you broke up with after he was flirting with a friend and then you totally saw him having sex with someone in his truck.
Oh did I forget to mention that? There's another side plot about who Joe was with and how that caused Van to just run off and have sex with someone and how she was a whore just like her mother. God. I just can't. I am going to need to stop soon. I just feel really ticked off right now. This is not a romance book. I don't know what this is besides a really long book that showed how every man is to be treated with kid gloves, but every woman is wrong. Always.
There is some nonsense with the characters trying to help Dorie save her restaurant because her craptastic husband ran off with their money and has bankrupted them. Yeah, this is the same woman anyone listens to, about anything. And of course Van is once again told to get over what her father did to her and her mother because he was angry that her mother trapped him by getting pregnant with her and he was in love with someone else the whole time. By the way, we don't really get to see Van's father speak much. Instead two other characters stand up for his selfish ass and I wish Van would have cursed them all out. I don't care about how angry you feel because you felt trapped and your dreams got deferred, you still took it out on your wife and kid. Having to read paragraphs about what a bad person Van's mother was made me ill. I doubt she enjoyed being married to a man who made her life a living hell and based on what was said, didn't even work so she was responsible for everything.
The writing just pissed me off (as you can see), if you are going to write books about domestic violence, alcoholism, etc. it would behoove people to actually do research on it. To have characters act like people should just forgive and forget and or hey, kind of your fault you get hit is just shocking to read in a contemporary romance book.
The flow was terrible from beginning to end. The book was repetitive. You had characters saying the same things to each other and repeating things we just learned to other characters repeatedly.
The setting of Whisper Beach is supposed to be in New Jersey somewhere. Besides people saying beach a lot and the characters going to the beach here and there, the whole place felt deserted. You just kept reading about the same people over and over. I kept wondering where the heck the tourists were.
The ending was very abrupt. At least you don't get a happily ever after spelled out for everyone. But you can put bits and pieces together and realize that Van is going to be visiting Whisper Beach all of the time and making sure that she is there in order to give being a couple with Joe a try.
June 27, 2017
your average beach book, but the ending was disappointing..it just ended abruptly. ..I need closure
April 16, 2016
This book was incredibly slow. I can usually read a good book in 24-48 hours. I struggled finishing this one in a week. There is nothing interesting about the characters and the storyline is boring. I feel like there was lots of filler dialogue just to waste time getting to the predictable ending.
December 15, 2020
A very average 2.5 star holiday read!
At first I thought the setting was decades ago with the very outdated views on relationships, women’s rights and advocacy but alas this modern novel does not deal with domestic violence in a way I would support.
The plot is a predictable romance but the characters were a little bit irritating, the setting sounded pleasant but I wouldn’t put this on a reading list.
At first I thought the setting was decades ago with the very outdated views on relationships, women’s rights and advocacy but alas this modern novel does not deal with domestic violence in a way I would support.
The plot is a predictable romance but the characters were a little bit irritating, the setting sounded pleasant but I wouldn’t put this on a reading list.
June 6, 2015
Review also found at http://kristineandterri.blogspot.ca/2...
** I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher William Morrow & Company via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. The expected publication date is June 16th 2015**
I write my thoughts with mixed emotions. On the one hand I love a story about estranged friends with secrets coming together to share and heal the past. On the other hand I had a difficult time with Vanessa through the majority of the book.
I will start with the positive. I loved the setting of the story. The town of Whisper Beach New Jersey seemed like a quaint small town where due to its size everybody knew everyone. I can identify coming from a small town myself. The unfortunate part for me is that my small town did not reside on the ocean as this one did.
I also enjoyed the cast of characters. Dorie was the typical "Godmother" to the girls who provided shelter and advise to all of the wayward girls, both in their youth and now as adults. I am not really sure how her husband was too relevant to the plot however Dorie was a Gem. Then there was Suze who was so intelligently sloppy it was funny. I even appreciate Dana with her sharp tongue. Lastly we have Gigi. Well, read to make your own opinion.
Were the story fell a little short for me is with the character of Van. She came from a rough childhood and escaped her past to make something of her life. This in itself is an amazing feat. My issue is that for the most part she seemed selfish and entitled because of her horrible past. This is a pet peeve for me in life as I have encountered similar people. They overcome a hardship to be become successful and they get so full of themselves and their success that they don't remember where they came from. It is a fine line between being proud of your success and accomplishments and judging others who have not been as successful. Throughout the story I felt Van was judging some of the others and using her past as an excuse for pretty much everything. It made it difficult to be in her corner at every moment of the story. I found myself going back and forth with her.
That aside it was a story about friendship, acknowledging the past and moving forward from it. With an eclectic cast of characters it provided an entertaining read. I enjoy these types of stories and even though I struggled with the main character I found myself entertained and curious to find out how it would end. Without providing any spoilers I will say that I am glad for the way it ended as I felt it appropriate to the plot.
** I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher William Morrow & Company via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. The expected publication date is June 16th 2015**
I write my thoughts with mixed emotions. On the one hand I love a story about estranged friends with secrets coming together to share and heal the past. On the other hand I had a difficult time with Vanessa through the majority of the book.
I will start with the positive. I loved the setting of the story. The town of Whisper Beach New Jersey seemed like a quaint small town where due to its size everybody knew everyone. I can identify coming from a small town myself. The unfortunate part for me is that my small town did not reside on the ocean as this one did.
I also enjoyed the cast of characters. Dorie was the typical "Godmother" to the girls who provided shelter and advise to all of the wayward girls, both in their youth and now as adults. I am not really sure how her husband was too relevant to the plot however Dorie was a Gem. Then there was Suze who was so intelligently sloppy it was funny. I even appreciate Dana with her sharp tongue. Lastly we have Gigi. Well, read to make your own opinion.
Were the story fell a little short for me is with the character of Van. She came from a rough childhood and escaped her past to make something of her life. This in itself is an amazing feat. My issue is that for the most part she seemed selfish and entitled because of her horrible past. This is a pet peeve for me in life as I have encountered similar people. They overcome a hardship to be become successful and they get so full of themselves and their success that they don't remember where they came from. It is a fine line between being proud of your success and accomplishments and judging others who have not been as successful. Throughout the story I felt Van was judging some of the others and using her past as an excuse for pretty much everything. It made it difficult to be in her corner at every moment of the story. I found myself going back and forth with her.
That aside it was a story about friendship, acknowledging the past and moving forward from it. With an eclectic cast of characters it provided an entertaining read. I enjoy these types of stories and even though I struggled with the main character I found myself entertained and curious to find out how it would end. Without providing any spoilers I will say that I am glad for the way it ended as I felt it appropriate to the plot.
July 29, 2015
Fifteen years ago, seventeen-year-old Vanessa Moran fell in love and lost her virginity but not to the same boy. Pregnant, desperate, and humiliated, she fled friends and family and Whisper Beach, New Jersey, never breathing a word about her secret to anyone. She hasn’t been back since. Now a professional Manhattan organizer, she returns to the funeral of her best friend’s husband. She intends on just paying her respects and leaving—though she can’t deny she also wants the town to see how far she’s come as a successful business woman. But her plans to make this a short visit fall by the wayside when her girlfriends have other ideas.
Dorie, the owner of the pier’s Blue Crab Restaurant where Van and her friends worked as teenagers, needs help. Dorie’s roving husband spends every penny they make and now their restaurant is failing.
Joe, the boy Van left behind without an explanation, has never stopped loving her. While he’s wary of getting hurt again, he also can’t help wondering what would happen if they took up where they left off.
As the summer progresses and the restaurant takes on a new look, trouble comes from unexpected sources. For Van, this summer will test the meaning of friendship and trust—and how far love can bend before it breaks.GR description
When am I going to learn to just not even start one of these Hallmark books!! Very shallow, everything tied up in a nice package at the end, and very predictable.
Dorie, the owner of the pier’s Blue Crab Restaurant where Van and her friends worked as teenagers, needs help. Dorie’s roving husband spends every penny they make and now their restaurant is failing.
Joe, the boy Van left behind without an explanation, has never stopped loving her. While he’s wary of getting hurt again, he also can’t help wondering what would happen if they took up where they left off.
As the summer progresses and the restaurant takes on a new look, trouble comes from unexpected sources. For Van, this summer will test the meaning of friendship and trust—and how far love can bend before it breaks.GR description
When am I going to learn to just not even start one of these Hallmark books!! Very shallow, everything tied up in a nice package at the end, and very predictable.
May 24, 2016
This was the first book by this author I had read. And Ioved the characters right away. But for as good as the book was and the detail the author went into about the main two characters the ending fell so flat. It wasn't quite the HEA but it wasn't quite a cliffhanger either. I'm not sure if she intends to write the other character stories and incorporate the rest of the story for Van and Joe into that one. I would love to spend more time in Whisper Beach and learning what happens to the rest of the gang.
June 11, 2015
Vanessa (Van) Moran is a successful professional organizer living out her dream in New York City. She left her Jersey Shore beach town behind her along with all of the memories. In fact, she hasn't returned since that fateful night she suddenly. Her cousin's husband has unexpectedly died, so she has returned for his funeral. Her cousin, Gigi, used to be her best friend, but she hasn't seen her in years. There's also other people she's reunited with, such as, her good friend Suze, a struggling professor. There's also her older friend, Dorie, who owns the Blue Crab Restaurant that Van used to work as a teenager. Plus, Dorie has helped her out countless times when she was growing up, so reuniting with her has been memorable. However, there is one person she doesn't want to see and that is her ex-boyfriend, Joe. She loved him tremendously, but there was some drama and she left it all behind, despite both of their lingering feelings. Can Van mend these bridges or will she leave her old shore town for good and never come back again? Shelley Noble's quiet beach read, Whisper Beach, is a slow moving novel that focuses on the complex relationships people form in a small town that knows your every move.
Read the rest of my review here:
http://www.confessionsofabookaddict.c...
Read the rest of my review here:
http://www.confessionsofabookaddict.c...
July 21, 2015
I received ‘Whisper Beach’ as a Library Thing Early Reviewer Giveaway novel. Although the story is a noble one, I was unable to fully connect with the characters in the novel, causing the story to move along more slowly than I would have liked. The characters, which are not described in much detail, are all flawed in some way and are dealing with issues confronting them in the idyllic town of Whisper Beach. Van Moran, the successful owner of a Manhattan business organizing wealthy clients, returns to Whisper Beach for a family funeral. Upon her return, she must resolve issues that haunt her from the past, namely a mentally abusive and alcoholic father, as well as a boyfriend that she ran out on years ago. While at Whisper Beach, Van stays at the home of Dorie, the owner of the town’s Blue Crab restaurant. Dorie, whose husband has squandered the profits from the business and left town, is saddled with a nearly bankrupt eatery. Together with other friends, Van helps Dorie to reorganize and revitalize the restaurant. This story is about friendship, and how one must embrace the past before being able to move forward into the future.
June 21, 2015
I won this book as a Facebook giveaway, and I'm very glad I did! I thought this was a wonderful book, about learning to live with the mistakes of the past, forgiving those who hurt you, and being able to move forward. Van ?Moran is a successful businesswoman, who abruptly left her home town and the people who loved her after a series of misadventures, misunderstandings, and a grave mistake on her part. When she returns many years later, she is confronted by her past, her former boyfriend, an abusive father, and old friends and enemies. This was a very moving story, with characters who are flawed but interesting.
June 19, 2016
Book review
This is the first book I have ever read of this author. It was a good book, it had some surprise elements. It has had the typical romance, boy meets girl they fall in love ,separate and find their self falling in love again. On the whole it was a good read
This is the first book I have ever read of this author. It was a good book, it had some surprise elements. It has had the typical romance, boy meets girl they fall in love ,separate and find their self falling in love again. On the whole it was a good read
June 10, 2017
This book had NO CONCLUSIONS at the end. It had a slow start, but I did eventually become involved in the characters. Then there is NO RESOLUTION at the end. It is as if she finished her quota of pages and simply stopped writing. I was completely disappointed.
June 4, 2018
Old friends and memories
Van Moran is coming back to Whiskey Creek where she grew up and ran away from twelve years ago. Pregnant and alone she goes to Manhattan and lived through a miscarriage with her friend Suze's help. Now they are back for the funeral of her cousin's husband.
Van was just going to slide through and go to Rohobath beach for vacation but her old boss where she worked at the Crab cafe guilts her into staying for a couple of days to get answers on why she disappeared without telling anyone.
A story of family, sad memories, and old friends reacquainting as well as old boyfriends. Keeps you on your toys going from one situation to another.
Van Moran is coming back to Whiskey Creek where she grew up and ran away from twelve years ago. Pregnant and alone she goes to Manhattan and lived through a miscarriage with her friend Suze's help. Now they are back for the funeral of her cousin's husband.
Van was just going to slide through and go to Rohobath beach for vacation but her old boss where she worked at the Crab cafe guilts her into staying for a couple of days to get answers on why she disappeared without telling anyone.
A story of family, sad memories, and old friends reacquainting as well as old boyfriends. Keeps you on your toys going from one situation to another.
May 11, 2020
When her cousin’s husband dies, Van reluctantly comes back to Whisper Beach, the place she fled from years before. After making a name and an personal organization business for herself in Manhattan, she thought she could just go to the funeral, pay her respects, and then go on a two week vacation. But, it turns out that Van can’t really ignore all the family and friends from her past and that she, as well as they, just might need some help organizing their lives.
This was just ok. The beginning was pretty confusing but then settled into an easy read, however, the ending seemed abrupt and unfinished.
This was just ok. The beginning was pretty confusing but then settled into an easy read, however, the ending seemed abrupt and unfinished.
December 5, 2020
A great read. A very heart warming read about returning home after being away many years. Vanessa Moran left Whisper Beach 15 years ago to never return, then her friend’s husband dies, and she decides to go go back for a short visit. Van finds she really has to review her memories about friendships and lovers. Are things really what you remember?
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC.
November 18, 2018
This was a delightful light, beach read. I read most of it on the plane to Hawaii. I was rooting for a happy (marriage and babies) but the author had a better one in mind. It was a hopeful ending.
October 17, 2020
Twelve years after Van’s hasty leave taking from Whisper Beach, she returns for a funeral and is forced to face her past. Once back, she finds herself spending time with her old friends, family, and the man she loved who betrayed her.
The book is filled with surprising revelations and discoveries. It’s a bit heavier than many beach reads, but the theme holds true. It’s summer reunion filled with great friends and nostalgia, hurt, love, friendship, betrayal, anger, abuse, alcoholism, child abuse. It’s often dark and touches on serious issues.
The story is good and well written, but at times, it goes over and over the same things and kind of beats them to death. Still, I did enjoy reading it and found the surprises interesting. I was surprised that the ending didn’t tie up all the loose ends or answer all the questions, but it does set the stage for more. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is more. This book is part of a series, but it appears that each book in the series revolves around a different set of characters.
I especially enjoyed the camaraderie of the women at the center of the book, how they were there for each other and watched each other’s’ backs. I liked that the romance aspect of the book isn’t the driving force, but that it is secondary to the relationships between the women.
The cover was a bit perplexing as it shows a bicycle, but I don’t recall a bicycle in the book. My only guess is that it’s there to conjure the women as girls. That’s a small thing. The book itself provides an enjoyable read.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley. I thank them for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.
The book is filled with surprising revelations and discoveries. It’s a bit heavier than many beach reads, but the theme holds true. It’s summer reunion filled with great friends and nostalgia, hurt, love, friendship, betrayal, anger, abuse, alcoholism, child abuse. It’s often dark and touches on serious issues.
The story is good and well written, but at times, it goes over and over the same things and kind of beats them to death. Still, I did enjoy reading it and found the surprises interesting. I was surprised that the ending didn’t tie up all the loose ends or answer all the questions, but it does set the stage for more. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is more. This book is part of a series, but it appears that each book in the series revolves around a different set of characters.
I especially enjoyed the camaraderie of the women at the center of the book, how they were there for each other and watched each other’s’ backs. I liked that the romance aspect of the book isn’t the driving force, but that it is secondary to the relationships between the women.
The cover was a bit perplexing as it shows a bicycle, but I don’t recall a bicycle in the book. My only guess is that it’s there to conjure the women as girls. That’s a small thing. The book itself provides an enjoyable read.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley. I thank them for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.
August 30, 2023
Broken relationships, lost love....going home and rekindled hope
July 28, 2018
A light read with interesting characters and a good plot.
September 3, 2019
Like the characters
October 29, 2017
This book was a complete and utter waste of time. It is incredibly lengthy but does not even have a resolution to any of the issues. It is absolutely not a romance and you will be disappointed if you think it will turn into one. Also, if I wanted to waste my time reading about kitchen organization I would have bought a book about it.
September 27, 2020
Ever since the publication of Thomas Wolfe’s novel, “You Can’t Go Home Again” the title as a phrase is well-known across the generations even if the individual has never read the novel and knows nothing but the title. “Whisper Beach” provides a twist to the question, “Can Vanessa ‘Van’ Moran go home again?” A reader quickly becomes engrossed in wonder of all the possibilities as it is learned that Van left her hometown of Whisper Beach without goodbyes 12 years ago and some people think she might even be dead. Van’s cousin Gigi gave her all the money she had saved for nursing school as Van left town but Gigi doesn’t know the true reason Van was so desperate to leave. There’s only 1 girlfriend that knows the truth. As Van returns for the funeral of her cousin’s husband Clay Daly, the plan is simple, attend the funeral, stay a few days for Gigi, perhaps put the old beach cottage that has been passed down through the female generations of her family up for sale, and then enjoy some vacation time as reserved at the 4-star hotel and spa in Rehoboth Beach. Simple. Organized. Planned. Life as Van prefers and has created with the success of her own business, Elite Lifestyle Managers, in New York.
I loved this book! “Can you go home again?” A timeless question and this novel reveals the possibilities with thoughtfulness as each relationship that touches Van’s life is explored. The character descriptions are revealed at perfect pace as various encounters begin on Van’s return to Whisper Beach. Van seems not the only one to have secrets.
One of the aspects about this novel that I loved the most was the exploration of the human character. How we sometimes presume we know what we know about family and friends when we really know nothing at all about what another has gone through because we haven’t walked all the miles alongside them – we’ve only been with them for pieces of their life journey. How we sometimes are judgmental with the best of intentions but again without all the facts. When we reveal the secrets of our lives to one another and the truth brings not the judgment as anticipated, not the criticism as feared, but we are given acceptance, understanding, and love.
I’m sure this novel will bring lively discussion at book club meetings. But, I’m hoping the novel will also be discovered by readers that might not necessarily be interested in book club participation but that would benefit by a little self-introspection before taking the next steps on their own life journey. It is a story that might also offer encouragement, courage and hope to someone wondering if it’s time to unburden their heart and share their secret.
The cover art is beautiful in its simplicity and seems to invite each reader individually to the beach and to reminisce of their own past summer experiences at the beach. The cover art then changes to a slightly different scene but as a pen and ink drawing to open each chapter. The author gives credit to The William Morrow Art Department in the acknowledgments and I effusively concur. Simple. Picturesque. Welcoming.
I can’t wait to read more of this author’s novels.
I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this title as an “Early Reviewer” from Library Thing.
I loved this book! “Can you go home again?” A timeless question and this novel reveals the possibilities with thoughtfulness as each relationship that touches Van’s life is explored. The character descriptions are revealed at perfect pace as various encounters begin on Van’s return to Whisper Beach. Van seems not the only one to have secrets.
One of the aspects about this novel that I loved the most was the exploration of the human character. How we sometimes presume we know what we know about family and friends when we really know nothing at all about what another has gone through because we haven’t walked all the miles alongside them – we’ve only been with them for pieces of their life journey. How we sometimes are judgmental with the best of intentions but again without all the facts. When we reveal the secrets of our lives to one another and the truth brings not the judgment as anticipated, not the criticism as feared, but we are given acceptance, understanding, and love.
I’m sure this novel will bring lively discussion at book club meetings. But, I’m hoping the novel will also be discovered by readers that might not necessarily be interested in book club participation but that would benefit by a little self-introspection before taking the next steps on their own life journey. It is a story that might also offer encouragement, courage and hope to someone wondering if it’s time to unburden their heart and share their secret.
The cover art is beautiful in its simplicity and seems to invite each reader individually to the beach and to reminisce of their own past summer experiences at the beach. The cover art then changes to a slightly different scene but as a pen and ink drawing to open each chapter. The author gives credit to The William Morrow Art Department in the acknowledgments and I effusively concur. Simple. Picturesque. Welcoming.
I can’t wait to read more of this author’s novels.
I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this title as an “Early Reviewer” from Library Thing.
June 18, 2015
This is a story of a young woman who has come back because of a funeral, she has been gone for fifteen years, and now will she face her past? We meet the people who were there with her when she grew up at Whisper Beach, and those who made up her background.
Now will she confront her memories and her future, and we are still wondering how things are going to end. There must be another book out there, and I hope soon.
Your heart will ache for this young girl, and the way she was treated as a child, alcoholism of her Dad, but the salvation of Dorie. She was there for this poor child.
As the story unfolds we learn about the lives of these characters and things are not always bright. Abuse show up in many, and in different forms. Although I found the pace a bit slow, I am now waiting for more. You will really get to know these folks, and become friends; I wanted to be a part of the group.
I would love to know if Van can forgive, and carry on at the Beach, or will she return to her life in Manhattan? We also have Joe, and his dreams of restoring his former home and business, will these two reconnect?
I received this book from the Publisher William Morrow through Edelweiss, and was not required to give a positive review.
Now will she confront her memories and her future, and we are still wondering how things are going to end. There must be another book out there, and I hope soon.
Your heart will ache for this young girl, and the way she was treated as a child, alcoholism of her Dad, but the salvation of Dorie. She was there for this poor child.
As the story unfolds we learn about the lives of these characters and things are not always bright. Abuse show up in many, and in different forms. Although I found the pace a bit slow, I am now waiting for more. You will really get to know these folks, and become friends; I wanted to be a part of the group.
I would love to know if Van can forgive, and carry on at the Beach, or will she return to her life in Manhattan? We also have Joe, and his dreams of restoring his former home and business, will these two reconnect?
I received this book from the Publisher William Morrow through Edelweiss, and was not required to give a positive review.
November 7, 2015
Full disclosure: I received this novel as a First Reads Goodreads giveaway, but that in no way affects this review.
You can't go home again, or can you? For Van, this seems to be the truth behind her return to Whisper Beach. Reappearing after fifteen years (many thought she had died) for her cousin (and best friend) Gigi's husband's funeral, Van plans to leave right after the event. Unresolved issues from her past seem to overwhelm the girl, now a woman, who is otherwise in control and successful as a businesswoman.
Old girlfriends welcome and convince her to stay, but those issues are at the forefront even as new troubles loom and perceptions change.
The characters of Van, Dorie, Suze, Joe, and others are well drawn. The setting of a beach town is realistic, and it is a perfect women's fiction beach read.
If this is a standalone novel, the ending is like life...who knows where it will take these characters next. If there is a sequel planned, so much the better as the ending left much up in the air as to the resolution of some of the issues with which the protagonist is dealing.
You can't go home again, or can you? For Van, this seems to be the truth behind her return to Whisper Beach. Reappearing after fifteen years (many thought she had died) for her cousin (and best friend) Gigi's husband's funeral, Van plans to leave right after the event. Unresolved issues from her past seem to overwhelm the girl, now a woman, who is otherwise in control and successful as a businesswoman.
Old girlfriends welcome and convince her to stay, but those issues are at the forefront even as new troubles loom and perceptions change.
The characters of Van, Dorie, Suze, Joe, and others are well drawn. The setting of a beach town is realistic, and it is a perfect women's fiction beach read.
If this is a standalone novel, the ending is like life...who knows where it will take these characters next. If there is a sequel planned, so much the better as the ending left much up in the air as to the resolution of some of the issues with which the protagonist is dealing.
June 27, 2015
3.5 stars. Vanessa (Van) Moran returns to Whisper Beach to attend her best friend's husband's funeral. Van left abruptly 15 years ago and now owns a successful organizing business in Manhattan. She meets up with girlfriends and her ex-boyfriend as they all confront the past.
The story in this book is good. It does move a bit slowly. I connected more with the characters in the author's previous book, Breakwater Bay.
The story in this book is good. It does move a bit slowly. I connected more with the characters in the author's previous book, Breakwater Bay.
April 17, 2016
Dragged too long. Not a good ending. Sorry I paid for the book.
Look up nothing good to say.
Poor review... stretch the story for nothing.
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Look up nothing good to say.
Poor review... stretch the story for nothing.
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October 12, 2015
http://charlotteswebofbooks.blogspot....
Bottom line - it is entirely possible that my thoughts on this book could just be me being in a slump, but this was not a book that I connected with at all.
Bottom line - it is entirely possible that my thoughts on this book could just be me being in a slump, but this was not a book that I connected with at all.
June 27, 2016
Good beach read... But It took time to get into the story.. it was very repetitive and a lot of dwelling on the same things... It was hard for me to really enjoy the characters and when I finally did the author just ends the book abruptly after all that went on!
October 26, 2015
I enjoyed this book but was a bit disappointed with the ending. Maybe the author was setting it up for a sequel or series....
January 27, 2016
it was ok. I liked the characters. Slow in spots, annoying in spots.
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