Together for the first time in one valuable box set, three compelling stories of family and friendship from the New York Times bestselling author of The Beach House, Mary Alice Monroe.The Book ClubOn the surface, it is a monthly book club. But for five women, it is so much everything from an escape from daily responsibilities to the sense of community and security it provides. They are from different walks of life, embracing the challenge of change. And as they share their hopes and fears and triumphs, they will hold fast to the true magic of the book club—friendship.The Four SeasonsThe Season sisters have gathered for the funeral of their younger sister. Her death, and the legacy she leaves them, will trigger a cross-country journey in search of a stranger with the power to mend their shattered lives. As the emotions of the past reverberate into the present, the three search for the girls they once were, in hopes of finding what they really the women they were meant to be.SkywardWhen burned-out ER nurse Ella Majors can take no more misery, she accepts a temporary position caring for a little girl. Harris Henderson, a single father, seems better able to deal with the creatures he rehabilitates in his birds-of-prey sanctuary than with his own daughter. Then something magical begins to the timeless beauty of the South Carolina coast and the majestic grace of the wild birds weave a healing spell on all their injured hearts.
Mary Alice Monroe is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 30 books, including her new novel, Where the Rivers Merge, the first book in a duology and her historical debut. The second book is titled The Rivers End. Release date has not been set yet.
Monroe has also published children’s books, which complement the environmental themes she is known for in her adult novels. Monroe’s middle grade series, written with Angela May, The Islanders, debuted #2 on the New York Times Best Sellers List in 2021. The second book in the series, Search for Treasure, debuted #3 on the New York Times Best Sellers List. And the third book in the series, Shipwrecked, is available everywhere books are sold.
Nearly eight million copies of her books have been published worldwide.
Mary Alice has earned numerous accolades and awards including induction into the South Carolina Academy of Authors’ Hall of Fame; South Carolina Center for the Book Award for Writing; the South Carolina Award for Literary Excellence; the SW Florida Author of Distinction Award; the RT Lifetime Achievement Award; the International Book Award for Green Fiction; the Henry Bergh Award for Children’s Fiction; and her novel A Lowcountry Christmas won the prestigious Southern Prize for Fiction.
Mary Alice is also the co-founder of the popular weekly web show and podcast Friends & Fiction.
The Beach House is a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, starring Andie McDowell. Several of her novels are optioned for film.
Mary Alice has championed the fragility of the earth’s wild habitat. The coastal southern landscape in particular is a strong and important focus of many of her novels. For her writing, Monroe immerses herself in academic research, works with wildlife experts, and does hands-on volunteering with animals. She then uses the knowledge and experiences to craft captivating stories that identify important parallels between nature and human nature. Sea turtles, bottlenose dolphins, monarch butterflies, shorebirds are among the species she has worked with and woven into her novels.
Mary Alice is also an active conservationist and serves on several boards including the South Carolina Aquarium board emeritus, the Pat Conroy Literary Center Honorary Board, and the Leatherback Trust, which she received the Leatherback Trust Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022. She is especially proud to be a state-certified volunteer with the Island Turtle Team for more than twenty years.
Mary Alice splits her time between her home on the South Carolina coast and her home in the North Carolina mountains. When she’s not writing a novel, she is with her family or busy working with wildlife somewhere in the world.
When I ordered this set I wondered why I had never read these stories by Mary Alice Monroe! I read all her books. Right away I realized that I had in fact already read them. Well I reread them and enjoyed them just as much as I probably did the first time. Nice easy reads that also teach you about happenings in the Lowcountry.
I was ready for a break from deeper books that my book club often reads. I love the scope and topics of the books we read, but Once and awhile light reading is a nice break I enjoyed reading all three.