Gulf Coast Wedding

Blackbird Beach #7

by Maggie Miller

Escape to the Gulf Coast of Florida with Georgia Carpenter as she gets a second chance at life, love, and happiness.

There’s a wedding on the horizon and Georgia Carpenter couldn’t be happier. But that doesn’t mean she’s lost sight of everything that still needs to be done to get the Sea Glass Inn ready for opening. Not only is she preparing for that, but the magazine photoshoot is right around the corner, too.
As is the town council election. Most people think Travis Taylor, the Inn’s handsome handyman, is a shoo-in, but with Lavinia Major as his opponent, anything could happen. And probably will.
Especially since things haven’t been going Lavinia’s way lately. Not with getting to see her great-grandson, not with getting to see her granddaughter, and not with keeping control of Blackbird Beach.

Georgia refuses to let one woman stand in her way of happiness, however. Reservations are coming in and the Inn’s future looks bright and promising. She’s even agreed to have the Inn’s famous Christmas party once again.

Everything is going as smoothly as she could hope for. Which only means Lavinia will find a way to make things bumpy again. Or will this wedding change all of that?

Genres: Romance, Audiobook, Fiction, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Family, Womens Fiction

261 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 24, 2021

About the author

Time off is time best spent at the beach, don't you agree?

The beach is my happy place. The sound of the waves are my favorite background music. And the sand between my toes is the best massage I can think of.

When I'm not at the beach, I'm writing or reading or cooking for my family. You know, life.

I hope you enjoy my books. Drop me a line and let me know what you think of them! You can find me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MaggieMiller... or at my website, https://www.maggiemillerauthor.com. Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter!

Reviews

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the sweetest of the series as we see a lovely wedding, work toward getting the inn ready to open, home renovations for a new family, and some surprise relationship healing, as the series is drawing closer to a the end. I am enjoying the story of Georgia, her family, and friends in this great Gulf Coast setting. Wonderful characters who are overcoming odds to make a new life for themselves and each other. I am looking forward to the finale coming next and the approach of Christmas.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sam and Levi have decided to get married. When Sam's grandmother, Lavinia Major, hears about it, she vows to stop the wedding. Sam then talks Levi into moving up the wedding date. When Georgia Carpenter learns about the wedding, she offers the Seaglass Inn as the perfect place to get married. Everyone jumps in to put together the perfect wedding for the happy couple. Meanwhile, Sam's father, Travis Taylor, is running for town council against his ex-mother-in-law, Lavinia. Will he win?

This is the 7th book in the Blackbird Beach series. The longer I listen to this series, the more monotonous it gets. In this edition, the wedding is planned down to the last detail. This took up at least three hours of the six-hour audiobook. Other things happening in this book is the town council election, and Levi searching for a house to buy for himself, Sam, and their son, Clayton. The only interesting aspect of this story was wondering what Lavinia would do next. My rating: 3 Stars.

[Ginger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is on the whole Blackbird Beach Series.
I started this series for a couple reasons, it’s free in the audible romance package and it’s based at a beach on gulf coast, I live close to gulf coast.
Anyway, going in blind is something I enjoy, you either continue with series or end after first book. I listened to whole series and couldn’t stop, I fell in love with this family and most of the community except of course one character that I’m sure if you read this enjoyable story you’ll agree. There is a whole cast of narrators which most nailed the characters some not so much. This is my opinion may not be yours.

[January · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gulf Coast Wedding by Maggie Miller
5h 30m narrated by Lisa Flanagan, Pamela Almand, Ryan West, Charlie Thurston, Stephanie Einstein, and Stacia Newcomb 261 pages
Blackbird Beach #7

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction > Chick Lit, Family, Clean & Wholesome

Featuring: Florida, Multiple POVs, Renovations, Small Town, Bed & Breakfast Inn, Drama, Politics, Single Parenting, Wedding Planning, Cats Halloween

Rating as a movie: PG-13

Song for the soundtrack: "At Last" by Etta James

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My thoughts: Like sitcom characters were put on the backburner. Overall, I feel like there wasn't enough story for this to be a book, so they just threw in stuff to draw it out, it would have been better if they continued the storyline they put on the burner instead. It's been 5 books in the making only to be resolved in a single paragraph this book. That's worse than the eyes open, no eyes closed for the kittens in the last book. The performance took a hit because the 9-year-old sounds like a kindergarten. Some of it was the writing, but it could have been fixed by not using a baby voice.

Recommend to others?: Yes. I'm starting to understand why their isn't a 9th book, but honestly, I would read it if there was.

[Juliet]

If you like reading about how a character conducts chores, renovations, and landscaping in minute detail, among whole chapters devoted to a character’s calorie counting and diet culture self talk after eating, this book is for you. Every female character discusses dieting. The characters feel like family that nag you about having a second helping. The characters are so kind and yet They are so weight and food focused I feel sorry for them. And nope, it has nothing to do with the plot!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is dripping with sweetness. Cute and fast read.

[Katrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s like the opposite of those annoying blogs on Pinterest where you’re just trying to get the damn recipe and you don’t want to hear the entire life stories and random anecdotes that made the blogger decide to make said recipe.
The plot is finally getting interesting with Sam and Levi storyline going and I just want to follow the damn story but keep getting bogged down with step by step descriptions of how to make a salad or coffee. Just say they ate salad and complained about how terrible their lives are going to be because of Coffee’s amazing cooking!
Also, on a day of a wedding she’s coordinating, who stops for a coffee and long chat about life choices after a leisurely run, then enjoys a long boring talk with mom while strategically preparing another salad for lunch while complaining about ALL of the things that they need to get done before the wedding a few hours away. GET STUFF DONE!!!
Also, it’s kinda weird how everyone treats Georgia like they’re her butlers. “Anything else I can do?” “Is that all you’ll be requiring at the moment?”
It’s like Georgia is run so ragged and doing everything when really everyone just snaps to attention and does everything for her.
She’ll literally be in the laundry room with Bonnie and her kittens (and we have to get every detail about her feeding the cats and changing the towel for the kittens) but she draws the line at cleaning the litter box even though she’s literally right there! She leaves it for Mia to do because Mia doesn’t also have a wedding to coordinate as well as a minister’s house to work at later that same day.
Anyway, the storyline is cheesy but I’m invested by this point and it’s just the boring, unnecessary details that really take away from the plot for me.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gulf Coast Wedding: Blackbird Beach Book 7 is by Maggie Miller. With so many things happening at Blackbird Beach, Georgie feels like she is running in circles. Luckily, she has her daughter Mia, her sister Lilly, and boyfriend Travis to help her.
There are only a few odds and ends to finish up before Sea Glass Inn is open for business. They aren’t even open and have a wedding scheduled and people are calling for reservations. On Monday, a crew from Tourist magazine was coming to photoshoot the house for an article, so plants, flowers, and food must be prepared. Monday was also election day for Travis who was running against incumbent Lavinia, his ex-mother-in-law. Sam, Travis’s daughter, and Levi, the father of her son, Clayton, were getting married on Wednesday at the Inn. This was a sudden event which she learned of on Saturday evening. They had to keep Lavinia and her daughter, Jullian from knowing about it because Lavinia threatened to stop the wedding. Griffin, Georgia’s son, was waiting to hear from his lawyer about his ex-wife’s lawsuit to claim their daughter after having abandoning her. This is just a few of the things to do before Samantha can get married.
The book is excellent as the reader sees how Georgia and her friends and family deal or not deal with all the problems that seem to pop up as they try to plan a wedding in three days.

[FictionalFlings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally an event has happened at The Sea Glass Inn. Mia has decided to head up the event and test her hand at wedding planning. Everyone jumps in on the fun and a beautiful night happens with an unexpected twist.
The Sea Glass Inn family grows with every book. These are a wonderful group of people with big hearts. There needs to be more people like this in real life. Jumping in to help neighbors and other town folk. Not only do they help others, others don’t hesitate to help in return.
Narration continues to be the same character voices in each book. I like that at this point I can recognize by voice who it is. This is a wonderful series.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing says Celebration like a Wedding

Can a wedding be pulled together in 4 days time ? Only if you are marrying the Blackbird Inn. With all the talented family members pitching in it comes without a hitch and an unexpected surprize ending.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have enjoyed this series. Wonderful characters. I need to be more like Georgia. Calm, loving, thinks of others…

[Bray Myers · Rating 2 out of 5]

just happy to have finished the serie

[Alexandria Trusov · Rating 2 out of 5]

Diet culture has joined the party

[Patricia Valentine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this series, but I feel this book was a little unrealistic. A wedding after re connecting for a few days??? You do know that a villain can sometimes just remain the villain. I let it slide with Aunt Lily, but Levania is just over top unrealistic. This is probably one of my least favorites so far the series.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a sweet addition to this series. I loved the setup for the wedding and how everyone worked together. The details are part of what I love about this series. You can picture everything so perfectly, and it feels like you’re there with them. On to the last in the series!

[Biggest Little Book Talker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book that brings everything into fruition.
It is full of happiness and the biggest apology ever.
Pretty much leaves all things settled except for the opening of the inn.

[Mary Beth Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pleasant change with lessons learned throughout the series with positive outcomes...

It was a feel good story in a world of negative drama which was a nice change. Loved the characters as well as a nice way of teaching forgiveness under such negative behavior.

[Pamela Kuechenmeister · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hope the author is doing okay because I'm really not sure why the author was so obsessed with weight and diets in this book. The rest of the series was so healthy and cozy and now everyone is on a low carb diet and passing on ice cream because they have to fit into a dress the next day as if that will make a difference. Wild twist for this author.

[Niki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had never read anything by Maggie Miller but have to say that I really enjoyed the series Blackbird Beach and read all the books right in a row. Any story set up on the beach on the Gulf Coast of FL where Georgia Carpenter inherits a run down cottage from her great aunt has to be good. The books continue with other members of Georgia's family and friends from Blackbird Beach.

[JN · Rating 2 out of 5]

Went from sweet to saccharine. The obsession with calorie counting is weird in a beach book. Accurate but weird. However the description of gulf coast weather is highly inaccurate. It never gets that cool in Oct/November. It’s still sweaty swampy and humid. It’s not hard to find someone who lives there and could tell you. Also. “St Pete’s Beach” is another great way to tell locals you don’t know the area. Additionally,, the kid that’s supposed to be nine acts like a six or seven year old. It’s odd. By this point in the series, we all expect the character arc to swing to asking forgiveness and everyone suddenly being cool with it, but this one with the main town grinch was a little too much.

[Linda McLaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Characters have become family

I have read this entire series and I can't believe I have to wait until November to get the 8th and final book. Miller's story is easy, for me, to visualize and is one of those stories that I follow/see in my mind as well as read the words. The development of the characters is well rounded and will be difficult to say goodbye to after the final book. The story, in total, is positive and offers hope in life's trials. Now, I will be looking for more books from Miller. Enthusiastically, recommend thus series!

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow oh wow

This is been the best books I've read in a very long time , I waited for it to come out know I wished the next one was right behind it. I'm really loving these books and would HIGHLY RECOMMEND THEM. GEORGIA, Lilly, Mia Griffin, Travis Sam Levi Clanton and Denise and Chloe are like family I feel like I was part of the wedding and everything they done and still doing. Maggie Miller p,ease keep writing in this series, I'll need to stay in this group of beautiful God loving Family.

[Karen Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished book 7, Gulf Coast Wedding. Each book gets better and better. Maggie Miller has really outdone herself on this one. So much happening in this book. The work continues on the inn, the election for councilman, Samantha with a huge change in her life with a surprise from the past, and a fantastic and unbelievable ending to an amazing book. I have one more book to read and I am dreading to see this series come to an end. But after reading the 7 books so far, I am betting that Maggie Miller has some surprises up her sleeve for the last book. Time to see what happens in book 8.

[vicki zimmerman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Surely it gets better

I read to chapter 8. Hopefully, I just didn’t get to the part where it started getting better. Or maybe I’m the wrong demographic.
It seemed needlessly boring, rather amateurish, and juvenile to me. But it seems to have a lot of 4- and 5-star reviews, so in the spirit of kindness, I will assume the problem is mine.

[Elizabeth Reddekopp · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful novel

Oh my. I love these characters. The addition of Coffee is wonderful. His cooking is Devine. You can almost smell it and taste. This author brings it to life. The characters continue to make a difference in this small town in Florida on the Gulf. Love that Levi and Sam found their way back to each other.

[Christine S Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

a time of healing and Celebration

I loved every chapter. You can not argue with to souls finally finding each other again. A time of family healing and a young family staring to build a life together. Generous people making Sam and Levi's wedding warm and beautiful. What is not to like?

[Shirley P. Stout · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful Wedding

So happy that Levi, Sam and Clayton are finding true happiness. Glad to see that Lavinia has turned away from her evil ways and getting a second chance with all the people she hurt over the years

[Anne Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read

I have enjoyed this series to no end! Every book has kept me hooked. Great characters, warm, interesting plots that are sweet and clean and so well written they're hard to put down.

[Vee.Garnettverizon.Net · Rating 5 out of 5]

nothing like a wedding to make me cry.

The series has had lots of intriguing moments and just good storytelling. I was pleased with the ending. As Lillie says redemption and second chances are possible.

[Karen Compton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all the books in this series! Maggie Miller’s writing it so easy to read and it just flows.