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Bloombay Shores #1
Bloombay Beginnings
Welcome to Bloombay, a small island off Seattle’s coast with stunning ocean views, picturesque vineyards, and a tight-knit community.
Sisters Emily, Donna, and Olivia Abernathy miss each other dearly. Residing in different cities, they only see each other a few times a year. But when Emily, the eldest sister, is forced to move to Bloombay, Donna and Olivia immediately visit her to make sure she’s okay. They find themselves at crossroads in their own lives too, and the island charms them in unexpected ways.
Emily Abernathy has dedicated the past twenty years to raising her children. When her husband leaves her for a younger woman, she’s forced to move out of their house. Living in LA is expensive, and at forty-five, she knows she’ll have a tough time on the job market, but she’s lucky to find a job at a small hotel on a small island she’d never heard of before: Bloombay. Once Emily moves to the island she finds out her new job isn’t as secure as she thought.
Olivia Abernathy’s friends all think her boyfriend, Noah, is definitely going to propose, but she isn’t so sure. As a surgeon in Seattle, he works longer hours than she does as a graphic designer, but Olivia wonders if there’s more to his recent late nights out and sudden cool behavior. When she confronts him with her worries, she gets an unexpected response that makes her want to rethink everything in her life. Spending time with her sisters is just what she needs. And the handsome architect who insists on joining her on her morning runs seems to have more than friendship on his mind.
Donna Abernathy is a successful doctor in San Francisco. She works tirelessly and takes great pride in what she does. Her laid-back relationship with a lawyer who thrives on a busy schedule is just what she needs. Except Donna has always wanted to be a mother, and as time passes, that wish only grows. But when things don’t work out as expected, she desperately wants a change of scenery and pays a visit to her eldest sister, Emily, in Bloombay.
Sisters Emily, Donna, and Olivia Abernathy miss each other dearly. Residing in different cities, they only see each other a few times a year. But when Emily, the eldest sister, is forced to move to Bloombay, Donna and Olivia immediately visit her to make sure she’s okay. They find themselves at crossroads in their own lives too, and the island charms them in unexpected ways.
Emily Abernathy has dedicated the past twenty years to raising her children. When her husband leaves her for a younger woman, she’s forced to move out of their house. Living in LA is expensive, and at forty-five, she knows she’ll have a tough time on the job market, but she’s lucky to find a job at a small hotel on a small island she’d never heard of before: Bloombay. Once Emily moves to the island she finds out her new job isn’t as secure as she thought.
Olivia Abernathy’s friends all think her boyfriend, Noah, is definitely going to propose, but she isn’t so sure. As a surgeon in Seattle, he works longer hours than she does as a graphic designer, but Olivia wonders if there’s more to his recent late nights out and sudden cool behavior. When she confronts him with her worries, she gets an unexpected response that makes her want to rethink everything in her life. Spending time with her sisters is just what she needs. And the handsome architect who insists on joining her on her morning runs seems to have more than friendship on his mind.
Donna Abernathy is a successful doctor in San Francisco. She works tirelessly and takes great pride in what she does. Her laid-back relationship with a lawyer who thrives on a busy schedule is just what she needs. Except Donna has always wanted to be a mother, and as time passes, that wish only grows. But when things don’t work out as expected, she desperately wants a change of scenery and pays a visit to her eldest sister, Emily, in Bloombay.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 11, 2021
1187 people are currently reading
611 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
December 2, 2021
Maybe the series as a whole would be good but that was the most boring repetitive book I’ve ever read.
December 18, 2023
This is the first book in a new series. Here we are introduced to Emily and her two sisters.
Emily has just gone through a nasty divorce and finds herself in need of a job. With a background in hotel management (though twenty years old) she lands a job at a small inn on Bloombay Island. However this new job is not without major hurdles.
This was a nice easy feel good read and if I come across more in this series, I will set it aside for when I need something light and entertaining.
Emily has just gone through a nasty divorce and finds herself in need of a job. With a background in hotel management (though twenty years old) she lands a job at a small inn on Bloombay Island. However this new job is not without major hurdles.
This was a nice easy feel good read and if I come across more in this series, I will set it aside for when I need something light and entertaining.
September 14, 2022
It was okay. A series book 1 begins the story of 3 sisters and how each of their lives is turned upside down by a husband/boyfriend's departure and how they each start their new lives, in a new town which is of course also home to 3 hot, handsome, single men. Book 1 is mainly about Emily, Book 2 is about Donna and Book 3 is about Olivia. This book didn't end with a cliffhanger, but it still had many questions unanswered. But the basics were enough to be a "stand-alone". My reason for giving it only a 2-star rating is that nothing really happened out of the ordinary. Everything each sister did worked out perfectly and exactly as they hoped it would without much effort on their part. No battles to fight, no mistakes made, no problems to solve, everything went along smoothly and perfectly, which didn't give much substance to the story. But if you want an easy, calm "beach read" for a few hours, this is it.
June 22, 2022
Not a conclusive ending
I really enjoyed the book as I was reading it, but it didn’t come to any conclusion. It just seemed to stop with a note you had read the next book to know what happened from there.
I really enjoyed the book as I was reading it, but it didn’t come to any conclusion. It just seemed to stop with a note you had read the next book to know what happened from there.
January 13, 2023
Upon her divorce, Emily moves to a secluded island on an impulse. When her sisters come to visit her there, they are also taken by the charm of the place. There are various aspects of Bloombay that pull the sisters together there. This first book in the series focuses on Emily and one of her sisters, while the next book moves to the third sister.
June 26, 2022
I'm sure other people love this book but I could not get past the bad grammar - her instead of she, me instead of I etc. etc. All in all I think the story is very trite.
November 2, 2022
Emily moves to Bloombay island to take a job helping to run a hotel for an elderly widow, Abigail, who can no longer manage in her own after her husband’s death. Emily is putting her life back together after the end of her 20+ year marriage. She finds things in disarray at the hotel, and they won’t be able to host any guests until some important repairs are made. Abigail is an excellent cook, so they decide to run a small restaurant at the hotel to generate some income until the repairs are made.
Emily is accepted warmly into the tight knit community in Bloombay and starts to make new friends, in particular Matthew, a handsome and kind divorcee about her age. Emily’s younger sisters come to visit and also fall under the spell that Bloombay seems to emanate.
And that’s basically all that happens in this novel. It is cut off practically in the middle of a conversation, with the prompt to buy the next book. I dislike this sort of series marketing, where the first book is offered at a very low price, presumably with the hope that you’ll enjoy it so much that you’ll buy the next one at a higher price. But I won’t be doing that since the writing is amateurish, with awkward sentence structure and grammatical errors. The male/female relationships are shallow, and none of them properly developed, as there seems to be no physical intimacy between any of them, except for perhaps a chaste kiss now and then…
Emily is accepted warmly into the tight knit community in Bloombay and starts to make new friends, in particular Matthew, a handsome and kind divorcee about her age. Emily’s younger sisters come to visit and also fall under the spell that Bloombay seems to emanate.
And that’s basically all that happens in this novel. It is cut off practically in the middle of a conversation, with the prompt to buy the next book. I dislike this sort of series marketing, where the first book is offered at a very low price, presumably with the hope that you’ll enjoy it so much that you’ll buy the next one at a higher price. But I won’t be doing that since the writing is amateurish, with awkward sentence structure and grammatical errors. The male/female relationships are shallow, and none of them properly developed, as there seems to be no physical intimacy between any of them, except for perhaps a chaste kiss now and then…
June 6, 2022
Wonderful Read
I absolutely loved this book. It is all about leaving behind your life and starting new beginnings. While there is some romance in this book there are no sex scenes which to me made this book. The author leads you up to the two love stories. You get to watch each couple begin to love each other.
The story starts when Emily is forced to join the workforce when her husband of many years decide he is in love with another woman and wants a divorce. Not giving Emily much in the divorce, because after all she stay home taking care of the kids since he made all money, she has to find a job after not working for many years. She accepts a position on Bloombay Island that changes her life. Soon she is joined by her sisters Olivia and Donna. I can’t say enough about this book. I just bought book 2 . I read this book in one setting. If book 2 is as good, I’ll be up all night reading.
I absolutely loved this book. It is all about leaving behind your life and starting new beginnings. While there is some romance in this book there are no sex scenes which to me made this book. The author leads you up to the two love stories. You get to watch each couple begin to love each other.
The story starts when Emily is forced to join the workforce when her husband of many years decide he is in love with another woman and wants a divorce. Not giving Emily much in the divorce, because after all she stay home taking care of the kids since he made all money, she has to find a job after not working for many years. She accepts a position on Bloombay Island that changes her life. Soon she is joined by her sisters Olivia and Donna. I can’t say enough about this book. I just bought book 2 . I read this book in one setting. If book 2 is as good, I’ll be up all night reading.
June 12, 2022
I nearly dumped this book in the first 25 pages...
This is the first book by this author that I've read. I was pleasantly surprised by the author's writing style and the cleanliness of the writing, until...on page 13 we see, "Sheila had a beautiful home in Beverly Hills. It wasn’t huge, but it was elegant..." and then on page 25 we see, "She showed them each to their bedrooms. Sheila’s house was huge, with four spacious bedrooms spread throughout." Really? How did neither the author nor editor not catch this? When this kind of careless error occurs so early in a story the reader is usually being set up for more of the same. I am glad that I persisted and kept reading. There were a couple of other qwerks, but not enough to can the read. Women's Fiction is not my favorite genre of story, listening to each character's 'woe is me' story mounded one upon another, but this story was not the usual drama. I'll add the author to my Whitelist for when I want to read more of the genre.
This is the first book by this author that I've read. I was pleasantly surprised by the author's writing style and the cleanliness of the writing, until...on page 13 we see, "Sheila had a beautiful home in Beverly Hills. It wasn’t huge, but it was elegant..." and then on page 25 we see, "She showed them each to their bedrooms. Sheila’s house was huge, with four spacious bedrooms spread throughout." Really? How did neither the author nor editor not catch this? When this kind of careless error occurs so early in a story the reader is usually being set up for more of the same. I am glad that I persisted and kept reading. There were a couple of other qwerks, but not enough to can the read. Women's Fiction is not my favorite genre of story, listening to each character's 'woe is me' story mounded one upon another, but this story was not the usual drama. I'll add the author to my Whitelist for when I want to read more of the genre.
August 4, 2022
i am new to Lilly Beckett's writing. i love that book cover. let's chat beach life. i love it in the winter and fall ...but you will not find me on a beach during the time when normal folks love it. too hot!! i don't like sweating. no fun. i enjoy my skin and my tanning days are over. not good there. women's sagas, saga fiction, contemporary women's fiction. out on July 11, 2021. a series. 6 book series. "Bloombaby Shores" series. i am new to LB's writing. i am so ready to read more. like me, maybe you can read a book any season ...i love Christmas reads any time of the year. this is a beach read but i think you can check it out whenever your hearts wishes too?? go on ...get to reading already
July 4, 2022
I enjoyed reading about the lives of these three sisters.
This book was enjoyable but the ending could have been more complete. I am not sure if I want to read the next book because I like each story to have a ending. If your a good writer I would just want to read the next book in the series. Each book should have its own ending before you read the next one and not leave you guessing. I don't like to feel like I wasted my time reading each novel because the author just wanted to sell more books. Good writing is a gift to be shared.
This book was enjoyable but the ending could have been more complete. I am not sure if I want to read the next book because I like each story to have a ending. If your a good writer I would just want to read the next book in the series. Each book should have its own ending before you read the next one and not leave you guessing. I don't like to feel like I wasted my time reading each novel because the author just wanted to sell more books. Good writing is a gift to be shared.
April 3, 2023
Loved it
What a refreshing change for a book about sisters be a happy one, where there was no fighting or hurt feelings from the past. Emily moves to Bloombay to work for Abigail, in her small hotel. I enjoyed the book and often felt like packing a bag and visiting the island myself! I did find it strange that the three sisters all with varying shades of brown hair, had different coloured eyes, (I notice things like that) not unusual for there to be two different colours, but three is. But it was a very enjoyable read.
What a refreshing change for a book about sisters be a happy one, where there was no fighting or hurt feelings from the past. Emily moves to Bloombay to work for Abigail, in her small hotel. I enjoyed the book and often felt like packing a bag and visiting the island myself! I did find it strange that the three sisters all with varying shades of brown hair, had different coloured eyes, (I notice things like that) not unusual for there to be two different colours, but three is. But it was a very enjoyable read.
July 1, 2022
Three Sisters Finding Themselves Again
Emily was just divorced as her husband was having an affair. She decided she needed a change & applied for a job on Bloombay. She got the job at a small hotel. For many reasons, the hotel was not able to stay open as it needed safety repairs first. Her sisters, Olivia & Donna eventually come to Bloombay to live & make their own way. This was an easy read with believable characters & conversations! Very well written!!
Emily was just divorced as her husband was having an affair. She decided she needed a change & applied for a job on Bloombay. She got the job at a small hotel. For many reasons, the hotel was not able to stay open as it needed safety repairs first. Her sisters, Olivia & Donna eventually come to Bloombay to live & make their own way. This was an easy read with believable characters & conversations! Very well written!!
April 6, 2023
Kind of boring and could have used a good proofreader. The amount of food being guzzled down by these ladies was rather off putting. Towards the end of the book, Donna ate four scoops of ice cream, then two pieces of cake right after. The next morning she started with cake for breakfast then ate two scoops of ice cream, then later, two more scoops! This woman was supposed to be a doctor! Don’t think I’ll bother reading the rest of the series.
March 16, 2022
Fun read
This is A completely different type of book than I usually read. I got “hooked” reading about the 3 sisters. I wasn’t really interested in hearing what they were eating. I realized it probably added to the characterization. Worth reading. It is a very light novel & flows well.
This is A completely different type of book than I usually read. I got “hooked” reading about the 3 sisters. I wasn’t really interested in hearing what they were eating. I realized it probably added to the characterization. Worth reading. It is a very light novel & flows well.
June 7, 2022
A feel good book. Just when life is at its darkest the three sisters find the ray of sunshine. Of course there are three new men involved and their new location is absolutely perfect. Yawn.
A quick read and a hopeful book - not the worst thing in the world. Slightly unbelievable at times but still ok
A quick read and a hopeful book - not the worst thing in the world. Slightly unbelievable at times but still ok
June 18, 2022
I love this book!!
The story is very well written. I really appreciated the formatting of the book, when the chapter came to the end it was clear. I have read several books lately that didn't even put a white space at the end of the chapter.
I look forward to reading the next in the series.
The story is very well written. I really appreciated the formatting of the book, when the chapter came to the end it was clear. I have read several books lately that didn't even put a white space at the end of the chapter.
I look forward to reading the next in the series.
September 27, 2022
Entertaining
This is the story of a woman whose marriage had ended when her husband found another younger woman. After too many years of raising children, caring for her husband and making a home, she is left with little. She must find a new life and learn to support herself. Read of her struggles, mistakes and her victories.
This is the story of a woman whose marriage had ended when her husband found another younger woman. After too many years of raising children, caring for her husband and making a home, she is left with little. She must find a new life and learn to support herself. Read of her struggles, mistakes and her victories.
November 23, 2023
Loved this
This was really good; I loved the setting and the characters. Who doesn't need a comforting escape read now and then?? I hadn't realized this is actually a serial, the book simply end and continues in the next, which I will, of course purchase as I am now hooked. So I guess TBE tactic worked.
This was really good; I loved the setting and the characters. Who doesn't need a comforting escape read now and then?? I hadn't realized this is actually a serial, the book simply end and continues in the next, which I will, of course purchase as I am now hooked. So I guess TBE tactic worked.
December 21, 2023
Sisters reunited
Three sisters rarely see each other as so busy with their own lives but when a boyfriend is caught playing around one of the sisters answers an ad for a job in Bloombay a small community a ferry ride away and soon her sisters join her and decide to settle into a slower peaceful way of life with friendly residents.....
Three sisters rarely see each other as so busy with their own lives but when a boyfriend is caught playing around one of the sisters answers an ad for a job in Bloombay a small community a ferry ride away and soon her sisters join her and decide to settle into a slower peaceful way of life with friendly residents.....
February 23, 2025
Bloom bay book 1. **3&1/2 to 4**
Sweet story. I loved the sister's close relationship. Was disappointed in the ending. Wasn't prepared to be left without any closure; have to read next book for that. The entire story was about the sisters always eating lots of desserts, I may have gained a few pounds just reading this.
Sweet story. I loved the sister's close relationship. Was disappointed in the ending. Wasn't prepared to be left without any closure; have to read next book for that. The entire story was about the sisters always eating lots of desserts, I may have gained a few pounds just reading this.
April 1, 2025
Although the story ended abruptly, in my opinion, I really enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series to see what happens to Donna and the other two sisters. Writing from the prospective of a small seaside town really warms my heart. I grew up in small towns, and I think that I enjoy stories about them. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.
June 8, 2022
What a delightful book. How three sisters going through an almost identical relationship with their men, end up with a new start, doing what they really wanted to do in their work field. Coming to Bloombay was the best decision for all three. Enjoyable book.
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June 21, 2022Engaging
A nice relaxing story about three sisters and the divorce of the eldest that starts a chain reaction of change... mostly for the better as the very friendly Bloombay Shores is discovered.
A nice relaxing story about three sisters and the divorce of the eldest that starts a chain reaction of change... mostly for the better as the very friendly Bloombay Shores is discovered.
September 21, 2022
Sister together again
The story up to this point was good. I was disappointed it stopped so sudden. I enjoy a group of stories where I feel I have finished it.
I was hoping I could find out the sisters had each obtained their dream.
The story up to this point was good. I was disappointed it stopped so sudden. I enjoy a group of stories where I feel I have finished it.
I was hoping I could find out the sisters had each obtained their dream.
October 7, 2022
Truly an inspiring story!
Absolutely loved the family dynamics plus The way Emily managed the divorce and her sister's rallied. Despite the family tragedy,all the sisters are strong caring and intelligent!
Absolutely loved the family dynamics plus The way Emily managed the divorce and her sister's rallied. Despite the family tragedy,all the sisters are strong caring and intelligent!
June 16, 2023
A quick enjoyable read.
Bloombay Beginnings is a typical second chance romance. The author, Lilly Beckett weaves a nice story. I hope everyone continues to find their happily every afters in the next book.
Bloombay Beginnings is a typical second chance romance. The author, Lilly Beckett weaves a nice story. I hope everyone continues to find their happily every afters in the next book.
June 21, 2023
This was a nicer summer read and second chance start over for three sisters. All realistic including finding work & beginnings of romance which none of the sister's had even planned. I was sorry this book ended.
November 22, 2023
so pleasant!
I really enjoyed the flow of this book! The characters are well portrayed and feel like you already know them! Or, truly want them as friends!
Definitively, a good read. I look forward to the next one!
I really enjoyed the flow of this book! The characters are well portrayed and feel like you already know them! Or, truly want them as friends!
Definitively, a good read. I look forward to the next one!
December 21, 2023
This is a nice read. Classic recipe - woman has a break-up, needs a life change so gets a job at a small hotel on an island. She meets a man. She has sisters. Everyone loves the island life. Etc. Still, I quite enjoyed this and may look for others in the series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews