Sandcastles

Star of the Sea Academy #1

by Luanne Rice

Painter Honor Sullivan has made a life for herself and her three daughters–Regis, Agnes, and Cecilia–at Star of the Sea Academy on the magical Connecticut shore. Here she teaches art at the convent school’s beautiful seaside campus, over which Honor’s sister-in-law, mother superior Bernadette Ignatius, keeps a benevolent and watchful eye. No one could have foreseen the day rebellious Regis would come home with the stunning news that she was getting married. Nor could anyone have guessed how that sudden announcement would soon change all their
lives forever.

Eleven years ago, Honor thought she had the perfect home, the perfect love, the perfect life. Then her husband, brilliant photographer and sculptor John Sullivan, broke her heart–and tore their little family apart. Now, hearing of Regis’s impending marriage, John has ended his self-imposed exile and returned to the family he’s always loved more than anything on earth. What he finds is one daughter still hurting over his abandonment, another who barely remembers him, and a third who may be in more trouble than anyone knows. And then there is Honor herself–and a passion that may have been interrupted but that has never waned.

Some things, like sandcastles, don’t survive the changing tides. But love, family, and friendship–just as fragile–have a way of standing against anything. It will take nothing short of a miracle to heal the rift between father and daughter, husband and wife, the past and the present–but a miracle is exactly what is in the works at Star of the Sea Academy. The only question Do you believe?

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

441 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 7, 2006

About the author

Luanne Rice is the New York Times bestselling author of thirty-eight novels, translated into thirty languages. Rice often writes about love, family, nature, and the sea. Most recently she has written thrillers, including one based on a murder that affected her family. She received the 2014 Connecticut Governor’s Arts Award for excellence and lifetime achievement in the Literary Arts category.
Connecticut College awarded Rice an honorary degree and invited her to donate her papers to the College’s Special Collections Library. They are archived in the Luanne Rice Collection.
Rice has also received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from St. Joseph University in West Hartford, Conn.
Several of Rice's novels have been adapted for television. Her monologue for the play Motherhood Out Loud premiered at Hartford Stage and has been performed Off-Broadway in NYC and at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.
Rice is a Creative Affiliate of the Safina Center. She lives in southeastern Connecticut.

Reviews

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first 185 pages of this book were excruciating. I was so frustrated with the author's writing style. She introduced so many characters and wrote the story from each of their perspectives that it gave me the feeling of whiplash. I'd just start to connect to a character and then the narrator would flip to someone else. Then she might backtrack to an event mentioned earlier but from the new character's view point. I wish Rice had taken Bernie's character and made her the narrator then told all of the other character's stories through her. Bernie had the most unique angle to offer the story and all of the other plot lines intersected hers. I enjoyed the last 100 pages. The story resolution was written so much better and the story really took hold.

[Elaine Shandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

My adorable 97 year old neighbor lent me this book. She's so cute that I just had to finish it, otherwise I might not have finished it. The story is really, really slow. Even the parts where the author has attempted to add tension are slow. Towards the middle, when the story actually gets to being told, the chapters start ending right when something is about to be revealed. Then the next chapter starts from someone else's viewpoint and ends when something is about to be revealed. It seems the author is attempting to show some mystery to her mystery by doing this, but it doesn't work. The plot line by the middle is quite predictable and the "oops-I'm-not-going-to-tell-you-that-secret-yet" endings get old really fast!

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book sorely in need of an editor. If Ms. Rice was not a published author, this novel would never have made it to press (I have worked in publishing for 20+ years). The plot is implausible, the dialogue stilted and unrealistic, the descriptions redundant. And every feeling a character has is accompanied by a visceral reaction--on each page someone feels a chill up their spine, a tightening in their stomach, or flush in their cheeks. If you want to read well-written books about family, love, sisters, or heritage, don't waste your time here. Not when Jane Austen, Gail Godwin, Lisa See, Edna O'Brien--even Maeve Binchy, who trods similar ground but much more adeptly.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

I absolutely could not get into this book! It took me a very long time to finish it, because I was just not interested enough to want to pick it up again. I came close several times to putting it away and starting another book, but I forced myself to finish it. There were too many mysterious events that either never really materialized, or when they did, just weren't very interesting. I agree with another reviewer that said the story between Tom and Bernie was more interesting than the one between the main characters, and it wasn't explored enough. I have read other Luanne Rice books that I enjoyed, but was very disappointed in this one!

[֍ elle ֍ · Rating 1 out of 5]

"THE WORST BOOK I HAVE READ AS AN ADULT"

This book was painfully awful. It’s the first book I’ve ever thrown away from me in disgust and frustration. Everything coalesces to form a deeply unpleasant reading experience, from the weak plot to the one-dimensional characters.


Beginning with the plot, the way the author chooses to handle the prologue is truly the most telling thing. What should have been at least the first third of the novel is compressed into a mere seventeen pages. That is because the plot is not important in this novel. The plot is there to serve as the wringer through which this family is sent; it does not drive the story. It looks backward instead of moving forward. Therefore, the novel feels very slow and plodding.


Sandcastles aspires to be more of a character study than a story, which would be fine if the characters weren’t so transparent. The women are all hands-wringing, over-emotional messes. The number of times they seem on the verge of collapse from their poor nerves is almost hysterical. Regis is the worst, though her storyline does attempt to make allowances. Agnes is annoyingly bland when she’s not being annoyingly sanctimonious and Cecelia is a useless inclusion to the story. Honor… Well, let me just say this. If Honor and John are supposed to have this all-consuming, passionate love, why can’t I imagine them having sex? Why can’t I imagine her talking dirty to the husband she is supposedly so attracted to? She’s as chaste as Bella Swan but twice as pretentious.


There are only two men that really matter, three if I’m generous. John is the main and he is boring. While he at least lacks the hysteria of his wife and eldest daughter, his stoicism and static character arc make him seem like a placeholder than an active player in the novel. He’s only there for everything to revolve around – the trauma that makes our protagonists the poor, crushed flowers that they are. He changes not even a little bit over the course of the story; his conflict with Honor is resolved when Honor decides she just needs to accept his dangerous ways. Tom is the most tolerable of the characters drawn, but he really only serves to torture the character of Bernie. That their story mostly appears in the sequel just shows how unnecessary their inclusion is here. Brendan is a boring, saintly figure with no flaws. Peter is comically transparent. The only thing that’s left is for the author to have named him “Oppositional McDon’tMarryHim”.


And then there’s the writing, which is just over-wrought and melodramatic. The narration is constantly interrupting the thrust of the story. Every time a character is about to actually do something, they interrupt themselves to think back to the box they found in the wall, or the events of the prologue, or the reflection of the moonlight, or the direction of the wind, or some such horseshit. It over-romanticizes its environment to the point of hollowing out any sense of reality.

There are other terrible writing choices. The author constantly expounds on the same theme. She repeats the same talking points over and over again, from the perspective of different characters without ever taking care to add new information. It feels like padding and it only serves to make weak characters (Agnes and Bernadette) feel even more useless. The author also constantly makes the most obvious choices in crafting her story. She never trusts the reader to draw their own conclusions (I suspect this is mostly because the characters are such transparent pawns that they don’t have enough strength to carry implications on their own). The best example of this is in the handling of Regis’s fiancée Peter. Within moments of introducing their relationship, it’s obvious something is rotten in Denmark, but the other has every other character expound on it endlessly JUST IN CASE YOU DIDN’T GET IT.


In all, this is probably the worst book I have ever read as an adult. I’m going to chuck this book in the Donate-To-Library box and never, ever look back.

[Ashley Daviau · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I did enjoy this story, it was spoiled for me because I guessed the big twist about a quarter into the book. It was just WAY too obvious and you’d have to be a total moron not to guess that that’s what would happen. But despite that I still did enjoy it because I found the characters interesting. Each one was so different and complex and I really enjoyed getting know their stories and seeing what made them tick.

[Rhonda Rae Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful story about family, choices, brokenness, and despair yet there was so much joy, mending, and hope that I couldn't read fast enough.

Psychological suspense, mystery, love, depth, and pondering...a truly awesome read!

I loved the characters and even though the beginning was difficult for me because of the situation, I quickly became so entwined with what was happening that I felt as if I was there right beside them. The story line was amazingly developed and I felt so close with what was happening.

Somehow I understood the choices and related to the characters as if I was a part of them. This drew me in deeper and when the 'mystery' unfolded so did I.

Hopeful, encouraging, thought provoking and what an adventure...you won't want to miss this one!

[Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought I would read this book after I saw it in one on the giveaways. I have never read a Luanne Rice book before and based on
her previous books reviews I thought I would give it a read. The story seemed drawn out and so predictable. I pretty much knew what was going to happen very early on the book. Maybe I'll try one of her earlier books but it definitely won't be high on my list.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring and predictable. Picked it up on vacation (very limited on options at the hotel gift shop). Looked like a fun beach read...what I realized is that I could actually write a novel!

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Narrated well, but the story just didn't click with me. Story set in New England and Ireland, modern times. Troubled marriage/dysfunctional family of two artists who love each other but don't communicate well with each other nor with their 3 daughters. Father/Husband goes to prison for 6 yrs in Ireland for the death, declared manslaughter, that his young daughter accidentally caused in self-defense. All to save his daughter the "horrors" of going through a trial. When the daughter (who had had amnesia about the whole event) realized later, at age 20, what had happened it explained her whole series of teen problems and of course, she insisted on going back to Ireland and setting the record straight to clear her father's name. Other daughters also had issues about their absent father. It was repeated often enough about how wonderful the father was, yet he was always absent in their lives, off to do his sculpting in natural settings in wild places.
Being pragmatic, I kept wondering where all the money to keep this family afloat, as well as flitting back and forth to Ireland, was coming from. The mother was an art teacher and even though the father/sculptor had a good reputation, he wasn't bringing in any funding while in jail. Who was paying the mortgage and the travel agent? It was all just a little too contrived and I wasn't good at imagining the filler details.

[Babs]

This book was put down and I struggled to pick it up. Not compelling... I just didn't care about the characters or what happened to them.

It is rare I fail to finish a book even when it is poorly written making this abysmal prose of the first degree.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

[Leah · Rating 1 out of 5]

After this book sat untouched for almost a week, I realized, I didn't care how it ended...never finished.

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave Sandcastles fifty pages, but it wasn't holding my interest and I was so bored. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

[Angie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boo hoo what a melodramatic book. Poor characters, action is very slow and the dialogue is un-natural. What can I say - not a fan.

[Lauren DeLong · Rating 3 out of 5]

So John the Husband of Honor went to jail for murdering someone because they were attacking his daughter. John came back from jail after 6 years and the wife, Honor, didn’t know if she could forgive him for what he did. All the daughters were mad because the mom would not forgive him for what he did.

My favorite part of the book was when Honor invited John to dinner with the daughters and see if it was the same feeling After 6 years. they had all their favorite foods from when they were little and john didn’t really like Regis boyfriend because he was all stuck up. After dinner John left, but Honor still didn’t know what to feel about it.

I think I recommend this book to a person that likes Romance and Adventure.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish I found this more appealing

[Vickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the many less than stellar reviews, I really enjoyed this book. I loved the setting on the grounds of a convent/school as well as the few times in Ireland. Honor and John are both artists who are dedicated to both their professions and their children. This is a story of what a parent will do for a child in a moment of crisis and the long-term effects on everyone involved. It doesn't have the quickest of plots but it did make me slow down and just savor the story.

Go Cards! L1C4!!

[Gabby · Rating 3 out of 5]

From Publishers Weekly
Given the title, July 4 pub date and settings on the Connecticut shore and County Cork coast, readers may expect the consummate beach feast from bestselling Rice (Summer of Roses). She almost delivers: all the ingredients for a clambake are here, but Rice doesn't bother to light the fire. Honor Sullivan is a woman torn apart. Her famous earthworks artist husband, John, has spent six years in an Irish prison for killing a man who attacked their then 14-year-old daughter, Regis. Now he's back at Star of the Sea Academy, the convent and school in Connecticut where the Sullivans live and teach"or rather, is in the area, but hesitant to return home and face Honor's ire at being effectively abandoned. His notes find their way to Honor, perhaps via Sister Bernadette Ignatius, who runs the community and is John's sister, and Auntie Bernie to John and Honor's daughters. Or perhaps they come via Tom Kelly, still in love with Bernie and bone-loyal to John. Add a little moonlight mysticism, Regis's impending bad marriage and a red-haired nurse given up for adoption the same year Tom and red-haired Bernie went off to Ireland to trace family roots.

[Cobygirl517 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is like the grownup version of Twilight. Every. Single. Line. Is dripping with saccharine sweet words. It's like someone took Edward & Bella, divided them into eight people, and made them into a book. It was so overbearingly sweet that I wanted to puke. It was so cheesy, I could have bought a loaf of bread and thrown a fondue party. I almost lost my vision from the amount of eye rolling involved in reading this monstrosity. The narrator did a great job, but I had to listen to it on double time to get it over with faster because I just couldn't stomach another sugary reference to how much all these people love each other. Like, they REALLY FREAKING LOVE EACH OTHER, okay!? Also, this book was predictable. Like, REALLY predictable. Are all of Luanne Rice's books this bad? If so, this will be the only book of hers I will suffer through.

Edit- Just noticed I read another book by this author just two months ago and liked it just as much as this one (so, not much). So, while Ms. Rice has written 32 books, I will not be reading 30 of them.

[Rychelle Boden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! As an art teacher, I was drawn into the multiple artistic references, from the sculptures to the oil paintings. I feel that Luanne Rice is such an extraordinary story teller in that she weaves an intricate tale that you quickly find yourself deeply entwined within it. The ebb and flow of the lives of the main characters tugged at my heart strings; I cried when someone was hurting, I got angry when someone was upset. The book is powerful enough that it engulfed me and took me to an entirely different world, filled with moments of agonizing pain, inspiring life-lessons, and mental clarity.

I would recommend this book 100% to anyone that enjoys reading a romantic, mysterious book.

[Nenette · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too mushy for me. One reason probably is because I could not empathize with Honor - why all that holding back when she so much wanted to be reunited with her husband John? I have read What Matters Most first, and that was supposed to be the sequel to this book. I liked the latter one better. Sandcastles is the story of Honor and John Sullivan and their family, while What Matters Most is the story of Tom Kelly and Sister Bernadette Ignatius and their quest for their son whom Bernie had placed in an orphanage right after she gave birth many, many years ago. What I like is the connection between the two books, which probably I won't appreciate had I read Sandcastles first.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel had an interesting plot and engaging characters, but it had a looooong stretch of repetitiveness where the story just did not move forward. If I weren't listening to it on tape, I might have given up on it. Once the action started moving again, I was glad I stuck it out, but it sure did drag in the middle. I actually found some of the minor characters more engaging than the main couple--Sr. Bernadette and Tom Kelly, for example. It turns out that Rice wrote not really a sequel but a continuation of the story of Bernadette and Tom, and that book was infitintely more engrossing.

[Laurel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay book. It wasn't my favorite but it also wasn't the worst (ahem...Edgar Sawtell). It was an easy read and I enjoyed how the the story was woven around family history. Some parts dragged out but the storyline of Bernie & Tom was a nice twist. I felt the ending was a little hoakey - but then again love stories aren't really my thing. I was kind of hoping someone would get murdered at some point because that's my type of reading! I probably will not pick up the second book in this series.

[Yellow · Rating 1 out of 5]

at first i was hesitating to finish this book but i have to...to know what's the secret hidden in the book. But i was disappointed, probably because it have a lot of drama...same old drama with their family. The are many side stories and for me it's such a waste to read those parts( about the box,ancestors etc.) I think the story could stand alone without those and it could have been better i think. But over all it was just Ok I didn't felt anything special about it and i just want to finish that book so it will be over. I guess she's not my type of author.

[January · Rating 4 out of 5]

My mom bought me this book and I had never heard of the author before, but I figured I would try it. I ended up loving this book! I really enjoyed reading this story! I saw a lot of negative reviews on here, but they were mostly from women who have read Rice before this one. I had nothing to compare it to so that could be why I liked it a lot more than they did. I have to say though that I bought Summer of Roses (which is also by Rice) last summer and read the first 3 chapters and still haven't picked it up again......

[Darcy Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book about a family member protecting another family member. A father saves a daughter. The daughter is traumatized to speak about it. Years later after her father is released she is willing to talk about it. It's a sad, but great story. It has been so long since I've read it, so I can't tell you much more than that.

The father spends about 10 years in jail, because people thought he killed a man because he was on his property when really he was protecting his daughter. I feel sorry for him. At the end of the book I understood why the daughter did what she did.

[Alexandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ever since I saw the Lifetime adaptation of Luanne Rice's Beach Girls, I'd been wanting to read one of her books. I checked this one out of the library because Beach Girls wasn't available. It was okay but the characters never really came alive for me, particularly the female lead, Honor. The scenery was nice (coastal Connecticut) and there were some interesting subplots, but it took way too long for everything to pick up steam. I've heard this wasn't Rice's best book, and I hope that's true.

[ccoelophysis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this from Goodreads First Reads and it was better than I expected. It was so good I finished it in one day because I couldn't put it down. I guessed the ending at the very beginning, but it was still worth seeing how the characters were going to respond to the situation, and it was very believable. The ending was a little abrupt and I wish she had dealt with the aftermath more. The book was too short anyway. But still well worth your time. This would be a good book club choice.

[BookDigger · Rating 4 out of 5]

For some reason, the prologue and the first chapter left me a bit confused, but it evened out and it became a wonderfully inspiring novel. Great story. I truly felt like I was a part of the family - my heart broken, my tears cried, my pain felt. I was really sad when the truth is revealed about Brendan, but it does work out in its own way.