The Family Beach House

Yorktide, Maine #1

by Holly Chamberlin

In this poignant, evocative novel, bestselling author Holly Chamberlin sweeps you into the picturesque town of Ogunquit, Maine, where a family in flux explores their ties to a beautiful beach house, and to each other.

Some houses have a personality of their own. Larchmere is that kind of place--a splendid, sprawling home with breathtaking views that open to briny Atlantic air and seabirds' calls. It's the place where Tilda McQueen O'Connell grew up and now vacations each year, and where she and her three siblings--Adam, Hannah, and Craig--have gathered to commemorate the tenth anniversary of their mother's passing.

But instead of the bittersweet but relaxing reunion Tilda expected, she finds chaos. Her father's plan to marry a younger woman has thrown the fate of the beach house into uncertainty. For Tilda, the stakes seem the highest. Alone and vulnerable two years after her husband's death, she sees Larchmere as not just a cherished part of her history, but her eventual refuge from the world. Faced with losing that legacy, Tilda must embrace an unknown future. And all the McQueens must reconcile their shared, sometimes painful past--and learn how to love one another even when it means forging a life apart. . .

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Family, Contemporary, Romance, Beach Reads, Summer Reads

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Holly Chamberlin is a native New Yorker, but she now lives in Portland, Maine - the aftermath of stumbling across Mr. Right at the one moment she wasn't watching the terrain. She's been writing and editing - poetry, children's fantasies, a romance novel or two, among many other genres and projects - her entire life. She has two cats, Betty and Cyrus, and when she's not writing her hobbies include reading, shopping, and cocktails at six.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I stuck with this book until the end, waiting for something to happen. Nothing did.

[Leigh · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book sucked! I could not wait to finish it! None of the characters were likable. I bet there is a lot of the author in her characters. The entire book seems to have been written to promote homosexuality, as they were mentioned randomly throughout. Why mention the sexual orientation of a waiter that did not have anything to do with the story? Why mention the sexual orientation of people the characters pass while walking? Very strange unless someone has a motive. Another issue with this author is her seemingly low self-esteem. She continually made reference to books and authors in a pathetic attempt to let readers know she has read a few books in her past. What a ridiculous way to promote one's desired intellectual standing. Also annoying were the repeated references to what people in Maine think, eat and visit. As if EVERY person in the state is robotic and incapable of original thought. This author is an idiot and must have paid to have this awful book published. It was THAT bad. Save yourself the agony and do not read!

[Patty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, nothing ever happened. Ever.

[Reagan Hogstead · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was rather not exciting and at points so unrealistic. The characters would have what should have been huge life changing conversations in the middle of nowhere and then the author would just go back to normal as if nothing happened. Skip it and stick to other better known beach authors.

[Lexi · Rating 4 out of 5]

such a cute book i love a little beach read. obviously super predictable but i loved the plot sm and it wrapped up together very nicely. also asks a lot of questions about life, aging, relationships with oneself and others, grief, family dynamics, etc. like literally in the pages. so it gives you the chance to think about these things in your own life or you can skip over them if you prefer which i kinda appreciated

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. My favorite character was Percy, the cat. This story is about a totally dysfunctional family.

[Francesca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know this book has received less than stellar reviews. I just have to say though, it is a good book if you are not the type of reader who wants to finish quickly and speed read through a novel. If you can hang onto and savor a book for 2 to 3 weeks, then you will not lose patience with this. This was a book that I enjoyed reading, although yes, it was thick with detail and murky to get through. Sometimes there was a lot of chewable content. But at the end, I really started to enjoy the character development, although it took us a long time to get there, and I also began to like the individual characters for who they were, again, which took a long time to get there. This book gave me a great reaction in one of the final chapters that literally brought a physical smile to my face when one of the main characters had a breakthrough. So it’s a very meaningful book, but you have to have the patience to get through it, but if you like a book that will make you Have a physical reaction as you go through someone’s life, then this is a great book to read.

[Teresa Schiltz · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the second book by H. Chamberlin that I bought for the summer. They were both paperbacks from Sams, with a beach theme. I don't care for her writing. It almost seems as if she has some underlying issues that she wants to vent about. Both books talk a lot about homosexual couples, seemingly in a positive light. However, it almost becomes the "underlying" theme of the book. She is married to a guy and has children, so it is almost as if she is threatened by this component of society. Even characters that are mentioned only in passing, like a couple on the beach, she seems to feel the need to discuss the issue of their sexuality.

I need to make a mental note not to be taken in by the BEACH themes, the next time I see her work in Sams. It left me almost relieved when the book finally ended, but I am usually stubborn and don't give up on a book, once I begin. I do not recommend her work, it left me tired....

[Pmuckala · Rating 1 out of 5]

Years ago, I gave myself permission to not finish a book I had started reading. I constantly thought to quit reading this book, but since I had read another book by this same author, I persevered! It plodded along endlessly! The author must want people to know that she has no problems with alternate lifestyles as almost every chapter she mentioned various characters who were, by the way, gay! That was a total turn off in my eyes! Characters' sexualities are moot points as far as I am concerned. The story finally picked up around the last hundred pages. I promise I will never read another book by this author again! (All this from an extremely positive reader...usually!)

[Sharyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thought I would love reading about a house in the town I so love but didn't really enjoy the authors style! This book needed less literature and more emotion and heart, the latter two it lacked.
As a book centered in a family-owned home in Perkins Cove, one that had been in the home for generations, this novel lacked so much of the history of the town and times in which it took place over. You can tell the author didn't truly research the area, having lived here for only a few short years and simply lacked the grit to really get you to embrace this read.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful story but I completely understand the complaints from other reviewers about the repetitiveness of certain parts. I get that Tilda is sorting through her grief but after the first rant I just started skimming over her deep thoughts. Loved the story line and Craig was my favorite by far but it could have been much smoother without the grief rants.

[etherealfire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Library Kindle e-book

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly interesting story of family dynamics: the aging father who has started a new relationship after his wife's death; the dead mother, apparently uncaring; the older pushy, greedy brother Adam, his ex-wife and his latest girlfriend; recent widow sister Tilda who still hasn't processed her husband's death; lesbian sister Hannah and her wife Susan who wants to start a family; younger brother Craig, a footloose wanderer; and their sensible aunt Ruth who has been keeping house for their father. When they all get together at the family beach house for a memorial for their mother Charlotte, they meet their father's new love with varying degrees of friendliness - or enmity. At stake is the ownership of the loved beach house, for which each of them has different plans; they are afraid a remarriage will take it out of the family. The "mystery" of who will inherit the house is dragged out through the entire book. Most of the enjoyment comes from the interactions of the various characters. It was not a riveting book - very easy to put down, which is why it took me two days to finish it. But I did want the answer to the inheritance mystery, and I hate to peek at endings. I also wanted to find out if or how the family resolved all their various problems. We also meet other characters from the nearby village as well as a few tourists. I liked it, but I won't reread it any time soon.

[Gwendolyn Broadmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Family Beach House, by Holly Chamberlin: a compelling novel that skips past warm & fuzzy and heads straight for "real & gritty." Ms. Chamberlin exposes uncomfortable hidden familial emotions. Many "uglies" arise that no one wants to own, or admit to feeling. Larchmere, surrounded by beauty, and the briny sea air of the Atlantic, is everyone's dream family legacy. Located in an tight-knit historic village in Main, this splendid sprawling beach house calls everyone home for the 10th-year memorial of Charlotte McQueen's passing. The four grown McQueen children, two women and two men, are in very different spaces in their lives, and each has an opposing opinion of who their mother really was. But, initially, they find themselves united in discomfort, insecurity, and worry for their inheritance when they discover their beloved-father, Bill, has a serious girlfriend much younger than he is. Tilda McQueen O'Connell, recently widowed, feels she has the most to lose: a cherished part of her history, and a potential refuge from the world. Explore the incredible character development, and choose who you will champion. Will it be the one who is the hardest to love? Try this interesting summer escape, Gwendolyn Broadmore, author, Life Came to a Standstill.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

"She knew that memory was unique to each individual, that time and psyche tended to distort what had occurred into what you wanted or needed to think had occurred. Siblings who grew up under the same roof each grew up in a different family. She knew that."

This is an easy beach read that focuses on family dynamics and relationships, memory, grief and the power of healing and moving on as a family gathers together at their summer home to remember their mother/spouse on the tenth anniversary of her death.
Set in Ogunquit, Maine, I enjoyed reading about places I too have visited, though at many points, citing business names and street locations felt forced. I also found the lack of a consistent narrator(s), or at least some sort of organization to the narration, to be really annoying. And adjectives...holy cow! I love descriptive writing when it is pertinent to the story and adds to my reading experience; however, spending 3 paragraphs detailing the color and styles of every characters clothing (frequently!) is not necessary and distracts from the story.
If you are looking for a summer beach read, this may be for you!

[Saundra Dubois · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this novel, I felt the author had a firm grasp on family dynamics. How individual siblings’ perceptions/ memories of family relationships and occurrences could impact....not only in development of personalities, but how one views the world, and in addition, life’s choices.

What I found interesting, the senior members of the family, Father and Aunt, seemed to have a pretty good understanding of the adult children of the family.
Exactly when did this understanding occur? I am pretty sure this understanding/ awareness came with age. It was no mistake by the author to place a mid seventy year old Father and and Aunt in this novel, as they added another generational view. In contrast to the thirty and forty year olds and the complicated busy world they are living and working in...

As the book comes to an end, the reader is left with hope.....hope that this family would continue to love and support each other through another generation. Will this family be exactly as the Father and Aunt anticipated? No, it will not be...hopefully even better.

[Twila Martin · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a waste of time. This is one of those times when I’m kicking myself for being too stubborn to quit a book. First of all, who holds a public 10 year memorial for a death? No one I’ve ever heard of. The authors continually need to describe what everyone was wearing and the brand was ridiculous. Chino’s and Coach must receive endorsements. As for the characters, Bill, the dad(?) was never developed. Adam and Charlotte were too evil to even seem real and Tilda just seemed like a very sad, pathetic character. Hardly a page didn’t go by that we didn’t hear about how great her deceased husband was. I get it, she loved him, had the perfect life and was sad but my goodness. The rest of the family, Hannah, Susan, Craig and the aunt seem like decent people but I still have so many questions. A couple times, the author eluded to the fact that there maybe something behind Craig’s birth but nothing developed. The only good thing about this book is that I read it rather quickly on a cold snowy day.

[Deanna Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too long and drawn out

This was not a bad story except way to drawn out with superfluous information. Tilda was quite an unusual character and page after page had a depressing obsession of thinking about the past and her dead husband and concern as to whether she been a good wife, and working through her grief. I soon starting skipping a lot. I’m finding more and more books are
becoming “politically correct” by including gay people and this had it in spades. One of the sisters was gay, with her wife, then the librarian was gay, another couple at the party was gay. Then the young gay waiter (why we had to know he was gay, that’s the only time he was mentioned! Then she walked the beach and a gay couple waved to her! Give me a break. Not too keen on her writing style. Some times it was like reading a script “Susan entered the Library,”conversation followed then “Susan left the Library”. Not an author for my list

[Courtney Wallace · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've tried to make myself finish this book, but I just can't. The Tilda character goes on and on about her same issue. Over and over. Nothing much is really happening except that Tilda is constantly contemplating her life.

Like other readers, I'm a little confused about the author bringing up random gay people who have nothing to do with the story.

As far as religion goes, everyone has their own beliefs and that's great. But some of the comments seem kind of...rude, I guess? For example: "Yes, he knew what the historical Jesus--or his pitchmen--had meant by those lines...".
I'm not even sure why that was relevant to the story.

And then the quotes from authors, philosophers, etc...good grief. Enough already!

[Claudia Cheyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The McQueen family is gathering to commemorate the 10th anniversary of their mother's sudden death by accidental drowning. A surprise announcement that their father has a girlfriend whom he is very serious about throws the four siblings into turmoil. Tilda, one of the daughters, is still grieving the loss of her long time husband Frank to cancer two years earlier. She had been looking forward to spending time in her childhood home, the family beach house called Lachmere. Now the question of who will inherit this special place arises and causes fighting among family members.
This was a good story about becoming a widow at a young age, learning how to move on, dealing with a father's new relationship as well as the importance of the home where children grew up.

[Amy]

I thought the story of this family and their anxiety about who would inherit a beach house in Maine to be tedious and mostly dull. The father was distant. The oldest son, Adam, was a mean-spirited and vindictive cad. Tilda’s grief and ongoing thoughts about her now-dead husband would never end. And everyone’s internal thoughts about the house—whether they wanted it, what they would do with it—just went on and on.

And, please, did I really need to know what brand of chinos that each member of the family wore?

So I started skipping to the end of paragraphs after the first sentence, and then whole paragraphs. I didn’t feel like I missed anything important.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

i read the reviews before the book, probably not a good idea. Then i read them again after and could see lots of valid points, things i would normally not notice. it was a bit long, the characters were not very likeable at all, the dead mother sounded horrific, the daughters were not very strong women, the sons the same. why they would be so concerned about their dad dating 10 years after the death of their mother was a baffler to me. the author did mention the gay angle a bit too much, totally irrelevant and redundant. the story meandered around a bit too much. and it was all wrapped up in a pretty bow at the end, which i usually like. but somehow this rang a bit false to me.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Complicated family dynamics come into play when the extended family reunites for a 10th anniversary memorial service. Told primarily through Tilda, a young widow who was her husbands caregiver after his cancer diagnosis. Her story, her point of view, her thoughts and feelings, resonated greatly with me through all of those similarities. (same story for me) Probably not what the author intended for the reader to take away but it is what I personally took away from this book. Interesting, dynamic, thoughtful and for me, thought provoking and hopeful.

[Taylor Segen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actually, more of a 1.5 but I don't like to give a one star rating except for the absolute worst. Some of the irritations in this book I'll blame on editing. The rest is only the author's fault. It should have been titled The Neurotic Widow and the author should be an interior designer rather than an author considering how she went on and on and on about the minutia of every detail of every room the characters entered. or, a stylist, as we had to know about every pair of chinos worn. The story itself was pretty lifeless and really, who cared? Certainly not the reader.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast read set at a family's beach home in Maine. Ten years after the matriarch's death, the adult siblings and their father have gathered for a memorial. Within pages, readers will know that this is NOT one big happy family and that each member has different memories of the deceased. And each of the four siblings (2 female, 2 male) reacts differently to the news that their father, now in his mid70's has decided to remarry, to a career woman years younger than himself. Okay read, but nothing that compels me to search out other books by this author.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect summer read/Maine Tourist Read

A quick read or one that can be used as reflection for thoughts on family dynamics. The author uses the occasion of a matriarch’s 10- yr. memorial to draw the entire family plus some other beloved persons from the past but will they be accepting of possible new member and changes in their lives and surroundings? I liked it but felt it could be better explained with further character development.

[Lisa Broadbent · Rating 1 out of 5]

while I love good and cheerful Beach reads about beaches and cabins and Villas, I got more than halfway through this book and all it did was dwell on one woman's loss of her husband repeatedly. just when you think the author is finished the characters sad Recollections and missing her husband and moving on with the story then there's a whole other reason to talk about it there by dismissing anything positive that was happening in the book. I just couldn't waste another moment

[Hannah Ruby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Blah. This book took me FOREVER to read. I’m almost embarrassed because it was only 300 pages. However, the book bored me and it felt like a chore to get through. The story interested me just enough to keep reading. The characters all annoyed me too! I don’t like being so negative but I just did not mesh with this book.

[Megann · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book about a family and their trials and tribulations. One thing comes out in the book that we in our family have talked about...how can 4 children/adults from the same two parents turn out so totally different. This book goes into some of the answers and asks great questions that families could use to talk about during the holidays.
Definitely a book to read.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

First time reading this author, found this book cruising the shelves of Goodwill. Story was interesting, but, this could have benefited from a lot more editing. Author also tries to tell you what to think and feel, as opposed to allowing the reader to get there on their own. Overall 3 1/2 ***'s.