Review: The Summer of Lost and Found by Mary Alice Monroe (audio)

Title: The Summer of Lost and Found

Author: Mary Alice Monroe

Series: Beach House Series, #7

Narrator: Cassandra Campbell

Published: May 2021, Simon & Schuster Audio / Gallery Books

Length: 9 hours 55 minutes / 368 pages

Source: Audio via Simon Schuster Audio / Print – ARC Paperback via Publisher

Summary:

The New York Times best-selling Beach House series returns with this tender and compassionate novel following the Rutledge family as they face a summer of upheaval and change with perseverance, unity, and a dose of humor, discovering unexpected joys and lessons that will endure long past the season.

The coming of spring usually means renewal, but for Linnea Rutledge, it begins a season of challenge. Linnea faces another layoff, this time from the aquarium she adores. For her – and for her family – finances, emotions, and health teeter on the brink. To complicate matters, her new love interest, Gordon, struggles to return to the Isle of Palms from England. Meanwhile, her old flame, John, turns up from California and is quarantining next door. She tries to ignore him, but when he sends her plaintive notes in the form of paper airplanes, old sparks ignite. When Gordon at last reaches the island, Linnea wonders – is it possible to love two men at the same time?

Love in the time of COVID-19 proves challenging, at times humorous, and ever changing. Relationships are redefined, friendships made and broken, and marriages tested. As the weeks turn to months, and another sea turtle season comes to a close, Linnea learns there are more meaningful lessons during this summer than opportunities lost: that summer is a time of wonder, and that the exotic lives in our own backyards. In The Summer of Lost and Found, Linnea and the Rutledge family continue to face their challenges with the strength, faith, and commitment that has inspired fans for decades.

Mary Alice Monroe once again delves into the complexities of family relationships and brings her signature “sensitive and true” (Dorothea
Benton Frank, New York Times best-selling author) storytelling to this poignant and timely novel of love, courage, and resilience.

My thoughts:  Mary Alice Monroe is not a new author to me, having read and quite enjoyed her Lowcountry Summer series. Somehow, though, I have not gotten around to reading her Beach House series until picking up this latest book, which I did not realize was part of that series. Rest assured to those who are picky about jumping into series – this one, as with all the books in this series – stand on their own!

This book is set during the beginning of the pandemic, and follows the friends and family of Linnea Rutledge as they navigate the challenges and frustrations of quarantine life. It was so easy to relate to what the characters were going through and think back to how we all handled things at the beginning of our own shelter-in-place orders. 

I loved getting to know the characters in this book, especially since they were all new to me. I found that what they were experiencing – the feelings, and at times the hopelessness, of the situation – were so real and relatable. There are many small moments of poignancy throughout this book, as well as some laugh-out-loud moments, too. Living day-in, day-out with only your small pod gets old and of course when you have the affections of two men vyinging for your attention, there are sure to be some interesting moments. 

This was a great story that inspires hope and shows the resiliency of the human spirit. I really enjoyed it and will definitely be going back to read the earlier books in this series. I still cannot believe that I haven’t already read them. 

Audio thoughts: When I saw that Cassandra Campbell was narrating this book, I just had to request it…she is one of my favorite narrators and she did such a great job with this audiobook! She really did a great job bringing this story to life and was able to give all the characters unique voices, even with accents when needed and her voice for little Hope was appropriate for a little girl. She infused just the right amount of emotion and tension into her voice as needed and her pacing was just right.