Elizabeth Castellano

The Short of It:

Chaotic in an oddly entertaining way.

The Rest of It:

“An outrageously funny debut novel about a woman who moves to a small beach town looking for peace, only to find herself in an all-out war with her neighbors..” – Bookshop.org

I actually thought this book was hilarious. I picked it up when I wasn’t feeling too great and was instantly perked up. Unfortunately when I finished it I was really out of it so couldn’t formulate my thoughts. This is my best attempt now.

Kathleen Deane finds herself on a little discovery adventure when her husband of 30 years decided he no longer wants to be married. This is a shock. I mean, 30 years is a long time. As she tries to make sense of it, she begins to think about her next steps and that lands her in a small beach town. The idea of growing old in a quaint little beach town has always appealed to her so she sets it all in motion to make it a reality.

What she doesn’t count on is the town being completely off kilter. Construction, building violations and city officials who do not return her calls. It’s comical at best. The interactions with neighbors and honestly folks just walking by really make you rethink idyllic beach towns. Do they exist?

This story is very episodic. This happens and then that happens. Every time I picked it up it put a smile on my face . If you need something a little different to add to your reading list, add Save What’s Left.

For more reviews, visit my blog: Book Chatter.… (mehr)

This cautionary tale is a lesson for all: life’s a beach. Kathleen’s life is turned upside down when her husband decides he wants a divorce and to travel, without Kathleen, of course. So Kathleen sells her home, and buys a beach house in a community where an old friend of hers loves living. Living on the beach is going to be wonderful! Well, it’s not quite what she expected, especially when a monstrosity of a new house is built right next door, apparently ignoring all community zoning laws. She starts a campaign to stop the building, with little success. And even stranger things are in store for her. Yes, there is humor in the book, but after a while I found the continuing saga of Kathleen against city hall a bit too much of the same thing, and - dare I say - boring. And even though I tired of Kathleen’s tirade, I very much liked the way the author portrayed Kathleen’s husband and her cantankerous neighbor, both of whom add much to the story. It’s a read about a beach that’s not a beach read, and that makes it unique among the sappy romance ones. But perhaps there is a smidge of romance left for Kathleen to find after all.… (mehr)