The Summer of Lost and Found

Author: Mary Alice Monroe
Genre: Southern Fiction 
Publisher: Gallery Books, 2022
Pages: 368
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: The coming of spring usually means renewal, but for Linnea Rutledge, this spring is only bringing challenges. Linnea faces a layoff from the aquarium she adores, and her family's 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 difficult, at times humorous, and ever changing. Relationships are redefined, friendships made and broke, 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.

Review: I wasn't sure I was ready to read a book set during the COVID-19 pandemic. Having just lived through it, and now living through the repercussions of decisions made by the government during that time, it is still really raw.

I enjoyed this novel. It is worth noting that this is the 7th book in the The Beach House series, a fact that isn't noted anywhere on the book itself. That was frustrating, but it makes sense. I found the introduction of characters in the first chapter to be rushed and confusing.

If I have one criticism it's that the departure of one beau was just too simple and convenient. It suits this subgenre though so it's not reason enough to not read the book.

I requested Book 1, The Beach House, from the library.