“Every time you go away” is a very sweet and intriguing story. This story does have paranormal in it, which I love. You will love this story even if you don’t care for paranormal. It’s still a very cute, sweet and loving story. This would be a PEFECT beach read. I’m very sure you’ll love this book as much as I did. Happy reading!!! :)

I feel like the odd-man out because I tried to like this book... I really did. But ultimately, it was a ‘did not finish’ for me; probably my first. I got about 40% through it when I just couldn’t any more. There wasn’t character development for me. I really didn’t enjoy how long it took for the author to describe how the main character brushes her teeth with years-old stale soda because the water was turned off.

I had high hopes for this book. I will try reading something else by this author.

This was a touching and emotional book. Willa's husband died very unexpectedly at a young age. She has had a lot of trouble raising her son, Jamie, now 17, and moving on. She returns three years later to the beach house where he died. to get it ready to sell.

Once there, she starts to have visions and then, actual encounters with her husband, Ben. Through these visits, Willa begins to heal.

I enjoyed this book. I was not expecting a real ghost in the book so that was a nice twist.

Three years ago Willa lost her husband Ben. Since his death, she hasn't been able to return to their beach house in Ocean City, MD. The main reason is because that was where he died. But now, something needs to be done with the house and Willa thinks the best thing to do is sell it. But being at the house has been quite interesting for Willa. She keeps seeing her husband Ben, and then she hears him loud and clear as if he is still there with her. Is she going crazy or is he really there? As she goes about fixing up the house with her best friend and her son, she sees Ben less and less, but her grief seems to be subsiding.



Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.



What drew me to this book initially was the fact that it was based in Maryland. I have lived my whole life here and I love reading books where I can picture myself in the setting. And when it's places your familiar with, it makes it a lot easier to imagine.



I don't know what I would do if I lost my husband unexpectedly. I'm sure the grief would tear me up inside for a very long time. We are a family that enjoys the beach, so I could really connect with this book. We don't have a beach house, but every year we make it a point to get to the beach for a least a week. If my husband were to die at the beach, I'm sure that it would be more difficult to go.



Willa doesn't want to go to the beach house, but she knows something has to be done. The memories of her husband, Ben are too great for her to keep the house, so selling it seems like the best option. Being back in the beach house is bringing up so many memories and making Willa reflect on the past three years and how she has just been going through the motions of life and not really participating in it. Not spending time with her son, Jamie or her best friend Kristin. Having them helping her get the house ready to sell reminds her of all the summers they spent together.



How can Willa sell the house if Ben is still there? If she continues to spend her summers there will she continue to see him? He doesn't know how his appearances work, so how will they know. But Willa knows this summer will change her life in more ways than one.

Wonderful story line. A nice read for the beach which had some depth to it, but now written in such an overwrought manner as to make one feel the need for a more serious atmosphere in which to indulge. Provided some insight on issues I was dealing with following the loss of a family member and subsequent encounters with estranged family. Losing oneself in the plot and the manner in which the characters dealt with issues actually allowed me to think through and work out some issues.

Beth Harbison's Every Time You Go Away was a fun, easy-read about a wif'e's struggle to move on after her husband's death. I was interested to find out how the story would end and if she would ever be able to let go. The subplot of her son and his budding relationship was endearing and added to the story line. I think this would be a great book for anyone dealing with loss or anyone looking for an enjoyable book they'll want to finish.

How do you move on after losing your Husband? When is it time to move on? How do you go back to living a normal life? Willa loses her husband without warning and now 3 years laters it is like she died with him because she is just going through the motions of life. She returns to the beach house where he passed away and thinks about selling. Willa realizes she has a lot of work to do to update the house and has her son, her best friend, and her best friends daughter come to help out. In the house she encounters the ghost of her husband who is trying to help her deal with the lost and have her understand that it is okay for her to go on living.

A story of grief, love, and learning to move on. An emotional story and touching. I enjoyed reading this book and could not put it down. Losing a loved one is never easy and this book shows that grief is not easy and how moving on can be a difficult thing. I recommend this book and would tell you to add to your TBR pile.

I've always been a fan of Beth Harbison - and I LOVED this book. It's a great read about healing and love - it gives one hope - and humor is always a hit with me! It's not so much paranormal as it is a way of coping and finally dealing with the loss of a loved one. The relationships are real and the dialogue could come straight from my own mouth. Great book! I was given a ARC of Every Time You Go Away by Netgalley.

Every Time You Go Away by Beth Harrison is a fresh look at grief, loss, and embracing those who are left. This story was told in two perspectives and even featured a ghost. Somehow, it all worked and the story comes full circle as the family comes to terms with their grief. Overall, it is a good read. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

This is a very emotional book in an awesome way. The grief experienced from the loss of a loved one is almost its own character, but the reunion is so happy and worth it. Very reminiscent to me of the movie “Ghost” with Patrick Swayze & Demi Moore. I love Beth’s books and this may be my favorite.

I totally enjoyed this book. It was sad, funny and enlightening. It is the story of a widow who is readying her beach house for the real estate market but it is also the place where her husband died. She has a crazy best friend and her daughter, plus her own son helping her get through this rough time. And the....he husband appears...only to her when she struggles with everything. Funny, sad, heart wrenching... an enjoyable quick read!

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was the first Beth Harbinson book that I have read. It was a great lazy weekend read. The characters of Willa and Ben are very relatable. I couldn't imagine going through the pain of losing my spouse. Looking on the outside it's easy to say that. You must grieve, and continue parenting and staying strong for those around you.

Every Time You Go Away was inspiring and a reminder of how strong the heart can be. The sub characters were a perfect balance. I would highly recommend this book, especially for those that may have experienced this type of loss.

A book about the crushing heartache and sadness from losing a loved one unexpectedly. I liked the alternating points of view and the secondary characters of Kristin and Kelsey as they added depth and strength to Willa and Jaime. The movie version of this would be perfect for the Lifetime or Hallmark channel.

I read this book in a few days, once I got into the story I was pushing through to see the ending, even if it was slightly predictable.

I enjoyed the interactions between Willa and Ben, it's not something that I see often in the books I've read so it was fresh, for me.

All around a good, easy read!

I really liked this book. When the supernatural things first start happening, I thought not another ghost story, but those encounters actually helped you understand the characters and really feel the emotions.

I liked Beth Harrison's book, Every Time You Go Away, and thought it was a great heartfelt read. I loved the flow of the plot and the characters. The book dealt with tough situations and I got teary eyed in a couple places. Definitely recommend.

Willa has been walking around in a haze of grief ever since her husband, Ben, died three years ago. His death was sudden and devastating to the little family. Ever since Willa has left their teenage son, Jamie, to fend for himself. She knows that she should do better, but the weight of her grief prevents her from moving forward. Ben was getting their beach house ready for the season when he passed away in his sleep. Willa hasn't been back since, but she knows she has to get the beach house ready to sell. She heads out on a late spring day and finds their beach house left exactly as it was the day Ben died. The same soda in the fridge, the same unfinished book on the table, the same clothes in the closet. Willa also finds a house in desperate need of cleaning and fresh paint. Her friend Kristin and her daughter come to help. As does Willa's son, Jaimie, but it is Ben's ghost that has the biggest impact on Willa's experience. She sees his ghost, can carry on a conversation with him, but he is asking her to do the most difficult thing of all - let him go and move on. Will she be able to do as he asks?

Every Time You Go is more of an emotional read than I was expecting to find. Losing my husband like that is just something that I can't even fathom, which is why I think that Willa's grief was so easy to understand. She knows that she that her relationship with Jamie could have been permanently damaged by her grief, but she is trying to make repairs to their relationship. The author takes turn telling the story from Willa's viewpoint and Jamie's. You get to see both sides of this strained relationship, but always keep in mind that Jamie is a teen boy. And well - not the most emotionally intelligent creature, but of course, he did just lose his father, too. In the end, they both grow in their relationship and in their grief. For a book about grief, Every Time You Go Away ended in on an uplifting, hopeful note.

Bottom Line - "Beach Reads" are not normally known for being overly emotional, heartfelt books. And that isn't a bad thing, usually, beach reads her books are a little more light-hearted, fun even. Every Time You Go Away was a little more of an emotional read for me and I really liked it.

Details:
Every Time You Go Away by Beth Harbison
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Pages: 304
Publication Date: 7/24/2018
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
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Harbison tackles a tough subject in Every Time You Go Away, with dignity and honesty. The main character, Willa, has been struggling since her husband Ben died unexpectedly a few years past. She has been living on cruise control, not facing all aspects of his death and not parenting their teen son Jamie very well. Ben passed away in their summer house a few hours from their home and Willa has not been back since. She could use an infusion of cash and the memories are so strong there, she has decided to sell it, so she goes down on her summer break (Willa is a teacher) to clean and prep for the sale. Within a week or so, her son (now 17), best friend Kristin and her teen daughter join Willa to help put the house together. This support system plus the occasional visit from Ben (ghost, spirit, presence...whatever term you prefer) helps her cope and ultimately move forward.

There was the potential in this book to get preachy or melodramatic. Instead, Harbison addresses a spousal death with what seems to be doses of reality mixed in with some spiritual fantasy. If you like stories with ghosts and at times, improbable aspects, and find the occasional ‘what if,’ then this books for you

Thank you Netgalley for my ebook of this perfect beach read.
Although I didn't get a chance to read this at the beach or even this summer, it was the perfect lighter beach read. Some of the content wasn't exactly light, but the author kept it sweet with some bittersweet and we got to see a family grow and move on.

This was a story of Willa and Jamie going on with their lives after the death of Willa's husband and Jamie's father, Ben. It had been about 3 years when Willa had finally decided that she had to return to their summer home and tend to everything that needed to be taken care of. The story is told in first person from Willa's POV and 3rd person for Jamie's POV. It works. You get to feel first hand what Willa sees and goes through at the summer home. And you feel and understand Jamie as a teen. He is the typical teen that doesn't exactly like his mom, but doesn't hate her. Parents "just don't get it". Just a typical teen-parent relationship that could use some working on. Both of their lives were upended and they both dealt with the loss of a loved one very differently. But when Willa arrives on her own at the place they spent many summers at, she is surprised to feel and sense her husband, Ben.

This story is about searching for ones self, healing, moving on, love, family and friendship. We get to see Willa with her friend Kristin and how supportive their friendship is. They love each other and provide a form of comfort for one another. As do their kids, Jamie and Kelsey. They seemed to have lost touch after many years, but a summer at their beach house can change it all. It's one big cycle of love, grief, friendship and making decisions that can effect your life for short term and long term.

I have to say that I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. It was light and the perfect beach read. But it was also a journey for Willa and Jamie for their relationship with each other and with Ben and their summer home. With the added bonus of Willa's interaction with Ben, I think we got to see a family deal with grief and their love. Willa had a hard time moving on, but with Ben's actions and words, I think she just may get there.

If you want a book that is sweet with some parts lonely and some parts touching, this is a great book of fiction. Nothing too dramatic, but a family and their attachment to a home that they once thought they couldn't ever connect with again.

I really enjoyed this book! I think you have to have some belief in the afterlife to enjoy it or at least be able to suspend disbelief but it was well-written and the plot moved along swiftly.

Willa's husband Ben died suddenly and she hasn't been able to go to their beach house since. When she finally gets up the nerve to go, she's greeted by her husband's ghost. At first, he's there as a young man and eventually, he can speak to her but not to their teenaged son.

The book explores her grief and how talking to his ghost gives her closure. I recommend this book.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.