This is an emotional novel. The author realistically depicts depression and loss. It was refreshing to not have romance involved the novel. it is just about the woman and her children overcoming loss and learning how to live again. I enjoyed the author's descriptive writing style and the beach house sounded wonderful.

SUMMARY:
Willa's husband died in their beach house all alone. She's struggling to move on with her teenage son, Jamie. For the summer, she had to face reality and go to the beach house in order to put it spruce it up for re-sell. There she encountered, Ben, her late husband, or rather his ghost.

REVIEW:
Harbison wrote an unforgettable and very much relatable story. Even with a ghost in the background, it's not so far-fetch. Readers can submerged themselves in this book. It's not about the ghost. It's more about human nature and being able to handle a great lost and move on. To me, Ben was never a ghost, but rather her inter-conscience and how her brain resolve her own emotions to get her through grief and lost. I am never disappointed when it comes to Harbison's books.

This book was a very emotional book and I was expecting emotion but not the drag me down in the pits of despair kind. I was expecting and really wanting a more romantic story where we see a lot of reflection and growth on Willa's part but this wasn't that kind of story and that bummed me out. Actually, it was that kind of story but it was a lot more Debbie Downer than I hoped.

So this story is told through Willa and her son Jamie's POV's and Willa's part of the story is told in first person while Jamie's is in third. That took some getting used to but it did get easier, the more I read so that wasn't really an issue for me but my romantic heart wanted some kind of romance for Willa but sadly, this is all Women's Fiction so none of that.

Willa's husband died and he was the love of her life. Her life is not the same and she's kind of wandering from day to day with no real idea of what to do now. She's trying to hold it together for her son Jamie but she's so consumed with grief that it's hard for her. She hasn't returned to the place where he died and doesn't really want to until the time comes for her to clean that place up and get it sold off so that she can put the past to rest and finally move on toward the future. She enlists her best friend's help and Jamie and her best friend's daughter come through to help as well.

This book reminded me of the movie Ghost because Ben shows up to help Willa move on and while I thought it was sweet, the story moved too slow for my liking. I found myself browsing through chapters before digging in to read and normally, I could just jump right in and fall right in but that wasn't the case with this one. I'm sure that it was probably a mood thing where I wasn't in the mood for a really heavy, emotional story but I did finish it so that was something. I enjoyed the way that everything came together and I did like the characters and the small romance that we got for Jamie but because the book moved slow and was so heavy, my grade for this one is firmly set in the 3 out of 5 stars camp.

<strong>Grade: 3 out of 5</strong>

I’m not sure what happened here. The synopsis on Goodreads doesn’t completely go with the advance copy I read. In my book, Willa, the main character was married to Ben, who died from a heart attack; however, he did not cheat on his wife, and they were not divorced. They were happily married. The death has been difficult for her and their son Jamie, who was 14 years-old at the time of his passing.

The book was also not one I considered to be hilarious. It was heartwarming at times because of the closeness of some of the characters, but also sad because of Ben’s death at such a young age. Their beach house has been empty for three years until Willa decides to sell it. When she gets there, she encounters the ghost of her husband, who has been sent to help her move on. Ben the ghost was a nice addition, because it showed how close the husband and wife were.

I enjoyed this version of the book and welcomed the opportunity to read something from an author I was not familiar with. The grief Willa felt was so well described and shown that I could feel it. I really appreciated that even though she had the typical struggles with her teenage son, he was basically a good boy who ultimately did his best after the loss of a father he loved and a mother who had trouble coping. Willa tried to be a good parent, but distance has developed between the two, and I appreciated how the both felt their relationship needed work, and they did their best to fix that.

For the most part, the book place at Ocean City, Maryland; it would make a nice book to read during the summer. Since I’m not going to the beach this year, I enjoyed this armchair trip there.

A warm and sensitive story of Willa's loss, her acceptance and her moving on, with the help of her son and her best friend.

Completely enjoyed the characters in this publication and was thrilled to read and receive advance copy.
It is not often that I get to read something "over the weekend" and not put it down, but this happened with this title

this book is for everyone especially the ones that have experienced loss. This a powerful tale about love and loss and how life goes on. I had a hard time getting into this book, I think it because I haven't felt the personal loss the author has in this bool. But it very moving. I did like how it ended how everything came back full circle How loss doesn't just happen to us it affects the people around us. This book would be a great book to read on a stormy day.

Three years ago Willa's world was turned upside down when her husband Ben died at their beach house. Since that time she hasn't visited the beach house, but now it is time to go. She heads to the beach with the intent of cleaning and listing the house for sale. Her son, Jamie, being a sullen teenager refuses to go with her to help box up their memories. So Willa is there alone with her memories. It doesn't take long until she thinks she sees Ben. Is she going crazy or is he coming to let her know it is time to move on. Her friend Kristin comes to help paint and spend some girl time with her. And Jamie has second thoughts too and joins her there. He even finds a job and seems more like his old self. Does the house have healing and restorative powers? Will Willa and Jamie's relationship return to what it once was. That is one thing that the author doesn't tell us. I would have loved for there to have been an Epilogue to this story to give us a look at our characters a couple of years down the road.

I received a copy of Every Time You Go Away written by Beth Harbison from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. I have never read any work by Beth Harbison and greatly enjoyed this book and will be looking for more books in the future.
Willa lost her husband Ben 3 years ago suddenly, and for 3 years have been living a perpetual shell of a life. Reeling with her own grief, she has not been the mom to her son Jamie that she needs to be. Scattered and depressed, she decides to sell the beach house she had with Ben. But when she gets there, Ben's ghost keeps reappearing. Thinking she is going even more crazy, she demands Jamie to come and help with the house repairs and also enlist her best friend Kristin and Kristin's daughter Kelsey.
This book is about finally ending the grief state and moving on with your life after you have lost a love one. The fact that Willa leaned on Ben a lot while he was alive as well as the fact they were teenage sweethearts added to her grief. At times whining and slightly pathetic, she wallows in her despair. But when Ben appears to her (and only her) she begins to A) think she has finally gone crazy and B) begins to heal.
Jamie has his own issues (teenager HELLO) but is still grieving the loss of his dad as well. The fact that his mom has been scatterbrained since his dad's death, adds to his grief and makes him feel guilty at times. While he is unable to see his dad and isn't even aware he is there, the changes in his mom helps him change and grow.
A wonderful story about grief and the impact it takes on not only you but those around you. Sadly, not everyone sticks around, is patient and understanding, or emphatic for those that go through the process of grief. The fact is that the time frame is different for everyone and life goes one. And this story was a wonderful and well-rounded story about the time frame of grief as well as the coming to acknowledge that you still have time to live yourself and sometimes, that hurts to admit almost as much as the grief itself. #EveryTimeYouGoAway #NetGalley

The main character, Willa, is grieving the loss of her husband, three years prior. He died at their beach house and when she goes back to the beach house to get it ready to sell, all of her memories and love for Ben comes flooding back. I felt like I was an acquaintance of Willas’ not a best friend like Kristin. I would recommend this book to family and friends if they wanted a definite “chic read” that’s a little sad, a little funny and a little out there. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy for my honest review.

Willa and Ben had a wonderful relationship together. They met during Senior Week in Ocean City, Maryland. They got married and had a son named Jamie. Years later, Ben died unexpectedly in their vacation home in Ocean City. It caught Willa and Jamie off guard. It started a rough road to recovery to heal from their loss. Willa and Jamie have had trouble getting along ever since his passing. Two years later, Willa has come to the conclusion that they need to sell their beach house. Only problem is, she starts to see Ben showing up the house. It's not his true form, but she can converse with him. She realizes this isn't something she needs to be completely engaging with, so she asks Jamie, her best friend Kristin, and Kristen's daughter to join her for one last summer at the beach. Will she finally be able to get over Ben's death and grow closer to Jamie?

This book reminds me a little bit of the movie Ghost. It's a perfect beach read for sure, and I imagined myself in my beach chair the entire time reading this. It's a heartwarming novel about the true meaning of family. The novel is written in the wife's and the son's point of view and I felt like I could've done without the son Jamie's point of view. I would've wanted to just keep all my focus on Willa's story and her feelings as she's learning to accept her husband's death and grow closer to Jamie. It was a really entertaining read and I especially loved the location. I really wanted some Thrasher fries after reading this, haha!

4/5 Stars

“Every Time You Go Away” by Beth Harbison is an emotional and intense novel. The Genres for this novel are Fiction, Women’s Fiction with a touch of Para-Normal. The timeline of the story is within three years of the present, and goes back to the past when it pertains to the characters or events in the story.

The author honestly describes some of her characters as depressed, lost, overwhelmed and conflicted. Willa, is a young widow with a teenage son Jamie. Their relationship is strained and dysfunctional due to the tragic death of Ben, three years earlier. Ben died in the family summer home which once had wonderful and happy memories. Willa is very lucky to have a loyal and concerned friend Kristin.

Willa is determined with a heavy heart to go to the summer home, and fix it so it can be sold. As soon as she and the family dog arrive, she has a strange feeling that Ben is there. Literally Ben’s ghost seems to be there encouraging her to move on with her life.

Jaime reluctantly goes to help his mother at the summer home, when he senses there is something off with her. Jaime is getting by in school, and doesn’t seem motivated. He ends a relationship with an over-bearing and demanding girlfriend.

Is this a special summer that both Willa and Jaime can overcome their feeling of loss, and become close. Will Willa be able to move on? I would recommend this novel for those readers that enjoy a book that deals with family grief and healing. I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

Beth Harbison’s novels are usually a fun summer read. While I enjoyed this one, it wasn’t as light as her previous books. I wanted to love this, because I really like her work, but when all was said and done I just thought this one was OK.

Thanks to the author, NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC

3 1/2 Stars
After the death of her husband three years ago, Willa has been lost. She has finally decided to fix up and sell their much loved beach house, a place she hasn’t visited since Ben died there. A place filled with many special memories. A place where they initially met. A place literally filled with the ghost of Ben. Though predictable, it was a heartwarming story about moving forward, thinking about new beginnings and learning how to live again.

Willa has been widowed for 3 long years and now she is going to their beach house to clean it out and sell it. What she never expected was the ghost of her husband to be there, trying to convince her to move on with her life.
This book was so good. The characters were all ones I wanted to root for, and the storyline was fresh and captivating. This is the perfect beach read!

I honestly feel like this was an unfinished book. It felt disjointed and repetitive. Yet I kept reading because it had some great characters and an interesting premise.

Every time You Go Away by Beth Harbison is such a beautiful exploration of grief, longing, and coming together after an unspeakable loss. I loved the complicated, REAL relationship between mother and son as they both tried to grapple with the death of their husband/father. I really appreciated the realistic themes of honest grieving and trying to move forward, as well as the different perspectives from mother AND son. I loved the conversations between Willa and her ghost husband, too, and it made me think about all of the things left unsaid when a loved one passes suddenly,

I probably wouldn’t recommend this book to someone looking for a light beach read, but it this was a good, albeit somewhat slow-going (due to the topic, not the writing) read.

Willa has never moved on from the sudden and unexpected death of her husband, and it has caused a rift between her and her teenage son, Jamie. After putting it off for 3 years, Willa finally decides to get the beach house where he died prepped for sale. The majority of the book is set at the house, and it is told from both Willa and Jamie's perspectives. Willa is visited by Ben's ghost, and Jamie is struggling to free himself from a horrible high school girlfriend. The book was nicely written, and the characters were likable, but I felt like I kept waiting for something momentous to happen, and that moment never happened for me. Even on the last page, I was hoping for an epilogue.

Every Time You Go Away by Beth Harbison

BROOKE’S REVIEW

Beth Harbison’s Every Time You go Away is an emotional turn for the author that explores the life of a family dealing with the loss of a father and a husband. Willa never recovered from the loss of her husband, and her teenage son Jamie is dealing with his grief in his own maladaptive way. They each long for connection, but they are struggling in the wake of Ben’s unexpected death from a heart problem.

Enter the beach house. The beach house was always a place of connection for the family. After a couple of years, Willa realizes it is time to come and settle her affairs at the home so that she can begin to move on. What she doesn’t expect is to encounter the spirit of her late husband.

With a touch of the supernatural, Harbison creates a feel-good summer read with an emotional edge about love and loss and the value of family. It debuts on July 24, 2018.

AUTHOR

Beth Harbison is The New York Times bestselling author of One Less Problem Without You, If I Could Turn Back Time, Driving with the Top Down, Chose the Wrong Guy, Gave Him the Wrong Finger; When In Doubt, Add Butter; Always Something There To Remind Me; Thin, Rich, Pretty; Hope In A Jar; Secrets of a Shoe Addict; and Shoe Addicts Anonymous. She grew up in Potomac, Maryland, outside Washington, DC, and now shares her time between that suburb, New York City, and a quiet home on the eastern shore.

Every Time You Go Away by Beth Harbison

A sad story about moving on after losing the love of your life. This is a touching, slightly supernatural love story. It might make you remember the movie "Ghost". The story has great characters and descriptive settings. I could hear the hurdy gurdy sounds of the boardwalk, smell the fried food and salt air. The outcome came as no surprise, but it was a quick and entertaining read. I am not into the supernatural thing and this was mostly what the book was about. That said
it is a easy read that you can just breeze through. Kept me interested enough.
I would like to thank St. Martin's Press, Beth Harbison and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.