Cottage by the Sea quickly caught my attention as I started reading it. Normally I read a couple books at a time and switch between them as my mood changes, but once I started this one I didn't want to read anything else. Also, I'm a huge sucker for the "gentle, quiet giant" trope, so I was loving Keaton as a character. I also really love stories set in beach tones, so I was all set.

While the plot had a bit of predictability in regards to Keaton's and Annie's relationship, I didn't really mind. It made sense for the established characters, and I also very much enjoyed the subplots about Britt's family and Mellie and Preston.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable read for me and it's definitely going on my list of favorites.

Twelve years ago, Keaton was mesmerized by the girl on the beach with the long braid. Having been teased and tortured for his size, he was used to brushing it off; however, when she decides to stand up for him, he vows to talk to her the next time she comes back. Summer after summer he waits, but she never returns.

After the tragic accident that causes Annie to lose all of her immediate family, her therapist and cousin suggest that she finds her happy place. After months of a dark depression and guilt of surviving, Annie drives to Oceanside just for a night. After the peace she feels, she decides to try and start over again in this little seaside town. Things aren't off to an easy start, but she is determined to focus on a fresh start.

My aunt was a huge fan of Debbie Macomber, having only read one of her Christmas novels, I knew I had to give this a shot. The story is sweet and progresses nicely. This book contained one of my favorite male character types: the gentle giant. My heart just melted once I meet Keaton and I knew that I was going to be in for an amazing story. The only drawback that I had was that the ending was a little choppy compared to the rest of the book. I am not sure if it was just from rushing or the writing just didn't flow as well from one chapter to the next in the end. My favorite part was all of the characters and the representation present among them. I feel like it was done tastefully and with an encouraging tone that shows you can overcome no matter what you face. Overall, an amazing read and one that convinced me that I need more from Debbie Macomber!

*NetGalley - I requested access to this book prior to publication. All opinions and reviews are my own and not solicited by the author, publisher, or NetGalley. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the chance to read the arc!

I like the book but it just did not give me the warm and fuzzy that I usually get from Debbie Macomber. Maybe it is because I had just finished one of her books that did give me that feeling. There are some heavy issues that the characters bring to this story.. It weighed me down. I needed to be in a different mind to give the book a higher rating.

After a horrible tragedy and needing to find herself, Annie decides to takes a job in the town where her family always vacationed growing up. Keaton remembers the little girl which the braided hair that her was too afraid to speak to during those summer vacations. When the two reunite as adults the sparks are there and the two take a long and emotional journey to find love and acceptance when the rest of the world seemed to be against you. With beautifully written characters and a true and honest storyline, Debbie Macomber once again brings the reader along for a wonderful but emotional ride.

Great novel about survival, hope, love and healing. The best part of this book is the young woman’s discovery of helping others is how to heal, grow and move on. The romance is a plus.

This is the perfect summertime read!
Who hasn't spent time on the beach somewhere as a kid and met the best looking boy or girl and fallen in love right on the spot.
However, we all went back home to our real lives and saved it in our memories to think about every now and then.
Keaton has lives on the beach always, and has never forgotten that beautiful girl named Annie. When he sees her again one day watching the ocean, he thinks it is almost a dream. He has loved her and thought about her since the first time he met her.
Annie comes back to live in the beach house she and her family rented every week when she was young and is trying to look for happy memories of her family who have died is a sudden tragedy.
Coincidence? I think not.
This book will have you cheering on the friendship and also at times shedding tears as each chapter unfolds. Excellent quick read!

Annie's life was struck by a tragedy so deep that you could feel her anguish and despair. When she finds herself in Oceanside, I could almost feel the sand under my toes and feel the burden lift from Annie's soul as she realized that she had found her place in the world where she could move forward. I enjoyed following Annie on her journey and the characters that she meets, from tall Keaton who remembered her from childhood to her landlady and neighbor Mellie. The characters made me smile several times as I got to know them. A sweet story.

Debbie Macomber does it again! She has a gift for weaving a story that keeps her readers up long into the night- I can never put her books down! In Cottage by the Sea, I felt immediately drawn to Annie's character as she dealt with horrible grief. In seeking to recover, she returns to a seaside town, a small beach town where she has happy memories from her childhood vacations. It is here that she finds a way to settle in and start to live once again. Annie feels a strong connection to Keaton, who is a "gentle giant", and a talented artist. She also is determined to make friends with her very reclusive landlady Mellie who she remembers from her childhood vacations. Many in town are drawn to Annie by her kindness and by her skills as a physician assistant, particularly a local troubled teen Britt and her younger brother. This is easily a book I will read again and again!

Cottage by the Sea by Debbie Macomber
This book brings you comfort and warmth like a favorite sweater. But all of this authors' books do the same.  I enjoyed the setting and would love to live there. Small beachside communities can restore a persons heart as it did in this book. Sometimes it seemed a little too simple sounding but the last part of the book explains this away. Thank you Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the opportunity to read this novel.

This book has a wonderful story line and characters that you hate to see leave. A story of turning tragedy into something positive. Highly Recommended

Lovely. I curled up on the weekend and DEVOURED this story. Fun, loving, well written. Loved it. I think this author is (again) one of my favorites

Cottage by the Sea is a heart wrenching story about four people who have suffered greatly. The story progresses as the main characters gradually heal and find love. This story is definitely a tear jerker.

I just love Debbie Macomber books, you can always count on her for a sweet sweet story that renews your belief in love and romance.

In Cottage By the Sea, Annie was living the carefree lifestyle in LA, doing whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted to. Then tragedy struck, over Thanksgiving weekend, her family was gathering at there home near Seattle when a mudslide wiped out her parents home. Annie lost her parents, her brother and his wife, and her baby niece. Suffering from survivor's guilt (she was asked to come but refused to because she made plans with her cousin to shop and hang out) and depressed, she decides to take her cousin's advice and go find her happy place. She decides to head to Oceanside, 3 hours outside of Seattle and rents a cottage that her family rented every summer when she was a child. There, she meets Keaton, a gentle giant who first fell in love with her years ago, when she was a teen and visited the island. She befriends her agoraphobic landlord and finds her niche as a physician's assistant in the local health clinic.

I'm not going to lie, Keaton comes off as pretty darn creepy in the beginning of the book. Too creepy. Luckily, he evolves beautifully as the story gets told as do all the characters. In typical DM fashion, I was won over by the cast of characters and the Pacific Northwest setting that she uses in all of her books.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2367896338

Debbie Macomber has once again written a story that you won't want to miss. Cottage By the Sea is about psychologically wounded people coming together to help one another heal their wounds and find love in the process.

Macomber does it again with another feel good story. Hope, redemption and starting anew. A happy read especially with the doom and gloom today's news brings us. I was sorry the book came to an end.

Cottage by the Sea is an exceptionally well written book, as any Debbie Macomber fan would expect. I was pulled into the plot immediately. I loved the quirky cast of characters and the setting. Have the tissues handy as you just might need them.

I love this book. Its sad, touching, romantic and loving. This book is about self growth, friendship, communcation, and courage. Out of tragedy, a young woman goes back to her happy place, a place where as a child she and her family shared glorious happy, laughter filled days. As a grieving adult Annie returns to the cottage by the sea, where she finds friends and a community that help her through the greiving process, and she helps them overcome the obstacles that prevent them from being happy.

This book dealt with several tough issues that showed what love and patience can do to heal a person.

Will leave 5 star review on Amazon under name of Connie

So moving and beautifully written. I was brought to tears many times reading this story. I highly recommend it.
The value of family, friendship and love are well represented along with all the things that can and do go wrong in life. I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

Debbie MacComber gives her readers well developed characters with realistic flaws & issues that engage our hearts & sympathies from the beginning. Keaton is considered an oddity because of his height, large build & extreme shyness. He doesn't like being put on the spot & stumbles over his words if he is. Annie is a wonderfully energetic teenager when we first meet her, an annoyed young woman next & last a depressed sad young woman fighting her way out of grief & trying to survive. These two are drawn to something in each other from the beginning. Annie also manages to bring secondary characters into her circle with their own flaws that she is able to help them with. I enjoyed going on Annie's journey back to life & happiness with her. Her character managed to draw Keaton & Mellie out of their respective shells & help them. There were several times I struggled to fight back tears, bite back laughter, & smile while reading. Ms. MacComber has managed to touch my heart with another terrific book.