This multilayered story is a quick enjoyable read. Each character is deep and intriguing. It seems like each person has had to deal with tragedy of some sort which makes them all the more real. I loved to see the characters help each other heal from their hurts and achieve victory. Lots of happy moments, lots of hard moments, some funny and annoying moments as well. But it all comes together to make a good story. There were a few places where I felt like things happened suddenly without what I felt would be necessary explanation. These holes in the story detracted a small bit while I was reading but now that I’ve finished the story I find it doesn’t really matter in my comprehension of the story... it just would have made the story more well rounded out.
I received a digital copy of this book from netgalley. This has in no way influenced my review. All thoughts are my own.

I received an arc from Netgalley. What a refreshing Romance. If you like a small town romance feel this is the book for you. This book will bring you a sense of hope, peace, and love that overcomes past hurts and feelings. It gave me a sense of restoring humanity.

Annie who experiences a devastating loss returns to a place where she has experienced happiness. This is to help her overcome her loss and help in her grieving process. Keaton is a man from her past and one who is exceptionally quiet and also has past hurt and abuse in his life. The way these two draw life from each other is heartwarming and also gives others in the small town a chance at new beginnings.

Debbie definitely hit the bullseye with this book and you won’t be disappointed. Five star read.

Annie's world came crashing down on her Thanksgiving day. Struggling to overcome, Annie finds her solace at the beach. where her family spent summers. Her character is shows us how to overcome adversity. That with God's love, understanding, grace and forgiveness, we can climb our way back. I love how we are shown not only her strengths but her weaknesses as well.
Keaton has always been an outcast. Her is a little too tall, a little too weird, and a little too quiet. However, his big heart for animals and some people are what draws Annie to him. What type of secrets does he hold? Will his caring nature be enough to heal Annie? When an unexpected opportunity is given, can Keaton and Annie decide what is right?

I love how each character is well developed. We come to understand both Annie and Keaton. Throw in a quirky landlord and a young teenager with a secret and a problem, and you have the makings of a great story. I highly recommend this book to all. I received a copy through Netgalley. I review was not required.

Every so often a story pops into an author’s mind driven by an idea or image formed by an actual event. Loads of fiction is constructed around actual parts of history. COTTAGE BY THE SEA is just a story by Debbie Macomber who was deeply touched by something that happened on March 14, 2014 near Oso, Washington.
Ripped from the headlines there was a tragic mudslide that wiped out homes and killed people in its path. Debbie Macomber envisioned the effect this could have had on possible survivors. Welcome to COTTAGE BY THE SEA.
What if your entire family is wiped out – everyone together to celebrate Thanksgiving. Everyone but you. Survivor guilt exponentially unheard of and in Annie’s case life altering.
Keaton had spied Annie thirteen years ago running on the beach with a bunch of teenagers and her brother. Something about her caught his eye but true to his impossible shyness and angst about his size the best he could muster was a quick uneventful hi. Annie sweetly answered his one word greeting and on her way said she would see him next year. But Annie never returned and Keaton would know. He had looked for her, had conversations with her and sketched her. Keaton you see was this big fellow who was taunted by nasty names. He had a horrible relationship with his father. His only friend was a guy named Preston. His life was very compartmentalized. But he was a very good man – and Annie had taken a place in his heart. Even though she didn’t even know who he was. He was just this giant of a guy who had said hi at the sea.
It’s now so many years later.
After the mudslide the only family Annie had left was an aunt and cousin Gabby who did all they could to help through the quagmire of legal issues that piled on top of an already grief stricken young woman. No amount of medicines or counseling could get Annie to find a way to continue her life when she had lost so much. But something her counselor said did get through. Think about a time or place where she had been happy. That place was the rented cottage by the sea in Oceanside.
Returning there brought back many memories of happy weeks spent with her family. The town was so inviting and seemingly hadn’t change much over the years. Annie made a decision to return to Oceanside. Take advantage of a job opening as a PA promising to stay for one full year. That was about the most of a commitment Annie could make. Coming to Oceanside just seemed like a breath of fresh air. A chance to hopefully get to a peaceful place inside. You don’t ever get over losing your entire family. So perhaps you just need to find something to hopefully fill a part of that gigantic hole in your life and heart.
Renting the cottage turned out to be more difficult than expected. It has suffered from lack of care and attention for several years now and the person who owned it was not very receptive to the idea of renting it out and having a neighbor. Mellie has become a sort of recluse. Her life has also been through turmoil. But Annie is determined that at least for the next year she wants to live in the same cottage that her family had rented – her happy place, her happy years.
Keaton can’t believe that after all these years that girl in his mind was now back in town. Annie absolutely has no memory of him but as time passes this big gentle man with a huge heart and very small vocabulary becomes important to her and to her recovery plan. Keaton is probably the most loving character you will ever meet. And you can’t help but hope that somehow these two realize how much they have grown to respect, need and love each other. And if along the way they have some major impact on those around them then even better.
COTTAGE BY THE SEA is an amazing tale of rebuilding lives. Day by day. I can’t think of anyone other than Debbie Macomber who could have written a romantically hopeful story from the ashes of the death of an entire family.

Small towns, changes, and life after tragedy is the centerpiece of another stunning novel by author, Debbie Macomber. Annie has lost almosy everything in a mudslide and with a sad heart, she takes her belongings to Oceanside where her family use to vacation. She meets Seth, a gentle giant who shows her kindnesd as well as comfort.

This is a prime example why Debbie Macomber is one of my favorite authors. Her faith based stories show real world problems and the kindness of people around us. Annie and Seth are such wonderful characters filled with spirit waiting to take you to Oceanside where the cottage and restoration await.

Uplifting, heartwarming romance! Keaton, bullied at school and home; Annie, popular with loving friends and family. Well written characters, action and message! Life is not easy as was shown through the different characters; but there are options and choices, if we are open to them. Enjoyable summer read; we all need a happy place for healing! (Would give 4 stars but Ebook price too high.)
Voluntarily read ARC, through Netgalley and publisher, for honest review

Annie loses her family in a freak event. She feels not only sadness and grief but also guilt. She returns to a town she remembers her family having great summers together. Debbie Macomber is a great story teller. This story was sad but also showed the resilience of human nature to overcome. Although there is romance in this book there is so much more than that. Once you start you won't want to put it down until the final page.

Debbie Macomber writes amazing stories with heart and hope. This is an author to turn to when the evening news has just been too depressing. It’s not because her stories are all sunshine. No this story has real tragedy and sorrow but because she reminds us that there is hope and good in people when real calamity does come to us all in life. With clarity, we see beneath the surface of life to some deeper and lasting aspects.

Cottage by the Sea deals with loss, grief, recovery, secrets, family and love. It is a romance, also a woman’s fiction story but then a universal story, too. It fits so many categories that all could relate or empathize with Annie then with Keaton as well as the other secondary characters. Reading this story caused a few tears to fall, a prayer to be said for those I love and a more than smile or two.

You all know I read a LOT of steamy romance now, but in my early 20s, I definitely did NOT.....and that was when I stumbled upon and fell in love with Debbie Macomber's work. COTTAGE BY THE SEA is the exact type of romance I inhaled back then and still more than appreciate today ~ sweet, chaste, and clean in all ways. This story has a beautiful setting in a tiny Pacific Northwest beach town and the characters are so refreshingly unique ~ a troubled male painter of few words, a grief-stricken female physician assistant and a woman afraid to leave her own home. Also, while a traumatic event does start out the book, I promise that this is NOT the focus of the story beyond showing a strong female overcoming grief.
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If you are looking for an inspirational (but not overtly Christian) love story, definitely consider picking one up sooner than later. And if you haven't read her work before, please also try out the Blossom Street series ~ that's my favorite!

I have read a number of Debbie Macomber’s books and with each new title, I am more amazed at her ability to portray the emotions that we all feel.

In “Cottage by the Sea”, which is a stand-alone book rather than a series book, Ms. Macomber presents the reader with a group of individuals who each carry the pain of a serious problem in life. Whether it is grief at loss, physical abuse or the emotional scarring of life gone wrong, the issue is explored. These characters then find a way of living life and, at least trying, to get beyond the problems that life has dealt to them.

Kind of like we all have to do.

I grew to care about the characters in this book and cheered them on as they took their first steps out of what seemed like a lifelong trap. I won’t go into the issues as I don’t want to have spoilers in this review. Suffice to say that I saw myself in more than one character and suspect that you will as well.

There is a sweet romance in this book (after all, this is a Debbie Macomber book!) Not to worry, it is simply that, a sweet romance without any sexual innuendo.

I look forward to reading more books by Ms. Macomber in the future.

I was provided a digital advance reader copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley.

Book Review: In unexpected ways more possibilities are available when one heals from grief through service to others, doors open that weren’t present before.


Cottage By The Sea
By Debbie Macomber


A tragedy befalls Annie Marlow. An all encompassing grief & survivors guilt threatens to send her into a deep spiral of depression. In her search to find a place where she can heal and dig herself out of the darkness, she returns to a beachside cottage where she was once happy. She returns to a place with good memories of her family.

The tranquility of Oceanside gives Annie Marlow a chance to soothe her sorrowed soul. It gives her an opportunity to reinvent herself as her priorities have shifted from their previous path. Everything gets categorized as before & after the tragedy.

In her quest to find answers she didn’t have a clue that her journey through her grief would be an opportunity for her to help heal others in the process of healing herself. She certainly wasn’t looking to fall in love or become the heroine of her new group of friends. Friends that become her new surrogate family.

Debbie Macomber has created a tale so close to home, hers that is, when a community in Oso, Washington fell into the Stillaguamish River from a landslide. Inspiration can come from anywhere and the tragedy of this community is no exception. Macomber channels the grief of that community and weaves a tale of surviving through the darkest days with hope that there will be a tomorrow.

Cottage by the Sea is an excellent story of family, love and redemption through healing. Even with its emotionally dark theme it is endearing with hope.

Be sure to visit Debbie Macomber’s website for a reader guide and a behind the book blog post.


FTC Disclaimer: I was given an ARC of this title via NetGalley & Penguin Random House for review purposes only; no other compensation was awarded me.

One of the things I've most heard about Debbie Macomber over the past five years is how formulaic her books have become. COTTAGE BY THE SEA takes, in many ways, a real break from that. While it's still a coming of age with a decent amount of romance style, it's not something you would read and automatically go "This is Debbie Macomber".

As someone who got stuck in the grief period for quite awhile and let it stall her life, I really connected with Annie. There's something beautiful about being able to go home to the place you were once happy and find yourself again.

Another fantastic story by this author.
We get Annie a young woman whose family spent many a time down at a beach in a cute cottage. She and her brother spent a lot of time on the beach and one day while there she meets a very quiet boy.
Fast forward a few years and that same young woman is now going through one hellacious heartbreak. I found my heart crying for her. She needs to go find her place and it leads her back to that same beach and a rundown cottage. She finally gets to rent it and it brings back such happy times for her. It calls to her. She decides to rent it for a year.
Enter quiet Keaton who remembers Annie and her long braided ponytail she is the only person to ever talk to him nicely. They quickly pick up a friendship that finally allows both of them to talk, heal and mend.
Loved it... I read it in one day...

I love the stories of Debbie Macomber and Cottage by the Sea was no different.
A beautiful story of healing, of transformation, of love, full of real drama.
I was very moved from the first pages and I did not realize how shaken it would be when I reached the end. I swear I wanted to see more of these people, of this great family that united unexpectedly and won so many victories together.
Perfect

Annie is going through the motions of life, lost in a sea of sadness after an unfathomable loss of her family through a natural disaster. She goes to the only place where she found peace in life, Oceanside. As she starts over life and a new job, she finds an unlikely friend in a loner, Keaton. A giant of a man, but gentle in his soul, he too has ghosts in his past and keeps a guarded heart.

As Annie acclimates to the new town, she makes friends, and tries to get Keaton to open up. There's a bond between them, and love could be possible if they could both find a way to communicate while making peace with their pasts. An opportunity for Annie could make or break them, and hard decisions need to be made if this couple wants a forever love.

A heartbreaking and beautiful story with love, relationships, and finding oneself.

**received a copy from netgalley**

This story takes the reader places where no one should ever have to go, with so much devastation, loss and heartache. It was easy to become invested in the characters because of their plight. Ms. Macomber weaves the story to allow us to see the resilience of the human spirit as the characters' learn to overcome all of those obstacles and build full lives. This is a heartwarming story that leaves the reader happy to have visited the Cottage By The Sea.

Many thanks to Penguin Random House and Netgalley for providing me with the ARC.

This is an author that never disappoints me. She puts so much into her character development and storyline.

This one is no exception. Cottage by the Sea is filled with heart, heartache, characters you fall in love with as well as making you feel you are part of the community.

If you could only go back in time before everything you believed is taken away.

This book grabbed me from the start with 2 different events; one happy and the other tragic.

Annie's mother wants her to go home for Thanksgiving, but she has plans and says she will see her family at Christmas. Only that is not the case. Annie falls apart after tragedy strikes. She ends up going to where she had the best family memories and meets Keaton (even though they had met years ago).

Everyone in the small town is afraid of Keaton, but not Annie, she forms a friendship/bond with him.

Taking a temporary job, she and Keaton (along with a cast of other oddballs) form an attachment and they need to decide if they can live without one another and of course a number of incidents make it impossible to continue their relationship, but are they strong enough to pull it out in the end and find their HEA?

5 stars!!!

I’m not about to mislead anyone, I am a long time reader of Debbie Macomber’s books… and to be frank, I’ve yet to find one I didn’t, at least, like but more likely loved. So it probably comes as no surprise that Cottage by the Sea just blew me away with the emotions, the personalities, and the background of the main and secondary characters.

Annie has to face one of the most difficult experiences in life, and she simply cannot face it here where memories are around every turn. It didn’t take much for a good friend to convince Annie to head to a spot that held happy memories and begin the healing process surrounded by things she loves and enjoys. Only one place would do, a cottage surrounded by memories that she will always cherish and the gentle echoes of the waves. Perhaps she can start to truly live again and heal in this small town. Annie didn’t expect to find more than her own emotions to be dealt with on this trip, but love knows no boundaries or time tables.

Cottage by the Sea is full of emotions and layers. Annie and Keaton both have healing to do from completely different points of view. The situations you will find within their story are lifelike, realistic and cloaked in emotions that will get the better of you. I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll shed tears or at least, fight to keep them from falling. Keaton, oh this man, he completely broke my heart at the life he’d lived, and the emotions he’s been through. While there is a romance here, it’s probably not the traditional always happy romance. Each has serious issues going on in their lives, and add each other to the mix and it will get complicated and emotional. Plus secondary characters who add their own realities to the story, and you’ll have an entertaining experience, as well as one that will touch your heart. As always, I fell in love with Debbie Macomber’s imagination and her storytelling magic. I’d highly recommend Cottage by the Sea to anyone who loves a realistic story, problems that can be dealt with and people to see as realistic and believable. I loved this one, and I’d really like to know more about some secondary characters one day.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

What an incredible story! The story line is filled with tragedy, sorrow, regret and hurt but also strength, determination and love. The characters have great connections throughout as they have many obstacles to overcome. This story will tug on your heart strings. A great read by a wonderful author. A must read!

Opening a book by Debbie Macomber can be a surprise as opening a box of chocolates.
Her plots are always filled with life, some suffering, but, above all, in the resilient capacity of people to be able to recover from the tragedies of life.
In this one, the author once again enchants and surprises us with the story of Annie Marlow, from when she was young until the years that followed, and her struggle to return to being what she was before - and even better.

An author from "old school," which does not have to appeal to scenes full of sex, but that brings the feelings to the skin.
5 stars