Couldn't get this to download at all. So unable to give honest review. Sorry. Will change in future should I ever come across this book .

Kind of dry to start but really picks up a few chapters in. I loved the depictions of the townspeople, especially interesting from the perspective of a child. Would ultimately recommend!

As a teacher, I found myself liking this more for my students than I did myself. It was an interesting read.

A heartwarming story! Treasure of the Blue Whale is a story of love, craziness, frailty, greed, and wonderful characters told in a heartwarming and light-hearted way. It’s a wonderful, laugh-out-loud coming of age story that I highly recommend. I loved it!

This book is a wonderful depiction of how sometimes what we want isn’t what we need. Through one summer the reader becomes closely acquainted with the parts of life that bring connection, fulfillment, and joy; the idea that our material possessions don’t bring life as much meaning as the people we bring Into our lives.

A quaint tale about a tale finding itself suddenly rich and the hijinks that ensue. Written as a revisited memory, the writing style is captivating. However the story isn't crazy rich with unexpected twists and turns.

A fun light read that you will keep thinking about long after you have finished. I enjoyed it so much I finished in one day.

With thanks to netgalley

The treasure of the blue whale was a good book, that I enjoyed it and found it rather funny in parts.

A sweet tale of a boy narrated when he is decades older - set in 1934 California.

What made me want to read the story was its timeline, its premise and the protagonist. I've never read anything with that combination before, and so it was refreshing and more than a little disarming to hear of the boy's tale - his family, his town, the townsfolk... it evoked the charm of nostalgia that was textbook spot-on. If the work had not been invented yet, after reading this book - it would have to be!

It brings to mind other boy-narrator stories, telling the tale of a time gone by, and of people since gone by. Placed so close the Depression, the background and context is very interesting as well.

Any possible parallels to life under COVID-19 is purely unintentional, but the hope is intentionally universal. It was indeed heartening to read this in the current environment, where hope is difficult to come by, and hard times are seemingly refusing to go by.

Thanks to NetGalley, Regal Pub. and Steven Mayfield for a complementary copy of the book - for providing my honest and original review.

Excellent writing!! I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy and read it again! Thank you Netgalley for receiving a free copy in exchange of an honest review.

Refreshingly Old School

This is a whimsical, but grounded, tale with an "Our Town" meets Mayberry-on-the-Sea vibe. The clever and satisfying frame is that our hero, Connor, is telling this story, drawn from his Depression-era childhood, from the point of view of Connor now in his nineties. As a consequence, we get a story that is, in the telling, very immediate, but that is also filtered through Connor's lifetime of experience and hard earned insight and wisdom. (Think of Scout from "To Kill a Mockingbird", but in a book with a more antic and slightly preposterous plot.)

Since we see and hear the story, in first person, from the earnest and somewhat deadpan young Connor, we have to fill in some gaps here and there regarding what's really going on, but that adds to the charm of the tale. Young Connor, as told by grown up Connor, has a keen sense of adult follies and foibles, and so we come to enjoy and appreciate the fundamental decency, the foolishness, and the occasional crankiness, of the citizens of Tesoro, California. Older Connor also has a tendency to toss off parenthetical remarks along the trail, and they are just edgy enough to balance a story that might have gotten a bit saccharine.

Is it a "fable for our times". Well, with the focus on consumerism, material goods, greed and redemption, I guess it is, if you care to take it that way. Or is it more of a witty, wry coming of age story? Well, of course. A caper thriller? In a sense. However you choose to approach this book, the rewards are many and varied, and that's a nice way to leave it.

(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

When Connor finds a huge boulder on the beach of Tesoro, a small town in Northern California, he is surprised when it is identified as a valuable piece of synergies worth millions. The Depression has hit Tesoro hard and Connor decided to share the bounty. The townsfolk spend on credit but someone is out to undermine their good fortune.

This is a quirky and gentle coming of age book set in small town America in the 1930s. It's perfectly enjoyable, a little bit silly and ultimately heart-warming

This was very nearly a 5-star rating, but I thought it went on slightly too long. Other than that, this was a charming and insightful view into the Great Depression era through the eyes of a child and through the experience of a small town that unexpectedly comes into the prospect of great wealth by means of the "Treasure of the Blue Whale". Great character and plot development, and many laugh-out-loud moments.

It's a happy read, sure to bring a smile!

Interesting story but it was difficult to keep my interest. I think it would be an enjoyable read for most, but just wasn't for me.

This book reads like a combination between a fairy tale, a memoir and a sailor’s yarn. I found the story and characters captivating and more complex than I expected. To me this book perpetually felt like an immensely readable parable. I especially appreciated the timeless qualities - historical 20th century fiction with an old-fashioned feel and highly relevant modern topics including greed, capitalism, poverty, mental illness. Very enjoyable read.

Connor, now ninety years old, tells the story of when he was 10 in the summer of 1934, during the Great Depression. He lived in the small, sleepy seaside town of Tesoro, on the northern California coast. While walking along the beach one morning, he discovered a huge smelly mass which was identified as Ambergris, a rare substance used in the manufacture of perfumes. The value of the mass was determined to be at least in the millions. He decided to share his good fortune with the whole town. What follows is a whole list of foibles, fumbles, and shenanigans by the townsfolk who came into a large sum of money after having almost nothing. It’s a story of love, craziness, frailty, greed, and quirky characters told in a heartwarming and light-hearted way. It’s a wonderful, laugh-out-loud coming of age story that I highly recommend.

Really, really liked it. It's funny and quirky. The characters will have you cheering for them and you'll want to bury the bad guy in the sludge. We need quirky stories like this one right now. Pick it up. You won't be disappointed. Happy reading!

The Treasure of the Blue Whale is a book unlike any other. It opens on a blue whale with indigestion and follows to a Californian beach in 1934 where 10-year-old Connor finds a stinking mass that turns out to be a huge hunk of ambergris, a substance much valued by perfumers. Connor and his younger brother live with their Ma who suffers from depression among other problems. The village of Tesoro stepped in to help raise the boys and take care of Ma when her husband walked out. Connor, being a nice, thoughtful young man, donates the ambergris to the townsfolk. As you can imagine, chaos ensues, people go crazy spending money and competing with each other and what started out as a good deed ends up a complete mess. Thankfully Connor has good advice and trusted friends who help him turn the event around and even come out a little ahead.

Steven Mayfield has created a cast of kooky, colorful characters in an enchanting setting. This was a fun book to read - very entertaining. It was a little difficult to keep track of all the people involved at first but they soon seem like family. I recommend The Treasure of the Blue Whale to anyone looking for a good read. It provided me with welcome escapism during these crazy, trying times. Thanks for the ARC - I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!

When Cannor is strolling on the beach with his old friend Angus, they come across and huge lump of muck which just happens to contain ambergris. This is one of the most valuable elements on earth, and once Connor says he will share the money from the forthcoming sale (before it is even valued or sold) with his fellow villagers, all the shenanigans begin! Avarice, greed and dishonesty come in leaps and bounds.

I received a free electronic ARC of this excellent historical novel from Netgalley, Steven Mayfield, and Regal House Publishing. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. Steven Mayfield writes a fine tale, with characters that breathe and times that come alive with his words.

We begin with the tale of a middle-aged blue whale with many scars from a hard lonely life in the spring of 1918. All we know of this whale is that he had a massive belly ache. Dyspepsia. As with us all, what can't go down must come up. We lose track of our whale but can follow his stomach contents across many seas and years of war as the ocean makes of that ball of stomach content ambergris. In 1933 there was a vicious earthquake - 8.4 on the Richter scale - with its epicenter 180 miles east of the City of Kamaishi, Iwate. The backlash from that mighty upheaval and tsunami took many lives, and the aftermath will in time carry our ambergris, prized by perfumers worldwide, encircling it with trash and the floating jettisoned malodorous waste of ships and boats as it makes it way by June of 1934 to the coastal beach of the little northern California town of Tesoro. A little town, ripe for adventure and a little intrigue. A place where people are tired of the depression, wearied of pinching pennies, seeking distraction and relief from boredom.

And boy, do they succeed in finding a summer diversion. Upon learning the worth of ambergris per ounce, 10-year-old Connor, legitimate winner of the foot race to claim the beached ton of sidetracked ocean waste, decides he will share the bounty with everyone in the village. Every family has an equal share. Except of course the town's only mean rich guy, Cyrus Dinkle.

You will love these Tesoro neighbors. Connor and little brother Alex, their emotionally crippled mom Mary Rose MacKenna O'Halloran, the town's medical adviser and midwife Miss Lizzie Fryberg, storekeeper and mail lady Fiona Littleleaf, lighthouse keeper Angus MacCallum, Last Resort Grill, and Barkeeper James Throckmorton, lawyer C. Herbert Judson, and Banker Roger Johns all have opinions and advice. They, among others, bring this story to fruition. We have crooks and dirty rotten liars, tricksters, and scoundrels, and really nobody is above reproach in this story, but you are gonna love it. And this slice of life from 1934, watching the economy slow to a lowered plateau and hoping for a rise, brings a little hope to us, as well, as we coronavirus our way though this locked down life.