It took me a little while to get into the swing of the story, but boy did I enjoy it. Edie is a get up and go person who wants to turn her life around and we are taken on this journey at the Beach Hotel, we are introduced to some wonderful people who do make the story enjoyable, we are able to feel how WW1 was starting to make changes within the class system and how people treated each other and how people were aware that things were starting to change around them.
I look forward to carrying on the journey that has started with this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to Hera Books for letting me see an advance reader’s copy of A New Start at the Beach Hotel by Francesca Capaldi.

It is June 1914 and Edie Moore has left her old life behind to start a new one. But that’s not all she’s left behind, for Edie has a secret and if she’s found out, she’ll be sent back. Already threatened with being sectioned, she’s not about to let that happen. And at a time when women still didn’t have any rights, she must keep her secret at all costs.

I thought that this story was a great start to the Beach Hotel series. It had me gripped from the start. I loved the setting, I loved the characters, and I loved the different stories woven in. Capaldi writes as though she knows both Littlehampton and the Beach Hotel very well, and she has also done a lot of research. This is definitely her era and it is written well.

With the high turnover of staff at the hotel, I did get a little bit lost. But that could be because I was rushing to finish it, so keen was I to find out everything. I stayed up late to finish the book and I can hardly wait to start Book 2.

Five stars.

I loved this book with its vivid characters. It is a great start to a new series.
Many thanks to Hera and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I've always been drawn to books around the Great War era and I enjoyed a couple of other books by this author in her previous series that I was interested to check this one. The fact it is set in a beachside town also drew me in.

Sussex 1914: When Edie Moore stepped out of Downland House in the early hours one June morning, she vowed that this would be the start of a new life for her. As she trudged to the station with her carpetbag, there were times she questioned the logic of her choice whilst at the same time knowing that there was no going back from this. Not that she wanted to. The threats that had been made were enough to spring her into action. And so now she leaves this life behind and steps out of the station into Littlehampton as Edie Moore.

She secures lodgings with Mrs Hadley but finding a job proves to be more difficult. Her reference speaking of her work as a governess puts her in good stead but does little to find work, as a governess sits somewhere between the classes - not quite middle class but not quite working class either. She ventures into the Beach Hotel who are looking for a bookeeper and secures herself an interview for the following day. However, she proves to be unsuccessful as having no previous bookeeping experience.

But the manageress of the hotel does come looking for her in the days following in need of a chambermaid. The work is long and hard but Edie isn't afraid of that. It's those who think she has come in looking down her nose at them. Despite the challenges she faces, she makes some friends there in Charlie and Lili and soon finds something at the Beach Hotel she never had before. A sense of belonging and family.

But then a face from her past recognises her and Edie fears her secret will be discovered. Even the threat of war may not overshadow the secrets that are about to come out...

This was a delightfully easy read that I enjoyed despite its slow start, as I did wonder the direction it was taking in the beginning but being the first book in a new series I can only surmise that the author was laying the groundwork for the backstory that readers will inevitably discover in due course.

There are some wonderful characters and some rather unsavoury ones as well. I love the setting of the Beach Hotel and adore Helen Bygrove. Her husband, who is supposed to be the manager, does nothing but belittle his wife dreadfully or is busy playing golf or tennis rather than actually running the hotel. His wife manages to do that quite well without him. There are some humourous moments, particularly between the Bygroves.

A NEW START AT THE BEACH HOTEL is an enchanting read and I look forward to see what's next for the characters.

I would like to thank #FrancescaCapaldi, #Netgalley and #HeraBooks for an ARC of #ANewStartAtTheBeachHotel in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

Many thanx to NetGalley, author and the publishers for allowing me to read and review this book.

Never having read this author previously I was so pleasantly surprised! The story is set in pre WW2 Britain and moves along nicely between all the different characters. Edie and Charlie are the 2 main players but there are lots of intertwining tales with many little offshoots of story.

I loved this book, the writing was very good and the story line was great. Hoping there will be another book in the same series, would definitely read it!!

Loved this family saga. I didn’t know this author and was pleasantly surprised to enjoy this so much. It’s one of those books that you can easily lose yourself in very quickly and easily which is what I did. A wonderful book. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I throughly enjoyed this book and I’m pleased to learn that there will be another book later this year. The story revolves around the Beach Hotel in Littlehampton. The main story is about Edie who gets a job there as a chambermaid. There are some great characters some of them are lovely and others not so much. I’m glad there is more to come from the Beach Hotel as I’d love to know more about some of the other characters.

I was drawn to the cover design of this book - the pretty illustration and the colours.

In recent months, I've been enjoying some wartime novels like this, and I enjoyed this one too. It had an old-fashioned feel that I found charming, and I was very invested in the story. One of the reasons I like historical fiction so much is that it can feel like an escape for the reader, and this book felt like an escape.

Some of the characters seemed quite unlikeable, but that didn't bother me because I thought the protagonist was a great character. She was independent, modest, and kind-hearted. The story was heartwarming, and I would like to read the sequel to find out what happened next for some of the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

Thank you for the chance to read this ARC in return for an honest opinion.

I had not read any of this authors books before but the description of this one caught my eye.
However I have to say it was not for me - I found the whole premise of the story unbelievable - would some one from the aristocracy really be able to fit into a working environment like Edie did? I fear not as I am sure her cut glass vowels would have caught her out long before they did.

The research for the book was well done and I learnt a lot about the internal workings of a hotel in WW1 and the effects that the war had on the staff and the dynamics of the workforce - which was interesting.

I found the writing stilted at times - there seemed to be no flow and many of the characters were just unlikeable and annoying - I got really cross with some of the chambermaids
I am not sure that I would look out for the next book in the series which is unusual for me as I often like a new saga series specially set in wartime.

It would be a boring world if we all liked the same though - wouldn't it?

Thank you again.

Finding the courage to choose you own future, Its a new start for Edie Moore, June 1914 and Edie has gone back to Littlehampton and memories of long-ago visits entertained her. After finding lodgings at Channel View finding a job is not going to be easy for a woman coming across the imposing impressive Beach hotel she takes her chances asking for any vacancies and grabs a interview the next day.
Edie is facing more downs than up that are yet to be read.
I loved this enchanting read but Edie is a strong determined woman could not put it down chapter after chapter

Another great read from Franchesca Capaldi, great story with believable characters. Hoping for a second book.

Well, what a start to a new series! Full of intrigue and subterfuge, no one is who they at first appear. There are many secrets to be uncovered while enjoying the story of Eddie who escapes the confines of working as a governess at Downland House. She heads to Littlehampton as it holds many childhood memories, Eddie finds work at the Beach Hotel where slowly she manages to make friends with staff and endear herself to guests, then slowly secrets start to reveal themselves.
I loved this book, even when I got to the end as I felt safe in the knowledge that there would be another to follow.

I especially loved the references to some of the “classics”.

I really enjoyed this book, i hope there is a second part as the ending was rather rushed but i couldn't put the book down

Having enjoyed this author's previous series, I was looking forward to this new one, set on the South Coast in 1914. Edie is an easy heroine to like, and the mystery of why she has run away to start a new life entwines with another, that of who committed the crime at the guest house where she first stays (No spoilers!). Both are slowly unravelled to satisfying conclusions. I enjoyed Edie's story, as she progresses in her new job, makes friends and enemies, and deals with her family problems. There is romance too. I look forward to book two.

Can you change your life? Edie leaves her posh life and finds happiness as a chambermaid at the beach hotel. There she finds Charlie and must keep her secret. Great read!

Firstly thank you Netgalley for this Arc

Francesca you have done it again brilliant storyline brilliant book couldn’t put it down. Family saga at its best