Save What's Left by Elizabeth Castellano was, in my mind at least judging by the premise, supposed to be highly entertaining and charmingly witty story about woman moving to a beach house after her husband left her and finding herself again.

Unfortunately it didn't turn out to be that. It was fairly slow, quite depressing and somehow detached tale of one woman's woes and issues with neighbours and city rules and regulations. I really expected it to be quirky and funny as grumpy people ofter are. There were some humorous moments but not enough for my liking.

Main heroine wasn't particularly likeable to me either. The story was repetitive,

I was expecting an amusing and beach read and this just wasn't that, so unfortunately gave up on it after some time.

Hilarious!! Woman gets divorced and buys a beach house - neighbors and townspeople who are quirky. I truly laughed repeatedly in this one. The main character sends these emails throughout the book about her neighbor building a huge house and the writing cracked me up. Great debut that’s so smart and fun. Go get this one for a great summer beach book - pure fun.

Save What’s Left by Elizabeth Castellano

Published: June 27, 2023
Anchor
Pages: 294
Genre: Women’s Humorous Fiction
KKECReads Rating: 3/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Elizabeth Castellano grew up in a beach town. She lives in New York. Save What’s Left is her debut novel.

“I want to think anything is fabulous.”

Kathleen is recently divorced, and she decided to do something spontaneous. She sells her home and moves to what she thinks will be her dream beach house. But instead of a fresh start, a quiet life, and new friends, all Kathleen finds is an uphill battle against the zoning board and a neighbor who keeps her involved in the fight.

This wasn’t as funny as I was expecting. It was kind of heavy and a tad dark. Kathleen didn’t seem happy, and she just went through the motions with everything, even when she didn’t want to.

I found this more realistic than humorous, though there were some funny bits. Overall, it took me a while to get into the story and the never-ending fight with the zoning board.

For a debut novel, this was decent. The character development was fine; the scenery was described with excellent detail, making visualizing easy.

A fun, easy summer read. A laugh out loud book with a great protagonist.

Thank you to Vintage Anchor & NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book

Save What’s Left by Elizabeth Castellano is described as an “outrageously funny novel”, but I’m not sure I read the same book. When Kathleen’s husband of thirty years tells her he’s no longer happy in their marriage, he takes off on a cruise to find himself. Kathleen decides to leave Kansas as well, and purchase a beach shack that her friend from childhood bragged about in letters every Christmas. When Kathleen arrives, it’s nothing like what Josie described.

I wasn’t a fan of any of the characters. Kathleen constantly complains about the neighbor who is building a monstrosity of a house next door. Her emails are long winded and boring, and while her complaints may be justifiable, they weren’t interesting. Her new friend in the beach town is just as bad as her. We get it, there is politics involved in the town, money is being laundered, laws are being broken, maybe I needed a good murder to spice it up.

When her husband returns to her, and her daughter is pregnant, Kathleen just get’s worse. The constant repetitiveness, and her behavior towards her daughter, just completely lost me. I was waiting for the funny part but it never showed up.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Anchor Books for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Kathleen Deane leaves her old life behind and moves to a small east coast beach town called Whitbey after her husband of thirty years leaves her to seek out happiness.

The Goodreads synopsis describes Save What’s Left as “an outrageously funny debut novel” and I think that’s setting the bar too high. The story includes some silly and funny scenarios and conversations, but it also drags at times.

Save What’s Left includes many of Kathleen’s letters to local leaders, which grow tiresome after a few. More plot and dialogue would have helped keep the story moving along.

If you are interested in a story of a retiree starting over and can relate to complaints about a spouse after a very long marriage, you will probably enjoy this book.

Kathleen spends much of the novel focusing on the strains of very local politics and complaints of traffic, construction, garbage, public spaces, codes, and permits. The novel overall includes humor and levity, and, in the end, it is a story of hope and healing.

Such a fun summer read! Had me laughing out loud a few times!! It is refreshing to read a fiction with no murder and no sex, just satire and humorous dialogue😊 I was so happy to see it be chosen as Gma book club pick!

I struggled with this one. I found the characters not very enjoyable or likable. The constant complaining through emails and meetings got tiresome. I think this author has potential. This just wasn't really for me.

Thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for advanced copy, & I give my opinion freely

Kathleen's husband has left her from their mid-west home in Kansas to go on a world wide cruise. She decides to whisk off to beach town Whitbey on Long Island from where her childhood friend sends Christmas cards. There, she becomes embroiled in a neighborhood brawl that brings out some not so redeeming qualities.

I feel like this was supposed to be a funny, heart warming story, but that is not what you get. Instead, you see the ugly side of people, and it was not pleasing to see these darker sides. The neighbors were really mean to each other, and Kathleen even ignores her own daughter and soon to be grandchild.

For me, this read was not very enjoyable. I wish it had taken a different "beach read" feel.

Thank you Vintage Anchor and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

After thirty years of marriage, Kathleen Deane’s husband Tom decides he is tired of marriage. He’s going on a world cruise, leaving Kathleen behind in Kansas. But Kathleen also has dreams. She decides to move to a Whitbey, a seaside town on Long Island. The charming waterfront house that Kathleen buys sight unseen turns out to be a ramshackle former oyster shack. If that’s not bad enough, it’s next to the ‘sugar cube” a massive MacMansion whose construction seems to have violated every building code in the town charter. Kathleen is obsessed with these violations and becomes a familiar figure at town meetings. She also joins a local women’s group, hoping to find new friends. She makes other discoveries, discoveries that lead to a surprising conclusion.

Save What’s Left is both laugh-out-loud funny and frustrating. I admire Kathleen’s sense of humor and stubborn determination. However, I think her fixation with the town statutes becomes over-the-top and shows a different, somewhat unlikable side of Kathleen. That said, this is a solid, 4 star read from Elizabeth Castellano, a debut author I plan to follow.

Thank you to Vintage Anchor & NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book

After 30 years of marriage, Tom told Kathleen that he wanted a divorce. No real reason - it’s just not working. So, he booked a ticket for a 4-month cruise for himself and left. Kathleen decided to sell their house in Kansas and bought a sight-unseen tiny beach house in the northeast.

When she arrives, she is surprised to find how really tiny the house is, but moves in. Her big shock is the huge McMansion being built next door to her. The noise, dust, dirt of the construction is appallng. In addition, trucks constantly block her driveway and the workers help themselves to her deck for a rest.

Meeting her neighbors, she finds some cantankerous and others more welcoming. Tired of the construction noise and abuse, she decides to send emails to the town’s supervisor with her complaints. All of her messages are ignored.

This book continues to show how people get involved in the injustices that occur in their neighborhoods. Sadly, this is what happens in so many places. It’s the power of a few that can decide to do what they want and you have no other recourse other than to accept it. While this takes place in a town, it’s also true in a small gated community. Homeowners Associations can be very scary and evil. There are people with an agenda and the love of power. I think that is what we see both here in this book and in other smaller areas. People want the best for the places where they live but unfortunately, the majority can be beaten down by a few. Aside from all that, this book is meant to be humorous and in same ways it is. Too bad this woman didn’t try to find other ways to keep herself busy.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Novels with a beach setting? Yes! Novels with quirky characters? Yes! Novels that are repetitive and over-the-top with ridiculousness? I guess not. People magazine said this was one of the best books of the summer and I was thrilled to get an ebook for review. Kathleen, whose marriage ended abruptly and without any cause after thirty years, felt like someone I could like and empathize with. When her husband sets off for a cruise, she decides to leave their Kansas home and purchase a beach house sight unseen in the coastal town her best friend lives in. What could go wrong? Let’s just say just about everything.

“That’s the problem with a bad marriage. I don’t mean a bad marriage. I mean, a just-okay marriage – one that isn’t awful, but isn’t quite good either. It’s like a benign rib pain. It’s not lethal. It’s not causing excruciating pain. No one cares about it. You can still perform normal activities. It’s just a worrisome annoyance that eats away at you until one day it decides to leave.”

What Kathleen finds when she arrives at her new beach house is a mega-home being built right next door. Probably why the beach house was so cheap, huh? What entails over the next 200+ pages are lots of unbelievable mishaps, lots of ranting, council meetings, unanswered emails, and quite a bit of annoying behavior that became pretty uninteresting quite quickly. I’m usually game for some hilarity and ridiculousness, but this became too much. When she partners up with the cranky neighbor, you know nothing good can happen between the two of them. Did I agree with her frustrations? Of course! How frustrating to have this construction right next door, blocking your view of the beach, creating noise and mess instead of calm and beauty. But, just reading about it page after page started to make me angry and give me anxiety over something that wasn’t even real. The real lesson here is to NEVER buy a beach house over the phone or computer!

This is Castellano’s debut novel and while I think she has some real talent in her character development and creating a setting, I just couldn’t get my brain to stop saying, “Really? Are you kidding me?” over and over again with this one. Since her character Kathleen was given plenty of second chances in life, I’m happy to give Castellano one as well and hope she keeps writing.

There were some funny parts to this book and it was a relatively quick read, however I spent most of the book wondering wtf. The main character is not likeable - in fact I wanted to throw her out of the book. She is not nice, annoying, and frankly she ruins the book. Some parts are repetitive and there is not a ton that actually happens. There is no growth, no ah ha moment. It really was just not my cup of tea, unfortunately.

Thank you netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

I had SO MUCH fun with this one! What a ridiculous, hilarious ride. Watching the protagonist Kathleen navigate life in her new beach town as she becomes more and more bewildered and frustrated is just so much fun. You can’t read one chapter of this book and put it down! A perfect summer read!

After 30 years of marriage, Kathleen’s husband announced suddenly over their weekly Sunday breakfast out, that he wanted a divorce and was leaving the following week on a four month world cruise. She did not want to stay in Kansas City, so she decided to move to the beach town on Long Island that an old friend lives in. When she arrived at her new home, ie. former oyster shack, Kathleen discovered that a giant house was being built next door. There are some fun moments in the book, but the way the way the story was written was annoying at times for me. Someone else might love it.

I received a free copy of this book to review through NetGalley.

When Kathleens husband decides to leave her for a multi-month cruise, she is confused but decides to ditch her life in Kansas and head to a beach town. Whitbey isn’t exactly like she expected though, especially with the construction building a mcmansion next door. All without the correct permits of course. She makes friends with her new neighbor Rosemary and the two becomes determined to stop this monstrosity from being built.

The anti beach, beach read! I Wass so excited to dive into this one! Unfortunately, it left me a bit wanting. I did’t fall in love with any of the characters, and the entire book was very repetitive. I loved the idea of fighting the town and the bribery to stop a mansion from ruining everyones beach view/home, but I wish it was more of a quirky fight. If I had purchased an expensive white couch and found construction workers from next door dropping food all over it, I would not just walk away. Overall, I just wanted more from this one.

Surprised by the comments complaining that this novel wasn't a whimsical, light summer read when the publisher's description calls it an "un-beach read." It's wonderful, mildly absurdist, and feels authentic.

Went into this expecting to laugh but I was mostly annoyed. The way Kathleen seemed to insert herself into everything got frustrating. It was harder to be on her side than I expected. Expectations could be the issue here!

Debut | Contemporary | Generational representation (ages 50+) | Beach town setting | Light-hearted

Have you ever met someone or had a friend who complained about everything while simultaneously inserting themselves into everyone's business but their own? Well that is Kathleen.

Kathleen is a retiree living a slow life in Kansas when her husband Tom springs divorce plans on her out of nowhere. As Tom leaves on a seafaring cruise adventure, Kathleen sells their home and moves into a beachside shack in a small beach town. This is supposed to be Kathleen's new start: she's going to make friends, start new hobbies and forget about Tom. However, all her plans are thwarted when her neighbors start to build a mansion next door that is not up to code. Kathleen quickly finds herself going down a rabbit hole of small town fights about permits and petty neighborhood actions.

Although I did not find the book to be outright hilarious, I was very consistently amused by Kathleen's inability to mind her own business. I quickly flew through it. The premise, although infuriating, was ridiculous and entertaining. Don't go into it expecting to love the characters; if anything, expect to hate and judge them.

Castellano's writing style was inviting and easy to read. Save What's Left is told from Kathleen's first person point of view. Her narrative voice is strong and consistent. This is definitely a character-driven story where the plot heavily meanders with no real target in sight.

Save What's Left is a solid debut about the woes and pains of retirement and even possibly of having too much time on your hands. I'm excited to see what Castellano conjures up next.

Thank you to Netgalley and Vintage Anchor for an advanced reader copy of Save What's Left.

I really hate to give negative reviews. I know a lot of work went into writing this book but it was not for me. I finished the book because the plot seemed entertaining… at first. The truth is that I didn’t like even one character. I was glad when it was over.