Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

This book is the funny story of a couple who are going through a divorce after 30 years of marriage. The husband seems to be having a mid life crisis and goes on a four month cruise around the world. Having been blind sighted by the divorce, Kathleen decides she needs a fresh start. She buys a two-room beach shack without seeing it in person. The shack didn't turn out like she had hoped and wasn't the picture perfect home. The next-door neighbors are building a over the top home, and this causes Kathleen to turn into the person who must reads all the zoning ordinances and has the supervisor’s cell phone number on speed dial. The story was enjoyable, but at times it was a bit over the top. I did find it enjoyable story to read.

Save What's Left is laugh out loud hilarious and a book that warms the soul. The antics of Kathleen and Rosemary are so on target but like in many real life situations often ignored for the financial gain of others. Read this one for a lesson in stamina and survival.

Save What's Left, by Elizabeth Castallano, is an amazing debut novel, full of heart, soul and the perfect amount of quirkiness. I absolutely loved the storyline, and unexpectedly became friends with this cast of socially awkward characters. Our heroine, Kathleen, carries the book through a list of foibles that leave her community infuriated, making her the disjointed black sheep of the town. Nevertheless, through persistence and bravado, Kathleen settles into her status and creates the home she had been yearning for. Additionally, she battles lost and found love, family disconnect, and toxic friendships, making her character stronger and wiser than her years. There are not many books with empty-nester, 60-year-old main characters, but thankfully Save What's Left tackles this milestone with accuracy and joie-de-vivre.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I made it about 10% into this book before I had to put it down. It felt like the main character, Kathleen Deane, did nothing but complain and I was so turned off by her unlike-ability that I just couldn’t push on. I need to like a main character and want to root for them and this book didn’t give me that at all.

I feel like I got tricked by this book. The synopsis and cover made me think this was going to be a feel good redemption type story. It was not at all. The main character is awful especially to her pregnant daughter. I just didn’t find too much in this story that I actually enjoyed.

When I started reading this book I found the narrator delightful. Despite the fact that her husband of thirty plus years had just told her he was taking a round the world cruise, alone, she came up with a plan. The plan was to move to a beach town after divesting herself of most of her possession. She bought a beach house (oyster shack, really) sight unseen relying on her childhood friend’s advice. Early on, Kathleen Deane finds living in a small beach town is not exactly paradise. Reading about her trials and. tribulations trying to acclimate to a new life was entertaining.

The locals, aside from curmudgeon neighbor Rosemary, are cliquish. But when a McMansion is erected on a nearby lot Kathleen and Rosemary join forces to make sure zoning rules, etc. are being followed. The pace at this point in the book drags a bit. The numerous town committee meetings surrounded with incessant red tape described become monotonous and the droll humor narration lags.

Kathleen has a few surprises as she fights city hall. Not all are happy but she eventually accepts certain things. The author plays fair with the reader, by announcing how things will end. Living in a beach town is not paradise, but the view is to die for!

Thanks to NetGalley and Vintage Anchor for the e-galley.

I got through two chapters of this novel and couldn’t finish, which is a rarity for me. Too much narration at the beginning, and all of a negative bent. I found nothing charming or humorous about it, as suggested in the publisher’s note at the beginning.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Vintage Anchor for the opportunity to red this book as an ARC. It is the story of Kathleen Deane. At the age of 59 she retires from her job designing greeting cards at Hallmark. She and her husband live in Kansas City , have been married for 30 years and he( Tom) is a cardiologist. One day he tells her he needs a paradigm shift in his life and is leaving her to take a 4 month cruise. Kathleen and Tom also have a grown daughter who is married and lives in Seattle. As Tom is packing, Kathleen is watching a 30 year old concert video of Carly Simon and decides she wants to live in a beach town. Kathleen has a childhood friend Josie who lives in a beach town named Whitbey. Kathleen looks at a house on line, and buys it, sells her house and her furniture and moves to Whitbey. When she arrives, she sees that the house next to her is being renovated/demolished(both are accurate) and it is causing problems for Kathleen. There is debris in her yard, construction workers are eating lunch on her deck, her driveway is blocked, etc. Rather than complain to the owners( whom she does meet at one point), call a lawyer, contact the real estate agent( anything reasonable), she listens to the neighbor across the street and writes an unending (and unanswered) series of letters to the town supervisor. These letters start each chapter with a different and frankly more unhinged request. Kathleen and Rosemary( her neighbor), continue to fight the town zoning board, and other authorities, with little progress. The whole book is crazy- not crazy screwball comedy funny, but more like just crazy. I kept reading because I was sure that at some point Kathleen was going to wake up an realize that is was a covid coma dream. (spoiler alert- it wasn't). I know that all characters in a book can not be likeable . It might be a dull book if everyone was . But everyone in this book is unlikeable, selfish and silly. There was no one that was a bit engaging.Anyway, I see that a lot of people liked it, but it did not make it for me.

I was asked to review “Save What’s Left” by Elizabeth Castellano.

I am going through perhaps a midlife crisis but the plot of this story really resonated with me. What might you do if your husband of thirty years tells you he’s not happy? That’s what happens to Kathleen. So while her husband tries to figure out what he wants, Kathleen focuses on this idyllic beach community where her childhood bestie sends her holiday cards from every year.

Naturally, once Kathleen moves, she discovers she does not live in the utopia she had hoped for. It’s Kathleen’s reaction and the journey she takes that makes this quite an enjoyable tale. I certainly did not expect her husband to return nor did I think the novel would resolve itself the way it did. It’s not the perfect story (but what is?) but I found this story to be a nice respite from the hum-drums of daily life.

Many thanks to the author, NetGalley and publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this debut novel. I love quick wit and funny characters, and this author delivers. Plus, it's based in a small beach town, so what's not to like? If you've ever advocated for something you believed in, you'll connect with the plight of the lead and her sidekicks. #netgalleyreview #netgalleyreads #netgalley #debutnovel #savewhatsleft #elizabethcastellano #readinggoals #readinggoals2023

this book was a beach read for those wanting just to fill some time. do not learn anything new or exciting. it goes on without an exciting events and is predictable in its plot.

In my dreams I would love to move to a cute little beach town with views, decks, coffee shops, restaurants.. all small town perks. This novel, although hysterically funny, sure put a reality check on that dream. When Kathleen pulls up to her new home, she finds a McMansion being built right next door that clearly is not adhering to any restrictions . Kathleen tries to address her concerns with the village council and finds out just how “small town” this is. Her constant battle with bureaucracy was unsettling, although the author presented this in a humorous manner. When Kathleen’s soon to be ex husband shows up in his Rv and parks it right in her driveway, it is clear that Kathleen’s life is not going the direction she intended. But that’s not always a bad thing? Very funny banter throughout made for a delightful, light read. My only negative comment would be that I wanted a little more substance.. I felt agitated while reading about the fruitless attempts with local government and the helplessness it presented to have any resolution.

Read 3/4 of the book involving neighbors and relationships in a shore development. I needed more dialogue and less letters., I'm sure other readers will totally enjoy the story.

This book is a lot. A lot of humor and insight into the life of a newly divorced woman who moves into a beach shack next to a new beach mansion being built mere feet from her door. Light, funny reading. Crazy situations, but not totally unreal. This is a fun read. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an advance copy of this book.

Kathleen has been living an unexamined life. When her husband of thirty years dumps her, she buys a shack on the beach sight unseen, and then tells us how awful it is. She was funny and wry, I'll concede that, but her negativity made it hard for me to finish the book.

Thank you to Net Galley and the author for the ARC for an honest review. But I could not complete this book. It was rather interesting to start but then with the letters and the constant complaining was just annoying. I thought it was going to be a nice beach read of getting your life back together after your husband decides that your 30 year marriage is over. It just did not do it for me.

Save Whats Left is a funny and quirky novel about a woman whose husband has left her and gone on a cruise while she blindly buys a beach house in a small town her best friend lives in. The back and forth with the supervisor for the city is funny…for about 4 chapters and then it gets redundant. I was expecting more of a storyline out of this one so I’m a bit disappointed that it did t develop into more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel. The opinion shared is my own.

What a nice change of pace to read a story about an older woman! Quirky and witty writing and some colorful characters make this a very entertaining read. We need more stories about women over 60!

Kathleen Dean's life has abruptly entered a new chapter when her husband decides that their very vanilla relationship isn't working for him anymore and books himself on a 6-month around-the-world cruise. Instead of wallowing about it in Kansas, Kathleen sells everything and moves to a 700 sq. ft. oyster shack in a beach town on Long Island. Here Kathleen ingratiates herself into the community and with her busy-body neighbor takes up the fight against the new-build construction with letters to the town supervisor giving him the play-by-play of goings on.

Save What's Left is fun if you honestly give up any idea or preconception that you are going to get a story about a woman who experiences growth or comes into her own. This is a sitcom in book form. Her husband leaves her, and she sells everything but takes and ships his collection of old radios to her new house, he goes on this cruise, where he just overeats and hangs out with old people, so he cuts the trip short, buys an airstream and drives to her shack and parks it in her driveway and they both are just like - yeah, this is fine. It's a sitcom - not to be taken in any way seriously or layered with real-world events.

Just enjoy the ride. If you aren't vibing it by the first few chapters then it probably isn't for you - the style and person that is Kathleen does not change, grow, or get better. Again, relax - enjoy the book - it's not that serious.

I didnt really care for this book. I felt the mix of letters and storytelling was not for me. I do understand what the author was trying to portray and it was done in a manner that people could follow, but it just isn't what I would choose.