I started this book, but I do not think it is for me. The main character is negative, whiny, and on my last nerve - and I’m only two chapters in. There’s a lot on my TBR and this book is just not for me.

Cannot emphasize enough how much I loved this book...it's a laugh out loud story....highly recommended for fans of Elinor Lipman or Susan Issacs. Looking forward to her next book, please and thank you!

Tom and Kathleen are getting a divorce. Kathleen is devastated and decides to sell her house in Kansas City and move to a small northern beach town. She purchases a house sight unseen, except for a few blurry photos and when she gets there, she realizes she purchased a tiny home next to a building site of a McMansion. So much for her waterfront dream home. She is constantly fighting and writing emails to the dispute the building permits with her neighbor.
Not your typical beach story, but somewhat entertaining. Thank you Net Galley for the ARC.

Where do I start? I guess, with how much I enjoyed it. Thanks Anchor and NetGalley for the advanced copy.
This book was recommended to me by another NetGalley reviewer who said it was hilarious. I have to agree. Kathleen's quirks and issues surrounding her separation from her cardiologist husband, then rushing to buy a beach shanty right on the ocean was a fantastic read.
I laughed and marveled at the writer's ability to capture exactly how it is in upscale, small beach towns where rules are meant to be absurd....and broken. Having owned a beach house for years, Castellano's depiction was spot-on. Loved it. The only quibble is that Kathleen's character read a bit older than early 60s. Cheers for us high-spirited grump-pots!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this ARC. The description sounded promising, as a find yourself in the next life chapter book set in a beach house. It quickly went downhill from the start, for me. Like other reviewers, this fell short for me, as it was disjointed with pieces that didn't even make sense. I skimmed to the end to be able to move on to others on my shelf.

First of all, thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this ahead of the publication date.
This started out funny and quirky and I was quite entertained. However, the second half of the book was too bogged down with commentaries and communications about the town’s rules and regulations. I felt that the humor started to disappear at that point. The wrap up ending was a bit of a surprise.
I liked Kathleen until she accepted her estranged husband back with an airstream in her driveway.

Kathleen’s husband is not happy. She wonders what happy means. A story of love and romance, and breakups, ensues. This is a quick read with quirky characters. This author has written a compelling story. This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. Be prepared to chuckle…be ready to wonder if the beach is the best place to go. It is. Enjoy this unique story.

Thanks once again to NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
This was one of those emails I got at work, sharing this uproariously funny book that I might enjoy. I do like to swerve off historical fiction on the rare occasion and who doesn’t love a laugh? So I requested it,
This book was pretty funny, but I think if I ever purchased an oyster shack, I would become this person! A woman at a low point in her marriage, a husband runs off on a world cruise, and a shack near the beach purchased sight-unseen is a recipe for trouble! I grew up near the ocean and have seen or heard about many of the complaints. It’s all too real! The trash on the beach, the out of towners parking everywhere, the nosy neighbors and the construction in conservation areas….yep, seen it all.
I can see readers in this book falling into categories….hating the main character as a Karen, empathizing with her as a middle aged woman in the same place, or reading the book and enjoying the humorous outtakes that unfold.
I think this would make an excellent audiobook if performed well. For me it would have been funnier if it weren’t so real to me. I’ll just go scratch off “retire to the beach” off my list now. That artist colony? Yeah that’s gone too. Small towns are no fun as an outsider!
I liked how it turned out…so dear reader, keep on.
3 stars

Save What's Left by Elizabeth Castellano was a funny and heartwarming novel about a woman who decides she needs to make a big change in her life after her husband of thirty years leaves her. And... that change does not go as well as anticipated. She moves to a town her bestie led her to believe was a perfect beauty oasis. But it's filled with a not so perfect cast of characters. Oh, and then her husband comes back! Definitely a fabulous beach read!!

This was such a quirky book! I wouldn't say I loved it but I did like it, a lot!!

Kathleen is who I see myself becoming in a few years, but maybe to a lesser degree. Her husband, Tom, leaving her suddenly is just the tip of the iceberg. She moves to a small town, into a ramshackle home on the water, and quickly starts to complain. About everything! She finds a partner in crime across the street, Rosemary, who constantly cracked me up!! The two of them were a force to be reckoned with.

The emails were passive-aggresive in their viciousness and make me chuckle. Their presence at the town meetings were great and the fact that they were basically ignored only added to it all.

The whole thing with Josie (her childhood friend who lives in the same town) seemed pretty far-fetched and kinda unnecessary to the story but I can overlook it for the most part.

As someone who hates when anyone parks in front of our house, walks through our yard or lets their animals tramp through our years, I see a little of Kathleen in my future!! :)

Kathleen Deane is going through life, not happy, not sad just existing in her life. When her husband Tom announces he is leaving her and going on a world cruise, Kathleen decides to move to a beach community. Whitbey is a town, her friend Josie lives in and describes as an ideal place to live. When Kathleen moves to Whitbey, things don’t go as planned.

I thought this book would be about a woman rebuilding her life in a beach town, overcoming some problems but ultimately finding her best self. Nope! This book, which I found so hard to finish, is about a woman who becomes a “Karen”. The very first paragraph is full of negativity and complaining and it doesn’t stop there. The main character writes emails to the Town Supervisor at the beginning of each chapter, detailing her complaints, the violations of code by the neighbors, and ends up becoming the person you avoid when you see them. I just couldn’t get into this book, the description states its outrageously funny, I did not see the humor. The main character in the last chapter finally comes to peace with everything that has happen to her and accepts some grace into her life but it’s a long read to get there. Not my cup of tea, the writing was okay, parts of the book I skimmed, have to say I am unable to recommend.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Save What’s Left is the funny and quirky story of Kathleen Deane from Kansas. Over pancakes one morning, Tom, her husband, announces that he is divorcing her and taking a four-month world cruise. After 30 years of marriage, Kathleen decides maybe she needs a fresh start. She purchases a two-room beach shack, sight unseen. Unfortunately, her dream of imitating Ina Garten, cooking, entertaining and drinking wine on her private beach, soon turns to a nightmare. The next-door neighbors are building a gigantic home, and Kathleen turns into the person who reads all the zoning ordinances and has the supervisor’s cell phone number.

The story is told with wry humor that did make me laugh. While it was enjoyable, at times it went a bit overboard. Still, it was an enjoyable story and you couldn’t help but root for Kathleen while she attempted to fight city hall and get her life back on track.

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I had to work really hard to finish this book. It was a total mish-mash of unpleasant characters and failed attempts at being funny. When Kathleen’s husband of 30 years (a cardiologist who seems never to work) decides to find himself by cruising around the world, she sells their Kansas City house and buys a clam shack (whatever that is) on the beach back east.
Filled with people who are not only indistinguishable, but uninteresting, you have to slog through Kathleen’s adventures with town government, friends (?) who lead her astray, a life coach, a blind therapy dog adopted by Tom, her husband, who comes back to her in a Winnebago that he parks in her driveway, and various construction people.
I really didn’t understand the epistolary insertions of her correspondence with the town supervisor which were never answered, nor why she kept having to buy new couches. The ending, such as it was, only left me more confused and wondering why I bothered.
I had to work really hard to finish this book. It was a total mish-mash of unpleasant characters and failed attempts at being funny. When Kathleen’s husband of 30 years (a cardiologist who seems never to work) decides to find himself by cruising around the world, she sells their Kansas City house and buys a clam shack (whatever that is) on the beach back east.
Filled with people who are not only indistinguishable, but uninteresting, you have to slog through Kathleen’s adventures with town government, friends (?) who lead her astray, a life coach, a blind therapy dog adopted by Tom, her husband, who comes back to her in a Winnebago that he parks in her driveway, and various construction people.
I really didn’t understand the epistolary insertions of her correspondence with the town supervisor which were never answered, nor why she kept having to buy new couches. The ending, such as it was, only left me more confused and wondering why I bothered.
I had to work really hard to finish this book. It was a total mish-mash of unpleasant characters and failed attempts at being funny. When Kathleen’s husband of 30 years (a cardiologist who seems never to work) decides to find himself by cruising around the world, she sells their Kansas City house and buys a clam shack (whatever that is) on the beach back east.
Filled with people who are not only indistinguishable, but uninteresting, you have to slog through Kathleen’s adventures with town government, friends (?) who lead her astray, a life coach, a blind therapy dog adopted by Tom, her husband, who comes back to her in a Winnebago that he parks in her driveway, and various construction people.
I really didn’t understand the epistolary insertions of her correspondence with the town supervisor which were never answered, nor why she kept having to buy new couches. The ending, such as it was, only left me more confused and wondering why I bothered.
I had to work really hard to finish this book. It was a total mish-mash of unpleasant characters and failed attempts at being funny. When Kathleen’s husband of 30 years (a cardiologist who seems never to work) decides to find himself by cruising around the world, she sells their Kansas City house and buys a clam shack (whatever that is) on the beach back east.
Filled with people who are not only indistinguishable, but uninteresting, you have to slog through Kathleen’s adventures with town government, friends (?) who lead her astray, a life coach, a blind therapy dog adopted by Tom, her husband, who comes back to her in a Winnebago that he parks in her driveway, and various construction people.
I really didn’t understand the epistolary insertions of her correspondence with the town supervisor which were never answered, nor why she kept having to buy new couches. The ending, such as it was, only left me more confused and wondering why I bothered.

I made a vow to myself that I would not request anymore books on NetGalley because of the tbr room I have waiting for me (yes, room, not pile). However, this gem of a book popped up in my inbox and I could not resist. Let me preface this by saying that I just moved to a beach town a little over a year ago, so I was extra intrigued. The only negative thing I have to say about this book is that it was too short! I never wanted to stop reading about Kathleen’s life. I absolutely loved Kathleen. Some may not appreciate her, but I wanted to be her best friend. I wanted to be her Rosemary. So Kathleen moves to Whitbey, a beach town in New York, and she starts obsessively fighting her neighbor’s illegal building and delves into town politics. As a newbie in a beach town, this is absolutely realistic. Where I am, they are building so much, so fast and yes, the locals go to town hall meetings and try to fight it (usually unsuccessfully). So many politics involved, and so much greed. If I had the time and energy, I could see myself being Kathleen. Instead of Whitbey’s resident’s “go back to Brooklyn”, we southern transplants get “go back to the north”. What an amazing debut novel. It was laugh out loud funny and also heartwarming (in the end) in a not too over the too way. I will be one of the first to buy Elizabeth Castellano’s next book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Now to start on my tbr room.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book. I laughed so much when I started reading Save What’s Left, mainly because I recognized myself in much of Kathleen’s experience living in a beach town. As I kept reading I became uncomfortable, again because I recognized myself and my neighbors in Kathleen’s story. Overall I think it was a good book. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I didn’t still feel bitterness of having banged my head against the wall of corruption in local government. Somehow when you are personally aware of how true the run around is.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Kathleen's husband leaves her to sail the world so she decide to move near her childhood friend Josie, it what she thought was a idyllic beach town. Little did she know...

Soon the neighbors next door are building a monstrosity of a house. SO what does she do? Emails and calls her local government officials. She befriends Rosemary and together they set out to save the town, or at least their street from what they call blatant government mishandling.

At times, this book made me totally laugh out loud and the shenanigans. Other times, I was like geez, lady, give it a rest.

Overall, it was a good book and I enjoyed it.

ARC from Netgalley

It is hard to believe this is a debut novel - it is that good. Kathleen is so damn funny, unfortunately I am not sure she means to be. She is the embodiment of 2 themes:

1- we become a truer version of ourselves as we age, and
2- the grass is always greener on the other side

This book is for readers who like Ove, Britt Marie, and the Thursday Murder Club series.

Quirky and fun. A quick read that made me laugh. A good read.

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. This is my honest opinion.

This was a great light-hearted novel that had me laughing out loud. Kathleen’s husband Tom, randomly decides he wants a divorce and goes on a months long cruise. She decides to sell their Kansas and home and move to a shack on the beach. This book is all about her coming into beach life and dealing with the town and neighbors. She and her neighbor Rosemary, are always complaining about all of the rules being broken. Read this novel to follow Kathleen’s adventures at the beach. I promise it will have you laughing out loud.

I love this author. I read thrilled to receive this book as an ARC from netgalley.com. It wasn’t the best book I’ve read by Katherine Center but I enjoyed it very much. It was confusing in the middle but after reflecting on that, I think that is purposeful! Center writes the book in such a way that she makes you love some characters and hate some of the others. Thank you to netgalley.com and the author and publisher for this ARC in trade for my honest review. Do not miss reading the author's note. It was profound, and hugely affected my rating and affinity towards this book. Read it. You won’t be sorry.