The title of this book, Save What's Left, is a perfect metaphor for everything in Kathleen's life. Married to Tom for 30 years, she is suddenly thrust into wondering what is left and what she really wants after Tom announces he wants a divorce. Decision #1 is leaving Kansas for Whitbey, a small beach community. Decision #2 - 10,001 is saving what's left in the real world of small town politics and beach development. Maybe saving what's left is about saving Kathleen herself. Interesting read that will be hard to put down.

This is such a funny, unique little book. It defies genre to some extent, though it’s definitely a genre novel because the character exploration/growth/development is limited. I guess it would be women’s fiction/humor. I loved the ensemble of characters and the setting. There’s not a ton of plot, though there’s enough of a story to move things along. I liked how it was kind of a later midlife type of book, which you don’t find very often. I would recommend it to readers with a quirky sense of humor and tolerance for books that are a bit offbeat. I’m giving it 4 stars but would probably round down to 3.5.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Save What's Left by Elizabeth Castellano

This book isn't what I expected it to be. For some reason I was expecting a fun look at the quirks of living in a beach town, with the locals dealing with vacationers. But this book is very true to the description, and there just wasn't much actual fun in the portion I was able to get through. If I'm at the 20% mark of a book and would be fine not picking it up to continue, I don't. None of the characters were particularly likable. Sometimes that fits with a story, but it didn't work for me here. There wasn't anything glaringly wrong; it just wasn't an enjoyable use of my time.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Vintage Anchor for a free copy of #SaveWhatsLeft by Elizabeth Castellano. All opinions are my own.

I received a complimentary electronic ARC of this hilarious domestic debut novel from Netgalley, author Elizabeth Castellano, and publisher Anchor Press. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read Save What's Left of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am pleased to recommend Elizabeth Castellano to friends and family. She writes a witty, human tale with just enough angst to make the lemonade sweeter. I thoroughly enjoyed laughing with/at Kathleen and Tom, and could easily empathize with them. This is going to be my favorite beach read of 2023.

This book was a ride. The first third had me laughing out loud, the middle dragged, but it all wrapped up sweetly in the end. Overall, it was a solid book, and I would recommend to those looking for a light and funny summer read.

I had a hard time getting into this book. Not enough character development to allow me to sympathize with her complaints in life.

Hilarious summer read! It's by no means an award winner - but if you are a woman reaching that "certain" age - it hits the right notes! Kathleen is so funny and sounds just like several of my friends! Life after retirement is definitely a transition time. Looking at it with humor definitely helps!

This is a very entertaining novel, I don't know that I've ever read anything quite like it. The entire thing is written in the first person as a rant from Kathleen, who has a horrible experience after buying a beach house following her separation from her husband of 30 years.

This book is clever and laugh out loud funny at times. Poor Kathleen is just griping about everything and nothing is going her way. Because I'm a rule follower, her frustration with the construction next door and other bad behaviors in her town resonated with me. She was unlikable yet I could understand where she was coming from.

I highly recommend this one for readers of fiction looking for something different.

Let me start off by saying that this book is very witty and sarcastic. However, the dialogue is choppy, and very minimal, to be honest, most of the book was reading Kathleen's inner ramblings and rants. And then the rest of the book was ranting emails she sends out. The premise was so promising, but I would have liked to see some character growth and redemptions at the end, bit it just wasn't there.

*thank you Netgalley and Publisher for the ARC of this book.

This is a fast paced fun womens fiction read for summer. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opinions are my own.

This is a fun read about a newly divorced women who moves to a beachside home only to find out her neighbors are a nightmare . A McMansion is being built next to her and ruining her peace and quiet. Other neighbors are complaining to her constantly and she is definitly not fnding the peace she needs. She finds her way through the contentious neighbors and is slowly rebuilding her life to suit herself.

I liked this story for its strong main charcter. The supporting charcters are funny and all add to the story. Set on the beachside this is a perfect beach read to enjoy this summer..

I was hoping that this book would have a more positive, fun tone based on the synopsis but the story was very different than I expected. Kathleen is so unhappy and making a huge change to her life (moving to a beach house) didn't do much to improve her outlook. Her chaotic new neighborhood was filled with some amusing characters but it was hard to really root for anyone there. The book was definitely funny in parts and I thought that the pace moved pretty fast. Overall is wasn't a hit for me but I am interested to see future work by this author because I did like her writing style. Thank you to Elizabeth Castellano, Netgalley and Vintage Anchor for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

A funny summer read about a newly separated middle-aged woman who buys a beach house and the petty squabbles she has with her neighbors, her ex and the town as a huge house gets built next to hers.

In turns ridiculous and heartfelt, this was an entertaining read and good on audio narrated by Therese Plummer. Recommended for fans of books like It all comes down to this by Therese Anne Fowler. Many thanks to Netgalley and @prhaudio for early digital and audio copies in exchange for my honest review!

An amusing tale about a woman divorcing and , on a whim, buys beachfront property based only on an internet picture.
When she arrives, all is not as it should be.
We spend the remaining pages learning about the dynamics of a small beachfront town along with the many issues therein. Tourists, garbage failures, sewer failures and building that is in violation of building codes.
Later her almost ex husband arrives to add to the fun.
The lady in question develops a love hate relationship with the town and its people.
It is an entertaining novel. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an ARC.

Kathleen and her husband Tom were originally from the Boston area but they moved to Kansas City due to his cardiologist job. Kathleen really didn’t want to move but she wanted to be with Tom. They had a set pattern to where they ate breakfast and out of the blue Tom said he was leaving. They had a grown daughter named Hattie and she and her husband lived in Seattle. Kathleen had been friends with Josie for years after they met at camp. Josie told Kathleen to come to the beachside town that her and her husband lived in. Kathleen bought a small house sight unseen and drove there.
She was shocked when she saw the house it had been an oyster shack previously. She quickly became friends with the neighbor across the street Rosemary Preston. Rosemary was known as a pot stirrer and was never happy and Kathleen feel right into her steps. They both constantly wrote letters to the city council about all the violation’s happening around them. In the meantime Tom was going on a big cruise and when he got done with the cruise he was going to purchase a camper and travel. Lo and behold he shows up on Kathleen’s doorstep.
Then you have Hattie and she was expecting her first child and she and her mom got into a big fight. Hattie was a little self centered and maybe that was brought on by the parents.

I loved this book and hope this author continues to write.

I received this ARC from Netgalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Know that this is snarky in spots and that Kathleen is one angry woman. Her husband's left here and she's impulsively sold her stuff and bought a beach house in a town where she only knows her old pal Josie. The town isn't what she thought it would be and her new home is nice but there's a mega mansion being built next door. Kathleen channels her energy into fighting city hall along with Rosemary to force the builders and owners to change their ways. She's unhappy, to be sure, and if you can see past some of that, this is an interesting tale of a woman who takes charge, Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, Liked it.

I really hate to give a book a two star review but I have to admit that the only reason I kept reading is because I wanted to see if Kathleen ever got happy.

I'm a really positive person and Kathleen Deane is not. Nor did it seem she wanted to be. I got 73% of the way through the book before I learned that Kathleen was turning 60. I'm 63 and I figured she was at least 20 years older than I am, crotchety, grumpy, with nothing better to do than write letters to government officials and bemoan her life.

I will say that the author is a good writer and I wouldn't rule out reading another of her books in the future but this book just didn't do it for me.

Never before have I been so conflicted over a story or character as I have been with Kathleen and Save What’s Left. Do I pity her? Loathe her? Or admire her? Or all three? I mean we take an average woman (retiree) whose husband leaves her after thirty years and she moves to her “dream” location. So, at first, I felt bad for her, but then I admired her and this continued when she arrived to discover her beach cottage had been an oyster shack and they were building a McMansion next door and she stood up for her rights. But then she became this bitter, twisted, negative person and it didn’t stop.

There were moments that were meant to be humorous such as the letters to the superintendent and I suppose some of her descriptions of the town’s residents, but most missed the mark for me. But what really made me loathe Kathleen was when Tom resurfaced and she became a doormat…a negative, bitter, doormat. Fine, every story has to have its dark moments so we can find the light and the characters can grow, but I never saw Kathleen do that, if anything she kept shrinking into this small-minded person.

The end brought no satisfaction for me. Yes, Kathleen got one happy resolution or two for her, but the character didn’t grow into a better person. If anything, she wrapped that negativity around her like a security blanket and zipped it up tight. After laying out my thoughts, if this story did anything it was to show me what kind of person I hope never to become in my retirement years, and well, steer me away from beach life.

This book is about a woman named Kathleen who decides to leave her hometown of Kansas to relocate to the beach. She was in the process of divorcing her husband, Tom. Kathleen arrives to her new home and finds it to be in horrible condition with major construction going on next door. Tom ends up showing back up halfway through the book. He sleeps in his new bus in the driveway. Kathleen was very unhappy about her new town. This unhappiness carried on throughout the entire book. She had her funny moments but overall I give this one three stars due to all of the complaining and negativity. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

I was looking for a summery beach read that would feel escapist and lovely. This wasn't it. The characters weren't particularly likable, very glass half empty the pacing wasn't great, I gave up at the 20% mark. This might be for others, but wasn't right for me. Some reviews suggest if you get past the half-way mark it gets better.

Thank you to Netgalley and Vintage Anchor for the advanced reader copy.

I was so looking forward to Save What's Left by Elizabeth Castellano but was severely disappointed. I was excited to read about a woman who started a new life on her own, but found it to be about a whining, unhappy woman who made poor decisions and couldn't live with them. I read the whole thing but struggled to finish. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.