Cover Image: The Cafe at Beach End

The Cafe at Beach End

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I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

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This is a wonderful read. I couldn't put it down after I started reading it. I loved the subjects in the book and how it approached domestic violence.

I highly recommend this book,

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Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of The Cafe at Beach End. This was a wonderful and quick beach read!

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Meredith is the widow of a man who ran an embezelment scheme, leaving many people destitute and unwilling to believe that she knew nothing about it. Now that he's dead, killed in prison, she decides to move to Cape Sanctuary where she has an inherited cottage and half ownership of the café her grandmother once ran, and where she hopes she can her life back. But there’s no welcome mat being rolled out for her.
Her cousin, Tori, now runs the café and is also the other owner. Meredith abandoned Tori years ago, backing out of a post-high school European trip and never coming back to see her grandmother even when she knew the woman was ill. First it was because she was trying to live up to her parent’s expectations, then it was because her husband was abusive and threatened to kill both her and her grandmother if she ever tried to visit.

Tori, a widow raising a rebellious teenage daughter, has never forgiven her. Meredith knows she won’t easily gain Tori’s trust again but is happy to start with helping at the café to earn enough to survive. Meredithi has also met a friendly neighbor, Liam, who frquents the café. But he too has a secret, and wonders if Meredith will still talk to him once she finds out the real reason he's at Cape Sanctuary.

There was a little bit of everything in this book. Forgiveness, reconciliation, domestic abuse, fraud and its effect on others, teenage rebellion, self-discovery and growth, guilt and more. family problems. It's interesting watching how each of the main chaacters develop over the course of the story.

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Meredith Collins has fond memories of her time spent in Cape Sanctuary as a child. Returning now as an adult, there’s no welcome mat being rolled out for her. She’s been disgraced by her ex-husband’s scheme that left many people without their life savings.

All she has left is the cottage she inherited from her grandmother, along with half ownership of the café her grandmother once ran. Meredith’s cousin, Tori, now runs the café and is also half owner. Meredith abandoned Tori years ago, in pursuit of living up to her parent’s expectations and Tori has never forgiven her. Meredith knows she won’t easily gain Tori’s trust again but is happy to start with helping at the café to earn enough to survive.

Meredith has also met Liam Byrne who is a friendly face that frequents the café and happens to be renting the cottage next door. Will Meredith still see him as a friendly face once she finds out the real reason he’s in Cape Sanctuary?

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Canary Street Press for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel. #NetGalley #TheCafeatBeachEnd

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This is a good book. The two main characters are Meredith and Tori. They are cousins who used to be really close when they were young. Meredith returns home after a terrible divorce and ex husband death. Toro runs a cafe that Meredith and she owns. Meredith starts to work at the cafe too. They both are not looking for love but both of them find it.

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Perfect feel good, summer time romance! I adored this sweet book. It was the perfect book to end summer with.

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Meredith is dealing with a Fallout of her late husband embezzled charges and people think she has something to do with it. So she goes back to the beach town she spent her Summers with her grandmother and cousin at for a new start working at the families cafe. Thing is that her cousin Tori isn't happy that she's back in town helping at the cafe considering how Meredith ultimately left her. Meanwhile Tori is a widow with a teen daughter who keeps finding herself trouble so dealing with her cousin as well isn't something she's looking forward to.

So I really enjoyed this book. Tori is just doing what she had for her daughter and isn't looking for love but he managed to find one but in a complicated way being that he is her late husband's brother. Meredith after dealing with her ex-husband isn't looking for love she's just trying to pick up the pieces of the life that fell apart and just trying to start over when she runs into her new neighbor. There was just so much going on to keep a reader hooked. I really enjoyed getting to see Meredith and Tori side of things and seeing how they were starting somewhat of a new chapter of their lives. They look over all the pretty good book I really enjoyed it,

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I want to move to Cape Sanctuary. It is a place that fits the name perfectly. People come to Cape Sanctuary to start over, heal from life's wounds and become part of a wonderful community. When Meredith Collins was a child, she spent summers there with her grandmother, feeling loved and valued. As life went on, she married a man who was her father's right hand, approved by her judgmental parents and bullied, abused and kept in the dark about his fraud and theft. When it all came to light and he was imprisoned, Meredith was left with nothing. A few years earlier, her beloved grandmother had died and left a beach cottage and 49% of her café to Meredith. With her tail between her legs, Meredith heads to Sanctuary with the hope that she can start over, or at least have her cousin buy out her share of the café so she can move somewhere to begin again. Things don't work out that way, so she stays in Sanctuary and tries to mend the fences between Tori and herself. Liam Byrne is renting the cottage next door with plans to write his novel while in Cape Sanctuary. Liam and Meredith become friends and he helps her with her plans to freshen up the café, but he has a secret that could ruin their friendship when it comes to light.

I really enjoyed this story. It was sweet, full of forgiveness (self and for one another), reconciliation, family, community and more. There were two love stories in this one, where both Tori and Meredith find someone they care about. Tori is dealing with her own problems. She is a widow with a teenager who is rebelling. She also feels guilty about her husband's death and the feelings she is having for her divorced brother-in-law. I enjoyed seeing the two young cousins trying to figure out what they wanted and where they fit, it was so realistic, but I also wanted to ground them both for life. Watching Meredith change and develop some self-confidence was great and seeing her reach out to help others showed how far she was coming. There were a lot of themes in this one: forgiveness, reconciliation, domestic abuse, fraud and its effect on others, teenage rebellion, self-discovery and growth, guilt and more. RaeAnne Thayne has penned an enjoyable story that I recommend you pick up to read sitting outside and if you are near a beach, even better.

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Alright, I have seen Raeanne's books everywhere, I may even have a couple, but this is the first one I've ever read, and I'm absolutely in love. What a great story. I loved it. Even though I came jn at book 5 of the series I was able to follow along just fine. Now it's time to read her blacklist.

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Sweet and complicated while also frustrating in the way I wanted the characters to bring out their joy for one another. Still, I enjoyed it and cannot wait for more!

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This is book 5 in the Cape Sanctuary series. It can be read as a stand alone. Meredith is returning to Cape Sanctuary with her teenage daughter after her husband has bilked millions of dollars from unsuspecting investors. He's in jail, the money has disappeared and everyone thinks Meredith was part of the scheme. Working with her cousin Tory at the cafe, Meredith is living in the old cottage her grandmother left her. She is finally relaxing and learning to have a life again when she is betrayed by a friend. This is a good beach read by one of my favorite authors who's good with romance, a little intrigue and family.

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First, thank you to the publisher and author for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Cute, easy beach read. Nice book for vacation or a weekend lost in a book.

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Return to the enchanting Cape Sanctuary in this heartfelt and compelling tale of redemption and second chances. As Meredith grapples with the aftermath of her ex-husband's deception, she finds solace in the coastal town she once called home. Amidst family rifts and personal struggles, the mysterious writer next door, Liam Byrne, becomes an unexpected source of comfort and hope. With a captivating blend of secrets, forgiveness, and unexpected connections, this novel beautifully explores the power of healing and the promise of a brighter future.

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Another absolutely beautiful book by RaeAnne Thane. Nothing else to say. Wonderful characters, great story line, emotions galore. 5 stars

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The Cafe at the Beach End is RaeAnne Thayne’s newest release. It’s the tenth book in the Cape Sanctuary series and is a rendition of a second chance story, a duel romance, and a family drama with a side of mystery.

In this story we follow Meredith and Tori, two cousins who used to be very close, more like sisters and best friends, but have become estranged over the years through a series of circumstances. This story does tap into the lack of communication trope. When Meredith unexpectedly shows up at the coastal town of Cape Sanctuary, hiding away from the disgrace of her husband’s financial scandal, she receives a cool welcome. There is a lot of bitterness built up between the two women and a good portion of the story is the two slowly reconciling with one another.

Meanwhile, Meredith begins a friendship with her neighbor, Liam, who is purportedly at the beach for the summer to write a novel despite the fact that he’s a “numbers man”. Truth be told, Liam is with the FBI and is intent on discovering what Meredith knows about the missing money that her late-ex stole. When Tori’s daughter and her cousin end up in trouble at school, she and Sam, Tori’s brother-in-law, work together to get the girls back on track. Tori hasn’t dated since her husband, Sam’s brother, passed away, but slowly a relationship builds between the two.

Both women have lived through heart-break and hardship, but they are strong women who have survived on their own. Romantic love was not expected, but they find a sweet, hopeful, second chance, nonetheless. Add-in a restored bond between the two cousins, and an opportunity to start over, and this can’t help being a feel-good story.

Oddly, I wasn’t as engaged in the story as I expected to be, and was admittedly a bit bored due to the predictable nature of the plot. Regardless, The Cafe at the Beach End is still a sweet story, with a lovely second chance family element and two tender romances. It dealt with some fairly heavy topics, as well as some challenging teenage angst, but it concluded with a gratifying resolution. This is a clean romance that will be a hit for many readers.

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I picked this up thinking it would be a nice, fun summer read but instead it was full of drama and while I enjoyed parts of it, for me it was a heavy read and not one I enjoyed all that much. I've read this author before and this book felt different. I just couldn't get past the animosity between Meredith and Tori and while I had sympathy for Meredith for what her husband did I still had a hard time connecting with her. And while I understood Liam had a job to do, the fact he had feelings for Meredith and didn't come clean sooner bothered me. Overall I was disappointed by this one.

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I thoroughly enjoyed “The Cafe at Beach End” but RaeAnne Thayer. What a delightful and uplifting beach read. A must add to this summers reading list.

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Loved this book! Was so glad. To find out it's a series. Characters are so real and easy to love. Perfect book for a weekend or a beach read. Can put it away and once you start reading you will fall right back into the story. Recommend.

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A super-engaging, satisfying beach read perfect for fans of Kristin Woodson Harvey, Mary Alice Monroe, and Kristin Higgans. Meredith's late ex-husband swindled hundreds of people out of their retirement money, and she is left with nothing but shame -- everyone thinks she was in on it, even though the FBI has declared her innocent. She flees to Sanctuary Cape, a lovely beach town she spent childhood summers in, because she inherited a tiny cottage and half-interest in a little cafe. The way is not smooth -- her cousin owns the other half, and she is reluctant to take Meredith in. To make things even more interesting, a mysterious, good-looking man keeps coming into the cafe. Supposedly he's a writer, but it turns out he has a much more complicated reason for his interest in Meredith. Great read!

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