Take It All In: A Walk Along The Beach by Debbie Macomber @debbiemacomber @arrowpublishing @Rachel90Kennedy #happypublicationday #BlogTour

Title: A Walk Along The Beach
Author: Debbie Macomber
Publisher: Arrow
Date of publication: August 6th!
Genre: Romance
Format reviewed: NetGalley ARC
Number of pages: 352

Sisters Willa and Harper mean the world to each other.

Inseparable since the loss of their mother as teenagers, the Lakey sisters are perfect opposites. Quiet, demure Willa has always admired Harper’s sense of adventure. She enjoys her peaceful routine as a café owner in their coastal hometown of Oceanside.

When a handsome customer shows interest in Willa, Harper urges her sister to take a chance on love.

Then Harper receives crushing news that threatens to bring everything to a halt. Only by supporting each other will the sisters be able to face the trials to come. And though the time ahead may be tough, Willa and Harper will discover that the darkest times can lead to the most beautiful rewards.

I love walking along the beach, and I loved the very first book by Debbie Macomber I read last year, so when the invite appeared in my inbox, I knew this book was for me. I didn’t even check the blurb before signing-up, how adventurous of me! But I was sure neither the beach nor Debbie would let me down. Had I seen the word “romance” on the page, I might have been scared a little. I take my romance with a high dose of realism.

Realism, feelings and oh, the amazing confusion of life. Yes, they all are in A Walk Along The Beach! Served with a delicious slice of life at a café. This novel was pure entertainment, but it was not just that.

Willa and Harper are sisters, and as often, they are very different. I found them both adorable from the beginning. Harper, loud and full of life, trying to push her sister in a handsome guy’s arms, and poor Willa doing her best not to let anyone know she’d actually really like to get to know the lucky one better.

Sean, with a heavy history and an exotic job as a photographer, who seemed cute and funny. Our first moments together were fun and light. Just what I needed. Or so I thought. I began to suspect there was more to the novel than romance when the actual romance began much earlier than it usually would. Aren’t they supposed to struggle like hell before getting together? I was no fool, though, and knew that nothing would roll smoothly. Nothing ever does. Even the most perfect moments are imperfect in their own way.

Willa feels her heart beat faster and in rhythm with someone else’s, but it doesn’t last long before it gets shaken and then broken. Then, the word “romance” takes a different meaning. This book is not simply about a woman and a man finding their one and only. The core of the book is love itself. Sisterly love, above all, family love, pet love, friends love.

So I didn’t mind the quick start, and all the struggles couples-to-be face in predictable romance novels have nothing against the fights everyone has to face in A Walk On The Beach. Health issues, the bottle, and the endless expectations VS reality of a relationship, to name a few. The latter element is what I found to be the most compelling. It challenged me to try and understand choices that I would and would not have made. I like to be reminded books help us be more open-minded, less rigid and sure of ourselves about any situation. Would I have forgiven? Would Willa had been happier if I’d had it my way?

Harper and Willa’s relationship is the glue keeping the pages of the book together. Their love is tender, raw, pure. My heart laughed with them, it stopped when their lives took turns we hadn’t seen coming, and it was left in a million pieces on the floor. Debbie Macomber held my hand through what I believe to be the most difficult situation anyone can deal with. She helped me face it, she didn’t allow me to recoil, and even if it was painful, I am glad I went through the entire journey.

A Walk Along The Beach is a real life story about finding love, losing it, and surfing every wave coming our way.

Verdict

That was a good read!

You can grab your copy here!

I would like to thank the amazing Rachel and Arrow for inviting me to be part of this blog tour and for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Debbie Macomber is a No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of over 100 books, and one of today’s most popular writers. In addition to fiction, Debbie has also published two bestselling cookbooks; numerous inspirational and nonfiction works; and two acclaimed children’s books. The beloved and bestselling Cedar Cove series became Hallmark Channel’s first dramatic scripted television series, and was ranked as the top program on US cable TV when it debuted in summer 2013. Debbie also owns her own tearoom and a yarn store, A Good Yarn, named after the shop featured in her popular Blossom Street novels. A devoted grandmother, Debbie and her husband Wayne live in Port Orchard, Washington (the town on which her Cedar Cove novels are based) and winter in Florida.