The Beach Cottage

By: Joanne DeMaio

Narrated by: Steven Barnett

From New York Times best-selling author Joanne DeMaio comes a love story set at a tucked-away cottage by the sea.

For Mack and Avery Martinelli, the summer is their oyster. They can spend all day on the beach, or not. Cruise the dusty beach roads, or never leave their deck overlooking Long Island Sound. Fill their itinerary with excursions on the Connecticut shore, or while away the hours in a shingled cottage. Every decision this week is theirs to make.

Until it's not. Until life as they know it changes - and suddenly the Martinellis have to face only each other. Face each other in The Beach Cottage and see what they have, or don't have, between them.

©2020 Joanne DeMaio (P)2020 Joanne DeMaio

story is about covid

If you want to listen to a book to get covid out of your mind, avoid this book. The story is not bad, but not great. There is a second book, but I probably won't buy it. For the price, just remember it is a novella, so just a few hours long.

Disappointed by ending!

The story was over before there was a conclusion. Hoping there is a sequel to tie up loose ends.

Narrator Makes the Best of a Meager Tale

Steven Barnett's performance is, as always, superb, though this particular story doesn't give him the opportunity to really shine. Mr. Barnett gives each character their own consistent voice and impressively handles feminine voices with a soft sophistication. His emotive, evocative style elevates an otherwise irritating story.

For myself, I may have appreciated this story if my expectation had been that it would be a languid romance centering around COVID-19, but Audible’s primary categorization was “Genre Fiction | Psychological” with additional tags including “Thriller & Suspense” and “Women’s Fiction”, all of which are a stretch to apply, at best, in my opinion. Every other book I've read or audio drama I've listened to that bear such descriptions have significantly more depth into each of the respective categories. Yes, the summary calls it a “love story” but a love story can be so much more than what “The Beach Cottage” is.

The writing is professional and the premise is all right. The overall story, however, was something I had to muscle through. I found the character Avery to be unpleasant and unlikeable which is generally acceptable, as books -- like life -- need all kinds. In this case, though, Avery’s spoiled disposition and negative inclination are barely acknowledged and simply accepted. She persistently dwells on lack and disappointment to the point of swatting down her patient partner’s repeated attempts to make the best of an unfortunate situation.

I had hoped that when Avery engaged in an objectively kind and thoughtful thing, she would begin to grow or at least reveal some redeeming qualities, but her ponderous attitude persisted. Then suddenly, with no substantial stimulus, Avery changed her tune and everything was all better. It reminds me of a writing criticism I have read that rightly insists that real people just don't do character one-eighties overnight and that the best writing reflects more accurately the human journey and psyche.

I'm okay with this particular non-ending ending, personally. I suppose that's what gained this book the “Literary Fiction” tag? Again, I think this book on Audible would do better if it were more accurately categorized.

So Touching!

This book brought a lot of emotions out due to the pandemic we are all going through. It’s a great reminder to not take people or things for granted. Live everyday to the fullest and no matter what you have, both great and small, never take it for granted. Be thankful for even the small things that seem so insignificant at the time, or one day you’ll wish you had. Thank you for writing this book!

Grow up!

This is nothing against the author. I’m sure she wrote this exactly as someone might behave under these circumstances.

I started this book twice. I never got past the first chapter either time. The bride is a whiny brat. I have no idea why her husband doesn’t stuff her in her suitcase and return her to the parents who allowed her to be so entitled.

Maybe she eventually realized that she was going to have to go with the flow and it may have turned out to be a really good book. I will never know.