THE BEACH AT PAINTER'S COVE by Shelley Noble is a tale about
the Whitaker
family, of a summer when truths are revealed and feuds
are addressed. It all starts with Issy's sister,
Vivianne, leaving her children at the Muses by the Sea,
the Whitaker family's Connecticut mansion and letting
Issy and Vivianne's grandmother, Leo, take care of them.
Just as Jillian left Vivianne and Issy with Leo when they
were little. But, then Leo is taken ill and is taken to
the hospital and Vivianne's children frantically contact
their aunt that they hardly know to come because there is
no one else to take care of them. And, Issy has to leave
work to go home, the first time in a long while and not
only deal with her three nieces, but with some troubling
news about the Muse.
Well, that's a simplified intro to this book. There are
many characters in this book, and it took a while for me
to get the hang of whom everyone was. And, trying to
explain each and every one would make this review way too
long and leave too little left to the actual review. So,
I will just say that these different Whitaker women have
much to deal with, secrets to share, and decisions to
explain. And, as I often think when I read books, a
little more conversation and so many problems would be
resolved. Personally, I think that the story went on
and on a bit. The things I was interested
in like Leo and Wes past and all the artists that hang out
at the Muse and Fae's, Leo's sister-in-law, story did not
get enough space. Instead, all the drama with Issy,
Vivianne, Jillian, and Steph get the center space. Which
is quite logical since the story is about them, but now
and then I felt that it just got a bit too much. Too
much drama for my taste. And, of course, I could have
lived without the obvious romance that occurred, not once,
but twice.
THE BEACH AT PAINTER'S COVE is a book that I think will
appeal to people that like to read about family dramas,
about generations of women that come together and have to
deal with past transgressions and hurt. Personally, I
found Fae to be the most interesting character, her sacrifices,
and secrets, but I also enjoyed Jillian's involvement in
the story. She was a breeze that swept in and got the
story going.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Whisper Beach
comes another heartwarming story of four generations of women
who reunite in their crumbling family mansion by the sea for a
dramatic summer filled with love, family, secrets and
sisterhood.
The Whitaker family’s Connecticut mansion, Muses by the Sea,
has
always been a haven for artists, a hotbed of creativity,
extravagances, and the occasional scandal. Art patrons for
generations, the Whitakers supported strangers but drained the
life out of each other. Now, after being estranged for years,
four generations of Whitaker women find themselves once
again at
The Muses.
Leo, the Whitaker matriarch, lives in the rambling mansion
crammed with artwork and junk. She plans to stay there until
she
joins her husband Wes on the knoll overlooking the cove and
meadow where they first met. Her sister-in-law Fae, the town
eccentric, is desperate to keep a secret she has been hiding
for
years.
Jillian, is a jet setting actress, down on her luck, and has
run
out of men to support her. She thinks selling The Muses will
make life easier for her mother, Leo, and Fae by moving them
into assisted living. The sale will also bring her the funds to
get herself back on top.
Issy, Jillian’s daughter, has a successful life as a museum
exhibit designer that takes her around the world. But the Muses
and her grandmother are the only family she’s known and when
her
sister leaves her own children with Leo, Issy knows she has to
step in to help.
Steph, is only twelve-years-old and desperately needs
someone to
fire her imagination and bring her out of her shell. What she
begins to discover at the Muses could change the course of her
future.
As Issy martials the family together to restore the mansion and
catalogue the massive art collection, a surprising thing
happens. Despite storms and moonlight dancing, diva attacks and
cat fights, trips to the beach and flights of fancy, these four
generations of erratic, dramatic women may just find a way to
save the Muses and reunite their family.