Book Review
The Shack by Joanne DeMaio
Book 23: The Seaside Saga Series
Publisher: Independent Self-Publishing
Publication Date: March 3, 2025
Format: Paperback - 296 pages
Audiobook - 8 Hours 29 Minutes
Kindle - 1.9 MB / 263 pages
Nook: 805 KB
ISBN: 979-8335483032
ASIN (Audiobook): B0DDTZ1HGD
ASIN (Kindle): B0DC5NH4PW
BNID: 2940186215561
Genre: Women's Fiction
Buy The Book:
Buy The Series: The Seaside Saga Series
Book 1: Blue Jeans and Coffee Beans
Book 2: The Denim Blue Sea
Book 3: Beach Blues
Book 4: Beach Breeze
Book 5: The Beach Inn
Book 6: Beach Bliss
Book 7: Castaway Cottage
Book 8: Night Beach
Book 9: Little Beach Bungalow
Book 10: Every Summer
Book 11: Salt Air Secrets
Book 12: Stony Point Summer
Book 13: The Beachgoers
Book 14: Shore Road
Book 15: The Wait
Book 16: The Goodbye
Book 17: The Barlows
Book 18: The Visitor
Book 19: Stairway To The Sea
Book 20: The Liars
Book 21: The Mistake
Book 22: Miss Moonchild Starbeam
Book 23: The Shack
Book 24: August Dove (Publication Date: June 10, 2025)
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for my honest review.
Book Description:
From New York Times bestselling author Joanne DeMaio comes The Shack, Book 23 of The Seaside Saga.
In a shocking twist, a day goes so wrong and alters the lives of several beach friends in its wake. All that's left is to pick up the pieces. And each individual does in ways unexpected. One sheds tears. Some offer a shoulder, an embrace. One tries to help, only to hit a brick wall. One finds difficult acceptance. Still one harbors deep, stinging regret. Where do they go from here?
And The Seaside Saga continues.
My Book Review:
In The Shack, the beach friends' story continues where Miss Moonchild Starbeam left off. Author Joanne DeMaio transports the reader back to the tranquil seashore town of Stony Point, Connecticut. The story takes place in early October, and the readers will catch up with the beach friends' lives.
The Shack is an intricate story of interweaving friendships and ever-changing life events. In this twenty-third installment in The Seaside Saga Series, the author continues to weave a story that focuses on Elsa, Celia, and Shane. On the girl's trip to San Francisco, Elsa reconnected with Wren, her college roommate from their time in San Francisco, while Celia tried to reconnect with her estranged mom, Heather, who owns a jewelry store called August Dove. Celia doesn't tell Elsa about her side plan, but she does tell Shane, and he accompanied Celia and baby Aria, but they have to make sure that they keep their secret relationship from Elsa. While the trip to San Francisco is magical for Elsa as she reconnects with Wren and reminisces about their college days, Celia's plans to reconnect with her estranged mom doesn't go as well, and neither does keeping her and Shane's relationship a secret. Now on the way home, all three are plagued by the "what ifs" when it comes to their actions/inactions during the trip. With drama, secrets, heartache, choices, decisions and regrets, can Elsa, Celia and Shane pick up the pieces of their lives and move forward?
I loved how this installment focused on Elsa, Celia, and Shane. I loved how Elsa reconnected with her college roommate Wren, and how she got the nickname, Miss Moonchild Starbeam. For Elsa, the trip was very much needed after a difficult year, and it was wonderful to follow along as she enjoyed spending time with Wren. But there is one thing that Elsa didn't expect, she is surprised when she sees Celia upset and in Shane's arms on the street, and she goes home worried about what happened between Celia and Shane.
For Celia, her plan to try and reconnect with her estranged mom didn't go as well. Shane had a bad feeling it wouldn't go well, and he tried to talk Celia out of visiting her mom, but she was adamant, so Shane was determined to protect her at all costs. You can't help but feel the full gamut of emotions as Celia struggled with her decision to visit with her mom, it will pull at your heartstrings. You just know that it wasn't easy for Celia to relive the past hurt that her mom caused her family, it is the most heart wrenching decision that had my eyes tearing up when she tells Shane what happened in the past. With a lot of emotions, Celia and Shane are plagued by their decisions during the visit to her mom's shop, and it remains with them as they travel home.
The author teases her readers with another cliffhanger ending that keeps the reader waiting to see what happens in the aftermath of the San Francisco trip, and how Elsa, Celia and Shane deal with their issues. Let's just say the cliffhanger ending left me in shock! I guess we'll just have to wait and see what is revealed in August Dove, the twenty-fourth installment of the series ... sigh.
In this installment in the series, the reader follows along with the beach friends' lives that are full of friendship, love, secrets, lies, mistakes, regrets, challenges, heartbreak, grief, surprises, and second chances. As you read this installment, the beach friends continue along in their life journey in Stony Point. I loved that Maris and Jason are finally in a good place in their marriage, it was nice to see that after so much of the story was filled with emotional turmoil.
So now that I have whet your interest in the beach friends' latest comings and goings, drive under the railroad trestle and enter the enchanting beach town of Stony Point ... pull up a beach chair ... and visit with the close-knit longtime friends in author Joanne DeMaio's delightful novel, The Shack.
The Seaside Saga Series is a heartwarming series of stories of friendship, family, painful secrets, lies, and regrets, new beginnings and second chances. Author Joanne DeMaio weaves a wonderful tale written in the third person narrative, which is set in the present with flashbacks to the past. The reader is transported to the tranquil seashore town of Stony Point, Connecticut, where they follow along with Celia, Maris, Eva, Matt, Jason, Kyle, Lauren, Nick, Elsa, Cliff, Mitch, and Shane as their lives change like the tide's ebb and flow on their little tranquil coastal town.
RATING: 5 STARS
About The Author
Joanne DeMaio is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary fiction. She enjoys writing about friendship, family, love and choices, while setting her stories in New England towns or by the sea. The Shack is her newest novel. She is currently at work on her next novel. Joanne lives with her family in Connecticut.
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