As soon as I saw that this novel takes place in Ocean City, Maryland, I just knew I had to read it! I grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and visited Ocean City quite often.
Willa and Ben had a wonderful relationship together. They met during Senior Week in Ocean City, Maryland. They got married and had a son named Jamie. Years later, Ben died unexpectedly in their vacation home in Ocean City. It caught Willa and Jamie off guard. It started a rough road to recovery to heal from their loss. Willa and Jamie have had trouble getting along ever since his passing. Two years later, Willa has come to the conclusion that they need to sell their beach house. Only problem is, she starts to see Ben showing up the house. It’s not his true form, but she can converse with him. She realizes this isn’t something she needs to be completely engaging with, so she asks Jamie, her best friend Kristin, and Kristen’s daughter to join her for one last summer at the beach. Will she finally be able to get over Ben’s death and grow closer to Jamie?
This book reminds me a little bit of the movie Ghost. It’s a perfect beach read for sure, and I imagined myself in my beach chair the entire time reading this. It’s a heartwarming novel about the true meaning of family. The novel is written in the wife’s and the son’s point of view and I felt like I could’ve done without the son Jamie’s point of view. I would’ve wanted to just keep all my focus on Willa’s story and her feelings as she’s learning to accept her husband’s death and grow closer to Jamie. It was a really entertaining read and I especially loved the location. I really wanted some Thrasher fries after reading this, haha!
4/5 Stars
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