This was a great easy read.  I enjoyed the multiple story lines and the little bit of drama.  I did think that everything wrapped up rather quickly though.

I was immediately drawn to this book with the summery, beachy setting that I could read on the Jersey beach.  The first installment of this Dewberry Beach series tells about the Bennett family, especially Kaye and Stacey. I loved the small town, Jersey shore setting of this book. However, I didn’t find myself enjoying the two main characters Stacey and Kaye.  They came off as whiny and I kept waiting for them to change or see how to right their ways.  This didn’t happen.  I did; however, enjoy some of the minor male characters, and would be interested in a sequel that followed their lives more closely.
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book and being transported to Dewberry Beach at the Jersey Shore. This book is about Kaye and her relationship with her adult children Stacey and Brad. The characters are complicated, yet believable, and the storyline is charming and surprising. Highly recommend,

I absolutely love a summer beach house read so straight away this caught my attention! 
The Bennett family own a house on the shore of the lake they have spent many summers there together but now as the family have all grown up Kaye summons the family to spend a summer together - they need to reconnect in so many ways.
Really enjoyed the first  part of the Dewberry Beach series & look forward to more from this author.

My first book by this author and I enjoyed it! Was a nice break from the mystery/thriller genre I typically read. 

I wasn't a big fan of the two main female characters but overall this was a good beach read.

A new to me author, beach reads are one of my favorite genres and this one grabbed my attention with a family of interesting characters and a picture perfect setting. Hostetter gives the reader an inside glimpse to a family’s reconnection that is beyond relatable and a joy to read about. Focused on strong willed women that were at times unlikeable, they made me even more hopeful for them to find a way to figure it out together before the end of summer.  3.5 stars from me!

This was a light, escapist read, perfect for me as I would love to escape to the beach and reconnect with family members. 

For Kaye, their family shore house is full of memories. Her husband is recovering from a heart attack and she is fiercely, OVERWHELMINGLY overprotective. Actually, Kaye has an overwhelming, powerful, BIGGER THAN LIFE personality (and, admittedly, it grated on me a bit for the better part of the book.)

At its core, this is a book about family and relationships, and how we view each other affects how we treat them (and how easy it is to misunderstand people, both in behavior and intent.) Resentments are uncovered, understood, and overcome. Each of the main characters goes through their own form of personal growth/epiphany that changes them for the better.

THE SHORE HOUSE will appeal to fans of Elin Hilderbrand. I enjoyed this touching tale of family and forgiveness.

This book was the perfect summer read. It had the dysfunctional family I love in a story, a perfect setting and just enough drama to keep me reading. I really enjoyed this book

This is a nice book to read by the pool, or at the beach. You can definitely feel the nostalgia of a small beach town as you’re reading. I enjoy imagery a lot, so that part was fun for me.

The plot of the story revolves around the Bennett family – and we get to see their different view points as the story progresses.

Each member of the family is dealing with some type of inner turmoil that all comes to a head by the end of the summer. I really enjoyed getting to know the family, and seeing how they interact with each other.

The characters, even though they are all adults, all grow up a little bit by the end of the book and it was a journey to see how they each got there.

Overall, I’d recommend this book if you like idyllic beach town reads with a bit of family drama thrown in.

I will say though that I would have liked just a little bit of a deeper plot line – at some points it did feel a little shallow.

Loved this book...perhaps because I raised my two girls on the Jersey shore!  I could almost smell the salt sea air. I picked up this book in the morning and was finished reading by the evening.  My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A great summer read, reminiscent of Elin Hilderbrand and Kristy Woodson Harvey! Touching tale of forgiveness, family, and love I thoroughly enjoyed this feel good novel at the end of summer!

I really enjoyed this book that I finished it in 2 days.  The Bennett family has always spent summers at the Shore House.  As adults however it is hard to get the entire family together but mom Kaye is insisting that everyone come this year.  There are secrets unraveling with each person in the story and it appears that some of these childhood summer memories come directly from the author's experience.  I hope that there is a book #2 to continue the story.  Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy.

Great Summer read!! Family secrets and renewal.  As sisters find each other again.  You will like this book!!

For many years, it’s been the Bennett family tradition to spend their summers together at the shore house in Dewberry Beach. But for the past three years they’ve been absent. Kay’s husband Chase suffered a near-fatal heart attack and his health hasn’t allowed them to leave the safety of their home and the proximity of his doctors to travel to their beloved beach getaway. This year is going to be different though, as this year is the first one since his health scare that they’ll be able to return, and Kay Bennett is determined to make it a summer to remember. So determined is she, in fact, that she will go out of her way to manipulate every single family member (including her husband) and activity to ensure that things go according to plan.

A few pages in and I must be honest, Kay was already stressing me out and setting my teeth on edge … to call her a Control Freak would be an understatement! The way she spoke to people really bothered me. She didn’t ask them to do things, she instructed them, expecting them to do as they were told, and understandably this immediately got their backs up. As with her daughter Stacy with whom she’s always had a rather tenuous relationship. Stacy has her own frantic life: married to lovely Ryan with two young children and another on the way. But as easygoing as Ryan is, he too is having difficulty with the start-up he owns with his two best friends, and although he’s trying to focus on devoting this summer to his family, there are problems that keep taking him away from the family time he’s desperately trying to focus on.

And then there’s Brad, Kaye’s beloved son. He’s always brought a certain balance between Kaye and Stacy but interestingly, there’s tension between him and his father. Brad hasn’t quite ‘found’ himself yet. He’s a bit of a wanderer and can’t settle down.

Ah … families, memories and trying to re-invent the way things were … impossible really isn’t it, especially as the years march on, everyone grows older and changes? As the summer unfolds, will the Bennett family be able to find their common ground a comfortable footing again? Will Kaye learn to loosen her grip on everyone else’s lives? As each of the adult members of the family gradually relaxes into the summer, holiday mode, they start to give themselves the time to really think about who they are and what they want from life and from each other.

The first in the Dewberry Beach Series, I certainly am looking forward to reading more about where the Bennett family go to from here, and also about the various members of the community of this little town where everyone has known everyone else since forever! Oh, for the days when life seemed so much simpler! The author has managed to inject a bit of that old-world charm into this little enclave where there’s a mix of those who live there all year round, and others who are summer regulars.

This is a lovely holiday read that many will relate to. All families have their unique dynamics and readers will each find the character/s that relate best to them. It’s a gorgeous 4-star read.

‘The Shore House‘ begins the ‘Dewberry Beach‘ series which in itself is a rather unique series as it will consist of the stories of the families along the shore, each with their own book. So while the location, the town, and such will remain (and perhaps we might run into a familiar face) each new book in the series will focus on the life, loves, and drama of one family. After finishing the Bennett family story I’m anxious to discover the next family on Dewberry Beach.

This was my first time reading this author and I completely enjoyed her voice, the way she brings the reader into the story with a strong sense of sight, smell, and always emotions. ‘The Shore House‘ shows one summer at the beach for one family who has faced a medical scare for their father/husband, but it also shows a daughter’s long-held resentment which has nothing to do with her strong marriage or adorable children yet longs for her career, as well as a favored son and the girl he brings along who really doesn’t fit or even try to fit in with her boyfriend’s family. There are enough emotions, anger, resentment, fear, and deep love lying under the surface throughout this family’s story to keep your own emotions always on high alert.

Most of what you’d want to know can be found in the cover description, the rest you’ll have a good time discovering firsthand as this family will face some rough waters this summer – but at their core is a strong love that cannot be denied. I enjoyed myself in this world. It’s full of what I want in what I’d consider a family saga in the sense of different points of view, voices raised in anger, and wavery with tears, and… eventually forgiveness. This is going to be a roller coaster of emotions, but you’ll be caught up in the lives of the Bennett family every step of the way. I will be keeping an eye out for the next title in the series – and in the meantime, I’ll go look up some of this author’s other works.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher, Bookouture via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

I started into this slowly. Just not sure. It didn't seem to be my usual type of book. I recently read some 'shore' books so I kept going a page or two at a time. Then I got sucked into the vortex and could not put it down. An intricate plot, complex characters, human pathos, personal discovery. It has it all delivered in a smooth writing style. The author promises more Dewberry Beach stories and I will be watching for them.

#TheShireHouse#NetGalley 
It opens with the Bennett family arriving at the shore house for the summer Kaye Bennett has summoned adult children to come .  She anticipates H her Son and daughter will remember joys of last summers, relaxing in the evening, and enjoying each other's company. Stacey  her daughter and her son Brad arrive late and are not happy to be there. They bring baggage with them and I don't mean luggage.  The father  Chase has had a near fatal heart attack and Kate is extremely  controlling with them all.  Will Mom and daughter grow closer ?  Will Brad feel an acceptance from his Dad? Will this family reconnect and except each other as they are ? It was a story that shows a lot of family drama but also with. love and willingness to overcome their differences.  Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read and review this book.

A fun summer read. Good to take on weekend vacation. Enjoyed the characters learning to embrace change and enjoy moments.

EXCERPT: 'Everything goes.'

Kaye Bennett stood on the dewy grass in the early hours of a cool May morning and addressed the work crews scattered across the lawn. She pointed to the open front door of her family's beloved shore house and spoke in a clear voice. 'I want you to take it all - every dish in the kitchen, every blanket on the beds. All of it. Get rid of it.'

ABOUT THIS BOOK: When the Bennett family arrive at the shore house to spend the summer together, they bring more baggage than just suitcases…

When Kaye Bennett, matriarch of the Bennett family, summons her adult children to the shore house, she anticipates a vacation full of nostalgia. It’s a chance to relive the carefree joy of summers past: basking in the hot sun, cooling off in the surf and enjoying long, relaxing evenings watching fireflies on the deck. But when Kaye’s son and daughter arrive, late and uncooperative, it becomes clear the family desperately need to reconnect.

Kaye and her daughter Stacy have been quietly at odds for years and resentment has grown around words unsaid. Faced with spending the summer months in such close quarters, Kaye is determined to remind Stacy of happier times and why she once loved their beautiful beachside home.

But both Kaye and Stacy are holding something back… and only when a heart-stopping moment on the beach puts what Stacy most loves at risk are the two women finally able to set free the secrets in their shared past.

MY THOUGHTS: This is a nice, pleasant, quiet read, just not special or memorable. A perfect 'beach read' where you can doze as you read, and not tax your brain. This is also the first book in a planned series, each to feature a different family in the setting of Dewberry Beach, New Jersey.

The author has drawn on her own childhood summers for her inspiration. She portrays the atmosphere beautifully with sand, sun, iced tea, ice-cream trucks, crabbing, and even those pesky insects that like to nip and leave red welts.

Chase Bennett, patriarch of the Bennett family, has survived a heart attack. Kay, his wife, feeling guilty for not being able to be reached and for not knowing it was going to happen, has been micromanaging his life ever since. Stacy, their daughter, married with two children, has never felt particularly close to her mother but adores her father, and it is for him that she packs her family up for a summer vacation with her parents. Brad, her brother, is as unlike his father as he could possibly be. Whereas Chase was driven and ambitious, Brad is a free spirit, unsure of what direction he wants his life to take. He has been summoned back from travelling overseas to spend the summer with his family. What no one expects is for him to bring a girlfriend along with him, changing the whole family's dynamics.

This is a story of a family's imperfections. They haven't been together for any period of time for some years, so there are adjustments to make, boundaries to be reestablished, old hurts to be addressed, misunderstandings to clear up, and things which have been swept under the carpet for years to be brought out and aired.

Add into this mix business difficulties for Ryan, Stacy's husband, and an unexpected call for to return to work for the pregnant Stacy and it adds in a whole new level of interest. And then, of course, there is Brad's girlfriend who seems to be making and effort not to fit in!

I liked the characters, could even see a little of myself in the matriarch Kaye. I could see similarities in Kaye's and Stacy's characters, and wondered if that was part of the reason they found it so difficult to get along.

A pleasant read. And yes, I will be picking up the next in this series. Dewberry Beach is a very pleasant place to visit.

***.4

THE AUTHOR: I love books, always have. There’s just something about the way a story unfolds that seems magical to me. When I was a kid, I remember riding my bike down to the public library on Saturday mornings and spending the day lost in the stacks, filling my arms with anything that looked interesting. In the afternoon I’d pedal back up the hill on my bike, my basket loaded with possibilities, and spend the rest of the weekend reading.

So, when I started creating stories of my own, I made sure to include description that bring settings to life, characters who become friends, struggles that reflect real life, and always –– always –– a happy ending.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of The Shore House by Heidi Hotstetter for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system, please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage.

When Kaye's husband Chase has a heart attack she overdoes it helping with his recovery. For 3 years she forces him to stop working and denies him the chance to state what he wants while she pushes healthy meals, physical therapy and daily exercise even after all his lab values are within range. She gets so used to making all the decisions that the poor man can't even order coffee if she's around.

Finally understanding that her husband is no longer content she tells her children that Chase wants them to all spend the summer together at their cottage that she's just reopened on the Jersey Shore. Stretching the truth and pushing her agenda, Kaye soon realizes that not everyone is happy with her demands. Her son Brad's new girlfriend, an unexpected and unwelcome guest, keeps Kaye from realizing she can't control everything while her daughter Stacy makes it clear that she and her family may be leaving within days, not months.

Even the two grandchildren become bored because they're never allowed to play on the beach due to Stacy's fears, fears that Kaye understands but keeps secret.

With the perfect elements of a summer cottage and strong family ties, the characters in this story learn to grow and claim their own independence in a surprising and delightful way.
I received an advance Kindle copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book and read it in one day. Now I need to read more Dewberry Beach Books.