Cover Image: Lost Coast Literary

Lost Coast Literary

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Member Reviews

I am a huge fan of Ellie Alexander's The Bakeshop Mystery Series and her Sloan Krause series and although this one is peegged as a standalone, I would be very content if it turned into a series or even a trilogy or duology as I'd love to have more time with Emily and the quirky town of Cascata. This is a great book for readers who love books, magical realism, books about books and quirky towns and houses.

Emily is just starting her dream career on her way to being a book editor in NYC when she finds she has inherited a large Victorian in the NoCal coastal town of Cascata. A stipulation of the will is that she must edit a trunk of "forsaken" manuscripts and she is shocked to find the edits and changes she makes to the books play out in the lives of real people.

A quick and charming read.

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Ellie Alexander never disappoints. Her cozy mysteries are always an instant purchase for me. Lost Coast Literary is a nice break from her traditional cozy mystery series. While there isn't any murder there is plenty of intriguing questions to keep you guessing. I loved Emily and her new found gift. The way that her past unwrapped and explained everything was captivating and I didn't want to stop reading. I truly hope that Lost Cost Literary becomes a series because I would love to explore more of Cascata.

I received an arc of this new novel from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

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A departure from this author's typical cozy mysteries, I enjoyed this story.

Don't we all dream of inheriting a giant old house full of magical books in a small town where everyone wants to know you and you want to know everyone?

Don't we all imagine the stories of the people around us?

If you answered yes, this book is for you!

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The genre of Ellie Alexander's Lost Coast Literary isn't what I usually reach for much anymore, but I am glad that I requested the dARC of this book. I enjoyed the characters, the mystery, and the setting. At times, even for a reading fanatic such as myself, I found the continuous references to literature a bit distracting, even if they brought a sense of nostalgia. I admit I had a bit of trouble buying into Emily's character, and I wish the plot would have explored the more "supernatural" elements a bit more, but I would still recommend this book to readers that enjoy a quick summer-style read about family, finding yourself, and a little bit of magic.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the dARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.

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This delightful book blends wonderful characters, a beautiful setting, and just a little bit of magic to create a wholly enjoyable tale! I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it for everyone to read. It was a fun read and I hope you get to enjoy it too.

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Lost Coast Literary, by Ellie Alexander, is a new stand alone story set in the fictional town of Cascata on California’s Lost Coast. Emily Bryant had recently left her Silicon Valley position to pursue a future in editing for a New York publishing house. As she is just beginning to be able to pitch stories she is notified that her paternal grandmother, who she hasn’t seen in decades, has passed away leaving a large legacy to Emily. But there are caveats to her inheritance and she must spend some time in Cascata to meet these stipulations.

Against her father’s wishes, Emily travels to meet with her uncle and his family to learn that she has inherited the old family mansion, the Ballad, as well as her grandmother’s Lost Coast Literary publishing. The caveat is that in order to inherit, and free up the legacies to others in her family, Emily must edit a stack of forsaken manuscripts. No problem, that is until she encounters the people and scenes she has edited. This can’t be real!

When Emily confides in her cousin Shay what has happened they begin watching what happens after each edit. These dramatic occurrences lead to unusual happenings in town and on the local college campus. What comes to pass may change outcomes for others, but most importantly it may rewrite what Emily knows of her family history and reshape her future.

This delightful book blends wonderful characters, a beautiful setting, and just a little bit of magic to create a wholly enjoyable tale! I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!

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A reader may be acquainted with Ellie Alexander's mystery books, but this is not one of them. It is a delightful step out into an entirely different story. It is set up on the Lost Coast of the Northern West Coast of the USA.

Narrowing in further, it is set in the most wonderful Victorian mansion. Note the front copy of the book. I want to visit it, it is full of books and hidden nooks. It is to this house that Emily arrives at after being summoned by her Uncle after her grandmother dies.

Emily is an aspiring editor in New York and it takes some pulling to get her to come to Lost Coast Literary, the name of her grandmother's house.

Emily has been estranged from the Lost Coast side of her family, and as she carries out some of her grandmother's wishes she becomes acquainted with them and the local community, and did I say - the house!

I'll leave the rest for you if you by chance read this book. I suspect any lover of books and a bit of magical realism would enjoy it. As Ellie Alexander I note on her website runs writing courses for aspiring writers, I believe within these pages too may be some hints.

A fun book to read and have your heart touched by.

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When Emily finds out she has inherited property from her estranged grandmother, her plan is to do the paperwork and run. She doesn't expect to be drawn in by the family she believed abandoned her and her father, or the town where she spent the first several years of her life. Nor does she expect that she would find a possible career waiting for her in the office of the one who she finds never really lost hope she would come home one day.

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This cover is so pretty!
A fun and interesting mix of Women’s Fiction and Magical Realism, Lost Coast Literary was a light and sweet read.

I enjoyed getting to know the MC, Emily and going on the adventure of real life edits with her. One thing I really liked is how the relationships with her family (mostly dad, grandmother, and cousin) changed and developed throughout the story.

I am a big fan of Ellie Alexander’s cozy mystery series, but this was a fun new adventure. A very neat concept, for sure.

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Emily works in publishing in New York, but travel to California when she's notified of an inheritance from her grandmother. She's puzzled because she hasn't seen her grandmother since she was a young child. Upon arrival in a quaint coastal college town, she meets family she hardly remembers as well as the townspeople and debates whether to stay or give all of it up. A great story of self-discovery and family secrets. I enjoyed it immensely and have recommended it to several people.

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What a treat to discover…Utterly charming.
Many thanks to Sweet Lemon Press LLC and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

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4.5 stars

I needed a book out of my comfort zone; the cover and the blurb attracted me. I am thrilled I took the chance as I enjoyed reading this book. I will be searching for more titles by this author as I was charmed by her words.

Emily finds herself in a charming coastal town in California. Her paternal grandmother’s sprawling Victorian is hers to inherit but with conditions. As Emily starts to address these conditions, her world becomes alive. I could not put this down; the imagery and characters captivated me. The author is a fantastic storyteller, and I hope we see more in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sweet Lemon Press, LLC for the advanced copy; this is my voluntary review.

This review is also on Barnes & Noble

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Thanks to Net-Galley and publishers for providing the arc in exchange for my honest review.

The cover is really beautiful, it was what drew me in at first. I really liked the concept. And I really wanted to like the book as well. But I just couldn't.
I didn't like how our MC's entire character was based on the fact that she is a book lover. When I got to the first third of the book the mystery was obvious. And the plot was really predictable for me.

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I am a sucker for an inherited house story so I was excited to see that as a plot element in the story. Overall I really enjoyed this one. The main character was relatable and easy to like. I also adored the magical realism of the story. I like to think that there are little hints of magic sprinkled throughout the world and we have only to open our eyes to see them. The plot was really well done, the writing, as usual, was great and I would definitely recommend!

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okay. i'm gonna be honest with you. this book was not it for me. i really wanted to like this book, but it did not work out for me. i'm so sad about it. but thank you to netgalley for letting me read this one early!!

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This was a wonderfully bookish story! It has an unusual storyline and I found it quite compelling. I really enjoyed this one!

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Lost Coast Literary is Ellie Alexander's first foray into a non-mystery General Fiction novel, and if this one is any indicator, I absolutely can't wait to see what else she has in store for us!

Emily Bryant is returning to Cascata, California, to deal with her late Grandmother's estate. However it isn't all hugs and family reunions, as Emily and her Dad left the coast when she was a child, and never had anything to do with his family. What Emily finds at her grandmother's estate will question everything she thought she knew about her childhood and her family.

I absolutely loved this book! I confess, I didn't read the synopsis when I got it. With a lot of my favourite authors, I just go in "blind" because I know their previous work, and I know I will love anything they write. So I didn't actually know it wasn't a cozy mystery when I started. However I had faith that I would love it because Ellie Alexander's Sloan Krause Mysteries are some of my absolute favourite mysteries!

It's not just that Lost Coast Literary is a book about books [my favourite kind of books], or that the characters and the plot is so compelling that I couldn't put it down [I couldn't!], it's that the concept was so completely unique to me. Magic manuscripts? Sign me up! I just loved everything about this book, and without gushing too much, it's fair to say it is easily my favourite book this month!

Lost Coast Literary reads like a love letter to bibliophiles. From all the book references to the gorgeous descriptions of the coast, food and people, this book should be on the top of your reading list. While you're there definitely add the Sloan Krause Mysteries too, because first and foremost I'm a book enabler... just like Emily!

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The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story blew all my expectations out of the water. An endearing collaboration of magic and realism, Lost Coast Literary tells stories about stories in a way that invites you to live in the characters’ shoes rather than unceremoniously dumps you there. The descriptions are vivid, the characters are alive, and the plot lovely. The author did a great job of writing about hardship and pain without being excessively graphic or gratuitous. Made me want to visit the Lost Coast and take an editing course.

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I enjoyed this book and it held my interest for the most part. I guess what I found frustrating was the lack of communication. Emily wanted to learn about her past but her relatives didn’t want to help her figure things out.

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After the death of her estranged grandmother, book editor Emily Bryant returns home to the charming little town of Cascata in California. She is set to inherit her grandmother's estate but there are very specific stipulations to the will. Old family wounds are healed and relationships are reformed in this story of family secrets with a touch of magical realism thrown in for good measure. Fans of Amy Reichert will enjoy.

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