I have been a fan of Julianne MacLean for years and was excited to delve into her latest work.

The characters had good development and although Melanie was not my favorite, the story about Dean and Olivia and how they were connected was interesting.

Women’s mystery fiction - great for a book club read.

An at times predictable but overall enjoyable novel of lost love, romance, and suspense, this novel explores the age old question of how well can you truly know someone? The addition of the Bermuda Triangle angle was a nice addition and not often done in mysteries. The character development was strong, and watching Olivia fall in love and then pick up the pieces after her loss was very well written. It did take a little bit for me to settle into the story and it truly didn't grab me until about 75% or so in. Unfortunately that did make it not as enjoyable as it could have been. Overall a decent light mystery I wouldn't read again myself but perfect for the right reader.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I received an advanced copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and Julianne MacLean. ❤️

The mystery of the lost or missing husband. A trope that is fairly well used these days. Olivia's husband disappears over the Bermuda Triangle, leaving her devastated. Eventually she picks up her life again but there is much she doesn't know. Who had Dean been seeing before her and why would he want to disappear so he must have died. Or did he?

The story is told from three points of view although mostly Olivia is the main narrator. It is told over a large number of years and I found that worked out okay as times were clearly marked and consecutive in terms of story.

However I think the book longer than it needed to be and this is where I think it would have been better without an epilogue, so allowing the reader to decide what may have happened. (Usually I like an epilogue).

Romance and tragedy is not something I enjoy but if you do, you will love this book. It's about secrets and denial and love and grace. Grab some tissues and enjoy.

Dean Hamilton is the luckiest man on Earth. He quit his job as a therapist because he wasn't happy with his work. While Olivia was having some issues with her family. She suggested a fresh start for both and moved to Miami to get married. Their love was instantaneous and mutual instead of disapproval from her family and different upbringings.

Olivia encouraged him to be a pilot, his boyhood dream. Until one day his plane vanished off the radar. People were searching for him. Olivia remain in a state of denial until everyone had given up and the search was over. Dean was declared dead.

Olivia grieved and was offered a second chance on her second marriage. After several years, a detective came and questioned her about a missing person, Melanie Brown who had just been discovered. Dean might have had something to do with her disappearance or death. After twenty years she just realizes that she's judging her unfortunate circumstances. There's a shadow over all the memories. A story of secrets and lies. I love how it ended perfectly. I give 4.5 ⭐️ for this romance and suspense story.

Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for earc. Opinions are my own.

📚

#donereading #BeyondTheMoonlitSea by #JulianneMacLean #igbooks #igreads #bookstagram #kindlepaperwhite #goodreads #netgalley #lakeunionpublishing #emabaca #malaysiamembaca

Thank you NetGalley & Publisher for the opportunity to review!

This was a gripping ride...until the ending. I was enjoying the storyline up until about the last third, when things began to become a little predictable for me. Having said that, I still read to the end and I did enjoy it, so I do think I'll still be recommending this novel. Sometimes a level of predictability is a nice thing - it's why so many of us reach for tried and true favourites.

Interesting premise. Good book, easy read. I'm grateful to have received a free copy to read and recommend this to others as a library borrow!

I love the writing style of this book! I loved how romance and tragedy were entwined. The twists kept coming and kept me on my toes. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley for this free copy for my honest opinion. I loved this book. Melanie Brown is married to a pilot and he disappears on a flight around the Bermuda Triangle. She keeps a vigil for Dean and finally sees a therapist and falls madly in love with him. His name is surprisingly Dean. The book has so many twists and turns but they all fit. We meet characters that are surprisingly connected. Not only is it a mystery but has a good sense of the unknown in its pages, It is a hard book to put down.

I must say, Beyond the Moonlit Sea surprised me in the very best way! I have always been intrigued by the infamous Bermuda Triangle and it was this premise that led me to pick this book up. What I got here went above and beyond my expectations and I loved every last second of this wonderful written and developed story!

A disappearance, forbidden love affair, secrets, and a strange connection unfold in this completely unputdownable story. The story spans a timeline from 1986 to 2017 and alternates between the perspective of Olivia who’s pilot husband disappears over the Bermuda Triangle and Melanie a physicist who studies the Bermuda Triangle (both fantastic characters to come alongside here) and who’s storylines surprisingly intertwine as the story progresses. In all of this, there was a wonderful complexity to the plot that had me turning the pages as quickly as I could. I just had to know how everything came together by the end, and I just have to not that I was 100% satisfied in how it wrapped up.

Reading this book was pure entertainment and checked all of the boxes of a perfect read for me! MacLean is a master storyteller and I just adore her writing style. I cannot sing enough praises here and highly recommend this book!

Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the gifted e-copy!

Not as romantic or mysterious as one might be led to believe from the title, cover art, and/or book synopsis referencing the Bermuda Triangle.

I wouldn't really call it book club fiction, though, either. More a light suspense. Perhaps contemporary fiction is best, even if the story starts out in 1990 and 1986.

A few anachronisms, as characters say things like "safe space " and "look it up", which aren't 20th century phrases. Also, the novel could use a good scrub to remove non-American terms and phrases, such as "washroom".

But, a decent read overall. Kept me entertained for a few hours. And, thankfully, for a current novel, wasn't chock full of diversity checklist items. Just characters doing their things, like they should, rather than unneeded focus on ethnicity, sexual preferences, or disabilities. This fact alone bumped this up from a 3-star to 4.

Emotional at times this was a compelling story. There were aspects of mystery and loss which kept me intrigued.
Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

BEYOND THE MOONLIT SEA is a shining example of why I have come to love reading Julianne MacLean’s novels. She creates wonderful, fleshed out characters who make mistakes. The characters are multi-dimensional, and her plots will keep you turning pages.
MacLean weaves together two plotlines with characters that seem unconnected, until they come together in a surprising way. Touching on the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle which, like many, has always fascinated me. With a story full of emotion and unexpected surprises, MacLean has written another delightful read that will leave you wishing for more.
Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy. All opinions are my own and freely given.
#BeyondtheMoonlitSea #JulianneMacLean #LakeUnionPublishing

4 ⭐️

Thank you Netgalley,
Lake Union Publishing and Julianne MacLean for free e-ARC in return of my honest review.

The love story of Olivia and Dean is like a fairy tale until it is not. Dean is lost while coming back on a private jet as a pilot, he considered dead and Olivia finds herself pregnant. She mourns the loss of her husband and welcomes her baby girl into the big world eager to love her for both. Little did she know what kind of a surprise she might get in 20 years.

Overall, good solid book, I enjoyed Olivia’s chapters mostly. She felt more sincere and required more empathy to her character. Dean, on the other hand, is quite a character. His interesting life story is narrated by him, however it was flat to my ears. There was always an excuse for his actions- as it should be because it is out human trait. Author made me despise him, even loath him. I think it is a talent to make a reader feel different emotions though put the book, the ability to raise various reflections on the character is a powerful move.

I am glad I read this book and I am thankful for the opportunity.

This was a new author for me. I really enjoyed the story! It went back and forth from the 80s into the 90s, and then from 2012 to 2017. I loved Olivia’s story.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
I have read and enjoyed many books by this author so I was surprised to find I disliked this one so much that I didn't read beyond halfway. I thought the character of Melanie required more support for her mental health than Dean gave her, her behaviour was extreme and abnormal. Dean's behaviour was also unrealistic, being easily drawn into a relationship against his principles, morals and professional requirements. I imagine the gradual resolution of the mystery would be interesting but I couldn't get beyond my loathing of the characters.

{Huge thank you to @netgalley and @lakeunionauthors for this free book to read and review!}

📚B O O K•R E V I E W📚

•Beyond The Moonlit Sea-Julianne Maclean
•Fiction/Mystery
•Now Available!
•4⭐️/5

This is the story of one woman’s quest to find out what happened to her husband when he disappears one night while flying over the Bermuda Triangle.

This was a great read that had me hooked right from the start. I’d go in knowing no more about this book than what I wrote above, I think you’ll enjoy it more the less you know.
It’s a great story that I thought I knew where it was going one moment only to be surprised the next. I loved the multiple time lines, multiple perspectives, and felt for these characters and their challenges they had to face throughout this book.

I really enjoyed this story. I find myself looking for Ms. MacLean's books because they are so well written and not predictable. This book covers many years as a woman searches for a missing husband and and watching her daughter grow into an adult. Olivia's husband Dean disappears in the Bermuda Triangle and she is devastated. There are several mysteries running through the book and they eventually come together in a wild twist. The chapters are narrated by the main characters and clearly marked who is doing the talk. A great book that will have you up late reading the next chapter. Enjoy this one.

This story is told from several timelines in different points of view, which was confusing until it started to come together.
Moving on from tragedy was addressed realistically, and I appreciated the growth in the protagonist.

What a great read.
I was puzzled in the beginning how everyone slotted together in the book, but carried on regardless.
At about 70% in, everything went nuts and the story, in my opinion, really started.
The only small disappointment is that it took a while to develop, but once the action started, that made up for the wait.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book.