5/15/12

GIVEAWAY & BOOK REVIEW The Cottage At Glass Beach by Heather Barbieri @harpercollins




Book Description

May 15, 2012

The author of The Lace Makers of Glenmara returns with the enthralling tale of a woman who, in the wake of scandal, flees to a remote island off the coast of Maine to reconnect with her past-and come to terms with the childhood tragedy that still haunts her

Married to the youngest attorney general in Massachusetts state history, forty-year-old Nora Cunningham is a picture perfect political wife and doting mother. But her carefully constructed life falls to pieces when she -along with the rest of the world - learns of her husband Malcolm's infidelity.

Humiliated, hurt, hounded by the press, Nora packs up her daughters, Annie, seven, and Ella, twelve, and takes refuge with her maternal aunt on Burke's Island, a craggy spit of land off the coast of Maine. Settled by Irish immigrants, the island is a place where superstition and magic are carried on the ocean winds, and wishes and dreams wash ashore with the changing tides.

Nora spent her first five years on the island but has not been back to the remote community for decades-not since that long ago summer when her mother disappeared at sea. One night, while sitting alone on Glass Beach, below the cottage where she spent her childhood, Nora succumbs to grief, her tears flowing into the ocean. Days later she finds an enigmatic fisherman, Owen Kavanagh, shipwrecked on the rocks nearby. Is he, as her aunt's friend Polly suggests, a selkie, a mythical being of island legend, summoned by her heartbreak; or simply someone who, like Nora, is trying to find his way in the wake of his own personal struggles?

Just as she begins to regain her balance, her young daughters embark on a reckless odyssey of their own, a journey that will force Nora to find the courage to chart her own course-and finally face the truth about her marriage, her mother, and her past.

About the Author

The author of two previous novels, The Lace Makers of Glenmara and Snow in July, Heather Barbieri has won international prizes for her short fiction. She lives in Seattle with her family.

SOURCE:  PUBLISHER


MY THOUGHTS
LOVED IT


Nora has taken her two girls and takes refuge on an island off the Massachusetts' coast in  her aunt's cottage after she reads about her politician husband's infidelities in the paper.  Her mother's disappearance years ago left a rift between her and her aunt that she is now trying to mend. The two girls find magic at the beach even though they don't fully understand what exactly happened between their parents.  When she meets Owen, a fisherman who has apparently survived a ship wreck, she find a bit of comfort in this man's sudden appearance.  There are rumors that he is a Selkie, summoned by her tears of grief.  This paranormal element gives a new twist to my favorite genre of beach reads which is perfect for this time of year.  


My heart broke for Nora, seeing how her life is all wrapped up in grief with her mother's disappearance and her husband's indiscretions. I somewhat guessed where all this would take her and her daughters but the journey of words was well worth the trip.  I love books with a little bit of a magical element that can keep you guessing all the way until the end, but there were a few strings left untied here.  I hope that this opens the way for a follow up to find out exactly the mystery behind her mother's disappearance.  Annie and Ella brought a true bit of whimsy with their story with how kids believe so truly in the mystical.  If you enjoy Cathy Lamb or Sarah Addison Allen, you will be sure to enjoy this one. 


WANT TO WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK? 
Complete the below form 


Contest is open to anyone over 13 years old with a US mailing address 
(sorry, no PO Boxes)
Contest ends on 5.30.12 Winner will be chosen by Random.org on 5.31.12
Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email or a new winner will be chosen.
This giveaway is sponsored by The Publisher and ONE copy is available.


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Details

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Harper (May 15, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0062107968
  • ISBN-13: 978-0062107961

40 comments:

  1. Thank you for the giveaway! The story sounds really good.

    Diana
    bookofsecrets(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Will be looking forward to this, it looks great!
    Thanks!
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'd love to read this book
    GlorWal64@G mail

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm seeing this book everywhere and it sounds so good!

    alibraryofourown at blogspot dot com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tweeted!
    https://twitter.com/#!/LibraryOfOurOwn/status/202735191511408640

    alibraryofourown at blogspot dot com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for the giveaway... I see that you can have a Canadian mailing address but you didn't allow for Canada as an option for where you live so I chose USA just so I could enter! Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am so sorry Lindsay -I forgot to take out the Canadian option when I posted the rules ( I have those saved for reuse in a file) The publisher is mailing this out and they will only mail to the US,

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi and thanks

    dlatany at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for this giveaway!! I LOVE beach reads!
    irbratb(@)gmail(.)com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for the chance to win!
    irbratb(@)gmail(.)com

    ReplyDelete
  11. Daily entry 5/17. Thanks!
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  12. THanks for the giveaway

    lizzi0915 at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete
  13. Daily entry 5/18. Thanks!
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  14. Many thanks for this giveaway.

    ReplyDelete
  15. This sounds like a fantastic book. I love the sound of Nora's story, and would like to find out how it ends. Thanks for having this giveaway.
    ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

    ReplyDelete
  16. Daily entry 5/21. Thanks!
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  17. Daily entry 5/22. Thanks!
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thank you for this great giveaway! I adore books that take place by the ocean (an AZ gal here!) Taylor

    ReplyDelete
  19. Daily tweet: https://twitter.com/#!/TwoBeardBooks/status/205103767660658688 Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Daily entry 5/23. Thanks!
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  21. Daily entry 5/24. Thanks!
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  22. Daily Entry 5.24

    lizzi0915 at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete
  23. Daily entry 5/25. Thanks!
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  24. Daily entry 5/26. Thanks!
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  25. Daily entry 5/27. Thanks!
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  26. tweeted

    https://twitter.com/ronnkelly3/status/206861348880130048


    ronnkelly3 at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete
  27. I can't believe I almost missed this giveaway! Thanks so much I think The Cottage At Glass House looks like an amazing summer read! Thanks so much for a chance to win it!

    Laura Kay
    anovelreview(@)yahoo(.)com

    ReplyDelete
  28. I tweeted :D
    https://twitter.com/anovelreview1/status/206865362564812800

    ReplyDelete
  29. Thanks for the giveaway!
    mce1011 AT aol DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  30. Thank you! I tweeted for the day (@TwoBeardBooks)

    ReplyDelete
  31. I really really want this one! Thanks again for such a great giveaway!

    Laura Kay
    anovelreview(@)yahoo(.)com

    ReplyDelete
  32. https://www.facebook.com/anovel.laura

    Shared giveaway on my facebook page!

    Laura Kay
    anovelreview(@)yahoo(.)com

    ReplyDelete
  33. Daily Entry 5/28

    lizzi0915 at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete
  34. Daily entry 5/29. Thanks!
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  35. Here is another daily entry! Thanks again!

    Laura Kay
    anovelreview(@)yahoo(.)com

    ReplyDelete
  36. Here is today's twitter link post :D

    https://twitter.com/anovelreview1/status/207437910360854528

    Laura Kay
    anovelreview(@)yahoo(.)com

    ReplyDelete
  37. Daily entry 5/30. Thanks!
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete

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