The Endless Beach: A Novel
Written by Jenny Colgan
Narrated by Sarah Barron
4/5
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About this audiobook
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Bookshop on the Corner and The Cafe by the Sea comes another enchanting, unforgettable novel of a woman who makes a fresh start on the beautiful Scottish Island of Mure—only to discover life has more surprises in store for her.
When Flora MacKenzie traded her glum career in London for the remote Scottish island of Mure, she never dreamed that Joel—her difficult, adorable boss—would follow. Yet now, not only has Flora been reunited with her family and opened a charming café by the sea, but she and Joel are taking their first faltering steps into romance.
With Joel away on business in New York, Flora is preparing for the next stage in her life. And that would be…? Love? She’s feeling it. Security? In Joel’s arms, sure. Marriage? Not open to discussion.
In the meanwhile, Flora is finding pleasure in a magnificent sight: whales breaking waves off the beaches of Mure. But it also signals something less joyful. According to local superstition, it’s an omen—and a warning that Flora’s future could be as fleeting as the sea-spray…
A bracing season on the shore sets the stage for Jenny Colgan’s delightful novel that’s as funny, heartwarming, and unpredictable as love itself.
Jenny Colgan
Jenny Colgan is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous novels, including The Christmas Bookshop, The Bookshop on the Corner, Little Beach Street Bakery, and Christmas at the Cupcake Café. Jenny, her husband, and three children live in a genuine castle in Scotland.
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Reviews for The Endless Beach
212 ratings13 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Another instalment in the Mure Island series. I loved listening to this book, sunk into a world of a small island in northern Scotland.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Such a lovely novel. Great character development and beautiful setting. Well done!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Love the author and her wonderful characters. I find myself getting completely immersed in Mure and it’s people and I don’t want to leave! This is one of my all time favorite books for sure.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The plot has its finest moments as Doctor Saif recognizes how to lead his refugee children,with the suble examples of Neda and the help of Lorna. Ash and Agot were fun.As well, his immediate capturing of Colton's evasion was also impressive.The rest of the plot kind of drags along with the main character continuing to be timid and so losing any profit in her cafe until The Men come along to point this out.She also still refused to stand up to way-overbearing and outright rude Jan. Why look so lame?The resolution with Joel was fairly predictable, as was his breakdown when the word "professional"was introduced. Visit from Mark spiced thing up.Colton and his Wedding declarations made sense only if guided by early dementia; otherwise just needlessly cruel. Fintan had earned and deserved truth and honesty.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5i have fallen in love with Jenny Colgan's writing. Period. Characters, plot, prose. Everything.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Love this series set on a desolate Scottish Island and populated with wonderful, warm, and sometimes eccentric characters
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I somehow missed reading the first book in this series, so I spent much of the first part of the book trying to figure out the characters and their backstories. The tale got more interesting after that. The relationships between the characters are intriguing, and the problems they encounter make up the bulk of the story. Nothing comes easy, and it seems like life on that Scottish island can be a challenge, even if the surroundings are beautiful. The story has humor as well as pathos, and readers can’t help but become invested in the lives of the characters as they work through their troubles. But I do agree with other reviewers who said Agot acts more like an annoying two-year-old than a four-year-old. I also recommend the audio version; the narrator gives listeners an excellent rendition performing the Scottish voices.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A different series by Jenny Colgan but very good. She devised this entire community on an island in Scotland and added a narwal to boot lol. Flawed characters who had well developed personalities and imperfect non-fairy tale endings. Excellent.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5„I need to know you, and I need you to know me.“ (pos. 5225)
Theme and Genre:
This book is part two of a series and it tells again the story and struggles of Flora and Joel, but this time the main part is about Colton and Fintan. One theme are the damages, war does to children. Another theme is foster care. The story is also about how to deal with cancer as a fatal disease. All these topics are embedded in a romantic feel-good-story on the fictional, beautiful island of Mure.
Characters:
We meet again the characters known from book one and they still struggle between misunderstandings and feelings.
Plot and writing:
Jenny Colgan is an experienced author with an enjoyable writing style and she knows how to plot stories that are funny and sad in the same time. Even though part one of the series, The Summer Seaside Kitchen, is the first book of Jenny Colgan that could nor really convince me because of the endless misunderstandings that made the reading a little bit boring, I tried to give part two a chance. Again lots of thinking and misunderstandings, together with many – in my opinion too many – very serious themes in a very cozy story, which for me did not work.
Conclusion:
A nice read for summer afternoons, a beautiful island, friendly people. A heartwarming story for romantic readers where even tragic ends in happily ever after – for me just too much of everything, - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flore has given up her legal job to remain on Mure, her Scottish island homeland. She has her father and brothers as company, and a delightful little cafe to spruce up and run. If only her love life was equally idyllic. True, her boyfriend (her former lawyer boss) is dishily handsome. But he stays away from the island for far too long. Even when they are physically together, there remains emotional distance. What is it that keeps Joel so reserved? Why can’t he open up and trust Flora? Lesser story lines involve a refugee doctor reunited with his two sons, and another about a gay couple. I found Dr. Saif particularly sympathetic and he struggles to be a single parent, and grieves for his missing wife. After being charmed by Colgan’s “Bookshop on the Corner”, I was thrilled to receive this ARC from the same author. Readers should beware that this is the second in a multi-part series. There was a book which preceded this, and at least one more to follow. I would recommend starting the series in order, lest one ride a teeter-totter of emotions - the rise of trying to catch up with everyone’s back story, only to hit the lows of too many loose and incomplete story lines by the end. Rest assured there is more to come in the next book in the series.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Annoying characters, the overuse of the word 'utterly' and a didactic author ruined this 2nd book for me. Not to mention that I am tired of Colgan's depiction of American characters. Does she even know anyone from the US? I was hoping for a light read and instead I got melodrama. Very disappointing.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You can always depend on Jenny Colgan to give you a good, heartwarming story. This is a continuation of the story from The Summer Seaside Kitchen but can be read with no confusion. My opinion is that since both books are so fantastic, you might as well read both of them.This book takes place on the Isle of Mure in the Scottish Highlands. There's a small town with a lot of quirky characters. Flora, who runs the local bakery, is in love with Joel, who has just moved from London but still does a lot of work there. She is unsure of his true feelings for her and not sure how to handle her life with him or without him. We also have a gay brother, an immigrant doctor searching for his family, and various other characters that make this novel a fun read. There are a couple of loose ends in this book so I am hoping for another trip back to Mure Island with this series.If you've never read Jenny Colgan, now is the time to start. If you have read her before, I highly recommend the Summer Seaside Kitchen series.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Romance sequels can be tough - couples who come happily together in the first book are required to overcome challenges and risks to their relationship, while new complexities and possibilities arise for secondary characters. So prep a box of tissues, settle in, and return to Mure.