The House on Rockaway Beach

LoveReading Says

Exploring how life has a way of throwing us curveballs that completely change our outlook and destiny, this emotionally charged family drama lifts you up and drops you back down like the ocean waves that flow through its pages.

After their grandmother’s death, estranged sisters Sophie and Celia are left the charismatic New York beach house where they holidayed as children. Begrudgingly brought together to sort through their grandmother’s possessions, old rivalries and difficult memories quickly bubble to the surface. Throw in the unearthing of a mysterious letter, more than one love interest and a pretty seismic family revelation and the scene is set for this captivating and heartfelt story.

Like much of Emma Burstall’s writing, this is a novel that centres on the lives of women and their relationships with other women: sisters, mothers, grandmothers. Don’t expect everything to be sugar and spice, though; The House on Rockaway Beach touches on some deeply emotive subjects – harassment, religion and emotional abuse to name a few. But what shines through above all else is the beautiful sense of place and community that Burstall has created. A few chapters in and you can almost smell the salt in the air, the waves lapping around your feet, drawing you out to the ocean. And you’ll certainly be yearning to visit Rockaway for yourself particularly if there’s a chance of bumping into hunky fisherman, Joe, or sharing a gelato with the exuberant Gigi and family! A delightful and enchanting novel to devour in one fell swoop.

Lindsay Quayle

Find This Book In