THE LONELY HEARTS BEACH CLUB

MY THOUGHTS:

Hattie is completely heartbroken after husband suddenly dies.  She has no idea how to continue on in life.  Her daughter Olivia see’s her mother Hattie totally withdraw from life and seems to have no interest in anything.  Every day Hattie places two beach chairs on the seashore, she spends the day staring at the sea…alone.  Olivia decides to put up an advertisement in the local café asking for someone to fill the empty chair next to her mom.  So many responses to the advertisement with an eclectic array of responses and so the lonely hearts beach club is formed.  With each visitor, Hattie develops the friendships that she is longing for and exactly the people she needs.

The Lonely Hearts Beach Club written by Amy Miller was heartwarming and a wonderful read.   I enjoyed this story and I especially liked the interest Olivia took in her mother’s life.  She focused on what would make her mother happy, while she was working through her own grief.  The friends that answered the advertisement and sat in the beach chair to tell their story were an interesting group of people.  They seemed to be exactly who Hattie needed at the time.  I enjoyed this book and I recommend it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rating: 4 out of 4.

DESCRIPTION:

THE LONELY HEARTS BEACH CLUB

Author:  Amy Miller 
Publisher:  Bookouture 
Publication Date: July 21, 2023
Pages: 320
Buy on Amazon 

Hattie gazes at her husband’s empty green-and-white-striped deckchair, the fabric blowing in the breeze. Blinking away tears, she clutches her own chair’s wooden frame with trembling hands. ‘What will I do without him?’

Olivia’s heart breaks watching her mother Hattie withdraw after her husband’s sudden death. Without him, she’s never been lonelier. Every morning, Hattie places a pair of tired old deckchairs looking out to sea. Staring at the empty chair beside Hattie, Olivia comes up with a plan: One deckchair for hire! Must bring good conversation and have own flask.

Posting the advert in a beachfront café, responses from other lonely locals start flooding in. There’s psychic medium Miriam who, besides talking to the dead, finds it therapeutic to belt songs from musicals. Glamorous Glenda has a penchant for teapot wine and skinny dipping.  And even a reluctant Hattie can’t resist the endearing quirkiness of Jacob, walking the south-west coastal path in memory of his wife.

Everyone who sits in Hattie’s deckchair has a little pearl of wisdom to share, each bringing a tiny bit of the familiar sparkle back to Hattie’s eyes.

But as more and more visitors take up residence in Hattie’s deckchair – and her heart – will Hattie ever find a way to return to the woman she once was? And in the process, can Olivia also learn a lesson or two about reopening her own heart to love?

ABOUT AMY MILLER

Amy Miller is the pseudonym of Amy Bratley, who started her writing life working on magazines and newspapers. She has previously written three women’s fiction novels published by Pan Macmillan, the first of which was a bestseller in Italy. Her day job is being a freelance managing editor of both a vintage interiors magazine and a food magazine, two subjects she’s passionate about. Amy lives in Dorset with her husband and two children.

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