The first thing that caught my eye about Debbie Macomber’s newest book is that beautiful cover. It fits so well with the story, as you would imagine by the book title alone. The beach ended up being a soothing place for our heroine Willa, something I wholeheartedly share with her–like I’m sure many readers do as well. While she was going through so many changes personally and within her family, the beach was Willa’s place to go to gather her thoughts and feel more grounded. I thought it was important that Macomber showed how Willa found moments to center herself that way instead of being self-destructive or closed off completely.

I will be honest that Macomber can typically make me shed a tear here and there with her heartfelt stories but A Walk Along the Beach had me ugly crying from about halfway through until the end. It was sad, hopeful, distressing, uplifting…so many emotions mixed all together. I was firmly on mother hen Willa’s side for the majority of the book, with only one section where I thought she treated our hero, Sean, rather harshly. It was tough because I could see both of their views on the rift between them but in the end things did work out as well as could be expected. (Can you tell I’m trying very hard not to give any spoilers? lol) Overall it was a lovely cast with a bunch of characters from Cottage by the Sea, which was also set in Oceanside, which meant it felt like a reunion in some ways.

It’s always a pleasure to get swept away in a book by Debbie Macomber, but A Walk Along the Beach proved to be an especially moving, tearjerker of a story where faith and the love of family and friends helped heal a fractured heart.

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