Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Blue Jeans & Coffee Beans

Blue Jeans and Coffee BeansEscape to Stony Point, cuff your jeans and walk along the water's edge in this nostalgic story bringing old friends, and their lives, back to the sea.

After years of pursuing a denim design career, Maris Carrington never imagined trading her Chicago studio for a New England shingled cottage. But a forgotten home movie tucked inside a dusty attic box leads to an unexpected summer ... One of uncovering family secrets while settling her father's estate, one of inheriting a forlorn German shepherd, one of reconnecting with old friends on a weathered boardwalk, beneath starlit skies on a beach nestled in a crook of the Connecticut coast.

Her design career had become a shell, curving around her like the intricate whorls of a conch, shielding her until now. Until fried clam dinners and carousel rides beckon a lost love. But can Maris ever really go back? Can these beach friends ever be who they were to each other all those summers ago? Now one of her circle is dead; another unemployed and struggling in a tenuous marriage; another regretting a fateful decision; while one is missing a mother, ever seeking a connection she longs for.

To the backdrop of seaside cottages and a boarded up beach hangout, to the soundtrack of whispering lagoon grasses and a vintage jukebox, Blue Jeans and Coffee Beans asks if we can really design our own lives, or if our fate lies somewhere in the stars.

Available for Purchase:

  Meet the Author:

Joanne DeMaio 
Joanne DeMaio is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary fiction. She lives with her family in Connecticut and is currently at work on her next novel. 
Connect with Joanne:


Stony Point, Conneticut
 Life's momentarily pauses in their brief seaward gazes, as though this forms the core of it. 
All else springs from this connection. 


My Thoughts:

Joanne DeMaio has written a story that immediately whisked me to the shores of Stony Point. She brings her characters and setting to life with ease. I could feel the breeze, the warm sunshine on my face, smell the sweet salt air,  feel the sand and ocean on my feet.   I loved this sentence:
This beach has a way of casting its spell right through the windows under the guise of sun and salt, the call of the gulls, the sound of the waves. 

This is a story of children who played this beach as children through their teen years and after many years of going their own way have returned to their childhood beach for one reason or another and suddenly find life more complicated than they ever imagined. The first few pages drew me in immediately. This is the story of  Maris Carrington who left Stony Point 12 years ago, but of course a lifetime of memories live in her heart. With the recent death of her father she realizes that she must finish tying up some loose ends in his estate and the one that will take the longest is getting the family home in Stony Point ready to put on the market to sell. She takes a leave of absence and heads to the shore to not only ready the house and visit with old friends, but also to face some old memories/ghosts and to decide if a life with her boyfriend, Scott, is what she really wants. 
Her arrival is all that she anticipated and meeting with her childhood best friend, Eva, was a must.  A lot has changed since she left the area, but then again some things are unchangeable.  Suddenly Maris is back in the swing of beach life with her friends and the memories of yesteryear.  
Jason Barlow is an architect now, but he's lost in the memory of his brother, Neil, who is the ghost he can't let go.  Jason fondly remembers Maris and their one unforgettable kiss at Foley's, but she has a life in Chicago and a fiance`.  As their friendship renews so does feelings that neither is willing to admit to, but will the sparks ignite a flame that neither can put out?
This story brings elements of romance combined with romantic tension, forgiveness, turmoil, and humor.  The plot is sweet, but at times it touches on some tough issues, plus there are twists and turns that the reader doesn't expect.  The characters are complex and engaging.  The characters show real and raw emotions.  This story is told in a way that can evoke both laughter and tears. 
Some will say this is a perfect beach read and yes it might very well be, but I must tell you that I feel it's a book that perfect anytime.  
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good read.  

No comments:

Post a Comment