The Beach House

Written by Rochelle Alers

Narrated by Shari Peele

In Rochelle Alers’ thoughtful, heartwarming series set on a picturesque North Carolina island, one woman’s seemingly perfect life unravels—and a new chapter begins …

It’s been almost a year since Leah Berkley Kent left her lavish Richmond home to spend two months on Coates Island, North Carolina. There she found friendship with two extraordinary women, Kayana and Cherie. Together they formed a summer book club, meeting weekly at the Seaside Café. Leah also found the courage to finally stand up to Alan, her domineering husband of twenty-eight years.

With her twin sons now grown, Leah decides to return to Coates Island again this summer. Alan’s explosive reaction only convinces her that her marriage, and her old life, may be ending. But what comes next? Helping out at the Seaside Café, Leah grows closer to Kayana’s widowed brother, Derrick. He knows what it’s like to start over—he traded a Wall Street career for a beachfront house and a slower pace. Derrick is drawn to Leah, but wonders if she’s truly ready to move on.

It’ll take a summer filled with lazy beach walks, bold new horizons, and book club meetings rich with shared laughter and support, for Leah to find the answers she’s been looking for …

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: May 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781980081807

Rochelle Alers

Hailed by readers and booksellers alike as one of the most popular African American authors of women's fiction, Ms. Alers is a regular on bestsellers list, and has been a recipient of numerous awards, including the Vivian Stephens Award for Excellence in Romance Writing and a Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award.    

Reviews for The Beach House

[Kameel Gibson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a cute story….I enjoyed the fact that Leah had a good relationship with her sons…because the first book eluded to the fact that they were more on their father’s side. Good change of events

[Andrea Author · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Leaving an abusive marriage, educator Leah spends the summer in coastal North Carolina to regroup. There she meets her friend's widowed brother Derrick while helping out at his beachside café. Both are over forty and have no plans to marry again. But they can't resist the attraction between them. Can love heal their wounds from the past?

This is more women's fiction than romance. The focus is more on the breakdown of Leah's marriage than her relationship with Derrick. It's not the relaxing beach read you might expect from the cover. The author does a good job of developing the characters and immersing the reader in the story.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

[cyderry · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A year ago Leah Kent left her home in Richmond to spend 2 months on Coates Island NC while her husband traveled with their 2 sons. She met 2 unusual women and together they formed a book club that solidified their friendship. Now Leah has returned leaving her husband because of his abusive nature. Now that her sons are grown she has decided that it's time for her life to change.With the help of her friends and their families Leah has started the life that she always wanted.I was thoroughly taken by this book and how the characters grew, not just Leah, and was glad to see that an unexpected change in circumstance can also be a change for the better.

[scoutmomskf · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good book. The previous year Leah came to Coates Island to vacation by herself. She enjoyed the freedom so much that she plans to do it again this year. Those plans don't sit well with her husband, Alan, who expresses his displeasure physically. This is the final straw in her unhappy marriage, and Leah leaves for the beach as soon as she can. The book opened with a look back at Leah's past, namely how she met and married Alan. I have to say that he gave me the creeps from his first appearance, and my opinion of him never improved. Leah had had no intention of pursuing a relationship with him, but the consequences of his actions gave her no choice. I suspected from the beginning what kind of man he was, and Leah's revelations confirmed that and more. I liked Leah, though I wondered why she stayed in the marriage so long, especially after her sons were grown. I applauded her decision to end it when she did, with no hesitation or second-guessing. She has a good head on her shoulders and took steps to protect herself. I also liked how her sons supported her completely. She plans to use her time at the beach to read and to find herself under the layers created by her marriage. I loved the immediate support she received from Kayana, co-owner of the Seaside Café and fellow book club member. Because Leah arrives so much earlier than her original plans, Kayana offers her the apartment above the café. The healing effect on Leah is immediately apparent. I liked seeing Leah and Kayana reconnect and pick up their friendship where they left off the previous summer. Kayana provides a great sounding board for Leah as she works through her options and resurrects her inner self. The other owner of the café is Kayana's brother Derrick. He is a widower of five years with a teenage daughter and still grieves the loss of his wife. He loves his work cooking for the residents and tourists of the island. I enjoyed the scenes that involved him cooking, both and the café and at home, as his passion for it was obvious. I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Leah and Derrick. The sparks between them were obvious from the start, though neither planned to do anything about it. Leah is a) still married and b) not interested in compromising any of her newfound freedom. Derrick doesn't engage with women who are married, engaged, or even dating someone else. Sparks aside, Leah and Derrick bond over cooking. She was taught to cook by her mother and grandmother, though she wasn't permitted to cook during her marriage. I loved seeing her knock Derrick's socks off with her baking ability. I also enjoyed seeing her push back against his judgmental attitude with her explanation of her childhood. The connection between Leah and Derrick grew over the next few weeks, and the attraction grew right along with it. As his feelings for her grew, Derrick worried about getting too close and losing her if she decided to go back to her husband. I liked his determination to go slow and wait for Leah to work through all of her issues. Leah's feelings for Derrick grew quickly, partially because of having a man treat her with respect. Even when they disagreed, they worked through it by talking. I liked the ending and look forward to seeing them in the next book. I liked seeing the changes in Leah as the book progressed. I got the feeling she had kept some of her spirit, but much was buried under the veneer created by her mother-in-law. Alan's actions cracked that veneer and allowed the real Leah to resurface. I liked following her plans to deal with him and looked forward to seeing him get what was coming. I wasn't very fond of the final resolution. One thing I missed in this book was the actual book club. Though the books were mentioned several times, there wasn't much book club action. That may be because of the book's timeline and because Cherie didn't arrive until near the end. Hopefully, there will be more in the next book. I did like catching up with Kayana and Graeme. #netgalley