Can You Put the Past Behind You?

 The only way to grow is to train and move forward.  When someone trains to move forward in life, it often leaves others behind.  In Swimming Lessons, we pick up a few years after Beach House ended. Can Toy truly let go of the past to move forward with her life?

Synopsis:


“Toy Sooner kept her vow to her beloved mentor, the original turtle lady of the Isle of Palms. She left behind an abusive, dysfunctional lifestyle to become a strong single mother and an aquarist at the South Carolina Aquarium. But success has taken its toll, leaving Toy fearful of change and risks. It's only been through the enduring love of a close-knit group of women that she's finally started to find her footing.


The turtle season begins the day Toy rescues a sick sea turtle on the beach. When Toy brings the loggerhead to the aquarium, she founds a turtle hospital and spends long nights working alongside her boss, Ethan. As the summer progresses and the sea turtles take their measured steps toward healing and freedom, Toy must find the strength within herself to make it safely to shore.”(amazon.com)


My Thoughts: 


I liked the book.  I have not read every book in the Beach House series.  I learned about the character of Toy when watching the Hallmark movie The Beach House.  I loved how Toy had grown so much from when you first met her in the Beach House novel.  This book focuses greatly on the community surrounding Toy as she works and cares for her daughter, Lovey.   There are also new beginnings for Emmi, Flo, and Cara, which I loved learning more about them. This book also goes into depth discussing turtle hospitals and how they work.  


Buy Links for Swimming Lessons


Amazon     Barnes and Noble      Bookshop

Buy Links for Mary Alice Monroe’s current book, Where the Rivers Merge


 Amazon     Barnes and Noble    Bookshop

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