https://thesebooksaremyfriends.wordpress.com/2018/07/22/every-time-you-go-away-b...

There are actually two blurbs regarding this book on GoodReads and I kind of wish that the other blurb were the real one but I live in a lovely fantasy world where I have powers. This is one of those books where nothing happens, nothing happens and then bam, a lot happens and the author didn't appear to have time to wrap it all up so parts of the last 30% of the book seemed rushed to me. I remember glancing at the percentage thinking, that's all that's left? There's so much to do!

Willa decides to go to the beach house she owns with her late husband. She hasn't been there since he died in the house three years ago, leaving her and their son Jamie to find their new normal and learn how to cope. There's a couple of chapters of flashbacks to shortly after Ben died that seemed unnecessary to the plot to me but I think it was more about character development. Jamie and Willa don't have the best relationship. Willa hates his girlfriend (so do I) and nags him all the time. Jamie is a teenager and really just wants to be left alone. They both are grieving in their own way but their communication suuuucks.

Most of the book was Willa getting the house ready to sell and talking to Ben's ghost. Right, so there's a ghost. Ben keeps showing up to talk to Willa and everyone else thinks she's a lunatic as they keep catching her talking to herself. Through conversations with Ben, Willa begins to grieve and starts being more present to the people in her life, including Jamie and her BFF Kristen, who comes to stay at the beach house with them to help prep it for sale. Kristen brings her daughter Kelsey who is the same age as Jamie. We see the two of them rekindle their friendship from when they were kids while we are watching Willa grieve.

While I thought the book was a good look at grief and loss, I found it underwhelming when it came to the other plot points. There were too many things that seemed rushed, especially towards the end. I was left with a lot of questions, which is normal for women's fiction, and why I don't read a lot of it. I need my HEAs dangit.

Overall, While You Were Gone is a good character study and look at the grieving process. I give the book a solid 3 out of 5 stars. It wasn't bad, it wasn't amazing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of the story. ( )

4.5 Stars for this emotional read. Not sure I’d recommend it as a beach read, cause the ending had me ugly crying!

Emotional, heartfelt and relatable (to a point) read. Willa is still trying to recover from her husband’s death. To the point where her grief is affecting her relationship with their teenage son, Jamie. Fast forward to a visit to their beach house where Ben died...and he comes to visit with her.

I am a sucker for a good romantic, family read every now and then. Add a visit from beyond. This hit the spot! Memories of Ghost but throw in a little teenage drama. Another plus for me was the setting...Ocean City, MD, a place a visited many times. The author describes this beach town to a T.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone. ( )

I chose this book because I liked Beth Harbison’s book When in Doubt, Add Butter. Interestingly, that book also has a character named Willa but I don’t think it’s the same Willa as in this book. If you’ve read both books, let me know what you think. I read When in Doubt, Add Butter several years ago so I don’t remember many details.

Anyhoo, on to the review. Willa’s husband Ben died unexpectedly of a heart attack at their beach house three years ago. Their son Jaimie was just fourteen years old. After avoiding the beach house since then, Willa decides it’s time to sell it and moves in for the summer to fix it up. Soon, Ben’s ghost appears to her. He’s not a white-sheet type of ghost – he’s just like Ben was when he was alive but Willa is the only one who can see him.

Willa and her son haven’t had the best relationship with each other since Ben died. Willa has been too obsessed with her own grief to recognize the extent to which Jaimie is hurting too. Jaimie has an annoying girlfriend who is a borderline stalker. After they break up, he decides to go help his mother with the beach house, much to her surprise. Once he’s there, they begin to reconnect, although it’s still a struggle.

Obviously, this isn’t a totally realistic book since one of the characters is a ghost. If you don’t think you can suspend your disbelief to accept that Willa’s dead husband visits her, then skip this book. I was able to do that and thought that it was a cute story. Even though the premise is sad, it never got heavy enough to be a depressing read. I would call it a “cozy” paranormal romance. Or something like that. It was definitely a cozy something. Since the setting is the beach and it’s a light read, it would be a good beach read. The temperature is still in the 80s where I am in the Midwest – it’s not too late to squeeze in another summer read! ( )

I enjoyed this read, bittersweet as it was. Returning to sell the house she can’t bear to keep Willa finds that the ghost of Ben is still occupying the house making her question her sanity. Even with the complicated relationships this is a light beach read that I recommend ( )

If you are looking for next poignant page-turner, look no further. Add in a smattering of humor, alternative points-of-view, and (especially if you are a lifelong Marylander like me) a good dose of beachside nostalgia and you have a winning combination. I was a bit hesitant at first as I am not usually a reader of much that contains strands of the supernatural. But do not let that deter you in the least. The sweet love story of a young widow and the husband she lost too early is more than enough to appease non-believers of the other-worldly-ness. Hearing the alternative voice of the couple’s teenage son and how he is coping with the loss of his father adds a bittersweet edge. This was my first book by (local-to-me) author Beth Harbison and I assure you, it certainly will not be the last. Five heart-wrenching stars and a huge thank you to NetGalley, Beth Harbison, and St. Martin’s Press for supplying be with this uncorrected proof in exchange for an honest review. ( )