I remember the turtles in the first book so it was great to have another wonderful description of the work involved in caring for injured ones. A warm and wonderful group of characters whose relationships made a good story with challenging experiences for each of them. ( )

Swimming Lessons continues the saga of Cara, Toy and Little Lovie. Cara and her husband are trying for a baby, but Cara is over 40 years old and is having difficulty. Toy has finished high school and college and supervises the care of loggerheads at the aquarium. Due to her fabulous turtle rescue program additional turtles enter her program and Toy earns a grant. Toy has the chance to connect with Lovie’s father or chose her current life. Mary Alice Monroe skillfully weaves the loggerheads nesting and the “nesting” of Toy and Cara. The men in the story present different personalities ranging from strong, kind, destructive, and weak. Monroe instills a love of the South Carolina beach, but relates the danger of the tropical storms that quickly destroy. Mary Alice Monroe’s books draw me to the beach and to the saga of the loggerheads. ( )

Love this series! I feel like I know the characters very well after finishing this second book in the series. Looking forward to more summer fun with the sea turtles! ( )

Good book

Swimming Lessons by Mary Alice Monroe is a 2007 Mira publication.

As we begin this second book in the “Beach House” series, we find five years have gone by, that Cara and Brett have married and are trying to start a family, which has been a very slow and painful process.

Toy is living in the beach house with her young daughter ‘Little Lovie’, and has a great job working at the South Carolina Aquarium.

Emmi has now divorced, but is taking it very, very hard, acting very impulsively as though she is trying to recapture her youth, and Cara is very concerned.

Flo is still very much a part of their lives, too.

But, they are all very surprised by a special visitor- a sick sea turtle- who arrives just as the turtle season begins.

The ‘Big Girl’ turtle will need a lot of special care, which gives Toy a chance to shine in her career, but she also makes a new friend, who could become a lot more.

‘Swim with a friend, never alone. Confidence is good- but too much can lead to danger.’

However, trouble comes at the most unexpected times, and threatens to turn everything on its ear, as dangerous connections reappear, threatening strong relationships and killing new ones in its wake.

Once more it takes a group of strong women to gather around each other with support, love and friendship to weather the storm.

Mary Alice Monroe is such a terrific writer. Her characters are so realistic, I sometimes find myself wanting to reach through the pages and comfort them or give them a good talking to. I also love how she manages to incorporate aquatic life into her stories, teaching readers about specific animals, while making them as much a character in the story as the humans.

In this installment, some our favorite people lose their hard earned stability and find themselves making poor choices and paying hard consequences. There are misunderstandings and honest mistakes, along the way, in this amazing journey, especially for Toy.

‘Dive in! Enjoy the feel of the water washing over you. Let go. You are swimming now!

This is another very solid story featuring the characters we came to know and love in ‘The Beach House’.

I am very much looking forward to reading ‘Beach House Memories’ and the latest book, ‘Beach House for Rent’.

Just for fun: I found this in the book section of the NYT this morning. Excellent interview with MAM- https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/30/books/review/mary-alice-monroe-interview-beac... ( )