Enchanted August
A Novel
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
“A charming, thoroughly engrossing novel that’s the next best thing to being there.” —People Magazine
Hopewell Cottage
Little Lost Island, Maine.
Old, pretty cottage to rent on a small island.
Springwater, blueberries, sea glass.
August.
So reads an ad on Lottie Wilkes’ and Rose Arbuthnot’s children’s preschool bulletin board.
When the mothers arrive on the island, they are transformed by the salt air; the breathtaking views; the long, lazy days; and the happy routine of lobster, corn, and cocktails on the wraparound porch. By the time of the late-August blue moon, real life and its complications have finally fallen far, far away. For on this idyllic island they gradually begin to open up: to one another and to the possibilities of lives quite different from the ones they’ve been leading. Change can’t be that hard, can it?
With a cast of endearingly imperfect characters—including indie movie star Caroline Dester and an elderly Beverly Fisher, who is recovering from heartbreaking loss—and set against the beauty of a gorgeous New England summer, Enchanted August is a sparkling summer debut that brilliantly updates the beloved classic The Enchanted April in a novel of love and reawakening that is simply irresistible.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Children's book publisher turned literary agent Bowen bases her smartly crafted beach read debut on the bestselling 1922 novel Enchanted April. The result is an updated vacation and travel treat that's a paean to coastal Maine and island living, and a treatise on loving the one you're with. At the castle-like Hopewell Cottage on aptly named Little Lost Island, Maine, a month-long rental is shared by disaffected Brooklyn friends Lottie and Rose; surly Beverly, whose lover left him filthy rich but inconsolably lonely; and indie film ing nue Caroline, who wants to escape the memory of an Oscar night embarrassment. Robert, the lute-playing owner of the cottage, chooses the disparate foursome with a listing guided by his own "Rule of Robert's Sign" that "those who most needed it would see it" yet secretly hopes the rental will finally lead him to someone with whom he can share both his home and life. The stew of characters is delicious from the start, with Caroline and Beverly finding comfort in one another, Lottie rediscovering her family when lawyer husband Jon and preschooler Ethan reluctantly join her, Rose and writer husband Fred finding that love and family are worth fighting for, and Robert finally getting to tear up the rules. Bowen crafts an old-fashioned love story with humor and heart as well as a lush setting, quirky characters, and a well-paced narrative.
