REVIEW: THE DENIM BLUE SEA, BY JOANNE DEMAIO

 

 

As we gather in Stony Point, Connecticut, with the characters of The Denim Blue Sea, we are reminded of their histories, along with their secrets and flaws. There will be a wedding between two beloved residents of the community: Maris Carrington, a denim designer, and Jason Barlow, an architect who renovates cottages. Friends and family from all around will come together for the event.

As we watch the friends gather, like Kyle and Lauren, and Matt and Eva, we see the connections between them and feel the camaraderie…and as we follow them through the days at the beach, we can almost literally smell the sweet salt air.

Like the waves beneath the sea, there is an undercurrent of secrets, some of which will surface. Will the friendships survive? Will each of them find a way to repair the damage of the past?

I enjoyed Maris, from a previous book, and love how she had found her sister Eva. Elsa, the aunt from Italy, brings a wonderful sense of the lost mother, just in time for the wedding.

Central to the community and the lives of the friends is Foley’s, the battered up beach shack where they all convened as teenagers; it brought some of my own memories to light. Mine were not on a beach, but another kind of place where everyone gathered…those are the moments that help us remember who we are.

At the heart of some of the angst, as well as some of the connections, is Jason’s brother, Neil, who died too soon. His legacy includes those he left behind, and an old battered journal that contains some secrets of its own. Will his friends be able to move beyond the pain? Will Jason find creative energy within the pages of the journal as he begins a very special project?

I love how the author brings us right into the setting until we can smell the sweet salt air, the scent of the hydrangeas, and see the seashells they gather. I can feel the friendship, too, and the pain of conflicts that test the strength of their bonds. Another wonderful and memorable story that earned 5 stars.

SERENDIPITOUS FRIDAY: BOOK BEGINNINGS/FRIDAY 56 – “THE DENIM BLUE SEA”

Welcome to some bookish fun today as we share Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and as we showcase The Friday 56 with Freda’s Voice.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Then give us the title of the book, so others can add it to their lists!

If you have been wanting to participate, but haven’t yet tried, now is the time!

What better way to spend a Friday?

Today I am featuring a review book from a favorite author of mine.  The Denim Blue Sea, by Joanne DeMaio.

 

 

 

Beginning:  They stand at the edge of Long Island Sound, as close to the sea as they can get.  The setting sun sinks below the horizon while lazy breaking waves reach for their feet.

“There’s one.”  Eva points further down the beach where the twilight sky casts a golden hue on the sand.  “It’s a conch shell.”  She hurries over, dips the shell in the gentle sea for a rinse and holds it out to Maris.  “I’ll spray-paint some of them silver so they glimmer with the flowers.”

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56:  “I’m on your team,” Maris says into Jason’s ear when she moves behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist.  “Dibs.”

But something in Kyle’s voice gets Jason’s attention instead.  He’s not sure what it is exactly, but it’s enough for him to look over at Kyle and lose the pinballs in play.

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Blurb:  During two August weeks, denim designer Maris Carrington and coastal architect Jason Barlow prepare for their much-anticipated wedding. Guests arrive early, turning keys in charming cottage doors to begin their New England summer escape. The wedding is a reason for old friends to gather again; to meet in their shabby beach hangout and get the jukebox cranking; to walk that weathered boardwalk beneath a starry sky; to breathe the sweet salt air. “Cures what ails you,” one of the friends, Neil, always said long before his life was sadly claimed. But his legacy was not.

When Maris discovers Neil’s long-lost journal, its passages reveal a heartbreaking secret. Can truths be found within its timeworn pages? Can this leather-bound journal unite the friends as their lives begin to fray? A bittersweet family reunion, a surprising encounter from a devastating accident, a shocking confession leaving one marriage shattered–all will test the once close-knit circle. Suddenly this safe haven on the tranquil Connecticut shoreline churns with emotional turmoil, threatening even the beach wedding just days before it is to happen.

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What do you think?  Do the excerpts pique your interest?  I hope you’ll share your own.

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