50 Harbor Street by Debbie Macomber
Have you ever lived/experienced small town life? Did living in a small town remind you of Mayberry on the Andy Griffith Show?
This book had a nice, small-town feel. There were a lot of characters with problems. Reading this novel reminded me of watching a soap opera. The story focused on Olivia, the judge of Cedar Cove, and her newly-wedded life with her husband, Jack. They suffer from a traumatic event. Grace also has problems with her love life since Cliff, her love interest, ignores her, and appears unable to forgive her for her indiscretion. Then there’s Linette, a teen-aged girl who has a huge crush on her boyfriend, Anson. Anson is from the wrong side of the tracks, from the wrong side of the law, and she’s been forbidden to see him. There’s also Cecilia, who is pregnant. She’s worried about this pregnancy because her first child (born in a previous book) only lived a short time. Her first baby died from a heart ailment and she’s worried about the life of her second child. Her husband, Ian, is in the military and it’s hard for her to go through this pregnancy while her husband is at sea. However, she had a nice network of military wives to which she goes to for strength during her pregnancy.
Then there’s Justine and her husband Seth who own the Lighthouse Restaurant. The Lighthouse Restaurant is a popular seafood place in Cedar Cove. MaryEllen is also going through a difficult pregnancy and her husband Jon is struggling to help her. They have a two-year old daughter, Katie. Needing assistance, MaryEllen tries to convince Jon to reach out to his family, but, he can’t forgive his family for lying against him, forcing him to go to prison for a crime he did not commit.
In the small town of Cedar Cove, a lot of the residents know one another. The setting reminded me a Mayberry on the Andy Griffith Show. This book had a huge cast of characters. I can understand why it was made into a Hallmark Channel TV series. I’ve never watched it, though. I’ve been meaning to give it a try, but, time has just gotten away with me.
Have you ever lived in a small town where a lot of the residents knew one another? Do you like small-town life?
While I haven’t read too many of Debbie Macomber’s books, I do enjoy them. Someday, when I have time, I’m going to start reading them all one by one, hopefully in the correct order. That should keep me busy for a few, huh?
Just wanted to say that I appreciate how you encourage the readers of your blog to participate by asking questions in your posts. I also appreciate that you include just enough in your reviews of books so as not to give storylines away. Some other sides have reviews were after reading, I don’t need to read the book.
Lord’s blessings!
Hi Mary
So glad to see that you’re reading and enjoying my blog! I seem to get more interaction from people on Facebook! I don’t blog as much as I used to! I’d love to, but, time is just so precious nowadays, kinda hard to do everything that I want to do!
If interested, please “like” my page on Facebook! I’m still blogging when I can, but, I’m also asking questions (somewhat daily) on my Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cecelia-Dowdy-Christian-Fiction-Author/313045159788?ref=hl
Cecelia,
You are so right about it reminding you of a soap opera. The show is the same way. I watched 4 shows of the first season and quit. Way to much drama for me. I do love Debbie Macomber ‘ s Mrs. Miracle, Call Me Mrs . Miracle and nd Mr. Miracle. Good books and good movies. I live in a very small town. Total population is 712. We don’t all know each other like we used to, some have moved to other towns and we got new residents. I am kind of thankful but kind of sad. When I was younger everyone knew everyone and their business, which could be bad or good. Now someone asks of do you know so and so from Cleveland and I’m like nope. But it seems if you don’t go to the local 3 bars you won’t know anyone and everyone’s business. Which is ok with me since I am not a drinker or a bar person.
Hi, Sara
Thanks so much for visiting my blog and for leaving your comment. The population in my town is about 23,000. So, I guess my town is not considered small. I think some people in the old part of town, called Old Greenbelt, might know each other? When I go to Old Greenbelt, it looks like a small town where everybody knows each other.
Greenbelt doesn’t really have any bars. It just has some restaurants that serve alcohol. Yes, I do drink, but, it’s usually a glass of wine in my house. I haven’t been to a bar in decades. I could imagine people talking, getting to know one another’s business, in a bar, especially in a small town.
I purchased Cedar Cove seasons 1 and 2 so that I could catch up on the series. I’d never watched it. I didn’t really start getting into the stories and characters until the end of the first season.
I’m currently on episode 5 if the second season. I think the reason why I’m so fixated on watching the entire series, and comparing them to to the books, is because I dream about seeing my own stories on the TV screen (or movie screen) in the future. I’ve had readers to compare my writing to Debbie’s and I just wish that I could make the $$$ that she’s making from her writing so that I can quit my day job! 🙂
I think it’d be nice to live in a small town where everybody knows each other. But, it could also be a problem, too. Sometimes, you just want to be left alone and you don’t want a lot of people knowing all of your business! LOL!