Autumn by the Sea + Giveaway

random retro read

Abandoned as a toddler, Sydney Rose has spent years wondering who she really is, homesick for a life she’s never lived. When a private investigator crashes into her world, she finds herself heading to a tiny seaside town in Maine to meet a woman named Maggie, who’s searching for the granddaughter she lost decades ago.

If not for Maggie, Neil MacKean might still be back in Scotland, bereft and alone. Instead, he has a full life in Muir Harbor with an adopted family he loves and a blueberry farm to run. But the farm is struggling and strange occurrences have him concerned. Worse, Maggie’s once again caught up in the past, convinced she’s finally found her long-lost granddaughter.

Worried for Maggie, Neil is suspicious of the city girl who shows up at the farm. But there’s something about Sydney that tugs on him, drawing out secrets he never meant to share. While Neil grapples with the future of the farm, Sydney wrestles with a past that’s messier than ever. Together, they’re pulled into a mystery complete with a centuries-old legend, unexpected danger . . . and a love as deep and wild as the sea.

My Review:

published in 2021

This came up on someone’s bingo card and reminded me that I have the third book left to read in this series (Muir Harbor.) But then I remembered how fantastic this first book is so I thought I’d revisit it before finally reading ‘Wedding at Sea.’ Spoiler alert: it was just as good the second time around!

Seriously the most eye-popping meet cute I’ve ever read!!!! Funny and cringy and blush worthy. Bwahahahaha! 

And Tagg just keeps on giving all the way through to the very end. I mean, doesn’t that cover set the tone for autumnal reading? Cue the cozy fire and a cuppa of your choice (I’ll make mine hot cocoa with marshmallows, please) and be prepared to lose yourself in small town Maine. Blueberry farming no less!!! I’ve been in love with blueberry harvesting ever since I read Blueberries for Sal way back when…and then kept on reading it to my own daughter and then all my kindergarteners when I was a school librarian. Sometimes old-fashioned simplicity is best…but I digress.

Love, love, love these characters! Their farm! the small town! The mysteries (and, yes, some aren’t explained…yet.) Tagg has the ability to transform a reader into a participant and I really felt like I was right there in Muir Harbor, experiencing it all from the fresh eyes of one very confused, warily hopeful Sydney. And I was emotionally invested in this heroine from the very nail-biter of a first chapter. 

Sydney’s past has always been a mystery and the hope that she might find answers in this quaint New England town is…well, almost too much to hope for! 🙂 

“I think Maggie would say that’s what love does. It keeps hoping even when the answers don’t come easily. It invites strangers in. It doesn’t give up. Love keeps searching.” (p 165)

Who is Maggie, you ask? The wisest most open-hearted woman on the planet — and possibly, maybe, Sydney’s grandmother. But there are three other grandchildren who are all kinds of skeptical about that. This isn’t their first rodeo when it comes to long lost heirs. And Neil in particular has his dander up.

Cue the fireworks, lightning bolts and every other kind of pyrotechnics you can think of ’cause Sydney and Neil have chemistry! And watching their barriers crumble while they sizzle their way to each other makes for one toe-curling reading extravaganza.

Their romance is all wrapped up in multiple mysteries — not the high-octane suspense kind though. More questions without answers. Perplexing occurrences. And family history conundrums. Some of them are answered in this book. Others are still a big ‘?’ so I’m anxiously keeping an eye out for ‘A Seaside Wonder’, the second book in the Muir Harbor series to release…gah, I don’t know when — it’s another mystery!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

US –  paperback or ebook – winner’s choice 

Canada – paperback, ebook or audio — winner’s choice

International – ebook if you have a US Kindle account

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  Autumn by the Sea, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday October 17 2026.

32 thoughts on “Autumn by the Sea + Giveaway”

  1. Beautiful cover! Sounds like a fun read. Make my drink hot cocoa with a peppermint stick, please. Kathleen ~ Lane Hill House lanehillhouse(at)gmail(dot)com

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  5. Oh my goodness! This sounds amazing. I have really liked the Melissa Tagg books I’ve read. This one sounds fabulous! Thank you.

    dmandres5 at gmail dot com

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  6. Yes, such a beautiful cover! If not for the fact that I pray to never move again, I could see me living there very contently. AUTUMN BY THE SEA sounds like an amazing story and one I know I’d love reading. I’d need to get my supplies all ready because it sounds like a can’t put down book.

    Thank you so much for the chance to win a copy!

    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  7. I loved Autmn by the Sea, and the whole series really. I’m all caught up on Tagg’s books and waiting for a new one. I think I saw online she said she won’t have another one out for a while…

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  8. Still can’t post a comment with my name instead of my email, but this’ll have to do til I can fix it. Not an entry, just wanted to say how much I loved this series. Does anyone know if Melissa Tagg quit writing? She hasn’t had a new book out in quite some time & she’s such a good author!

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  11. This book is one of the best books I have ever read. It is one that I would like to add to my paperback collection and pass around to my family, so I would love to be entered into the giveaway. Thank you so much, Kav!

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  12. Melissa Tagg was one of my first read to zero authors, love all her books! I think Maple Valley book 3 was her work in progress. I love to reread prior books in a series like this one before reading the newest one too.
    Don’t enter me in the giveaway, this series is on my keeper shelf😊. Happy Reading!

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    1. Yay! Happy to hear you love it too. You know, I was just going to reread this first one and then jump right into the third which has been languishing on my TBR for way too long but then I remembered that adorable meet-cute in the second book and how truly wonderful ‘A Seaside Wonder’ is so now I’m going to read it again too. 🙂 And then, for sure it will be the third books turn! Happy Reading, Sandy!

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