Escaping Celia [Kindle Edition]

T.C. Beacham (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

ESCAPING CELIA is the story of Carly O'Shea, whose long-awaited solo vacation is derailed when her mother, aunt, and wacky cousin Celia invade her Jersey Shore cottage. Stir in a snarly runaway teen, a hot guitar player, a cool Southern boy, a gun-toting socialite, and a wise boardwalk barista—and you've got the kind of family stew that gives everybody heartburn!

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 268 KB
• Print Length: 163 pages
• Publisher: T.C. Beacham (October 5, 2009)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B002RL9KT2
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #201,976 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just chick-lit, January 20, 2010

By 

Steph H. (North Texas) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Escaping Celia (Kindle Edition)

I've always thought 'chick-lit' was such a disparaging tag, usually meant to denote light, meaningless fluff that you'd read and forget a minute after you're done. I've found, however, that a lot of so-called chick-lit sticks with me longer than that. Those are the books that are chick-lit in a good way, meaningFUL rather than meaningLESS, and Escaping Celia is one of those.

Carly just wants to spend some long-awaited time alone, to learn about herself, away from her much-loved husband and kids. Before she even gets to enjoy one day by herself, her mom shows up...her difficult mom. And then her weird aunt and her frustrating cousin Celia. Plenty of neuroses shared, plenty of secrets revealed, plenty of...fun to be shared. You also get your typical quirky residents of the seaside town where they're staying, as well as a runaway teen girl that the women end up taking in.

By the end of the book, we get to the more-or-less expected result, of general family reconciliation and Carly realizing that her expected solo vacation was not entirely ruined. It's the journey to get there that is a delight, well-written and with enough twists and surprises to make it not typical at all.

Don't take what I said above about it being 'meaningful' too wrong -- it's not a 'heavy' book. It is light and very enjoyable; it's just not entirely airheaded fluff, either. It's a good beach read as marketed, it just might stick with you a bit longer than the usual beach read, and it's also good for settling in with during these long winter months. Honestly -- I wish I could have spent the summer with the ladies of Escaping Celia. :)

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Just plain girl fun, March 15, 2010

By 

Annie B "booksrule" (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Escaping Celia (Kindle Edition)

Although the premise of this book is anything but funny--Carly's plan to spend a month alone at the beach becomes a nightmare when the mother, aunt and cousin who seriously get on her nerves invite themselves along--the book had me laughing out loud many, many times. The author has a terrific sense of humor that shines through on practically every page. The book is also well and clearly written and fast paced.

Sure, the book could have had a bit more depth and heft to it, as some of the issues it raises about family are quite serious (which is why I can't quite give it 5 stars), but then it wouldn't have been so much darn fun.

I would highly recommend this book to all my girlfriends. Light, girl fun. Just the thing for a day at the beach!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining read!, March 14, 2010

By 

Stacy L. Daniels (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Escaping Celia (Kindle Edition)

Celia's long awaited solo dream vacation quickly becomes a nightmare when her mother, aunt and cousin descend upon her little seaside cottage on day one. Celia is forced to deal with her intimidating aunt, a passive-aggressive mother who knows how to pile on the guilt, and an irresponsible, overly dramatic cousin, as well as a teenage runaway and assorted other characters. Escaping Celia deals very realistically with family dynamics, family secrets and the family roles we all fall back into playing no matter our age. Plenty of drama, revelations, self-discovery, and character growth. Very well written, although it does contain a lot of profanity, and not just from the teenagers. Overall, a very enjoyable read that evoked many emotions; I laughed (a lot), I cried (some) and I really felt connected to the characters.