Lessons at the School by the Sea

The Third School by the Sea Novel (Little School by the Sea, Book 3)

By: Jenny Colgan

Narrated by: Alex Tregear

The summer holiday brings new passion and new challenges in the enchanting third book of Jenny Colgan’s utterly delightful School by the Sea series, set at a girls’ boarding school in Cornwall.

School is out, following a bit of saucy scandal at Downey House...

Beloved high school teacher Maggie Adair had been comfortably, if somewhat ambivalently, engaged to her dependable long-distance boyfriend Stan. But in the heat of summer, Maggie’s attraction to her colleague David McDonald has caught fire. Now both are facing an uncertain future as they try to figure out how to stay committed to their careers—and each other.

Meanwhile, the girls of Downey House—mercurial Fliss, glamorous Alice, and shy, hard-working Simone—have had long summers at home, which weren’t quite the respite they had been hoping for. But the new school year is thankfully here, and it will bring new pupils and lots of fresh challenges for students and teachers alike at the school by the sea.

©2023 Jenny Colgan (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Great series

I love these books, this whole series is wonderful. Interesting true life characters that we care about and get invested in what happens to them. 

I can’t believe Jenny is doing this to us!!

Loved the book, but I can’t believe Jenny is leaving us hanging like this! I am really hoping in the next installment as soon

Number 3

The story goes on…..
Performance as good as ever.
Enjoyable love and adventure! On to book number 4!

Wanted to love it

I really enjoy Jenny’s Colgan’s books and have listened to many of them. This one missed the mark for me.

I did not enjoy the narrator and was disappointed that they changed narrators for the series. This was made worse by the fact that it seems like the narrator did not listen to the previous two books so the pronunciations and persona of the people was different than what was established before.

I stay engaged with the story but it seemed to drag on a little bit and miss the mark on the tension between Maggie and David. I enjoyed both of their stories but it left me wanting more throughout the book.

The cliffhanger ending was abrupt and left a bad taste in my mouth. I like this series and will listen to the next book, but hope it is better.

Writer dropped the ball on details

Jenny changed some details in the story, like daniel’s wife was Penny, now Susie. Then Maggie’s hair was dark and now it’s red. It’s like she forgot and didn’t care to research it.

Enjoyed!

Jenny Colgan’s books are my guilty pleasure. I reward myself when I have to do chores or walk the dog. Looking forward to the next one!

Could not put it down

I have loved all of Jenny’s stories.
Wonderful story
Can’t wait for the sequel!
She left me needing to know what happens next

Why Jenny why?!

I’m only on Chapter 7 but I’m really upset and disappointed. Jenny changed details in the book and it’s very clear either she or the editors cared so little, they didn’t change them back! Daniel’s wife is now Susie and Maggie’s hair is now red instead of black. Oh and Simone’s last name isn’t Kardashian any longer. This and book 4 in this series are my last two Jenny Colgan’s book; I’ve read all the rest. If this had been the first series I read, because of the obvious changes, I wouldn’t read anymore. Whether it’s Jenny or not who made the changes, it screams carelessness and indifference and, as a fan, I can no longer recommend her books. Someone needs to put a note out explaining this.

Confused

Struggling with the fact that attention to details were missed. Changed Simone's last name, color of Maggie's hair and Daniel's wife's name.

Different narrator (bad decision for a series)

I've been waiting months for this book, and currently 10 chapters in. There is a different atmosphere with the narrator. Not to say the narration is bad, just different and doesn't seem to portray the personalities I was used to. I do wish the new narrator listened to the first 2 books, to get a grasp of the previous personalities and pronunciations.