Lisa Hudson feels more alive than she has in a long time
after hiring hunky carpenter Mack Whitney to renovate her old Nantucket home.
There's no denying the spark growing between them--despite the fact that Mack
is ten years her junior. But her twentysomething children, Juliet and Theo, on
the island for the summer, worry that the new relationship will only lead to
Lisa's heartbreak.
Yet Juliet and Theo are in for tangled love stories all
their own. When dreamy Ryder Hastings moves to the island to pursue a new
environmental venture, Juliet feels an unwelcome attraction, her rocky romantic
history pushing her to steer clear of love. Theo only has eyes for Mack's
daughter, Beth, with whom he was bound by an unspeakable tragedy in high
school--but can they overcome their past?
By August, when an impending storm threatens to shatter
the peace of the golden island, everyone discovers what they can and cannot
control.
Good book. It started a little bit slow for me, as the
book follows Lisa from her twenties to her forties rather quickly. She married
young to an ambitious man who saw her more as an accessory to his plans rather
than a partner. I was irritated at the way she let Erich and his mother push
her into what they thought she should be. The only time she stood up for what
she wanted was when she wanted children. That was the beginning of the end of
her marriage, as Erich wasn't interested in being a father. He spent all of his
time traveling, leaving her to raise Juliet and Theo on her own. She finally
moved herself and the kids back to Nantucket to be near her parents and where
she could be happy. Eventually, Erich asked for a divorce, because his mistress
was more what he needed than Lisa was.
Lisa took her talent for fashion and got a job at a local
boutique, where she soon made a name for herself. When the owner wanted to
sell, Lisa bought the store, renamed it, and made it her own. Over the next
years, she devoted her time to her children and the store. She had no time or
inclination to date. Juliet and Theo grew up and moved out, making their own
lives. Juliet was in Boston, where she could visit Lisa now and then, but Theo
moved to the west coast and rarely came home. Then a piece of her dining room
ceiling fell on Lisa's head and began a chain of events that changed her life.
This is where the book began to pick up the pace and my
interest. Lisa realized that she had let the house go and that it needed some
major work done. Her friend recommends local contractor Mack Whitney, so she
calls him. She remembers Mack from when his daughter Beth was one of Theo's
friends. Lisa is surprised by the attraction she feels for Mack and stunned to
discover the interest is reciprocated. But Mack is ten years younger than she
is, and Lisa is reluctant to believe that he is genuinely interested in her.
Her ex did a number on her confidence in her appeal. I loved Mack. He was a single
dad with a successful business. He is honest and upfront about his attraction
to Lisa. The difference in their ages makes no difference to the way he feels.
I liked how he made his interest known, overcame Lisa's objections, and had the
patience to wait out her fears. There were some sweet scenes of their early
interactions. Things were heating up between them when family issues threw up
some stumbling blocks.
Lisa's daughter Juliet, a web designer in Boston, fled to
Nantucket after a bad breakup. She wants to spend some time with her mom and get
her life back on an even keel. The timing of her arrival was a bit awkward, as
she nearly caught Lisa and Mack making out like a couple of teenagers. Juliet
is suspicious of Mack and worries that he'll either break her mom's heart or
rob her blind. She's a little distracted by the man she met on the ferry to the
island. Ryder is on Nantucket to open a branch of his environmental group. The
sparks between Juliet and Ryder are immediate and strong.
Meanwhile, Theo barely finished college in California.
His time now is spent bartending and surfing, and playing the field with the
girls. When he is injured while surfing, it serves as a wake-up call for him.
Theo realizes that he's drifting through life, and that isn't what he wants. He
packs his bags and heads home to Nantucket, hoping to find some answers. He
also wonders if he'll see the girl he crushed on in high school. I liked the
way he got involved in the repairs to Lisa's house and the change it made in
his life and his attitude.
At the same time, Mack's daughter Beth returns to
Nantucket. After earning her master's degree, she is looking for a job. A
chance encounter ends up with Beth offered a job with the new environmental
group that is run by Ryder. She is young and enthusiastic and seems to be
tailor-made for the job. Beth is surprised to find her dad at the beginning of
a relationship since it was just the two of them for so long, and she isn't
sure she likes it.
With everyone converging on Nantucket for the summer, lives
get a bit complicated. With their kids underfoot, finding alone time becomes a
challenge for Mack and Lisa. I liked Mack's patience as he gave Lisa the time
she needed to get used to the idea of being with him. He is always kind and
supportive, as well as determined. I liked seeing Lisa rediscover her inner
strength and gain the confidence to go after what she wanted. I enjoyed seeing
Juliet and Beth become friends thanks to their work together at Oceans Matter.
The time on the island gave Juliet a new direction for her life, and I liked
the way that she grabbed it. I appreciated her caution in her relationship with
Ryder. I loved seeing Theo and Beth reconnect. I ached for them and what had
kept them apart in high school, but the wait was good for both of them. I
wanted to shake Beth a few times over her fears about being with Theo at the
same time their parents are seeing each other. She made it more complicated
than it needed to be.
I liked the ending as a big storm hit the island and created
some intense situations for each of the couples. Each pair had something
different to face, and I enjoyed seeing how they met their challenges and
overcame them. Seeing them all together after the storm was over gave a good
picture of the changes each experienced over the summer, as did the epilogue.
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