Suzanne Quinlan has been through a lot lately, so nothing
sounds better than a peaceful winter in her cozy cottage on Summer Island. The
last thing she wants is a massive lifestyle adjustment -- especially when it
comes in the form of an injured Zack Sheppard, who is sullen, angry and
completely dependent on her.
Zack values his independence above all else. But when he
falls down his icy steps, he finds himself with a serious leg injury and in
need of round-the-clock care. The only person available to help is his ex's
best friend, Suzanne. It doesn't hurt that Suzanne is far more attractive than
he ever realized, but he's never been one to settle, and he sure isn't going to
start now.
As Suzanne and Zack grow closer, they both realize
they're in this thing more deeply than they ever thought, and it's started to
cause tension in their small, close-knit community, too. Will Zack be able to
commit this time, and will Suzanne be able to trust him? One thing is certain:
come spring, the lives and loves of Summer Island will never be the same.
Good book. I will say straight off that this is one that
you should read the first two books in the series before reading this book. Those
two books give the backstories that you really need to understand the
relationships in this one.
Zack is a fisherman on Lake Michigan. He is on the water
for weeks or months at a time. He is very much a loner who gets antsy when he's
been onshore for too long. In the first book, The One Who Stays, he and
innkeeper Meg have been an item for several years. He comes and goes, and she
is okay with that - until she isn't. She wants a commitment, and he can't - or
won't - give her one, so she ends their relationship. Zack is clueless and goes
into a deep funk over their breakup. He island-bound during the winter, which
makes him even grumpier. The last straw is when his Aunt Dahlia abandons the
island (and him) for the winter.
Suzanne is Summer Island's florist. She came to the
island several years earlier, trying to escape the grief of losing her husband.
She has been adamant that she had her one chance at love and wasn't interested
in trying again. But in the second book, The Giving Heart, Suzanne meets a man
who shows a great deal of interest in getting to know her better. But she
allows her fears to push him away, and by the time she has overcome those
fears, he has fallen in love with someone else. When this book starts, she too
is in a funk, trying hard not to resent the other couple's happiness and not
having much success at it.
Summer Island is one of those places that becomes very
isolated in the winter. When the lake freezes, the ferry doesn't run until the
spring thaw. The only way on or off the island is by helicopter. Dahlia is on
the last ferry off the island, which creates a big problem when Zack slips on
icy stairs and seriously injures himself. Meg isn't comfortable being the one
to care for him, especially now that she is in a new relationship. Out of their
group, that leaves Suzanne to pick up the slack. It is awkward because Suzanne
has made no secret of her disapproval of Zack and the way he treated Meg. However,
as a former nurse, she can't just walk away, especially when the injury leaves
Zack with a paralyzed right leg.
I enjoyed seeing the development of the relationship
between Suzanne and Zack. Things get off to a rough start. Zack is depressed
because his injury likely means the end of his fishing career, and he has no
idea what else he would do. Suzanne isn't happy about caring for the surly
fisherman but feels she owes it to her friends, Meg and Dahlia. Zack is a real
pain until Suzanne lays down the law to him. She understands why he's down, but
she's not going to let him lay around like a lump all winter. Somehow she
manages to convince him to let her work a little physical therapy on him. At
the same time, being stuck together in the same house day in and day out, the
antagonism between them begins to fade.
I liked seeing Zack and Suzanne get to know each other.
It was fun to see them start to relax enough to tease each other over music and
movies. I also enjoyed seeing how Suzanne worked to motivate Zack to give the
PT a chance. There were a few rough patches, especially when Zack's fears about
his future would overwhelm him, but Suzanne usually found a way to pull him out
of it. What neither expected were the sparks of attraction that flared between them.
Suzanne was horrified at first. Getting involved with her
best friend's ex felt utterly wrong, but she couldn't deny the way he made her feel.
Zack was simply flabbergasted to discover that being around Suzanne helped ease
his fears about his future. While any thoughts of settling down with Meg used
to send him running for his boat, the idea of staying with Suzanne was
curiously appealing. I hurt for them both when Suzanne's fears of what the
future might hold made her push Zack away. It took an emotionally devastating
event and advice from her friend Dahlia for her to realize that she wanted to
keep their love. Zack also had a startling epiphany the first time he went back
out on his boat. I loved that it was Suzanne that felt like home, not his boat.
His big moment on the street of the town was sweet and romantic and entirely
unlike him.
There was also a secondary story going on with Dahlia.
Her departure from the island and refusal to come back when her nephew was
injured was very out of character. Zack always seemed to be the center of her
life, and to abandon him now felt off. It was hard for Zack, Suzanne, and Meg to
understand it. The glimpses into her past gave a better understanding of her
actions. There was an emotional twist in her story that I didn't see coming
until just before the big reveal.
No comments:
Post a Comment