One Perfect Summer - Brenda Novak (Mira - Apr 2020)

Some families we're born into

Some we find for ourselves

When Serenity Alston swabbed her cheek for 23andMe, she joked about uncovering some dark ancestral scandal. The last thing she expected was to discover two half-sisters she didn't know existed. Suddenly, everything about her loving family is drawn into question. And meeting these newfound sisters might be the only way to get answers.

The women decide to dig into the mystery together at Serenity's family cabin in Lake Tahoe. With Reagan navigating romantic politics at work and Lorelei staring down the collapse of her marriage, all three women are converging at a crossroads in their lives. Before the summer is over, they'll have to confront the past and determine how to move forward when everything they previously thought to be true was a lie. But any future is easier to face with family by your side.

Good story about finding unexpected family. Serenity is a true-crime writer who took a DNA test as research for her book. She never expected to find out that she had two half-sisters. Curious about their connection, and not ready to confront her parents with the knowledge, Serenity invites Reagan and Lorelei to her cabin in Lake Tahoe. There they will get to know each other and try to find out the truth. Each woman has more than her heritage on her mind, and they all have big decisions to make about their futures.

Serenity discovered that her husband, Sean, was dealing in child pornography. After turning him in, and divorcing him, she spent months buried in his trial. It was a particularly nasty one that subjected her to ridicule and worse, especially from Sean's family. The stress affected her ability to write, and she is way behind the deadline for her next book. She hopes that time at the lake will help jump start her writing.

Reagan feels overwhelming guilt over her relationship with her married boss. It went further than she expected, and now she doesn't want to face him again. Meeting two previously unknown sisters gives her a way to put some distance between herself and Drew while she decides what to do.

Lorelei's life is in turmoil. Shortly before she left, Lorelei found out that her husband, Mark, was having an affair with her best friend. Now Francine is pregnant, and Mark thinks it shouldn't make any difference to their marriage. But Lorelei's feelings of betrayal make her unable to contemplate a future with either of them in her life. The bright spot in her life is her daughter Lucy.

I liked watching the development of the relationships among the three sisters. There is tension at the beginning, as all three are wary of what they might find out. There is also some initial tension between Reagan and Lorelei. Lorelei doesn't react well to Reagan's "other woman" status, being on the wronged wife side of the issue in her own marriage. I liked how they all opened up and shared their lives without judging each other. The planned one week visit turned into the whole summer as each of the women uses the time to make decisions about their futures. I liked the way that they supported each other, sometimes with advice and sometimes just by being there.

Each of the sisters also has decisions to make on the romantic front. Serenity's sort-of brother-in-law stood with her during the trial, alienating him from the family that took him in when he was young. Sawyer made his admiration of Serenity clear, as well as his attraction to her. Serenity feels the sparks herself but doesn't want to be responsible for ruining his relationship with the only family he has. I liked Sawyer's patience as Serenity worked through her fears.

Reagan put distance between herself and Drew, not trusting that she could resist giving in again. Complications arise, making that separation a little more problematic. A recent acquaintance stays in touch by text, making his interest in Reagan clear. I liked their texted conversations, as Rally offers his friendship and support.

Lorelei faces the end of her marriage and wonders if she is partly to blame. Her self-confidence has taken a hit. She connects with a handsome neighbor, whose attentions are a balm to her spirit. Meanwhile, her husband indicates his desire to repair their marriage, but Lorelei is suspicious of his sincerity. I liked seeing Lorelei's growth as she dealt with all the uncertainties of her future, and drew strength from the support of her sisters.

The DNA storyline was interesting, though it sometimes faded into the background. The thought of discovering unknown family through such a random event is an intriguing one. Each of the women had specific reasons for taking the test. Serenity's was simple research that turned into a mystery to be solved. She's somewhat torn about the search as she doesn't know what it would do to her family. Reagan is the daughter of a workaholic, emotionally distant mother. Her father walked out when Reagan was little. Her interest is in possibly finding her father. For Lorelei, she simply wanted to see if she had any family. She was discovered wandering alone as a toddler, and no family was found. She grew up in the foster system, always wanting a family of her own. Their attempts to discover the truth were sometimes convoluted when direct and honest conversation would have been more productive. The revelation at the end was an unexpected twist.

The three brothers who were the women's neighbors were interesting. Finn was the one we saw most of, with his interest in Lorelei. I was never quite sure how deep his interest went, but I liked his steady friendship and support for her. There wasn't much about Nolan, but I got the feeling he might have an interesting back story. My heart broke for Davis. His brothers brought him to the lake house to recover from a horrific motorcycle accident. He lost an arm and is having trouble dealing with the change to his life. I enjoyed seeing how each of the women influenced him in some way. I would love to see the men get HEA's of their own.

The Marine's Road Home - Brenda Harlen (HSE #2781 - Aug 2020)

Series: Match Made in Haven (Book 8)

His travels are over, but his journey is just beginning…

It takes a different kind of courage to open up to love.

An explosion ended Jake Kelly’s military career. Now his days are spent alone on his ranch, and his nights are spent keeping his PTSD at bay. But the former Marine’s efforts to keep the beautiful local bartender at a distance are thwarted by his canine companion. Every time he turns around, Molly is racing off to the Circle G looking for Skylar Gilmore. Maybe the dog knows that two hearts are better than one?

Very good book. Jake came to Haven looking for peace and a way to get his life back on track after leaving the Marines. We first see him when he walks into Digger's Bar and orders a beer. Sky is the bartender, and she attempts to make conversation with him, but Jake isn't cooperating. He bluntly tells her that he's "not here for conversation," so she leaves him alone. But he made an impression on her, and she keeps an eye on him as he drinks his beer and leaves.

Sky is a friendly, kind, and compassionate woman. Besides a couple of shifts she works at Digger's, she also works at her family's store and is a counselor at the high school and the local women's shelter. She is also on a relationship hiatus, as all of her previous relationships have ended badly. But there is something about Jake that stirs her up.

I enjoyed watching the relationship between Jake and Sky develop. It started very slowly. Jake comes into the bar at the same time every Wednesday night, drinks one beer, and leaves. Sky never gives up on him and continues to talk to him until he finally talks back a little. The sparks are there, though Jake is determined to ignore them. He does pretty well until the day he finds her stranded on the side of the road. The sparks burst into flame, and they spend some very satisfying time together. But Jake is so freaked out by how right it felt to be with Sky that he behaved like a jerk to her. Fortunately, he apologized and explained, and they continued to spend time together.

I hurt for Jake because of his struggles. He was medically retired because of the injuries he received during the attack that also killed most of his team. Besides his PTSD, he also suffers from survivor's guilt. He feels that he's too broken to be suitable for anyone. He moved to Haven to get away from his family after a flashback incident. Jake feels like a failure when he compares himself to his older brother, Luke. Those feelings aren't helped by their father, a retired Marine who continually harps on Jake's lack of a plan for his future and his "quitting." Jake's best friend is his dog, Molly, who helps ground him during his episodes. Molly takes a liking to Sky, and there are some fun parts involving the three of them.

The more time that they spent together, the closer Jake and Sky grew. I loved how Sky gave Jake the space that he wanted by not pestering him to talk about his experiences or feelings. Jake fought hard against his feelings for her, convinced that he would only hurt her if he tried for something deeper. Meanwhile, Sky realized that she had fallen hard for Jake, and was looking at likely having her heart broken. There is an emotional and heart-wrenching confrontation between them when she calls him out on his refusal to take a chance on them. Jake gets some advice and help from an unexpected source, after a heart-to-heart that opens his eyes to what he needs to do.

I hurt for Sky during this time as she tried to deal with Jake's rejection and disappearance. There's a sweet conversation between Sky and her younger sister, Ashley, that helps her to feel a little better. The ending was great as Jake put his heart on the line spectacularly and romantically.

There were also some emotional moments as we get a peek into Sky's professional life. Her actions regarding Ashley's friend Chloe, as well as Chloe's sister Jodie, showed the depth of her commitment to helping young people. I also liked the way that Sky helped her former high school classmate escape from her situation. Both incidents demonstrated Sky's determination and compassion.