BOOK REVIEW: Summer's Child by Luanne Rice

THERE'S A PLACE IN OUR HEARTS RESERVED FOR MIRACLES...
From Luanne Rice, the celebrated author of"Beach Girls" and many other" New York Times "bestsellers, comes this powerful novel of a mystery, a love affair, and a bond that cannot be broken set in a seaside town where miracles are made..."
"On the first day of summer, Mara Jameson went out to water her garden-and was never seen again. Years after her disappearance, no one could forget the expectant mother whose glowing smile had captured the heart of everyone who'd known her: Maeve Jameson, still mourning the loss of a granddaughter she had struggled to protect...Patrick Murphy, a dogged police detective obsessed with a vanished woman...and Lily Malone, drawn to the rugged beauty of the Nova Scotia coast and its promise of a new life.
Here Lily hopes to raise her nine-year-old daughter, Rose, far from the pain and loss of the past. Here she will meet a gifted scientist, Liam Neill, whose life is on a similar trajectory from heartbreak to hope. And before the season is over, Lily will find the magic that exists in people we love the best...the everyday miracles that can make the extraordinary happen anywhere.

I liked this book.  I really did...mostly.  'Summer's Child' by Luanne Rice was an interesting fast read.  While I would initially classify the novel as chick lit it also had a touch of intrigue and a touch of romance. 

Set it present day Canada in Cape Hawk, the end of the earth, Lily and her daughter Rose have made their lives there.  As Marissa and her daughter Jennifer arrive things are changing for Rose as she anticipates a major surgery for her heart defects.  Marissa and Jennifer are on the run, so to speak, to escape a husband/step-dad that terrorized them.  A story that Lily understands as she was hiding out when she arrived very pregnant with Rose.  With the support of the Nanouk Girls of the Frozen North Lily had carved a support system of friends for herself and Rose. Marissa and Jennifer are embraced by these same women as their own as well.

The story flowed well and the characters were 'mostly' believable.  Marissa trusted Lily and the Nanouk girls with her own secrets.  I have a hard time believing in a character that has run away from what Marissa has run from and suddenly surrounded by other women she tells them things about her situation.  Having gone so far as to change names and even birthdays I don't see some of those secrets start to unravel on a first meeting.  The mystery twist I figured out before it was revealed but it wasn't contrived or followed a 'formula' so that does not detract from the story for me.  I did feel the romance was a bit contrived however.  I am interested in getting my hands on the next book with these characters to see how it all plays out.

I rated this book 4 stars because there was some parts that felt contrived and and weren't completely believable.  I enjoyed this book however and would read it again.

Goodreads     Amazon     Barnes & Noble

About Luanne Rice

Luanne Rice is the New York Times bestselling author of thirty-two novels including THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF SISTERS, her first YA novel. Five of her books have been made into movies and mini-series, many have been New York Times bestsellers and two of her pieces have been featured in off-Broadway theatre productions. She divides her time between New York City and the Connecticut shoreline.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | Goodreads

Why, Hello Summer

I've been encouraged/challenged by my good friend over at A Simply Enchanted Life to write a week in review post.  However a title about week in review just doesn't 'fit' for how I tend to write stuff.  I meant to sit down and write this last night but I was exhausted.  Summer has arrived here in Bolivar and I hope it sticks around while keeping the temperatures manageable.  Probably too much wishful thinking in that last sentence!

As most of you know I live in an apartment though not really a 'complex'.  There are a total of 8 apartments in two buildings.  The one I am in is actually the downstairs of the old house that was converted then added on to.  In the summer I am blessed with concrete walls which keeps my place cooler without having to run the air conditioning constantly.  In the winter I am cursed to have concrete walls as it takes so much to ever not be a block of ice.  I am blessed with amazing neighbors (except for the apartments next door as no one lives there currently but I have high hopes that whomever moves in will fit with the rest of our group.)  Yesterday the back neighbors and I met outside with all the neighborhood kids to play sidewalk chalk, ride bikes and scooters, and of course water balloons.  Summer can't arrive without some sort of water fight.

 The rules were simple...I thought.  Kids can only throw at kids.  Adults could only throw at kids.  In theory the adults were saved from getting wet.  Somehow it really didn't work that way.  The girl child and I made cupcakes and it was her first time using the mixer by herself - and she did amazing!  And then I made two of my special pizza's for everyone.  (Chicken Spinach (fresh only) Alfredo Pizza.  I realized once it was too late that I had some bacon in the freezer I could have added.  It was yummy anyway :D  I forgot to grab a picture at the time but I did get a picture of the aftermath. . .

All in all, a little bit of sunburn and total exhuastion later it was an amazing start to summer!  The week leading up to this was busy with late nights at The Day Job and some situations that will take time to figure out.  The normal running back and forth to Stockton and paperwork. . . the reason for my existence. And today I must add a shout out to my parents as they celebrate their 40th Wedding Anniversary.  Love ya Ma and Pa!