by Heidi Hostetter
Publisher: Bookouture
Pages: 285
Format: eARC
Buy the Book: Amazon
Goodreads: When the Bennett family arrive at the shore house to spend the summer together, they bring more baggage than just suitcases…
When Kaye Bennett, matriarch of the Bennett family, summons her adult children to the shore house, she anticipates a vacation full of nostalgia. It’s a chance to relive the carefree joy of summers past: basking in the hot sun, cooling off in the surf and enjoying long, relaxing evenings watching fireflies on the deck. But when Kaye’s son and daughter arrive, late and uncooperative, it becomes clear the family desperately need to reconnect.
Kaye and her daughter Stacy have been quietly at odds for years and resentment has grown around words unsaid. Faced with spending the summer months in such close quarters, Kaye is determined to remind Stacy of happier times and why she once loved their beautiful beachside home.
But both Kaye and Stacy are holding something back… and only when a heart-stopping moment on the beach puts what Stacy most loves at risk are the two women finally able to set free the secrets in their shared past.
Kritters Thoughts: Kaye Bennett is ready for her family to reunite at their house on the shore and celebrate a summer and take it back to yesteryears when life felt easier. Kaye has a husband who suffered a heart attack three years ago and she is waiting for the other shoe to drop. She has two children who have been distant from her for one reason or another and she thinks a summer at the shore can solve everything.
I love a story that uses the "band getting together" theme and the reader wonders how all the characters will react when they get back together and they have a moment to bring up the past and confront it. Stacy is the elder sibling and has been holding onto a lot of feelings from the past and I found myself really feeling a camaraderie with this character. The feelings she had towards her mom and her parents were things that I have felt, so I really enjoyed reading her side of things.
The younger sibling, Brad, has had issues of his own and I wondered if my sister could agree with him and his feelings in this family. Brad's girlfriend was great comic relief and I loved the moments where she was possibly poking Kaye's buttons.
This was a great family story where many readers could relate to one or more of the characters and maybe see their family reflected in this story. These are the perfect books to curl up with during a summer weekend and nod your head or shake your head at how eerily close they are to the family you are in!
Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel
Ebook 2020 Challenge: 67 out of 100
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of this book free of charge from Bookouture. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
I liked the family saga which will have overtones for all families! and that laid back summer feel not something we have here at all as this holidaying over a period is non existent. I enjoyed that.
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