Contemporary Romance published by Montlake 01 May 21
This is a typical family romance very much in the author’s style, even though it is a new beach town instead of the usual one in Ms. Stewart’s books. Widowed Maggie decides to go to her 40th reunion and plunges back into old friendships and a romance turned bad. Long-held secrets bubble up and Maggie begins to evaluate her familial relationships as well as decisions from her past that come back to haunt her.
There are fun moments between the three friends who reconnect over alcohol and food, and they remind me in many ways of interacting with my own friends. The three are all at different crossroads when the story begins, and they walk their own paths and evolve in fun and interesting ways. Of course, it’s clear that Brett, the town sheriff, and Maggie have an old failed romance and, perhaps despite Maggie’s happy marriage and Brett’s multiple failed ones, the flame still flickers between them. Is this a second chance to fix the mistakes of the past and seek a new and different happiness?
I enjoy Ms. Stewart’s style and overlook some of the criticisms and the slower pace of her stories, because every so often a real emotional gem emerges. This one is not that emotional gem, but it is an enjoyable book all the same.
Grade: C
Summary:
An endearing novel of friendship, forgiveness, and second chances by New York Times bestselling author Mariah Stewart.
It was a lifetime ago that recently widowed Maggie Flynn was in Wyndham Beach. Now, on the occasion of her fortieth high school reunion, she returns to her hometown on the Massachusetts coast, picking up right where she left off with dear friends Lydia and Emma. But seeing Brett Crawford again stirs other emotions. Once, they were the town’s golden couple destined for one another. He shared Maggie’s dreams—and eventually, a shattering secret that drove them apart.
Buying her old family home and resettling in Wyndham Beach means a chance to start over for Maggie and her two daughters, but it also means facing her rekindled feelings for her first love and finally confronting—and embracing—the past in ways she never thought possible. Maggie won’t be alone. With her family and friends around her, she can weather this stormy turning point in her life and open her heart to the future. As for that dream shared and lost years ago? If Maggie can forgive herself, it still might come true.
Read an excerpt.
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