MIRA | August 25, 2015 | Contemporary Romance
Lakeshore Chronicals, book 11
★★★★
SOURCE: TLC BOOK TOURS
#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs sweeps readers away to a sun-drenched summer on the shores of Willow Lake in a stunning tale of the delicate ties that bind a family together… and the secrets that tear them apart…
When caregiver Faith McCallum arrives at the enchanted, lakeside estate of Avalon's renowned Bellamy family, she's intent on rebuilding her shattered life and giving her two daughters a chance at a better future. But she faces a formidable challenge in the form of her stubborn and difficult new employer, Alice Bellamy. While Faith proves a worthy match for her sharp-tongued client, she often finds herself at a loss for words in the presence of Mason Bellamy—Alice's charismatic son, who clearly longs to escape the family mansion and return to his fast-paced, exciting life in Manhattan…and his beautiful, jet-setting fiancée.
The last place Mason wants to be is a remote town in the Catskills, far from his life in the city, and Faith McCallum is supposed to be the key to his escape. Hiring the gentle-hearted yet strong-willed caregiver as a live-in nurse gives his mother companionship and Mason the freedom to return to his no-attachments routine. For Faith, it means stability for her daughters and a much-needed new home. When Faith makes a chilling discovery about Alice's accident, Mason is forced to reconsider his desire to keep everyone, including his mother, at a distance. Now he finds himself wondering if the supercharged life he's created for himself is what he truly wants…and whether exploring his past might lead to a new life—and lasting love—on the tranquil shores of Willow Lake.
{ about susan wiggs } .
Susan Wiggs's life is all about family, friends...and fiction. She lives at the water's edge on an island in Puget Sound, and she commutes to her writers' group in a 17-foot motorboat. She serves as author liaison for Field's End, a literary community on Bainbridge Island, Washington, bringing inspiration and instruction from the world's top authors to her seaside community. (See www.fieldsend.org) She's been featured in the national media, including NPR's "Talk of the Nation," and is a popular speaker locally and nationally.
According to Publishers Weekly, Wiggs writes with "refreshingly honest emotion," and the Salem Statesman Journal adds that she is "one of our best observers of stories of the heart [who] knows how to capture emotion on virtually every page of every book." Booklist characterizes her books as "real and true and unforgettable." She is the recipient of three RITA (sm) awards and four starred reviews from Publishers Weekly for her books. The Winter Lodge and Passing Through Paradise have appeared on PW’s annual "Best Of" lists. Several of her books have been listed as top Booksense picks and optioned as feature films. Her novels have been translated into more than two dozen languages and have made national bestseller lists, including the USA Today, Washington Post and New York Times lists.
The author is a former teacher, a Harvard graduate, an avid hiker, an amateur photographer, a good skier and terrible golfer, yet her favorite form of exercise is curling up with a good book. Readers can learn more on the web at www.susanwiggs.com and on her lively blog at www.susanwiggs.wordpress.com.
According to Publishers Weekly, Wiggs writes with "refreshingly honest emotion," and the Salem Statesman Journal adds that she is "one of our best observers of stories of the heart [who] knows how to capture emotion on virtually every page of every book." Booklist characterizes her books as "real and true and unforgettable." She is the recipient of three RITA (sm) awards and four starred reviews from Publishers Weekly for her books. The Winter Lodge and Passing Through Paradise have appeared on PW’s annual "Best Of" lists. Several of her books have been listed as top Booksense picks and optioned as feature films. Her novels have been translated into more than two dozen languages and have made national bestseller lists, including the USA Today, Washington Post and New York Times lists.
The author is a former teacher, a Harvard graduate, an avid hiker, an amateur photographer, a good skier and terrible golfer, yet her favorite form of exercise is curling up with a good book. Readers can learn more on the web at www.susanwiggs.com and on her lively blog at www.susanwiggs.wordpress.com.
{ review } .
In my containers and containers of books, you could easily find some of Susan Wiggs' earlier works, titles such as ENCHANTED AFTERNOON and A SUMMER AFFAIR. Somewhere in there too, you'll find my favorite title by her, TABLE FOR FIVE -- perhaps the only book of hers that completely grasped me from beginning to end. But one thing I always know when picking up a title by Susan is that she writes straight forward contemporary romances -- stories that are the essence of the term 'romance'.
These are the stories that gave me the romance reading and writing bug at twelve, and carried me through to these late twenties I see myself in now.
Mason and Faith's story is one of struggle and perseverance. Faith's last few years haven't been the kindest to her but she pushes through. She has a daughter nearing college and another daughter with diabetic struggles. Her husband is gone and she is fighting to make ends meet. Mason's life has been on the fast-track and a bit wild-and-crazy... He learns in the small lakeshore town, though, how to let life come to you and how to enjoy the little moments.
This story was emotionally driven and an easy, albeit typical, classic contemporary romance; definitely enjoyable for those who are getting annoyed with the new 'New Adult' scene and needing lead characters who have lived life and are coming to terms with the path their lives detoured on.
These are the stories that gave me the romance reading and writing bug at twelve, and carried me through to these late twenties I see myself in now.
Mason and Faith's story is one of struggle and perseverance. Faith's last few years haven't been the kindest to her but she pushes through. She has a daughter nearing college and another daughter with diabetic struggles. Her husband is gone and she is fighting to make ends meet. Mason's life has been on the fast-track and a bit wild-and-crazy... He learns in the small lakeshore town, though, how to let life come to you and how to enjoy the little moments.
This story was emotionally driven and an easy, albeit typical, classic contemporary romance; definitely enjoyable for those who are getting annoyed with the new 'New Adult' scene and needing lead characters who have lived life and are coming to terms with the path their lives detoured on.
I love having an author whose books I can keep coming back to through the years, and who still have new books coming out regularly!
ReplyDeleteThanks for being a part of the tour.