It's been almost a year since Leah Berkley Kent left her
lavish Richmond home to spend two months on Coates Island, North Carolina.
There she found friendship with two extraordinary women, Kayana and Cherie.
Together they formed a summer book club, meeting weekly at the Seaside Café.
Leah also found the courage to finally stand up to Alan, her domineering
husband of twenty-eight years.
With her twin sons now grown, Leah decides to return to
Coates Island again this summer. Alan's explosive reaction only convinces her
that her marriage, and her old life, may be ending. But what comes next?
Helping out at the Seaside Café, Leah grows closer to Kayana's widowed brother,
Derrick. He knows what it's like to start over--he traded a Wall Street career
for a beachfront house and a slower pace. Derrick is drawn to Leah, but wonders
if she's truly ready to move on.
It'll take a summer filled with lazy beach walks, bold
new horizons, and book club meetings rich with shared laughter and support, for
Leah to find the answers she's been looking for...
Good book. The previous year Leah came to Coates Island
to vacation by herself. She enjoyed the freedom so much that she plans to do it
again this year. Those plans don't sit well with her husband, Alan, who
expresses his displeasure physically. This is the final straw in her unhappy
marriage, and Leah leaves for the beach as soon as she can.
The book opened with a look back at Leah's past, namely
how she met and married Alan. I have to say that he gave me the creeps from his
first appearance, and my opinion of him never improved. Leah had had no
intention of pursuing a relationship with him, but the consequences of his
actions gave her no choice. I suspected from the beginning what kind of man he
was, and Leah's revelations confirmed that and more.
I liked Leah, though I wondered why she stayed in the
marriage so long, especially after her sons were grown. I applauded her
decision to end it when she did, with no hesitation or second-guessing. She has
a good head on her shoulders and took steps to protect herself. I also liked
how her sons supported her completely. She plans to use her time at the beach
to read and to find herself under the layers created by her marriage.
I loved the immediate support she received from Kayana,
co-owner of the
Seaside Café and fellow book club member. Because Leah arrives
so much earlier than her original plans, Kayana offers her the apartment above
the café. The healing effect on Leah is immediately apparent. I liked seeing
Leah and Kayana reconnect and pick up their friendship where they left off the
previous summer. Kayana provides a great sounding board for Leah as she works
through her options and resurrects her inner self.
The other owner of the café is Kayana's brother Derrick.
He is a widower of five years with a teenage daughter and still grieves the
loss of his wife. He loves his work cooking for the residents and tourists of
the island. I enjoyed the scenes that involved him cooking, both and the café and
at home, as his passion for it was obvious.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between
Leah and Derrick. The sparks between them were obvious from the start, though
neither planned to do anything about it. Leah is a) still married and b) not
interested in compromising any of her newfound freedom. Derrick doesn't engage
with women who are married, engaged, or even dating someone else. Sparks aside,
Leah and Derrick bond over cooking. She was taught to cook by her mother and
grandmother, though she wasn't permitted to cook during her marriage. I loved
seeing her knock Derrick's socks off with her baking ability. I also enjoyed
seeing her push back against his judgmental attitude with her explanation of
her childhood.
The connection between Leah and Derrick grew over the
next few weeks, and the attraction grew right along with it. As his feelings
for her grew, Derrick worried about getting too close and losing her if she
decided to go back to her husband. I liked his determination to go slow and
wait for Leah to work through all of her issues. Leah's feelings for Derrick grew
quickly, partially because of having a man treat her with respect. Even when they
disagreed, they worked through it by talking. I liked the ending and look
forward to seeing them in the next book.
I liked seeing the changes in Leah as the book
progressed. I got the feeling she had kept some of her spirit, but much was
buried under the veneer created by her mother-in-law. Alan's actions cracked
that veneer and allowed the real Leah to resurface. I liked following her plans
to deal with him and looked forward to seeing him get what was coming. I wasn't
very fond of the final resolution.
One thing I missed in this book was the actual book club.
Though the books were mentioned several times, there wasn't much book club
action. That may be because of the book's timeline and because Cherie didn't
arrive until near the end. Hopefully, there will be more in the next book. I
did like catching up with Kayana and Graeme.
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