Ruth has always been totally driven, founding her own cosmetics company, but major success helped end her marriage and strained her relationship with her daughter. Now, having sold her company, she’s ready for retirement, and she plans to spend her golden years in Provincetown, a place she had fallen in love with when she was younger and never quite forgot.
When she arrives in the beachside town, her dreams of an idyllic summer quickly turn chaotic. She’s renting a cottage while looking for a permanent home, but at least one of the cottage’s owners doesn’t want to leave the house. And then, just a day after she arrives, someone abandons a baby girl on the porch of the cottage.
Whose baby is it? Is it a stranger's, or someone from town? Was the baby meant to be left for Elise and Fern, the cottage’s owners, who have struggled with fertility? If so, can they just keep the baby and pretend nothing happened? Elise sees it as a sign from God; Fern wants no part of this and knows the situation will only hurt her wife and potentially jeopardize their business and their marriage.
Meanwhile, Ruth’s estranged daughter, Olivia, comes to visit, bringing latent anger with her mother and her childhood. But Olivia has her own issues to deal with, and as much as she resents Ruth, she realizes Provincetown might be the place to figure things out.
This type of book totally appeals to me—some drama, some romance, secrets and lies, a beautiful setting, a sense of community—and I was hooked from start to finish. Brenner knows how to tell a story and make you feel a sense of connection to her characters. (I loved her last book, Drawing Home.) Apart from one character whom I loathed (it seemed her primary purpose was to stir s—t up and then leave), this was so enjoyable.
If you're looking for a book to put you in a good mood and perhaps make you long for the beach, Summer Longing may be what you need.
No comments:
Post a Comment