Summer at Hideaway Key
By Barbara Davis
ISBN: 9780451474582
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Una
Synopsis:
From the author of The Wishing Tide comes a stunning new novel about two summers, one journal, and the secrets that can break and open our hearts….
Pragmatic, independent Lily St. Claire has never been a beachgoer. But when her late father leaves her a small house on Hideaway Key—one neither her mother nor she knew he owned—she’s determined to visit the sleepy spit of land along Florida’s Gulf Coast. Expecting a quaint cottage, Lily instead finds a bungalow with peeling shutters and mountains of memorabilia. She also catches a glimpse of the architect who lives down the beach….
But it’s the carton of old journals in the front room that she finds most intriguing. The journals were written by her mother’s sister, an infamous beauty whose name has long been banned from the St. Claire home. The journals tell a family tale Lily has never heard, of her mother and her aunt as young girls in Tennessee and the secrets that followed them into adulthood. As she reads, Lily gains a new understanding: about her family and about herself. And she begins to open her heart—to this place, these people, and the man next door. But can she ever truly learn to trust, to believe that love is not a trap but a harbor? And is it true that hearts, even broken ones, can be forged anew?
Review:
I loved this story and it is one of the best I have read this summer. Filled with intrigue, blackmail, love, and a surprise ending it keeps the reader turning pages from page one. I know for a fact I couldn’t put it down. When Lily inherits a rundown bungalow when her father dies her mother tries desperately to keep her from going there. The bungalow belonged to her aunt who she never met and whose name had been banned in the family. Lily on arriving finds the house in disrepair however soon discovers journals that her aunt had written. These journals tell the story of her mother and aunt from a young age. As she reads the journals questions are answered and she begins to see what had caused the strife between the two sisters. What Lily doesn’t expect is why she is attracted to this small sleepy town and the architect next door. She after all has always reached high and has a bright future ahead of her. Can she trust that maybe there was a reason why her father left her this bungalow on the ocean? Can she stay put in one place when her normal pattern has been to run and, can she commit to a partner who also has commitment issues? When her mother delivers the final journals a surprise comes out shattering all that Lily knows. Although I somewhat suspected the result I did not anticipate the “why it happened.”
Barbara Davis has given us a truly exciting and readable book with enough romance to please even the most discerning reader. A definite must read and I would highly recommend it to all my fellow readers.
