This book is about Beth and Sam. Beth's Mother is the queen of manipulating a person to make them do as she wishes. She wants to control her daughters life, her daughter does what she can to get away, she makes a deal with her Mom to leave her alone for six months. No contact. Beth went to live near her Aunt Sunshine, who is a big hit in the Art world. Aunt Sunshine never married, and she has nothing to do with Beth's Mother, they don't speak haven't as far back as Beth can recall no one will tell her why. Beths friends set her up for a blind date, only they don't tell the guy that Beth is coming to meet him, he knows what is going on the minute he meets her. This book is about living, how people can't help themselves they have to meddle in others lives, they want to help them, make things better, and it often flys back in their face but they keep trying. It is also about how life happens and often times we have so much pride we will make a decision not best for our life but it is made during an emotional time, and we won't go back and say it was our fault, let's fix this.
People do the most stupid things in the name of love, and they often enough have too much pride to want to go backwards. So the book is about living really and it does have really well developed characters,, is well written, I've heard it is 3rd in a row of books around some of these characters, but it didn't stand out as a series book. It was great as a stand alone I wouldn't have picked it as one in a series. Debbie Macomber writing as she does with great love for her characters and great endings for them also! Loved the book!
I received a kindle copy to read and give an honest review from http://NetGalley.com. I would give this five stars. Couldn't put it down.
From Good Reads the description: An emotionally stirring novel that shows how obstacles can be overcome, differences can be strengths, and sometimes a choice can seem wrong even though it s absolutely right
If not for her loving but controlling parents, Beth Prudhomme might never have taken charge of her life and moved from her native Chicago to Portland, Oregon, where she s reconnected with her spirited Aunt Sunshine and found a job as a high school music teacher. If not for her friend Nichole, Beth would never have met Sam Carney, although first impressions have left Beth with serious doubts. Sam is everything Beth is not and her parents worst nightmare: a tattooed auto mechanic who s rough around the edges. Reserved and smart as a whip, Beth isn t exactly Sam s usual beer-drinking, pool-playing type of woman, either.
But if not for an awkward setup one evening, Beth might never have left early and been involved in a car crash. And if not for Sam who witnessed the terrifying ordeal, rushed to her aid, and stayed with her until help arrived Beth might have been all alone, or worse. Yet as events play out, Sam feels compelled to check on Beth almost daily at the hospital even bringing his guitar to play songs to lift her spirits. Soon their unlikely friendship evolves into an intense attraction that surprises them both.
Before long, Beth's strong-willed mother, Ellie, blows into town spouting harsh opinions, especially about Sam, and reopening old wounds with Sunshine. When shocking secrets from Sam s past are revealed, Beth struggles to reconcile her feelings. But when Beth goes a step too far, she risks losing the man and the life she s come to love.
