Michelle Sanderson may appear to be a strong, independent woman, but on the inside, she’s still the wounded girl who fled home years ago. A young army vet, Michelle returns to the quaint Blackberry Island Inn to claim her inheritance and recover from the perils of war. Instead, she finds the owner’s suite occupied by the last person she wants to see. Carly Williams and Michelle were once … once inseparable, until a shocking betrayal destroyed their friendship. And now Carly is implicated in the financial disaster lurking behind the inn’s cheerful veneer.
Single mother Carly has weathered rumors, lies and secrets for a lifetime, and is finally starting to move forward with love and life. But if the Blackberry Island Inn goes under, Carly and her daughter will go with it.
To save their livelihoods, Carly and Michelle will undertake a turbulent truce. It’ll take more than a successful season to move beyond their devastating past, but with a little luck and a beautiful summer, they may just rediscover the friendship of a lifetime.
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Can a book take you on vacation? Well, this one took me to a little inn in the Pacific Northwest. While there I got to meet the owners, Michelle and Carly, and all their friends and enemies. I got a peek behind the curtain of the running of the inn while watching Michelle deal with her PTSD. Naturally, as on any good vacay, love and family take the lead. I can’t wait to go back and meet more characters on BlackBerry Island!
I love all of her books but especially loved this one. The characters are vivid and intriguing, the story sweet! thank you!!
I liked that this book so well developed the theme of PTSD in returning vets. The author didn’t pussy foot around the lingering trauma of war. I also liked the interplay & relationship between the characters. My only complaint was the graphic sex scenes. I much prefer the bedroom scenes to be implied, left to the imagination. Graphic sexual descriptions never add to either the plot or the characters.
The alternating POVs were frustrating to follow. I stopped reading by the third chapter after the fifth mention of a male body part. I’m not a prude but these references were simply unnecessary.
I’ll be honest — if the world wasn’t under quarantine, I probably wouldn’t have finished this book, but I kept listening because there was nothing better to do. In the end, I’m glad that I did, but it was a SLOW start for me.
I love the tension and angst between Carly and Michelle, but Michelle was SO unlikeable for so long that I almost gave up on the book. Thankfully the story picked up and we started to see a different side of her because really … I was ready to punch her myself.
Besides the drawn out immaturity of Michelle, this book was fun. It’s everything I love in a book — real drama (not made up issues) and pain, tenderness, and a satisfying happily-ever-after. Is it predictable? Sure … but that’s kind of why I love the genre.
If you’re looking for some emotional ups and downs with a HEA, I recommend this book.
Rated R for a bit of swearing and a couple of descriptive scenes.
Enjoyed book!
Susan Mallery does it again. You will be captivated from the first page, it’s a story of two woman who fight for what they have and find the friendship they though they lost.
A summer read type book-light, easy reading. Not emotionally demanding but well written enough to be worth the time.
Another great one from Susan Mallery!
This author writes beautifully and has a lovely style to her writing. Loved the story.
Great summer or anytime read. A favorite author.
I love an afternoon with one of Susan Mallery’s books. This is the first book in her Blackberry Island series. This is a story of two best friends who had a falling out years before…it was great to see them work together to solve their differences.
Another winner by a wonderful author.
Great read. I really got into the characters in this book and every time I thought I had everything figured out, it would surprise me with another twist. Very entertaining.
I love this story, the writing, and the narrator. It was very enjoyable.
The characters had a lot of depth with the history between the main characters as well as their personal issues. It was a page-turner for me.
Another great Susan Mallery book that won’t disappoint.
Susan Mallory is one of my favourite authors
Loved it !
I thought this was a really great book. It seemed at first that Michelle did wrong, but once you start getting into the book that you see Carly did hurtful things herself. It was a shame that Michelle’s Mother treated both girls terrible. They both had it bad with both their parents when they left together leaving behind their children. In the end Michelle and Carly both made something out of themselves with really no help from any parents. Michelle went into the military and save several soldiers and Carly practically taking over the inn and keeping it afloat. I’m so glad they made their way back to each other.