The New York Times bestselling author revisits the characters from her beloved novels Love Walked In and Belong to Me in this captivating, beautifully written drama involving family, friendship, secrets, sacrifice, courage, and true love for fans of Jojo Moyes, Elin Hilderbrand, and Nancy Thayer.On the weekend of her wedding, Clare Hobbes meets an elderly woman named Edith Herron. During the … woman named Edith Herron. During the course of a single conversation, Edith gives Clare the courage to do what she should have done months earlier: break off her engagement to her charming—yet overly possessive—fiancé.
Three weeks later, Clare learns that Edith has died—and has given her another gift. Nestled in crepe myrtle and hydrangea and perched at the marshy edge of a bay in a small seaside town in Delaware, Blue Sky House now belongs to Clare. Though the former guest house has been empty for years, Clare feels a deep connection to Edith inside its walls, which are decorated with old photographs taken by Edith and her beloved husband, Joseph.
Exploring the house, Clare finds two mysterious ledgers hidden beneath the kitchen sink. Edith, it seems, was no ordinary woman—and Blue Sky House no ordinary place. With the help of her mother, Viviana, her surrogate mother, Cornelia Brown, and her former boyfriend and best friend, Dev Tremain, Clare begins to piece together the story of Blue Sky House—a decades-old mystery more complex and tangled than she could have imagined. As she peels back the layers of Edith’s life, Clare discovers a story of dark secrets, passionate love, heartbreaking sacrifice, and incredible courage. She also makes startling discoveries about herself: where she’s come from, where she’s going, and what—and who—she loves.
Shifting between the 1950s and the present and told in the alternating voices of Edith and Clare, I’ll Be Your Blue Sky is vintage Marisa de los Santos—an emotionally evocative novel that probes the deepest recesses of the human heart and illuminates the tender connections that bind our lives.
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Marisa de los Santos captivated me with the first book of hers I read, Love Walked In, which remains one of my favorite books of all time. Belong to Me was wonderful, and this continuation of the little girl Clare’s story (now grown up) is yet another beautiful and compelling tale. De los Santos writes with such color, weaves such a rich tapestry of sensory details to surround characters you can’t help but desperately want to find their hearts’ place. The experience of reading her work is lush and glorious, a treat for the mind as well as the heart.
This is one of my all-time favorite books. So happy to discover it!
Marisa de los Santos revisits the characters she developed in Love Walked in and Belong to Me. The focus of this book is on Claire, now all grown up and about to get married. But something feels off to her, not just because she’s not marrying Dev, the love of her childhood, but because the man she’s engaged to has a dark side. When Claire meets an older woman who tells her about her own true love, she realizes she has to break off the engagement come what may. Then Claire learns that the older woman she met has left her a house. A loose ends, she decides to move in and figure out what could have led to this decision. It was great to revisit these characters again. Marisa de los Santos never disappoints.
This book is sublime! I couldn’t put it down. I loved it from the very first word to the very last word. There is laughter, tears, fears, doubts, mystery, danger, love, family, history, romance. It’s got it all, and then some. This is the best book I’ve read all summer. Read this book. You will fall in love.
I’ll Be Your Blue Sky is the sequel I never knew I wanted. I adore the first two books in this trilogy and was a little scared about reading about a grown-up Claire, especially one who was no longer with Dev. The book is actually the story of two women- Claire, now grown up and engaged to a man that, let’s be honest, she never should have been with in the first place, and Edith, a nurse in the 1950s who owns a beautiful home on a beach in Delaware. Their stories are separate but carry a similar theme- home isn’t always a place, but rather a person. Claire learns to navigate her own life while trying to solve the mystery of Blue Sky House, while Edith learns to navigate her life after tragedy strikes.
This novel is a beautiful story with an amazing depth that speaks to the heart of relationships and the power of choosing your own destiny. I almost wept when I was finished and that is a rare occurrence. I will be revisiting this novel many times.
Favorite Quotes:
Maybe it comes from having spent most of my childhood alone with my mother, who even before her breakdown and subsequent bipolar diagnosis, was all quicksilver, mutable brilliance, and so necessary to me that I kept track of her with what could only be called vigilance, half worried she’d disappear in a puff of colored smoke and sparkles.
She never fit… All her life, she had never managed polish or tidiness, never, even as a child, been perky or pretty or cute… A gangly girl, now she stood tall, narrow hipped, broad shouldered, leggy as a heron. In an era of things staying in place, of starch and hairspray, she was loosely gathered, pieces of her forever apt to ravel, crease, fly away.
“The world is big and life is long. You never know,” said my mother, giving a shrug that managed to be chic and wise and jaded and careless all at once. It was the kind of shrug for which words like insouciant and urbane were created.
My Review:
A five-star rating is nowhere near enough, nor would ten. Fifteen appears to be a more accurate assessment, which is rare air indeed. Marisa de los Santos is a stunning and mesmerizing wordsmith. This beautiful and intricately crafted book had a soul, and it was lovely, heartbreaking, devastating, gorgeous, and profoundly moving. The writing was exquisite and I didn’t want it to end. At times I couldn’t seem to catch my breath or read fast enough while I also didn’t want to rush, as I wanted to savor every artfully chosen and well-honed word. I was intrigued and enthralled with Edith’s story, which could suddenly and unexpectedly spin with a poignancy that stung my eyes and put hot rocks in my throat. In a word, this book was divine.
You just have to read it.
This is the best of this trilogy. However, each of the books are highly unusual and entertaining. The characters are uniquely quirky and the storyline is highly original. There is just so much in this book; so many insights into relationships, communication, family, and the variances of life. I highly recommend this book as a most enjoyable read. I want to read more about these wonderful characters!
I really enjoyed this book. It seem that a little slow in the beginning, but once I was caught up in the story line, I especially enjoy the unexpected twist and turns in the plot.
“An Intriguing Tale of Family Separation and Survival.”
This book traces the lives of two women, Edith and Clare, who live in two different time periods but are able to form a brief acquaintance. When Edith (the older woman) passed away, she leaves her house to the younger woman, who becomes intrigued by her life, as she grapples with breaking off her own engagement. Clare eventually makes a series of surprising and interesting discoveries about Edith’s life and her own past. The book ultimately tackles issues surrounding domestic violence and its effects upon the lives of its victims.
I loved this book! If you have never read anything by Marisa De Los Santos, read this one or any of her others. You will love it!!
More than a light book but not deep. Just perfect for a summer Sunday afternoon of relaxing with a book. Loved the characters. even the “bad guy” had some redeeming characteristics, and there was hope for him by the end of the book. Not with the girl he wanted, but for him generally. Goes from a last minute wedding cancellation to a journey to solve a mystery to a revelation that changes lives. All in all -very engaging.
This writer pulls you in from the start. Spent a few late nights, couldn’t put it down. Loved getting to know the characters.
This book was awesome. I couldn’t put it down and the ending was great.
My rating is 3.5 stars. The author writes well. The main character’s “I love him but I can’t be with him” relationship with her old boyfriend was irritating.
Delightful!
Did not like it! Too slow paced for me. Not enough intrigue!
If everyone could find their blue sky we all be a lot happier.
Needed something ”different” from my normal psychological thrillers.
Pleasant change of pace book. Loved the characters!
A sweet book. Enjoyable reading.