Series:
Sunrise Cove (Book 3)
When Alice receives a call about an unexpected windfall,
she's stunned to learn the gift is a falling-apart-at-the-seams old Wild West
B&B she once considered home -- and she's inherited it along with two
strangers. Except they weren't always strangers. Once upon a time, they were
friends. One is her ex-BFF Lauren. The other is Knox, the only guy to ever
break her heart, all while never even knowing she existed.
It turns out their lives are unknowingly entangled
because they once separately helped the same woman without expecting anything
in return. Years later, Alice, Lauren, and Knox are broken in their own way,
with their own history -- and secrets -- causing them to start out on the wrong
foot with each other. But according to the will, they must renovate and be
partners in the inn for one year or else lose their inheritance.
Stuck together, they make a list of rules to keep the
peace -- rules that end up doing the opposite, but by some miracle they find
what they didn't even know they were looking for -- acceptance, true
friendship, and in a case (or two!), true love.
Terrific book about friendship, secrets, and love. Alice,
Knox, and Lauren are shocked to discover that they've each inherited a
one-third share in a rundown Wild West-themed inn in their hometown of Sunrise
Cove. They must work together for the next month to get it ready to reopen or
lose their inheritance. Each has a history with the inn and the previous owner
and secrets that haunt them.
Alice, her brother, and her father worked for Eleanor
years ago. But when Alice's brother Will died in a tragic accident, the
memories drove Alice and her father away from Sunrise Cove. Her dad moved to
Europe, and Alice has spent her time going from construction job to
construction job. Not only did she lose her brother, but she also lost her BFF
Lauren, who had been Will's girlfriend. They argued the night of Will's death
and haven't spoken since.
Lauren works in the town library and has spent the last
four years as the object of the small town's pity. She is "Will's
Widow" to all of them, making it difficult for her to move on. No one
knows the guilty feelings she harbors over Will's death.
Knox's mom was a (mostly) functioning alcoholic who
worked for Eleanor at the inn. Eleanor would give him odd jobs, keeping him
busy and teaching him life skills he didn't get at home. After his mother's
death, Knox left town, eventually becoming a very successful contractor.
I enjoyed watching these three lonely people find a
family with each other as they deal with their grief, the effects of being
abandoned by those who should have loved them, and learning how to forgive
themselves and others.
Their first day together is difficult for all three.
Alice dreads spending any time in the place that holds such devastating
memories. She wants to get the place fixed up, sell it, and get the heck out of
Dodge. It doesn't help that she feels guilty about the way she left Lauren. She
misses their friendship but has no idea how to fix it. Complicating matters,
she had a massive crush on Knox as a teenager and can only pray that he never
suspected. Lauren also misses her friendship with Alice and is still angry at
how Alice left without a word and no further contact. She hides her loneliness
behind her work and suppresses her former adventurousness. Meanwhile, Knox is
stuck playing referee between the two women and fighting the memories that
haunt him.
The antagonism among the three at the start led to an
amusing set of rules that they added to as they went along but broke almost as
soon as they wrote them down. Early in the forced partnership, they found an
iPad with a stash of unsent emails from Eleanor to her long-dead sister, all about
our three main characters. Each email links to a chapter in the book and something
going on with one of the characters. They are frequent catalysts for our people
to face something in their pasts or present, as all three face the events or
memories that have affected their lives.
I enjoyed watching the relationship between Alice and
Knox develop. Alice was hard to like at the beginning. She is abrasive,
sarcastic, and always keeps one foot out of the door. Knox sees past that complex
façade to the vulnerable and hurting woman inside. He always seems to know the
right thing to say, whether it's to comfort her, motivate her, or push her to
face her fears. There were some very sweet moments between them and some funny
snark and flirty teasing. But when the renovations are finished, Alice has to
decide what wins - her feelings for Knox or the pain of her memories. Knox's
solution was emotional and perfect for Alice.
Even though Eleanor was her great-aunt, thanks to a
family rift, Lauren had never known her. Her connection was mainly through her friendship
with Alice and her relationship with Will. Through stories and other
revelations, Lauren gets a different view of Eleanor than the one she grew up
with. She is tired of being "poor Lauren," and though she longs for a
relationship with a man who will put her first, she doesn't have the confidence
to put herself out there. I laughed at her first encounter with Ben and her
obliviousness about his interest. Thanks to downsizing at the library, Lauren
also faces a crossroads in her life.
I liked the growth of each character as they faced their
pasts and the fears that kept them from moving on. I liked seeing the support
they gave each other, including the occasional kick in the butt to get past
self-imposed obstacles. I loved the epilogue and the fun twist at the end.
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