Author: Cynthia Ellingsen
Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: Fiction
Source: Bookouture ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: Two sisters who haven’t spoken for twenty years. One summer to bring a family back together.

Jayne Winters hasn’t seen her sister Charlotte since that last childhood holiday at their grandmother’s North Carolina beach house. Separated after that summer by their parents in a bitter divorce, Charlotte has never forgiven Jayne for not fighting to stay together.

So when Jayne discovers that they have both inherited the beach house, and that their grandmother’s last wish was for them to renovate it together, it feels like a miracle: one last chance to win her sister back.

At first Charlotte will barely speak to her. But slowly the memories of swimming races and storytelling in their attic bedroom looking over the sea start to break down the wall between them. With the help of photographs and letters left by their grandmother for them to find, the two women begin to restore not just the creaking mahogany staircase and the faded antique wallpaper, but their own relationship.

But then Jayne discovers that Charlotte has kept a heart-stopping secret from their past from her. Can she find it in her heart to forgive her sister and keep their grandmother’s dream of reuniting them alive—or are some wounds too big to heal?

An emotional and uplifting read about sisters, secrets and the family bonds that hold us together no matter how complicated they are, from the bestselling author of The Lighthouse Keeper. Fans of Mary Ellen Taylor, Elin Hilderbrand and Mary Alice Monroe will love this.

Ope’s Opinion: Sisters, beach, and home renovations – all in one book is amazing! This book was easy to get into, the characters are relatable, and the renovations were written in a way that you could see it.

This emotional sister story took you on a journey through their childhood that brought them to present day. Their separation affected them each differently. Coming together made them each learn to see the other sisters perspective.

There was a romance going on in the background. I enjoy that relationship, but I really liked that the sisters relationship was the center of the book. The ending was good and wrapped everything up.