15 Summers Later
RaeAnne Thayne
347 pages
Canary Street Press
published June 18, 2024
I love a book about sisters. I’m an only child, so I have always been fascinated by the relationship. Then you throw in a book about a book with a mysterious plot and I was all in.
The cover gives this one a beach read or light vibe, but there are some serious and deeper issues here. The two sisters survived a trauma that will stay with them forever yet also estranged them. They end up back in the same place trying to heal themselves and their relationship. Both sisters have dealt with the trauma in different ways. Ava wrote a book about their trauma while Madison opened an animal shelter (yes there are animals in this one too). I should mention there is also a love story for each of the sisters, but it really does take a back seat to the rest of it (and you’ll be disappointed if you read for just the romance).
There was a little bit of a mystery about exactly what happened during their trauma and that really kept my interest.
It is beautifully written and both heartwarming and heartbreaking at times. The read had emotional moments and there is one event that might be a trigger for some.
Focusing on the emotional relationships in one’s life, I thought the path the sisters followed was captivating.
About the book
15 summers ago, everything changed…
Ava Howell seemed to have it all. She moved away from Emerald Creek, Idaho, married the love of her life and published a bestselling memoir. But she never expected that her husband would feel so betrayed by a secret from her past—the truth of what happened to her and her sister all those years ago—that he’d walk away. Now Ava is back home and trying to move on with the only person who can truly understand…
Following years of healing, Madison Howell is finally happy. After college she built a no-kill shelter where she works with animals every day, and she’s in love with the town veterinarian, Dr. Luke Gentry. But she can’t ever bring herself to tell him. Years ago, his dad died protecting Madi and her sister, so how could he ever love her back?
With the truth laid bare, and the past that Ava and Madison have worked so hard to leave behind threatening everything they have built for themselves, the Howell sisters’ reunion is bittersweet. And as Ava and Madi attempt to remedy the rifts in their lives and reconcile their futures, they must face the demons of their past together.
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