One step forward. Two steps back. The Tufts scholarship that put Nora Stuart on the path to becoming a Boston medical specialist was a step forward. Being hit by a car and then overhearing her boyfriend hit on another doctor when she thought she was dying? Two major steps back.
Injured in more ways than one, Nora feels her carefully built life cracking at the edges. There’s only one place to land: home. But the tiny Maine community she left fifteen years ago doesn’t necessarily want her. At every turn, someone holds the prodigal daughter of Scupper Island responsible for small-town drama and big-time disappointments.
With a tough islander mother who’s always been distant, a wild-child sister in jail and a withdrawn teenage niece as eager to ditch the island as Nora once was, Nora has her work cut out for her if she’s going to take what might be her last chance to mend the family. Balancing loss and opportunity, dark events from her past with hope for the future, Nora will discover that tackling old pain makes room for promise…and the chance to begin again.
Release Date: Dec 26, 2017
Heat Level: Warm
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: HQN
Price: $9.99
I really enjoy Kristan Higgin’s stories and this isn’t the first one I’ve read from the author, though it is my first woman’s fiction. I call it that because the focus of the story is on the main character’s personal growth and not a primary romance. Though, there is a romantic element to the story.
In this east coast adventure, Higgin’s takes readers on a journey from Boston to the small Maine island of Scupper. There are plenty of memorable characters from Nora’s wonderful Dog of Dogs, Boomer, to her sullen niece, Poe. I quickly found myself immersed in the cast and, as with most books by this author, loved the diversity that’s seamlessly added to the story.
Following Nora around, seeing how she’s blossomed into a well-groomed, confident doctor from the awkward island girl who turned to academics and food to hide herself is refreshing. But, I found parts of Nora harder to accept. Her hesitance to hide her feelings instead of talk about them got a little annoying. The entire book she kept searching for acceptance from others instead of finding it on her own, which I think she could have realized earlier on.
The conflicts of the story are internal and external, from the high school jock who competed with her academically to the lost love from her sister. Nora’s got the tough Mom, the jerk ex-boyfriend and even a potential guy who she’s always admired but is far from the perfect specimen himself. I think the draw to this story is more the people surrounding Nora than Nora herself. I really got involved in the other characters lives and this fun town/island Higgin’s has created.
This story has a bit of Crusie’s craziness, a touch of Phillips well-weaved plot, and a whole lot of unique voice that only Higgin’s can provide. For those seeking a feel-good story to end 2017.
~ Landra
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