Fans of Sherryl Woods are just going to love this new
series that revolves around the Castle family. This is the
first of the series which promises to be a winner.
Welcome to Sand Castle Bay and the Castle family who run a
family restaurant in this little town. Cora Jane Castle is
the grandmother and matriarch of this family. Her son is a
brilliant scientist but it's in the personality department
he is lacking, sure he loves his family but Sam has no idea
how to show that. But not to worry Cora Jane has always
made sure her three granddaughters had an abundance of
love. Spending summers at the point certainly grounded the
three very different sisters. And no matter how successful
their careers this was home.
So with the weather forecasting a major hurricane aimed
directly at the North Carolina coast all three Castle
sisters were making their way home to their grandmother.
None had any intention of staying and taking over their
grandmother's restaurant but not a one of them would
hesitate dropping everything to help her out. Luckily the
storms damage turned out to be manageable. But being home
brings some unexpected challenges at least for Emily.
Emily left ten years ago to fulfill her dream of becoming
an interior designer and found success working with many
celebrities over the years. Her home base was Los Angeles
but her job took her all over. Never one to turn down a
lucrative assignment her career had become her life. She
even questioned whether she could count any of her clients
as friends. But that didn't seem too important as her
business was growing and exceeding her expectations. Her
personal life would just have to take a back seat.
When Emily left she severed ties with everyone except her
family and hadn't returned to the bay in years. So she had
no way of knowing how the love of her life, Boone, was
faring except that he had married rather quickly after she
left and had a son. In her heart she felt some anger toward
Boone in that if he really loved her, as he had professed,
he would have waited for her. But intellectually Emily
realized she had been the one to close the door on their
relationship without taking a single look back. Well at
least that's the way it appeared. In truth, Boone was still
the one but that was history.
For Boone Emily was history. He had made a life with an
adoring woman and had a son B.J. that was the center of his
life. Even more so since the death of his wife a year ago.
Both father and son were working hard to move forward and
with the help of his friends they were both doing okay.
Boone thanked goodness everyday for the support and caring
he and B.J. received from Cora Jane Castle who treated them
as extensions of her own family. With the arrival of the
three sisters, recovering from the storm damage and
carrying on daily activities Boone was uncertain in how
Emily's return would impact his relationship with the
Castle family.
He was intent on maintaining his distance but if need be
convince everyone that he and Emily could be just friends.
Too much water under the bridge for there to be anything
else between them. Not to mention they basically lived on
opposite coasts. Boone was also guarded in pursuing any
relationship that would cause harm to his son. Both Dorsett
men were somewhat fragile. Unfortunately Emily was quickly
finding a place in their world.
Okay so I will admit to reading the first two books in this
new series out of order, but guess what -- no big deal.
Woods has introduced us to a wonderfully diverse family who
are grounded by mutual respect and love. Developing strong,
intelligent characters and providing them with witty and
warm dialog is a Woods trait common in all her books. This
is no exception. She so smartly gets her reader vested in
her characters so that it goes without saying we look
forward to the next installment. The world is a big place
but Woods teaches us that love has a way of reducing
distances.
In a trade-off she's lived to regret, Emily Castle left home years ago to become an interior designer. The youngest of three sisters, Emily desperately wanted to prove herself. Success, though, came at the cost of leaving behind the man she loved. For Boone Dorsett, losing Emily left his heart shattered, but another woman was waiting in the wings. Now a widower with a young son, Boone has a second chance with Emily when a storm brings her home. But with his former in-laws threatening a custody suit, the stakes of loving her are higher than ever. Will fate once again separate them-or is the time finally right for these two star-crossed lovers?