THE GUEST HOUSE by Erika Marks is an awesome story of love, forgiveness, and letting go of the past. Β Lexi Wright returns home to Harrisport after being away for two years studying. Β She is an architectural photographer who is hired to photograph the Moss summer home. Β She receives a phone call one day from Cooper Moss. He is the younger brother of Hudson Moss. Β Hud broke Lexi's heart eleven years ago and even though she thinks she is over all of that she is worried about what is going to happen going back to at house.
Lexi's mom, Edith, also had her heart broken by a Moss. Cooper's Β father, Tucker, in 1966. Β This starts a war between the two families that lasts for decades. Β Tucker is a summer kid, a "wash ashore" and Edith is a local. Β She knows better than to fall for him, but can't help herself. Β He pursues her hard and wont Β take no for an answer. Β They met while Edie was working on the construction Β crew building the Moss guest house. Β They fall hard for each other, but Tucker fails to tell her that his father has already picked a wife for him. Β His friend Jim finally fills Edie in and she confronts Tuck. Β He swears he is finally going to tell his father he wants to be with Edie and doesn't want to be a lawyer like his dad. Β Well, that never happens. Β
While Lexi is photographing the house, feelings for Cooper start to surface. Β Eleven years ago, he was the one to drive her home after Hudson destroyed her heart. Β They shared a kiss that night and neither one of them has Β forgotten it. Β Both of them wonder if the other ever thinks about that night but neither one of them brings it up for fear of being the only one that remembers. Try as she might, Lexi can't stop herself from comparing Cooper to Hudson. Β Now the problems start and the past comes between them. Β Lexi and Cooper both learn that the past as they know it, isn't exactly what happened all those years ago between Edith and Tucker. Β
THE GUEST HOUSE is filled with secrets and heart break. Β I couldn't stop turning the pages once I started. Β I was quickly caught up in all the charactersΒ lives and wanted to drive to the Cape for all the awesome food Erika talked about. Β THE GUEST HOUSE goes back and forth between present time and 1966 but it is very easy to follow and a delight to read. Β Fall in love with Harrisport and all its characters. Β Once you start it, you won't be able to stop. Β
For generations, the natives of Harrisport have watched wealthy summer families descend on their Cape Cod town, inhabiting the massive cottages along the town’s best stretches of beachfront. But when rich Southerner Tucker Moss breaks the heart of local girl Edie Wright in the summer of 1966, an enduring war starts between the two families that lasts for generations.... Edie’s youngest child, Lexi, should know better than to fall in love with a Moss, but at eighteen, she falls hard for Tucker’s son, Hudson—only to find herself jilted when Hudson breaks off their engagement. Eleven years later, Lexi returns home after two years away studying architectural photography, just in time for yet another summer on the Cape. When Hudson’s younger brother, Cooper, arrives unexpectedly to sell the seaside estate after the death of his father and hires Lexi to photograph it, an unlikely attraction forms, and Lexi finds herself torn once again between passion and family loyalty. Then renovations at the Moss guest house reveal a forty-six-year-old declaration of love carved into a piece of framing—and a startling truth that will force two women and the men who love them to confront the treacherous waters of their pasts.
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