“When caregiver Faith McCallum arrives at the enchanted lakeside estate of Avalon’s renowned Bellamy family, she’s intent on rebuilding her shattered life and giving her two daughters a chance at a better future. But she faces a formidable challenge in the form of her stubborn and difficult new employer, Alice Bellamy. While Faith proves a worthy match for her sharp-tongued client, she often finds herself at a loss for words in the presence of Mason Bellamy—Alice’s charismatic son, who clearly longs to escape the family mansion and return to his fast-paced, exciting life in Manhattan…and his beautiful, jet-setting fiancée. The last place Mason wants to be is a remote town in the Catskills, far from his life in the city, and Faith McCallum is supposed to be the key to his escape. Hiring the gentle-hearted yet strong-willed caregiver as a live-in nurse gives his mother companionship and Mason the freedom to return to his no-attachments routine. For Faith, it means stability for her daughters and a much-needed new home. When Faith makes a chilling discovery about Alice’s accident, Mason is forced to reconsider his desire to keep everyone, including his mother, at a distance. Now he finds himself wondering if the supercharged life he’s created for himself is what he truly wants…and whether exploring his past might lead to a new life—and lasting love—on the tranquil shores of Willow Lake.”
Somehow, when I saw the description of this book, I was under the impression that it was a romance. And in some ways, it is. But it’s also really about family and the people who become family even when they are not related. There were a lot of interesting threads to the story that bound the characters together – for example, both Faith and Alice had lost their husband. I really enjoyed the bonding between Alice and Faith’s daughters, who were loveable characters, and between Alice and her therapy dog. I liked that the story was told from varying characters’ viewpoints and that they each had original voices, which some authors can’t pull off. I might have liked if there was more of a love story factor to the story, but I also liked how it was less central to the story of the love between family members.
Have you ever read anything by Susan Wiggs?
