Description
Sometimes it takes losing everything to find yourself again.
Lily Bishop wakes one morning to find a good-bye note and divorce papers from her husband on the kitchen counter. Having moved to Alabama for his job only weeks before, Lily is devastated but forced to contemplate her next steps when she sees a flier at the grocery store for a hair stylist position in a local retirement community.
Rose Carrigan built the small retirement village of Safe Harbor years ago—just before her husband ran off with his assistant. Now she runs a tight ship, making sure the residents follow her strict rules. Rose keeps everyone at arm’s length, including her own family. But when Lily shows up asking for a job and a place to live, Rose’s cold exterior begins to thaw. Lily and Rose form an unlikely friendship, and Lily’s salon soon becomes the place where residents share town gossip, as well as a few secrets of their own. Lily even finds herself drawn to Rose’s nephew, Rawlins—a single dad and shrimper who’s had some practice at starting over, and one of the residents may be carrying a torch for Rose as well.
Neither Lily nor Rose is where they expected to be, but the summer makes them both wonder if there’s more to life and love than what they’ve lived so far. The Summer House weaves Lauren Denton’s inviting Southern charm around a woman’s journey to find herself.
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My Review:
Lauren Denton knows how to write Southern fiction filled with charm and emotion. I enjoyed this book’s theme of starting over after heartbreak and finding new purpose in life. Lily and Rose, although generations apart in age, both had my admiration and sympathy as they sought to rebuild their lives. It was also fun following the antics of the characters in this small southern retirement village. The vivid descriptions of the village of Safe Harbor and the sea shore were enough to make me long to visit there. It’s a good story to escape into when you feel as if you’d like to visit another location without traveling there.
This is a clean, sweet book with just a touch of romance. However, I do want to mention something here. Although this book is published by a Christian publishing company, I’d categorize it in more of the “general clean fiction” genre. There’s a new genre developing in Christian publishing that’s called “crossover fiction” and I believe this is an example of that. There’s very little reference to faith in the book, but there are good moral principles held all throughout the story. There are also references to social drinking (not drunkenness). I thought the book’s themes of love, hope, and forgiveness was well done. I’m only mentioning this in case this makes a difference to you in choosing to read the book.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
About Lauren K. Denton
Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, Lauren now lives with her husband and two daughters in Homewood, just outside Birmingham. In addition to her fiction, she writes a monthly newspaper column about life, faith, and how funny (and hard) it is to be a parent. On any given day, she’d rather be at the beach with her family and a stack of books. Her debut novel, THE HIDEAWAY, was a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Amazon Charts bestseller. HURRICANE SEASON, released in spring of 2018, is a USA Today bestseller. GLORY ROAD was chosen as one of Southern Living’s Top 25 Beach Reads. THE SUMMER HOUSE releases June 2, 2020.
Find her at LaurenKDenton.com or on Facebook (LaurenKDentonAuthor), Instagram (LaurenKDentonBooks), or Twitter (@laurenkdenton).
I always enjoy stories in the South! I look forward to reading this one.