(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Twenty years separate sisters Adele Descaro and Justine Somersby.  Although they live near each other and have communicated over the years about their parents' declining health, the two have never been close.  Now that their mother has died, the women find they have more in common than they ever have before.  Both are at a crossroads in their lives, which has left each of them anxious, worried, and emotionally at sea.  Having been their mother's primary caregiver for the last eight years, 32-year-old Adele has to decide what to do about a job, the graduate education she abandoned in order to help at home, and the surprising demands of the man who's been her gentle, patient best friend throughout her life.  When Justine discovers her husband of 30 years has been cheating on her, she's devastated.  Divorcing the only man she's ever loved is heartbreaking, but it's also given her the freedom she never knew she wanted.  As she picks up the pieces of her shattered life, Justine finds herself relying more and more on her little sister.  While the sisters find their way back to each other and themselves, they experience healing along with new problems.  Will their new-found closeness bring them together or tear them even more apart?  

I've read a number of books by the prolific Robyn Carr, mostly her small-town romance novels set in Grace Valley and Virgin River.  What I love most about Carr is that her warm, genuine nature shines through in both the towns and the characters she creates.  Her settings are inviting, her story people authentic, and her writing upbeat, even when discussing tough subjects.  Although Carr's newest women's fiction effort, Sunrise on Half Moon Bay, is not my favorite of her many novels, it still showcases the trademarks I just mentioned.  While not as developed as Grace Valley and Virgin River, Half Moon Bay comes off as a charming little town full of cheerful, concerned folks.  Adele drove me crazy with her flakiness and fickleness, it's true.  Still, I enjoyed seeing the relationship between her and Justine (whom I found much easier to identify with) evolve in a realistic way.  Carr does tackle some difficult subjects in Sunrise on Half Moon Bay, but overall this is an easy, uplifting read with the kind of guaranteed HEA Carr does so well.  I didn't love her newest as I have some of her older novels, but Carr has a special place in my heart and I'll always be willing to read whatever she writes.  

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of other novels by Carr as well as those by Kristan Higgins)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (no F-bombs), violence, disturbing subject matter, and sexual content (only one scene, but it's fairly detailed)

To the FTC, with love:  I received an e-ARC of Sunrise on Half Moon Bay from the generous folks at Harlequin in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Neither Nora Holliday nor Josh Landon is happy in their long-term marriages, but that doesn't mean either one of them is the type to start an illicit affair.  But that's just what happens when they run into each other at a hotel in a different city.  A one-time mistake blossoms into something more as they continue to see each other secretly after returning to their small hometown.  Despite the risks to their reputations, their marriages, and their families, Nora and Josh find that their relationship provides the affection and fulfillment they haven't felt with their spouses in years.

When Abby Landon—a college junior who's home recovering from a shattering breakup—sees her father kissing a woman who's not her mother, she vows to get revenge on the pretty homewrecker.  As she plots against her father and his lover, Abby unknowingly sets into motion a plan that will end in the brutal murder of her mother.  Gwen Landon had plenty of enemies, but who actually killed her?

The Last Affair by Margot Hunt is another compelling, but depressing psychological thriller.  It's engrossing, even though it's populated with a cast of selfish, immature people with whom it's very hard to sympathize.  I felt sorry for the kids caught in the middle of their parents' drama, but that's about it.  The Last Affair is enough of a page-turner that I kept reading to the end; overall, though, I didn't find it a very enjoyable or satisfying read.  Mostly, it's just a big downer.  It convinced me that it's time to give this genre a break for a while ...

(Readalikes:  Reminds me a little of Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language, sexual content, violence, and blood/gore

To the FTC, with love:  I received an e-ARC of The Last Affair from the generous folks at Harlequin.  Thank you!

for language (a dozen or so F-bombs, plus milder invectives) and sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  I received an ARC of Leaving Haven from the generous folks at Harper Collins via those at TLC Book Tours.  Thank you!