Summer by the Tides by Denise Hunter

Following a painful betrayal, Maddy Monroe's love life is a wreck, and her restaurant career is in shambles. When her grandmother goes missing, she and her estranged sisters converge at the family beach house in Sea Haven, North Carolina. Being with uptight Nora and free-spirited Emma at the place where their family broke apart is a struggle, and undercurrents of jealousy and resentment threaten to pull the sisters under. In the midst of the storm, sparks begin to fly between Maddy and Gram's maddening neighbor, Connor Murphy.

As the sisters pack up the family belongings, memories of idyllic, slow-paced summers are resurrected. But long-buried secrets also come to light as Maddy discovers that all was not as it appeared that last summer in Sea Haven--nor today in the seemingly perfect lives of her sisters.

As family tensions rise and Connor causes tumult in Maddy's heart, the sisters must find a way to accept each other for the women they've become before the bitterness of the past destroys their hope for a future.

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I've been looking forward to this book for so long!  I was excited to finally get to sit down and enjoy it.  Denise Hunter is one of my go-to authors and I'm always watching for her next book.

The coastal setting of this book was magic to me.  I'm in desperate need of some summer beach time and this story made that desire even stronger.  

There are some strong family dynamics happening in this book.  Maddy and her sisters have drifted apart.  They really have no idea what is happening in each other's lives and when they are thrown together it makes for some tense situations.  The detailed backstory is revealed bit by bit, intertwining with current circumstances.  It made for an excellent build up of emotions.  I loved getting to know all the characters in such a personal way.

Maddy is the youngest by quite a bit.  She is the one trying to keep the peace between her warring sisters.  Emotionally she has a lot on her plate.  Poor Connor gets the brunt of Maddy's frustrations and betrayals in the beginning as he is misjudged and just a titch mistreated.  Fortunately, he is a good, solid guy.  He is honest and he is kind.  I really loved him.  Maddy eventually comes around to the knowledge of the kind of stand up guy he is and I loved when that shift started to happen. 

This book was full of emotion and conflict that came to rest in a very satisfying ending.  I was all in and enjoyed every single page.

Content:  peril, kissing, Christian elements (talk of God, trusting in God)

- I received a complimentary copy of this book.  All opinions expressed are my own.