*Apologies to the author for missing the blog tour posting date. March came in like a lion and we are still trying to survive.
Book info
That's like believing in Father Christmas," he said. "Or mermaids," she replied gravely.
Meet the Morgans. Three very different sisters, who each blame themselves for their mother's mysterious disappearance. Now, over forty years on, they are in crisis.
Cassandra - the eldest - runs the family's quirky, cliffside hotel. But the business is in trouble, and it seems a secret from the past is determined to resurface and destroy all she's worked for. Greer - the youngest - walked away from a glittering career to live in London. The mistress of a powerful man, she's left stranded on the day they were to start a new life together. Now she has no choice but to return to the family home - but what kind of welcome can she expect?
And Orla - the middle sister, whose obsessive shell collecting and messages from the 'sea- people' dominate her life. But Orla knows things. She knows Greer is coming home to a new future, that Cassandra's dark secret will change their lives and that their mother never really left at all.
And there's another secret, something they all share... but of course nobody's telling.
Book review
Beware - this is one of those novels that could launch a thousand vacations. Following the beach read movement in the US and Australia, Ireland arrives to prove that Europe also offers family intrigue and breezy days on the sand. I was in love with the setting. Several times, I put the book down to research inns along Irish coasts. The descriptions were exquisite. I’m sure the actual vistas would be even better.
The prologue sets up the premise well. The questions carry the plot well. I didn’t find the ending quite as satisfying as I wished. There were still questions, but this is a series, so it’s to be expected that she’d leave some ideas for the next novel.
This book could hold up against any I’ve read in family drama. The characters are so memorable and the author makes you care deeply about each one. The romance was on point, too. I felt like I was with them as they wound their way through the intriguing plot.
About the author
Adrienne Vaughan writes spellbinding, page-turning romantic suspense. Her award-winning Heartfelt Series − The Hollow Heart, A Change of Heart and Secrets of the Heart – is set on an island off Ireland’s west coast and features a feisty investigative journalist, and her irresistible West Highland terrier. (Adrienne studied at the Dublin College of Journalism and loves animals, especially dogs.) Her collection of short stories and poetry, Fur Coat & No Knickers was shortlisted for the Irish Carousel Prize for Anthology and her WWII short story, Dodo's Portrait, was shortlisted for the Colm Toíbín International Short Story Award at the Wexford Literary Festival. Secrets of the Shell Sisters – a Rosshaven Romance Book II − is a companion novel to Summer of Secrets, a revised edition of the previously published novel That Summer at the Seahorse Hotel (2018). It is the second novel in a series of sweeping family sagas, each with a sprinkling of Irish magic. All Adrienne’s books are heart-warming, uplifting reads, featuring her trademark gripping style, and laugh out loud moments. Adrienne, her husband, and two cocker spaniels divide their time between rural Leicestershire, the Wicklow mountains, and coastal South Devon. Agatha Christie – the cat – (and Lorraine) take care of things while they are away.
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