ARC Review: Summer by the Tides by Denise Hunter

ABL Review At-A-Glance

Ø Title: Summer by the Tides

Ø My Rating: 4

Ø Genre: Christian Fiction, Contemporary Romance

Ø Author:
Denise Hunter

Ø Format:
ARC Paperback*

Ø Publication Date: May 21, 2019

Compare To:

Synopsis

From the bestselling author of The Convenient
Groom (now a beloved Hallmark Original movie) comes a heartfelt story of family
secrets, forgiveness, and unexpected romance.

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.

My Thoughts…

In Summer by
the Tides, Denise Hunter, brings us a cute, funny, and easy beach read for the summer. While this plot is not shocking or particularly original, it’s so much fun to read. It’s one of those books you can be sure of, that every time you open the cover, you can depend on pure entertainment without a lot of personal, emotional turmoil.

Maddy Monroe is definitely a lead character you can root for, and you absolutely will after the first chapter. Any woman who has ever been burned in love or while trying to advance her career, can empathize with Maddy. When Maddy meets Conner Murphy, her reticence to trust him or even like him is understandable even expected. I love how perfectly the slow burn on this romance was built.

The most interesting aspect of this book, for me, was the sister storyline. Based upon a back story that is slowly revealed to the reader. We see a tumultuous relationship between three women play out as Denise Hunter pits the bonds of family against the pull of romantic love. Reading about the struggles of three women to comes to terms with their own choices and those consequences was extremely intriguing and engaging.

Summer by the Tides is a quick read with a lot of heart. I felt good each time I picked it up and was sad when I turned the last page. This is a perfect book to read by the pool with a cool drink.

What’s Missing…

The only reason this book did not get 5 Eiffel towers (stars) is simple: I wanted more from Maddy. I understand having a crisis of confidence that makes you indecisive and unsure of yourself after what happened to her, but I dislike using an indecisive, judgmental woman as plot device. Maddy makes snap judgments about all sorts of situations. Then creates and defends some pretty strong opinions based on those assumptions. Thus, the conflict between the main characters is entirely derived from misunderstandings of her own making. I wanted a more organic conflict and not just made from easily avoidable mistakes.

* Special thanks to Denise Hunter, Thomas Nelson, and TLC Book Tours for providing a copy of Summer by the Tides in exchange for an honest review.