Lottie Love Sample

“Will you marry me?”

Four words I’ve waited my whole life to hear. Four words I was sure would change my life forever…and they did. Just not in the way I expected.

Finding out my extremely gorgeous rock star boyfriend was about to propose had the complete opposite effect I thought it would. Rather than catapult me into a future I’ve always wanted, it plunged me back to a past I tried to forget.

Now I can’t get him out of my head. I can’t help but wonder what could have been, how our lives would have ended up if he didn’t leave me behind, a shattered mess.

All these memories are dangerous. They’re bringing my past back to ruin my future. And worst of all, they’re taking me right back to him, my childhood sweetheart, my first love…my biggest regret.

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Sample...

"Will you marry me?"

It was the words that I'd wanted to hear my entire life. Didn't every girl fantasise over the perfect man going to buy the perfect ring and getting down on one knee in the most romantic way possible, before telling them that they loved them so much, they wanted to spend the rest of their life with them?

I knew that I certainly had.

Me and my best friend Cici used to talk about it all the time. We used to plan our dresses, the music, the flowers—every part of the ceremony down to the very last detail. Of course, the man didn't really matter. We were young enough and naive enough to believe that we would magically meet the perfect man without even trying.

And I really thought that I had. I really, truly believed that my dream had come true.

Me and Danny had begun our love story in a very typical fashion—our eyes had met across a bar, where we'd had long, lingering eye contact, sparking all kinds of emotions within me. The only difference between my story, and that of every other rom-com ever, was that Danny was a genuine up-and-coming rock star, playing on a fairly big stage, and I was a fan who already felt a lot of love for this man. I'd been admiring him from afar ever since I first heard their album a year or so before.

I certainly hadn't expected it to ever go any further than that moment, so when he came and joined me at the bar later on for a drink, despite being mobbed by other members of the audience, I felt like my entire life had been leading me up to that moment. I felt like everything that I'd experienced was all drawing me closer to Danny, the love of my life. Here was a gorgeous man who was destined to be famous, and who could have any girl in the world hanging off of his arm, talking to me, asking me questions, and actually showing me interest.

It seemed like a dream—one that I was terrified to wake up from.

As he flicked his messy auburn hair from his warm, chocolaty eyes and he gave me that smile that had already melted the hearts of the nation, I thought for a dreaded, wonderful second that he was going to kiss me in front of all of those people. But after a few beats of pure terror, he didn't. Instead he handed me his phone number, and he asked if I would like to go on a date with him.

Me—boring old Charlotte (Lottie) Jones—on a date with Danny Boreom, bassist of the (now very) famous band Jax. It didn't seem real.

Yet, it was real, and it did happen.

It was the start of my real life.

After a night out on the town where he well and truly wined and dined me, he walked me home to my tiny flat which must have looked ridiculous compared to the mansion that I now know he lived in with the rest of the band at the time, and he finally kissed me. As his lips met mine, I felt myself flying on top of the world—he was an amazing kisser, and there seemed to be an endless chemistry between us. One that I never wanted to end.

Breathless and turned on by the power of his mouth, I invited him inside. Although he coolly and calmly turned me down, it was still the best night of my entire life, made even better by a phone call the next day to say that he only didn't come inside with me because he wanted to be something real. He didn't want our love to end at a one-night stand, he actually wanted us to develop and for him to become my boyfriend.

Fast forward three and a half years and we were blissfully living together, grazing by every day happily and easily. Although he was away for a lot of the year touring, it didn't seem to bother us. We were so strong and so solid with what we had, that nothing would get in our way.

It was perfect, still a dream come true and that intense chemistry hadn't burned down one bit.

Which made it even weirder that my reaction to Cici telling me that Baz—another member of the band—had just told her that he'd been engagement ring shopping with Danny, wasn't one of pure joy.

"What...what do you mean?" I asked, my heart racing frantically in my chest. I could tell that my voice was breathless and kind of terrified, but my mind was spinning too fast for me to be able to do anything about it.

"Aren't you happy?" She giggled, "I thought that you'd be over the moon to finally be Mrs. Boreom."

"No, no, I am," I half lied. The idea had always been at the edge of my thoughts. I knew that Danny was the one for me, and despite all the car crash relationships around us, we'd even managed to survive the fallout of him becoming mega famous. It helped that I had no interest in the spotlight and that I did everything I could to avoid it, but even despite all of that, I felt like it proved that we could go the distance, and be together forever. So why wasn't I excited for us to take the next step? "It's just a bit of a shock, that's all."

But that was normal, right? Everyone freaked out at first when they learned that they were going to become someone's wife...didn't they?

Of course, I already knew that wasn't true. I'd already been proposed to once in my life before, and that time, I didn't hesitate one bit. Panic didn't even come into the equation, I was happy, over the moon at the thought of becoming his wife. This was nothing like that had been. I felt completely different.

For the first time in a very long time, I allowed myself to think about Joe again, and almost the second that I allowed that vault to open in my mind, I felt myself fall into a tailspin. As his face filled my brain once more, it was almost as if the last five years hadn't happened at all, and that I was still his proud girlfriend, waiting to be his wife.

As the wound reopened, I could barely hear what Cici was saying to me. I felt like I was gaping, exposed, and extremely vulnerable all over again, and I did what I'd always done when I was younger, when things got too difficult for me. I started to talk to Joe in my mind.

Where are you now?

What became of you?

What happened to your life?

It was so strange to have gone from the closest people in the world, to absolutely nothing, and I struggled to imagine that he'd changed one bit. Of course I had, my life was completely different, but I couldn't think of Joe without viewing him as the other half of me. The boy that I'd adored, and the one that I never thought would leave my side.

"I...I've got to go," I finally announced to my friend. "I'll speak to you later, okay?" And then I hung up the phone, without even waiting for her to answer. I knew that I was being rude, acting more than a little strange, but I needed some time. I needed to be alone with my thoughts to try and process all of this.

So quite how I found myself sitting at my computer with my fingers running along the keys, I wasn't quite sure.

Don't press anything, I willed myself. As soon as you do, everything will change.

Since we had gone our separate ways, I hadn't contacted Joe once, and with the uprising of social media I hadn't looked him up either. I just couldn't face it. He was like an imaginary fantasy in my mind now, and I wasn't sure that I wanted to ruin that with reality. What if he was married now? Or into drugs or something? His life could have gone in any direction, and I wasn't sure that I really wanted to find out which one.

Plus, my life really was amazing now. Why would I want to even consider risking that? I had a gorgeous, passionate man who actually wanted to be with me forever, even though he was about ten leagues above me, I had a teaching job that I loved, and friends that would do anything for me. That was a hell of a lot more than most people had!

In the end I forced myself to stand up and to move away from the computer screen before it lured me in. I couldn't do it; I just wasn't willing to take that step into the unknown. It terrified me far too much. But as I wandered aimlessly from room to room, I realised that I couldn't just do nothing either. I needed to calm this beast within me, which meant delving into my past whether I liked it or not.

I stood at the bottom of the attic ladder, wondering what awaited me up there. When me and Danny decided to buy a place together—well, he put the most money in of course, but we still classed it as 'ours'—I shoved everything related to my old life away, not wanting to even consider it. But it was always a comfort, knowing that it was there, knowing that I could access it at any moment if I really wanted to.

And I could feel myself finally taking that step.

I creaked up the ladder, feeling my heart thump and my palms sweat with nerves. This was a mistake, I knew it was, but at the same time I couldn't stop.

There would be no way for me to get married without taking this step anyway. Right now, things were comfortable, but if I was ever going to have a future with Danny, I needed to consult my past first. At least, that was my excuse and I was sticking to it.

Danny knew about Joe anyway. Well, he'd been told some of it, the very basics, so I supposed that I was probably going to have to confess all before we finally took the plunge. With that thought in mind, I tore open the first box I stumbled across, and I ended up looking at the few photographs that I had of me and Joe when we were very young, when we very first met...

Lockdown is FREE!

Leah Watton’s practical joke has spiralled way out of control—all to impress a crush…

With a prank online video, Leah hopes to catch the attention of Jake Colton, a cute, blond-haired, blue-eyed co-worker she’s had a crush on for months. But instead of sending it to Jake, she manages to forward the clip to her boss—who buys every gory second.

When mass panic ensues, Leah learns the video is more than a staged act…

The government is calling the virus AM13. As the outbreak spreads, citizens are forced to stay indoors while they assess the gravity of the illness. Most people are quarantined in their homes, but Leah, Jake, and Leah’s best friend Michelle are some of the unlucky few who are stuck at work when the Lockdown occurs.

That’s where she first encounters one of the infected…

Aside from a contaminated woman devouring one of her co-workers, Leah has another problem. Does she do as she’s ordered and stay at work? Or should she disobey government orders and break free to reunite with her family?

She can’t go it alone—after all, Leah has none of the skills needed to survive—but with Michelle and Jake by her side, not even a contagious virus and a sea of the dead can keep her from…

Breaking out of the Lockdown…

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Sample...

Okay, it's official. I'm dead. I'm actually going to be killed.

Then I'll lose my job, my super important position and my beautiful nameplate, complete with Leah Watton written across it in shiny silver print. Of course, this will cause me to get kicked out of my flat and I'll end up living in some cardboard box on a skanky street corner, drinking cider and trading war stories around a bin fire.

Or the much worse option, I'll be forced to move back to my parents' house.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

All for one idiotic joke. I can't believe it. I've nearly wrecked my career already, and it was only just beginning. I can really feel the panic welling up in my stomach now. After those three long years at university studying journalism, the thing I was so sure I was destined to do with my life (which in the end turned out I actually hated). Those long depressing months of sending out CVs to every stupid newspaper, magazine, and supplement going—my parents had always made it very clear that they expected me to use my degree sensibly, especially as they may have helped me now and again, financially, after I got into a bit of credit card debt. I got rejected time and time again, even by a cheese periodical. Seriously, they said at the interview my lack of passion for the subject was apparent. I mean, what sort of person is passionate about cheese?

Finally I got a chance, well more like a small teeny tiny stepping stone, one that would actually go down well with my family. A news researcher. I mean, it's for the least watched local news program ever, in a small rural part of the country where nothing exciting ever happens, but it totally counts. I was so relieved, but definitely not happy to get this job. Still, I can't afford to lose it.

I'm such a fool. I only did this to impress Jake. Damn it. I've been trying to get his attention since I walked in on my first day and saw him smiling into the phone and twisting his hair in that cute way he does when he's concentrating. He's absolutely gorgeous—tall, dirty blond hair, blue eyes, a smile that lights up a room. I was instantly smitten, and have since spent my days catching any glimpse of him that I can.

He definitely likes to think he's the joker in the office, so after flirting and dressing to accentuate my best features—which believe me isn't easy if you're five foot three, with a figure that could do with losing about ten pounds—I thought I'd try a different approach to getting his attention.

He's one of those guys constantly emailing stupid YouTube videos to everyone, often with a fake news story attached, usually mocking one of our more recent, tedious projects. So I found a great one of a 'zombie' attack. It's brilliant. It looks so realistic and although it's in a foreign language and you can barely make out any words, the narrator sounds terrified. It made me laugh when I found it, and I knew Jake would find it funny, so I set it up.

But then came the error. I feel icy and uncomfortable even thinking about it. I accidentally sent it to Jamie King, the big boss. With a whole bloody news story attached.

He doesn't understand humour and I'm sure he's never heard a joke. He seriously does not tolerate messing around in the office. This can only mean he's either going to think I'm serious and I think this should actually go on television, on the news, like some idiot who doesn't deserve this job, or he's going to see it for the joke it is and instantly sack me. Oh God, I don't know what's worse, I can't cope with this.

I'm such a klutz. If I hadn't been talking to Michelle about the new blue high heels I bought over the weekend to go with my black swishy dress, and I was actually concentrating on what I was doing for a change, then none of this would have happened.

She's still talking to me about them now, and about a night out she's planning for someone's birthday, but I can't focus on a word she's saying. I'm just filling in all the pauses with "yeah" or "oh right" which seems to be satisfying her for now. She always was the talker in the friendship.

The waiting is almost worse than the inevitable boot. I'm on the edge of my seat, tapping my fingers and shaking my legs nervously. I keep seeing Jamie pacing up and down in his office, but not once has he come into the main room. I'm so scared I could throw up. I can't concentrate on anything. I keep logging onto Facebook just to calm down, which is actually just going to add to my bollocking, I realise as I quickly shut the Internet down.

Okay this is getting ridiculous now. It's been hours and still nothing. Maybe he just hasn't checked his email yet, or maybe my ideas are so insignificant he deleted it without even reading it. This idea bucks me up a little bit. In fact, now I think about it, he's been on his phone all morning, chattering away quickly and nervously. He looks really stressed out, and actually kinda sweaty. Gross, I screw my nose up in mild disgust. This man is far too important to be worried about some silly email from little old me, isn't he? I start to chuckle to myself. I feel relieved, almost hysterical.

"What's up?" Michelle interrupts my thoughts.

"Oh, er, nothing." I realise I've been laughing quite loudly. My face flushes red and I pretend to be engrossed in a press release on my desk.

God, press releases are boring. If I worked in PR I'd attach some freebies or something eye catching with everything I sent to anyone in the media. Surely that's a way to ensure you'd get on the news? I'd find out who worked at each news studio and send them something they'd specifically like. For example, for me I'd send a nice new bag. Or, no that might be a bit much; maybe some new bath salts or something. If someone sent me that I'd make sure their product or story got on the news, even if it was really dull.

"Leah."Jamie's voice makes me jump out of my seat. Damn, I'd forgotten all about that email for a minute there.

I quickly close down Facebook. How did I end up on that website again? I'm reading everyone's gossip and not even realising it. I walk quickly to his office with my head down. Everyone is staring at me, which makes me feel awful. Mind you, if I was sat amongst them I'd be staring at me too.

"Sit." I sit down very quickly. This is the end for me I can feel it.

The silence lasts for what feels like forever.

"I need you to explain this email you sent me."

"Well, it was just a, um, joke really. I was just...erm." I can't stop babbling, my heart is pounding and my face is getting hotter and hotter.

"Where did you find the video?" he asks me as if I'm about five years old.

"Um, well, I found it on YouTube. On my own time, of course. I was only messing around during lunch, trying to get a laugh, lighten the atmosphere a bit." I let out a strangled giggle; this could not be going worse. "I would never misuse company property. Except, well, the email. But that was just um, I didn't mean to."

"So, it's not something you have been working on for a story?"

"Er no, I don't thinks it's, you know—" Don't say it. Do not say it. "—real?" Damn it! Why would he need that obvious fact clarified?

"Hmmm, well, I want you to send me the video link so I can see what it is you lot are really doing when you're supposed to be working." The look he gives me makes me feel about two feet tall.

I'm shell-shocked as I walk back to my desk. What the hell just happened?

"What was that about?" Michelle whispers.

I shrug my shoulders as a confused reply. Jamie is furious. That much I can see. I can't tell if he really wants the link, or if he was just messing with me, trying to freak me out more than he already has, so I'll never do anything bad again. Well, it's working, but I think I'd better do what he asked, just in case.

I suddenly look at Michelle's face and realise she's actually pissed off with the fact that I haven't given her any details to gossip about and help pass the day quicker. I feel totally sympathetic, so I fill her in on all the details.

Legend of Angreal - Carnival of Strange Things

Ladies and gentlemen, step right up. The carnival is about to begin, and the show is to die for... 

Grab your ticket and take a seat. The ringmaster’s opening act? A creature showcasing its bloody feat.

There are haunting spirits with much to tell. Tales of torture and screams straight from the burning flames of hell.

Tick-tock goes the time, seconds passing by as you slowly lose your mind.

Watch.
Wait.
Listen.

Evil is coming, and it’s striking from behind.

Horror and fear, like filth on your skin it clings,
Question is, are you brave enough to endure…

The Carnival of Strange Things?

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Legend of Angreal Sample...

Sadie
 “Look!” Jessie screeches in an over the top manner. “Just look at him, he’s disgusting.”
I snatch my tablet off her, letting my annoyance shine through. “I’m the one who discovered him, you know. You don’t have to go about acting like it was you.”
“Alright, Sadie, you don’t need to be a bitch about it. I’m saying he’s awesome. What is it? Like, a demon, or something? We should hunt it. I’ve always wanted to be a demon hunter.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, it isn’t real. It’s just artwork. That’s why I wanted you to see it…”
But Jessie’s already distracted. She always gets this way when I talk about art or something else that doesn’t directly interest her. She can be so selfish sometimes, I honestly don’t know why I’m still friends with her.
I guess because I want to keep in with the other girls.
“Come on, guys.” Jessie turns to face the rest of our friends, the Girl Gang we call ourselves. “It’s my sixteenth birthday and this is how I want to spend it. At this carnival, hunting for this demon. What’s it even called?”
“Angreal,” I reply grumpily.
“Right. The carnival is here at the moment, in town. I’m sure my brother will give us a ride. Come on. Jessie, Kate, Rae, Isla?” She looks at everyone in turn. “Darla? We can turn it into a real night out as well. Carnivals are usually the best fun ever.”
I already know everyone will agree before they nod. Jessie always gets her way, and it’s her birthday, so how can we disagree? The problem is I hate carnivals. The smelly, sticky food, the bright whirling lights, the stomach-churning rides…it’s all awful. I knew the moment it hit town I wouldn’t be able to avoid it, but I’ve tried my hardest anyway.
I’ll suck it up though, I’ll go and make an effort because I don’t want to be all alone when it’s my sixteenth birthday. That’s social suicide, I can’t think of anything more embarrassing than that.
“Great!” Jessie bounces off her bed and out the room. “I’ll get Ben now. We’ll be there in a while, then the fun can begin.”
“Can I see that?” Isla quietly takes the screen from me, her brow furrowed in disbelief. “Jessie does realize this is nuts, doesn’t she? Someone’s obviously created this Legend of Angreal because the Carnival of Coisas Estranhas is in town right now.”
“No.” I point to the date. “Look, this website was set up years ago. I actually stumbled across it accidently when I was trying to find out what coisas estranhas means.”
“And what does it mean?”
“Strange things…or weird stuff. Depends on what translator you’re using. Basically, the carnival isn’t like other ones. The rides are all themed weirdly. Creepy-themed, mostly. It’s just a ploy to be a bit unique. I guess everyone’s growing sick of the same old clowns.”
“So, there are no clowns?”
“Probably. Just other stuff as well.”
“Okay, so whatever.” Isla shakes her head. “This demon obviously means nothing. The story doesn’t even make any sense. He was created using Voodoo. As far as I know, Voodoo isn’t used to create demons, so there’s a hole in the story right there. He haunts the carnival looking for people with dark souls to become followers. Using their blood to get into their bodies. Or to infect them…that part isn’t even clear. Doesn’t that sound like a publicity stunt to you? A crazy story to get people to come to this so-called unique carnival? Also, look at him. He doesn’t even look like a normal demon…”
“I don’t think he’s supposed to,” I jump in. “That’s part of the story. He isn’t a typical freaky beast you’d expect to steal your soul. Angreal has more of an ice-cold beautiful blue ethereal appearance to lure you in when you least expect it.”
Actually, the more I look at the image, the less disgusting it is. I guess he would be tempting in a way…
Her lips turn down into a frown. “Well, it still looks stupid to me. How is it supposed to determine if you have a dark enough soul to become a follower anyway? It can just see it?”
“On another site I found, it says he makes you do certain things, to find out if you have what it takes.”
“Things? What sort of things?”
“I don’t know. Like dark things, I suppose. Evil tasks. I wouldn’t like to think too much about it.”
“And then what happens? When it takes you?”
I shrug. “I don’t know, I guess you follow it around, doing it’s bidding.”
A thick silence clings to the air for a moment, until Isla bursts out laughing. She has this crazy infectious bellow of a chuckle that always gets me, so it isn’t long before I’m bent double too, and the other girls have joined in.
I love it when it’s like this, just us old friends. Well, and Darla too. She joined the school two years ago, same as Jessie, but she slotted into our friendship group with ease, whereas Jessie took over, pushing me to one side, changing everything.
I would love it to be this way all the time. Just us five.
Hey, who knows, maybe this demon will turn out to be real and it’ll eat Jessie as we hunt it down. Or it’ll recognize her darkness and steal her soul. Who cares as long as she’s out of my life!
“Guys, it’s time!” Jessie’s face returns, shattering the magic. “Ben said he’d take us. We’re on the way to the carnival.”
My stomach drops, my heart sinks, my fun night is over. I force a smile on my lips as everyone else squeals with joy, but I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep pretending.
Being fake and keeping my feelings inside isn’t exactly something I’m known for, but I’ve had to get a lot better at it over the past couple of years. It seems like all that practice has been leading up to right now, a night that’s going to be the worst of my entire life.

Wild Card by Michael Brandman

"...another irreverent, complex lawman." —Library Journal
Follow Buddy Steel on his most difficult and dangerous investigation yet as he stumbles upon corruption in his own backyard.
When San Remo County Acting Sheriff Buddy Steel is deputized by the California Coastal Commission to investigate a reclusive Russian billionaire who has repeatedly violated state law by obstructing public access to his vast beachfront property, he makes a shocking discovery. And learns that the politicos, some with a history of corruption, some just chicken, will not back up enforcement.
This makes Buddy, a former LAPD cop dragged home by his Sheriff father's ALS diagnosis to "temporarily" head the department, dig in his heels and face down the Russian's imported goon squad. It can and will get uglier.
At the same time a string of random murders in the county's normally sleepy town of Freedom, a wealthy enclave up the coast from Los Angeles, places the Sheriff's Department on high alert as it seeks to apprehend a serial killer whose crimes are so perfectly executed they leave no forensic evidence.
Buddy enlists an old adversary in his war with the Russian. She's a legal shark from L.A., a savvy negotiator—and former lover. He needs to carry this fight to court. And he needs more backup—from the Sheriff's Department staff, not the Sheriff, who resists being sidelined. Nor Freedom's mayor, Buddy's stepmother.
Unconventional and meticulously obtuse in his methodology, wild card cynic Buddy Steel barrels his way through the myriad obstacles that defy him. He may not want the job but his quest for serving the law is relentless.
Wild Card is the third in the Buddy Steel series by Hollywood ace Michael Brandman who, among his other credits, has both written New York Times bestsellers in the Robert B. Parker Jesse Stone series and brought Jesse to the screen in nine films starring Tom Selleck.

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If the Creek Don't Rise by Leah Weiss

"[A] striking debut..." — BUSTLE  
"...masterful use of language....Weiss' novel is a great suggestion for fans of the Big Stone Gap books, by Adriana Trigiani, and Mitford series, by Jan Karon."—Booklist, STARRED Review
He's gonna be sorry he ever messed with me and Loretta Lynn
Sadie Blue has been a wife for fifteen days. That's long enough to know she should have never hitched herself to Roy Tupkin, even with the baby.
Sadie is desperate to make her own mark on the world, but in remote Appalachia, a ticket out of town is hard to come by, and hope often gets stomped out.  When a stranger sweeps into Baines Creek and knocks things off kilter, Sadie finds herself with an unexpected lifeline...if she can just figure out how to use it.
This intimate insight into a fiercely proud, tenacious community unfolds through the voices of the forgotten folks of Baines Creek. With a colorful cast of characters that each contribute a new perspective, IF THE CREEK DON'T RISE is a debut novel bursting with heart, honesty, and homegrown grit.

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All This I Will Give to You by Dolores Redondo

The award-winning, international bestselling page-turner about the secrets and lies of one man that lead another into a treacherous house of strangers…
When novelist Manuel Ortigosa learns that his husband, Álvaro, has been killed in a car crash, it comes as a devastating shock. It won’t be the last. He’s now arrived in Galicia. It’s where Álvaro died. It’s where the case has already been quickly closed as a tragic accident. It’s also where Álvaro hid his secrets.
The man to whom Manuel was married for fifteen years was not the unassuming man he knew.
Álvaro’s trail leads Manuel deep into one of Spain’s most powerful and guarded families. Behind the walls of their forbidding estate, Manuel is nothing but an unwelcome and dangerous intruder. Then he finds two allies: a stubbornly suspicious police lieutenant and Álvaro’s old friend—and private confessor—from seminary school. Together they’re collecting the pieces of Álvaro’s past, his double life, and his mysterious death.
But in the shadows of nobility and privilege, Manuel is about to unravel a web of corruption and deception that could be as fatal a trap for him as it was for the man he loved.

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The Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe

A Hallmark Hall of Fame Movie, as seen on Hallmark Channel!

Known for her moving characters and emotional honesty, Mary Alice Monroe brings readers a beautifully rendered story that explores the fragile yet enduring bond between mothers and daughters 

Caretta Rutledge thought she’d left her Southern roots and troubled family far behind. But an unusual request from her mother—coming just as her own life is spinning out of control—has Cara heading back to the scenic Lowcountry of her childhood summers. Before long, the rhythms of the island open her heart in wonderful ways as she repairs the family beach house, becomes a bona fide “turtle lady” and renews old acquaintances long thought lost. But it is in reconnecting with her mother that she will learn life’s most precious lessons—true love involves sacrifice, family is forever and the mistakes of the past can be forgiven.

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