I started and stopped two different books after finishing my last one. One was too slapstick funny and sarcastic. The other left me thinking about everything but the story I was reading, while I was trying to read it. Then I picked up this book, through an interesting set of circumstances, and fell in love with Zoe, Ethan, and all of Camden Cove. It is the perfect balance of romantic and authentic.
This first volume of the Camden Cove series sets the stage for many more heartwarming and emotional journeys in this idyllic setting. A good story has elements of setting, character, and plot that hold the reader’s attention and carries them along on a wave that helps one understand elements of the human condition. This goes a step further. Alongside Zoe, Ethan, Max, Henry, Amelia, John, and Zeke, I experienced what these characters were truly feeling through Ms. Joy’s ability to capture that elusive emotional element that we so often feel but can’t quite put into words.
The impossible choices that straddle the should haves and could haves place us as the reader in the middle of a narrative that helps to navigate those quandaries in real life because we witness how these characters deal with all aspects of their choices inside the covers of a book. And a lot of stories do that same thing, but this one does it in a way where we not only see the rose but also the thorns that accompany it as well.
The complex relationships and secrets that span generations provide a compelling context for how this story evolves and finishes, even if it feels as though this author has made it clear in the best way possible that every ending is only but an opportunity for a new beginning with endless possibilities.
Dave’s Rating: ☕️☕️☕️☕️
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