Book Description:
Turning off the winding coastal road and seeing the old farmhouse surrounded by cranberry vines ahead, Lily’s breath catches in her throat. It’s just how she remembers it. But pushing open the wooden front door for the first time in decades, it’s clear everything has changed…
When her estranged aunt Dahlia dies, single mother Lily Lindgren is surprised to inherit the family home and cranberry farm. Returning to Dune Island for the first time since Dahlia admitted to a terrible betrayal that shattered Lily’s trust in her family, she’s ready to sell up and finally create a stable future for her little boy. But her high-school crush and farm manager Jake Benson is determined to stop Lily’s plan…
After helping Dahlia turn part of the house into a local produce store, Jake shared her dream of making the cranberry farm a community hub for the island. His stories about Dahlia, and how much she had missed Lily all these years, make Lily question if she was wrong to never forgive her aunt. And when Jake joins her long walks over the sand dunes, there’s an undeniable spark… could a move to Dune Island be the key to her and her son’s happiness?
But then, clearing out Dahlia’s bedroom, Lily finds an old picture of Dahlia that stops her in her tracks. Just when she was making peace with Dahlia’s memory and learning to trust again, Lily’s heart is shattered to find she was keeping another secret. Can Lily trust Jake to tell her the painful truth—or will she run from Dune Island again for good?
An utterly beautiful beach read about family secrets, finding yourself, and learning the true meaning of home. Perfect for fans of Carolyn Brown, Barbara O’Neal and Mary Alice Monroe.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'Lily's Secret Inheritance' by Kristin Harper.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Kristin Harper, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication Date 15th September 2022.
This is the second book I have read by this author. It is also the fourth book in the 'Dune Island' series but can be read as a standalone. I have previously read 'Summer At Hope Haven' which is the first book in this series and I would definitely recommend it.
I was originally drawn to this book by its gorgeous eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that thus book is 'Perfect for fans of Carolyn Brown, Barbara O’Neal and Mary Alice Monroe.' I am a huge fan of Carolyn so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a fan of Kristin and if this is as good as 'Summer At Hope Haven' it is sure to be a great read. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of a prologue, 28 chapters and an epilogue set over 3 parts. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based on the fictional Hope Haven, Dune Island, Massachusetts, USA 🇺🇸.
This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonist is Lily Lindgren/Perkins. The benefits of third person perspective are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.
This book is quite fast paced with absolutely stunning and vivid descriptions that really set the atmosphere. Speaking of the atmosphere I absolutely loved it and it was the perfect setting for this page turner. It is set in a cranberry farm that was part of Lily's aunts home. I must admit I have never tried cranberries before but this book has made me want to!! Who knew how many different things you can make with them but I must admit the choc-cran ice-cream sounded the nicest 😋. It is emotionally charged and filled with family, romance, lies, secrets, drama and of course plenty of cranberries!! It also included lots of information on the history of the Cranberry farm which I must say was absolutely intriguing to read. I love learning about history and although this was a fictional book I still found myself lost in the history of it all. This book really does show how one small thing can affect so many people and change so many lives. It is also about moving forward, learning how to look to the future instead of the past, forgiveness and second chances. It is beautifully written and one of those books you could read on a beach or in front of a fire. It is beautifully written with such realistic descriptions it made me feel like I was right next to Lily the whole time feeling the sand on my toes and the wind in my hair. I loved that we get to travel back into Lily's childhood and Kristin weaves these chapters in beautifully at the right times. The ending was absolutely beautiful and I am hoping to find out more about where Lily goes from the end. It genuinely felt like I had gone on holiday to Dune Island and I was devastated to come to the end and realise I had to unpack my suitcase! This book would make an absolutely gorgeous movie! I'm looking forward to reading the previous and future books in this beautiful series.
It is set over multiple time lines. When books show what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present I find it really helps the reader (if it is well done) understand why things are happening and what has lead to the present activities and decisions. It also shows the bigger picture.
Although this is the fourth book in the series I have had absolutely no problems reading it without the others. Any details or events that have previously happened are mentioned in just the right amount of detail to let a new reader know what has happened and yet not too much to bore a previous reader.
The characters were well rounded, solid and realistic. The main characters in this book are Lily and Dahlia and as a mother myself I can relate to them both. They are such strong female characters which I love seeing in novels. I loved watching Lily's character development throughout the book. My heart went out to her at the beginning of the book but by the end it was absolutely breaking. However, there were times where I thought she was a bit overprotective and overbearing. It is hard to say too much without giving too much of the storyline away. I did want to say I wish Dahlia had....so frustrating! Oh well I'll try and say as much as I can about my character thoughts. I enjoyed reading the chapters from the past and discovering how Dahlia and Lily met and I thought it was lovely to see such a beautiful friendship and then relationship develop. It also made the 'now' chapters even more emotional as you go from seeing Lily surrounded by a beautiful family to her with just Ryan and Jake on the island. I absolutely adored Ryan who was a typical boy. My son is around the same age and I can feel is frustration about not being allowed to do certain things when I would have no problems with my son doing the same. My thoughts on Jake changed throughout the book from starting by thinking he was aloof and stand offish to thinking he was handsome, sweet and would make a fantastic father. Each of these characters worked perfectly together to make this book an absolutely beautiful read. I am looking forward to meeting them all again and hopefully soon!
Congratulations Kristin on an absolutely stunning page turner!!
Overall a stunning page turner which takes you on holiday and floods you with emotions..
Genres covered include Women's Contemporary Fiction, Women's Romance Fiction and Women's Writers Fiction amongst others.
I would recommend this book to fans of the above but also for fans of Carolyn Brown, Barbara O’Neal, Mary Alice Monroe and Nicholas Sparks, being a huge fan of his I believe other fans may also enjoy this.
316 pages.
This book is £1.99 to purchase on kindle and £8.99 for paperback via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5 /5 (I loved it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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Author Bio:
Ever since she was a young girl, there were few things Kristin liked more than creative writing and spending time on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, with her family. Eventually (after a succession of jobs that bored her to tears), she found a way to combine those two passions by becoming a women’s fiction author whose stories occur in oceanside settings. While Kristin doesn’t live on the Cape year-round, she escapes to the beach whenever she can.
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Buy Link:
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