Sunset Beach by Mary Kay Andrews

Put Sunset Beach by Mary Kay Andrews on your reading list even though the summer is coming to an end. It isn’t about lounging around on the sand and it’s not a romance on the beach. It is about a young woman, Drue, moving past tough experiences in life to create new possibilities while helping others and finding justice.

After Drue’s mother dies, she finds herself in a tough spot in life. She decides to move back to her hometown and take a job at her father’s law firm even though he hasn’t been a part of her life since she was 15. Drue learns that she inherited her grandparents beach house, but it’s in rough shape.

While fixing the place up, Drue finds newspaper clippings and a police file from the ’70’s on a missing person case that was never solved. Her curiosity is piqued about both the missing woman and her family’s connection to it. Meanwhile, a disgruntled woman visits the law office wanting to see Drue’s father. The woman’s daughter was killed while housekeeping at an area hotel. Although Drue’s father won the case, he wasn’t able to get much money. The hotel claimed the daughter was killed while working which made it a workman’s comp case with a cap of $150,000 for a settlement. The woman is struggling financially to raise her granddaughter and can’t get to the money until the child turns 18. Drue feels the settlement is ridiculously low and wonders what can be done to help the woman and her granddaughter. Without her father’s knowledge, she begins to investigate both situations.

After reading so many beach romances, I found this book refreshing. Even with the murder mystery, it is still a light read, not the kind of story that keeps you awake a night. The characters and plot kept me engaged. I enjoyed a strong female character who took chances while investigating. Sometimes her curiosity put her in danger, but her motive was always to help someone. I enjoyed it enough that I will definitely read more books by Mary Kay Andrews.

April 3, 2019

Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand

Elin Hilderbrand is one of my go-to authors. Most of Hilderbrand’s stories take place in the Nantucket area where she lives. However, when I attended an author series presented by the Cuyahoga Public Libraries last fall, I was excited to hear her speak about her new series that would take place in St. John (USVI). If spring weather isn’t coming fast enough for you, try escaping to St John for awhile in her first book in the series, Winter in Paradise.

Irene discovers that her husband Russell has died in a helicopter accident while away on “business” in St. John. When she and her adult sons arrive in St. John, they uncover that he was living a secret second life there. Russell owned a $15 million villa and had a long-time lover (Rosie) who was also killed in the crash. We learn about Russell through the people he impacted on the island including Huck (Rosie’s step-father), Ayers (Rosie’s best friend) and Maia (Rosie’s daughter). The way Irene’s family becomes entangled with Rosie’s family makes for interesting relationships.

Although Irene has been living a life of wealth, readers may think it is unrealistic that Russell could have hidden a $15 million villa and another family. However, suspicions arise concerning both the helicopter crash and what Russell was actually doing for a living. The villa had been cleaned out of any personal items before Irene arrived and the company Russell worked for has disconnected their phone and taken down their website.

Readers will want to read the next book to find out what Russell was involved in and whether or not the crash was an accident, but they will also be excited to spend more time with fun and unique characters in the Virgin Islands. I give it a thumbs up!

March 5, 2019February 20, 2019

Sand Dollar: A Story of Undying Love by Sebastian Cole

Hi everyone! In my last post I shared part of my journey to pinpoint the genre term publishers and agents might use to describe the book I’ve written, The Lighthouse Legacy. ( In case you wondered, I concluded it is upmarket fiction with a crossover to the women’s fiction market.)

Anyhoo – while researching, I came across a book that has romance using a male protagonist, like my novel. (Not a common thing, apparently). It isn’t chick lit ( a real publisher term, by the way) and it isn’t women’s fiction (because of the male protagonist). Sebastian Cole, the author, labels Sand Dollar: A Story of Undying Love as romance fantasy (as in events happen outside our idea of reality, not as in “sexy”). Ok, so it doesn’t match my novel’s genre, but I had to read it to find that out. I’m glad I did. I still think about the characters months after reading the book.

This story is told in retrospect by an 80-year-old Noah to Josh, a hospital orderly. (Yes, I believe the character is meant as a nod to Nicholas Sparks’s Noah in The Notebook.) In his 30’s, Noah seems to have everything a person could want – a nice car, a secure, well-paying job in his father’s company, and a great beach house. What Noah doesn’t have is his soul mate.

When he meets Robin, he is enticed by her free spirit. His parents, however, don’t see her as a good fit, so they exercise their strong control over his life by threatening his future in the family business. Due to both his inability to break away from his parents’ control and Robin’s own issues with staying in a relationship, they find each other and lose each other several times. In time he discovers that Robin’s issues revolve around a childhood trauma which brought on Borderline Personality Disorder. All his attempts to fix their relationship fail. Although he loves Robin, he realizes it’s time to move on with his life. Just as Noah is preparing to marry Sarah, a woman who is more his friend than soul mate, Robin arrives at the church to interrupt the wedding.

Robin could be too late to save their relationship. Besides his fiance waiting at the altar, Noah must also consider his position in the family business. Sarah is the safe option. Which road will he choose and can he find true happiness in his decision?

The end of the story returns to 80-year-old Noah as he continues to tell his story to Josh in the hospital. All the people he has loved are standing around his death bed, so we still don’t know what choice Noah made on that wedding day. The author gradually reveals the choice. As a reader, I felt content with the ending.

I loved the story and the characters, but occasionally the time period of the scene or the organization of the story was confusing. The symbolism also seemed a bit heavy-handed. While the story is original, at times I felt it pulled ideas from The Notebook too much. Having said that, Cole’s character of Noah has stayed with me. He felt like a friend I didn’t want to say goodbye to.

Sand Dollar: A Story of Undying Love by Sebastian Cole has earned several awards. In 2012 ForeWard Reviews Book of the Year named it their bronze winner, Feathered Quill Book Awards awarded Sand Dollar as their silver winner, and it was a USA Best Book Awards finalist, just to name a few. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

February 19, 2019January 12, 2022

Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks

Hi my shells! Thanks for taking a few minutes out of your day to hang out with me.

I hope you caught my last post on the Kindred Spirit mailbox located in the middle of nowhere on a North Carolina beach. People leave stories from their lives there for others to discover. (If you missed it, I hope you will look back in your email or go to the blog page on robinshelley.com to read it.)

I first became aware of this intriguing mailbox when I read Nicholas Sparks’s newest novel Every Breath, released in October of 2018. Sparks uses this very real mailbox as an important part of his fictional story. With a unique narration, Sparks puts himself into the novel creating a frame story (a story inside a story). The novel begins with Sparks (as the narrator) finding the mailbox which contains a large envelope. Inside is a story that piques his interest. As the narrator, Sparks tells us he felt compelled to research the story which takes us back into the 1990’s to meet our characters, Hope and Tru.

Hope Anderson is spending a week at the family beach house before it gets sold, trying to work through some emotional issues in her life. Her long-term relationship isn’t headed any closer to a marriage proposal and her father has been diagnosed with ALS.

Tru Walls, born and raised in Zimbabwe, makes a career out of being a safari guide. When he receives a letter from the father he never knew, he travels to North Carolina to meet him.

Tru and Hope end up in side-by-side beach houses. It doesn’t take long for them to meet and for the “sparks” to fly. The problem is to figure out how to make a relationship work when they live on different continents and both have obligations at home. The fairy tale beach romance gets overshadowed by reality. Hard choices are made putting family ahead of personal happiness. The story jumps to 2014 when they meet again. Is it too late for Hope and Tru to find their personal happiness with each other? I can’t tell you more or it will spoil the book for you! Just read it yourself.

Personally, I would have liked more scenes in Africa and more development of Tru’s relationship with his father. After all, Tru came all the way from Zimbabwe to the United States to meet him. It also bothers me that Hope and Tru fall so deeply in love in a matter of days, but that’s part of the formula. I’m able to set that aside while reading so I can enjoy an otherwise well-written story.

The last Nicholas Sparks book I reviewed, Two By Two, disappointed me because it didn’t fit the brand Sparks has developed. It wasn’t the love story we’ve come to expect from him. However, with Every Breath, Sparks has found his way back to telling a love story like previous ones loved by so many. There will always be people who don’t like the formula he follows. For others, it’s just what they crave. All I can say is it seems to work for him. I TRU-ly enjoyed Every Breath and give it a 4.8 on a 5 star rating. If this is your kind of book, I HOPE you will pick it up and give it a try. Keep on reading!

September 26, 2018September 26, 2018

Two By Two by Nicholas Sparks

Do you have a favorite author? For me, it’s Nicholas Sparks. If you don’t know who he is, which I find hard to imagine, perhaps it will ring a bell if you hear some of his titles, several which have been made into movies. He wrote A Walk to Remember, Dear John, Nights in Rodanthe, The Last Song, Message in a Bottle, Safe Haven, and the iconic The Notebook, just to name a few. He is usually thought of as an author of romance with tragic elements. He was my inspiration to start writing novels.

I just finished his latest book Two By Two. As much as I want to give it 5 stars, I can only give it 3.5. It was definitely worth the time to read it; however, Spark’s heartache from his own divorce understandably appears to be leaking into his writing. If you are looking for the typical Nicholas Sparks love story, this isn’t it. You might call it an anti-romance. Yet, I found the development of the main character interesting.

Through a large part of the novel (probably too much) we see the slow disintegration of a marriage. Russ is a people-pleaser. His wife Vivian manipulates him to the point that he becomes a non-entity in the relationship. When she leaves him, he struggles with his self-worth. He is overwhelmed by the divorce, his new role as a single parent and getting his new business up and running. Through these experiences and with the support of loved ones, Russ grows into a stronger man.

At first I thought it was strange that Sparks would write a book about a failing marriage. He’s supposed to write about romance, right? And yet, it works. Readers feel for Russ as he goes from drowning in a nasty divorce to gasping Continue reading “Two By Two by Nicholas Sparks”

July 15, 2018March 7, 2024

The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand

Robin’s Rave Reviews 2018

Reading goes hand-in-hand with writing. Writers need to be reading. So in between writing, researching how to get published, building my social network/platform, and living life, I still find time to read.

I just finished The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand which I would highly recommend. The story revolves around twin sisters who are nothing alike. One raised by her mother, the other by her father; one lives on Nantucket, the other on Martha’s Vineyard; one is very proper, the other leaps into trouble because she doesn’t think first. They have been at odds with each other for years until a family tragedy forces them to cross paths. Only they can decide if blood is thicker than the water that divides them.

What I liked: The characters became like family to me. They were realistic and interesting. When I finished the last page, I didn’t want to leave their world. I didn’t notice any slow spots in the story. I just wanted to keep reading! Elin used a smart parallel structure in her writing to masterfully show the differences in the women while also showcasing the differences between their two islands. You will enjoy her nod to The Parent Trap when the women switch lives as they try to work out their personal issues.

Fun Side Note: Elin has a twin brother. Obviously they aren’t identical, but she knows a thing or two about twinning!

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