Summer on Sunshine Bay
by Debbie Mason
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: May 23, 2023
Reviewed by PJ
Lila Rosetti Sinclair returns to Sunshine Bay a bundle of nerves. After being gone for years, sharing the news that she’s engaged—to a man her mother has never met—is going to be difficult to navigate. But when her fiancé David surprises her with an engagement party at Windemere, the upscale inn his parents recently purchased and that just may put her family’s restaurant, La Dolce Vita, out of business, Lila’s got a whole new set of problems.
Eva Rosetti is so ecstatic to finally have her daughter home that she pushes aside her misgivings about having to come face-to-face with Lila’s father again. That is until he sweeps into town and feelings Eva thought far behind her resurface....
With a family business to save and a wedding to plan, Eva and Lila’s reunion is more than either bargained for, but with a little luck and a whole lot of support from friends and family, it may just turn out to be the best summer of their lives.
PJ's Thoughts:
Even though this book has romantic threads (for multiple generations) and happy endings (for all), it skews more women's fiction than the contemporary romance for which Mason is known. It may center the story more on the Rosetti women and their journeys than only one couple but it still contains all the elements that have made Debbie Mason one of my favorite auto-buy authors. There's fun, thought-provoking conflict, laugh-out-loud humor, complex characters, complicated family (and romantic) relationships, emotional depth, and feel-good, happy endings. I am here for all of them.
I fell hard for this boisterous, opinionated, meddling, loving, stubborn, Italian family of independent women. They love hard, play hard, and hold grudges hard. They hold fast to the belief that they're cursed in love. At least the older generations do. Lila holds a different opinion but Lila is also about to marry a man she isn't in love with - for reasons - and fighting pesky feelings for a "local boy", now a considerate and sexy man, who sets off all the heart-tugging feelings the man she's supposed to marry doesn't. Eva, a beautiful and sensual woman, is dealing with "the menopause," hot flashes at inconvenient moments, the loss of her desire for physical relations, and the sudden and unexpected return of all kinds of sensations when her former lover, Lila's father, now a widower, shows up. Things are about to get very complicated in Sunshine Bay.
I loved everything about this book. One of the things I most enjoy about Debbie Mason - besides her multi-layered, fully-developed characters - is her willingness to tackle tough situations in thoughtful, emotionally sensitive ways. The complicated relationship among Lila, David, and two others may walk a fine line but, for me, it never crossed that line. I never felt like anyone was the "villain" in this scenario and I appreciated that. I was also very satisfied with the resolution of all the relationships and partnerships formed going forward. I'm being purposefully vague here but you'll understand once you've read the book. Oh, and I absolutely adored one very playful, affectionate, and huge Newfie who stole every single scene in which he appeared. I'm such a pushover for big, lovable dogs.
I'm hoping Summer on Sunshine Bay won't be the last we see of the Rosetti women. Lila has two cousins and two half-sisters who have all aroused my curiosity. Plus, there's her artist aunt who already lives in Sunshine Bay and a mysterious, estranged movie star aunt nobody in the family talks about. And I can't forget David's mother, another character who most definitely deserves a happy ending. I'm nowhere near ready to say farewell to this family!
Have you read Debbie Mason?
Do you enjoy books with storylines for multiple generations?
Lila's mother and grandmother own an Italian restaurant, which happens to be my favorite type of food. What's your favorite?
Two randomly chosen people who post a comment before 11:00 PM, May 21 will each receive a print book (my choice) from Debbie Mason's Highland Falls series.
*U.S. only
*Must be 18
