Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are cousins, but they barely know each another, and they’ve never even met their grandmother. Rich and reclusive, she disinherited their parents before they were born. So when they each receive a letter inviting them to work at her island resort for the summer, they’re surprised . . . and curious.
Their parents are all clear on one point–not going is not an option. This could be the opportunity to get back into Grandmother’s good graces. But when the cousins arrive on the island, it’s immediately clear that she has different plans for them. And the longer they stay, the more they realize how mysterious–and dark–their family’s past is.
The entire Story family has secrets. Whatever pulled them apart years ago isn’t over–and this summer, the cousins will learn everything.
CW: Alcoholism, miscarriage, death, murder,
Rating
Review
The premise of the book is three cousins who haven’t had any contact with each other since their childhood and who don’t know their grandmother, but one day, the latter asks them to come to work in her resort during summer break. This simple plot makes you want to understand the complex story of the family and why this woman decided to disinherit her children and then never have any contact with her grandchild.
This book is predictable as you don’t need to be a genius to rapidly understand what happened or at least some elements of the resolution. Still, the author is the best for distractions, and here it’s an interesting one. For once, I wasn’t bothered by the flashbacks; I even found them necessary for the clarity of the story. One plot twist surprised me; I really wasn’t ready for it. I just would have liked it more if it had changed something in the book’s dynamic. I’m not convinced it adds anything to the whole story; it only helps the romance part of the book.
The characters in this one are pretty despicable, especially the cousins’ parents. There is one character who is the best and just wants to make things right for everyone (who also needs a big hug). I love to see the cousins bond with each other and become a little tight-knit group at the end. I think the fact that they need to rely on each other and recognise themselves in each other as they are just chess pieces in a game where they don’t know the rules because everything happened before their birth helps a lot to create this tight group.
Like always, I’m not disappointed by Karen M. Mc Manus’s books. Yeah, they’re easy and quick reads, but when you want a break from more complex books, they’re the best.
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