An invincible summer by Mariah Stewart

 

Name of Book: An Invincible Summer

Author: Mariah Stewart

ISBN: 978-1542025362

Publisher: Montlake

Part of a Series: Wyndham Beach Series

Type of book: Second chances, secrets, siblings, mother/daughter relationships, sister relationships, friendships, contemporary, women's fiction, passage of time and years, lawyers, decisions, Maine or Pennsylvania? 

Year it was published: 2021

Summary:

It was a lifetime ago that recently widowed Maggie Flynn was in Wyndham Beach. Now, on the occasion of her fortieth high school reunion, she returns to her hometown on the Massachusetts coast, picking up right where she left off with dear friends Lydia and Emma. But seeing Brett Crawford again stirs other emotions. Once, they were the town’s golden couple destined for one another. He shared Maggie’s dreams—and eventually, a shattering secret that drove them apart.

Buying her old family home and resettling in Wyndham Beach means a chance to start over for Maggie and her two daughters, but it also means facing her rekindled feelings for her first love and finally confronting—and embracing—the past in ways she never thought possible. Maggie won’t be alone. With her family and friends around her, she can weather this stormy turning point in her life and open her heart to the future. As for that dream shared and lost years ago? If Maggie can forgive herself, it still might come true. 

Characters:

So there are at least three main characters, and a number of supporting characters. Main characters include Maggie Flynn, a widow with two daughters who feels she is at an empasse in her life and who harbors a secret she has kept from everyone. Natalie is the youngest daughter, a single mother to a little girl who also is keeping a secret or two from her family. Grace is the oldest  daughter who is trying to deal with her ex husbands infidelity and also happens to work in the same place as he.there are other characters such as Maggie's two best friends as well as their progeny, but I feel that they hadn't really made themselves known or visible as well as Maggie's and her two daughters had.  

Theme:

It's important to live and celebrate life 

Plot:

For a Mariah Stewart novel, AN INVINCIBLE SUMMER was definitely an innovative welcome home present. In her previous books that I read, she tends to focus only on either one or two characters. ( Most of the times a woman and sometimes a man would give his thoughts.) And a lot of her books that I read are focused on summer season. AN INVINCIBLE SUMMER, however, presents three women, Maggie and her two daughters and it seems to last for a few years instead of a single season as in her Chesapeake Diaries or her Hudson Sisters Trilogy. The stories themselves felt unfinished, at least in relation to Maggie's daughters, and I hope they will be finished in the future.  

Author Information:
(From the book)

Mariah Stewart is the NEW YORK TIMES, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today bestselling author of several series, including The CHesapeake Diaries and The Hudson Ssisters, as well as standalone novels, novellas, and short stories. A native of Hightstown, New Jersey, she lives with her husband and two rambunctious resuce dogs amid teh rolling hills of Chester County, Pennsylvania, where she savors country life, tends her gardens, and works on her next novel. She's the proud mama of two fabulous daughters who-along with hefr equally fabulous sons-in-law- have gifted her wtih six adorable (and yes, fabulous) granddarlings. For more information visit www.mariahstewart.com 

Opinion:

Just like her previous novels, AN INVINCIBLE SUMMER by Mariah Stewart contains that beautiful sense of time and magic, a rare treasure where I can keep reading the story without getting tired. At the same time, this is a beginning tale of something greater, and it merely lays out the foundations with breathtaking scenery, and fascinating characters and stories that you just want to continue. For those who missed Mariah Stewart's signature charm and description, then AN INVICIBLE SUMMER will be an excellent welcome back gift.  

This was given for a review 

 4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)