Book Review: Sweet Sanctuary, A Novel by Sheila Walsh and Cindy Martinusen Coloma
I received this book for free from BookSneeze for this review”.
Book Review: Wren has tried to shelter her only son from the tumult of the world. Now she's about to find sanctuary...in the last place she ever expected.
In tiny Cottage Cove, on the coast of Maine, Wren Evans is raising her gifted son, Charlie. A single mom, she's fought hard to give Charlie a stable, secure home life. When a prestigious music academy in Boston expresses interest in Charlie's talent, Wren is willing to move them again to make his dreams come true.
But Wren doesn't know that Charlie has been praying for her. And the answer to her son's prayers will change both of their lives. As Wren plans their move to Boston, lfie in Maine begins to fall apart. Her job is threatened with budget cuts, and Wren's grandmother, Ruth arrives unannounced with an outlandish request.
Ruth want the family gathered together one last time, at the summer home where, years before, an accident shattered Wren's peaceful childhood. In the tumult, Wren finds a friend in a handsome, kind-hearted loca, Paul Callahan.
When the family gathers in Cottage Cove, old woulds will be healed, new love will blossom, and the innocent prayers of a child will be answered in a most unexpected way.
My Review: The cover of the book drew me in by the photo of a mother and son in bright yellow raincoats standing on green grass in front of a very gray background of beach. Gave me the feeling of living in harsh conditions (Wren't job, family fallout), but having a greener pasture (Paul Callahan, prayers from her son).
From the beginning of the book, I was extremely envious of Wren's character's home. Sounded just beautiful in this small town where everyone knew everyone. I got into this character quite a bit; her home, son, work. Then you find out about the connection between Charlie and his father, the falling out that the family had and how their very elderly grandmother finds it in her heart to bring this family back together to try to rekindle the lives they once hand.
Although difficult with the crazy, different personalities of Wren and her siblings, this grandmother has it on high hopes that she will succeed. Hearts are broken once again, while healing is happening at the same exact time. Then the unthinkable happens, something very familiar to Wren's childhood that had originally tore this family apart to begin with. How she deals with it now has to be very different from how she dealt with it all those years ago. This incident brings the whole family together in a very good way.
Makes for a very adventurous ending to the book which leads to a fresh start with the family and the beginning of a blossoming romance. Very well written!
