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| Contemporary Fiction Hobby Island, Texas – Present Day Billionaire heiress Eloisa Hobby loves crafting and built a resort that caters to anyone who also loves crafting. Of course, it’s mostly women, but it is for them to rebuild their lives while doing something they enjoy. For Jeanie, Luna, and Artemis, the three generations of one family, it is a place to heal while competing for the $100,000 grand prize in a crafting contest. Jeanie needs the money to keep her family home after she fell prey to a scammer and lost a lot of money. Unfortunately, she hasn’t told her daughter Luna, who is trying to rebuild her life after her husband died, leaving her with a pile of debt. Luna’s daughter Artemis is a typical fifteen-year-old who is aware of her mother’s need for money, but she would rather be anywhere else than on an island with no teens like her. Then Artemis meets Orion, a girl her age. Oh, cool. Orion’s father Paul is the gardener and security expert for Hobby Island. It turns out that Paul is also Luna’s old high school boyfriend. One look at each other, and Paul and Luna are feeling the attraction again. Meanwhile, Eloisa suspects the person who scammed Jeanie is staying on the island too. Will the scammer be outed, and will Jeanie get her money back? Will Luna and Paul fall in love again? Will Artemis get to enjoy a summer she won’t forget? THE SUMMER THAT SHAPED US opens with Jeanie getting a coveted “golden ticket” to spend the summer on Hobby Island for her and her family for free. She tries to hide from Luna about losing all the money when she got catfished, but Luna finds out. Their reconciliation is mostly off-screen. In fact, there are a few places in this tale when things happen that we don’t see, but it’s referenced afterward. I’m not sure if the author had to cut words from THE SUMMER THAT SHAPED US or if it was meant to be. Anyway, there are times when Jeanie and Luna, then Luna and Artemis, are in conflict with each other. They resolve the issues because, at the root of it all, they love each other. The only romance in THE SUMMER THAT SHAPED US is between Luna and Paul. They quickly reconnect and are falling for each other just like they did twenty years ago. Artemis, of course, doesn’t know at first about them being high school sweethearts. How will she react? Meanwhile, the group starts the process of creating their crafting projects. Luna is going to help Jeanie with some quilting ideas. Unfortunately, her sketchbook is stolen by another member, who denies it. Despite the niceness of most people on Hobby Island, there are some people there who aren’t nice and will cheat to win the $100,000 prize. THE SUMMER THAT SHAPED US is told from several viewpoints but mostly from the three main female characters Jeanie, Luna, and Artemis. The romance between Paul and Luna is mostly sweet, with maybe only a couple of steamy love scenes. This tale is written around the emotions of the characters and the journey that changes them. For Jeanie, it’s changing her past where she tries to avoid conflict. For Luna, it’s moving past losing her husband and her trust in him. Readers will be rooting for this family to get past their obstacles and find love…and money. An uplifting tale you won’t want to miss, be sure to pick up THE SUMMER THAT SHAPED US. Patti Fischer |
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THE SUMMER THAT SHAPED US – Lori Wilde