Review by Rox Burkey
Mara Purl has a special way of detailing all the background and locations to easily place you in the story next to some amazing characters. Using history, locations detail (I have been to many of the places described so it was like going home) and vivid, well-developed characters readers can be immersed into Milford-Haven, even to the point of joining with dear friends.
This family saga explores two sisters, Meredith and Miranda, in their very separate career tracks and depicts their conflicts and deep-seated love for one another. Their doting mother, Veronica, along with loving father, Charles, support their offspring, while walking the line of suggesting ideas rather than making decisions for the girls. Veronica wants the girls to be in a nicer living space and crafts a plan toward that end.
The charm of this book, and the series, is the way Ms. Purl creates the type of family we would all love to have. Certainly, the family can be considered privileged, yet they are very relatable. The open, fun interaction takes place early and continues throughout. This passage provides a great foundation –
… “ Veri walked the length of the kitchen as she stripped off her coat, then hung it in the foyer closet. She hurried up the wide, arcing stair case, and stepped into her husband’s study.
Sensing her presence, he looked up and peered at her over the tops of his glasses. “Uh-oh,” he said.
“What?” Veri asked.
“That expression. Looks mighty smug to me. I gather you had success?”
“On, Charles,” she enthused, kicking off her heels and walking across to the guest chair that faced him across the desk. “Unbelievable.” She folded her legs under her and sat. “Remarkable. I did. I found the perfect place.”
“And Meredith agrees?”
“Oh, she hasn’t seen it yet. Neither has Mandy. But they will. And they’ll will fall in love with it just as I did.”
Charles removed his glasses and, with a small cloth, began to polish the lenses.
“Oh, Charles, what?” Veri asked.
“You know how you get.” He warned, concentrating on his polishing cloth. “You’re over the moon, but you’re way ahead of them.”
“I’ll let them catch up.”
He looked up.
“I will.” She insisted.
“Let’s have a drink before dinner, and you can tell me all about it.”
The bond between these family members is of the heart from start to finish.
Meredith is a successful financial investment advisor who loves her sister but as a success measurement doesn’t totally appreciate her artistic skills from an economics perspective. Miranda is driven by her artistic visions based on landscapes and wildlife. This story highlights the key drivers for how Miranda came to live in Milford-Haven at the beginning of this saga.
I recommend this latest in the series for those who love contemporary romance, family sagas, California history, lighthouse details, and fans of the latest in this beloved series. It grabs you from the start with gentle tendrils of love that wrap around your heart to the end. Mara takes you to her home away from home, Milford-Haven. Check out the book club guides at the end.
Mara Purl is the best-selling author of the popular and critically acclaimed Milford-Haven Novels which so far have won more than 30 book awards. Mara is published by Bellekeep Books, which premiered the hard-cover launch of her series with book one, “What the Heart Knows” and continued with book two “Where the Heart Lives.” Book three “Why Hearts Keep Secrets” will be published next. Soft-cover and e-book editions are also published and available.
The series also includes Kindle best-selling novellas and novelettes “When Hummers Dream”, “When Whales Watch”, “When Otters Play.” and “When the Heart Listens.” And it includes Holiday Novellas “Where an Angel’s On a Rope”, “When Angels Paint” and “Whose Angel Key Ring.” Her beloved fictitious town first appeared as Milford-Haven, U.S.A.©, the first American radio drama ever licensed and broadcast by the BBC where it reached an audience of 4.5 million listeners throughout the U.K.
Mara wrote for the Associated Press and the Financial Times of London, among many others. As an actress, she’s best known on television as Darla Cook on “Days Of Our Lives” and as Julia in “Becoming Julia Morgan” on stage.
Mara is also a well-known Audible narrator of audio books and audio dramas. Mara is a national spokeswoman for Women’s Fiction and matters of the heart. She also speaks on creativity and personal transformation.
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