Summer by the Tides by Denise Hunter

From the bestselling author of The Convenient Groom (now a beloved Hallmark Original movie) comes a heartfelt story of family secrets, forgiveness, and unexpected romance.

Following a painful betrayal, Maddy Monroe's love life is a wreck, and her restaurant career is in shambles. When her grandmother goes missing, she and her estranged sisters converge at the family beach house in Sea Haven, North Carolina. Being with uptight Nora and free-spirited Emma at the place where their family broke apart is a struggle, and undercurrents of jealousy and resentment threaten to pull the sisters under. In the midst of the storm, sparks begin to fly between Maddy and Gram's maddening neighbor, Connor Murphy.

As the sisters pack up the family belongings, memories of idyllic, slow-paced summers are resurrected. But long-buried secrets also come to light as Maddy discovers that all was not as it appeared that last summer in Sea Haven--nor today in the seemingly perfect lives of her sisters.

As family tensions rise and Connor causes tumult in Maddy's heart, the sisters must find a way to accept each other for the women they've become before the bitterness of the past destroys their hope for a future.

Paperback, 302 pages

Published May 21, 2019

 by Thomas Nelson

3.5/5 stars

This was a book club read (and I didn't even make it to book club to discuss).  I looked forward to reading a Denise Hunter book, she is a new to me author.

The cover evokes that beach read feel and the story matched.  It is a nice blend of family, faith and romance.  

When grandma goes missing, 3 estranged sisters are reunited after years of separation.  There are many layers to this story and the author reveals them slowly as the story progresses.  Between Maddy, Nora and Emma the many secrets and past hurts need to be out in the open for healing and any type of reconciliation.  Enter grandma and her disappearance.

This was a quick and fun read, it's Christian playing a big part of this story.  It does not come off as preachy but rather shows the real side of relationships, past hurts and forgetting what is important.

While I say this is a great beach read, it works anytime.  I will read Denise Hunter again.

This book was part of my 2023 Reading Off My Shelf Challenge.