A daughter’s gift of time, a father’s silent wish.
Erin Bryce and her best friend, Sharlene, count the day they start their wedding planning business as a very happy day. So much so that they name their company The Happiest Day to reflect the fulfillment of their long-held dream as well as their clients’ longing for a wedding celebration to match the exhilaration of being in love. As a bonus, the two women utilize their business to help Erin’s son Jordan and his fiancée, Sierra, plan a grand wedding.
But the two friends aren’t prepared for the cloud moving in to cover the sunny, successful start of their business. Erin’s father, who lives in a small coastal Oregon community with his brusque, downright odd second wife, Delores, develops a medical problem that puts him in the hospital. Erin responds by rushing from Southern California to her father’s—and oh, yeah, Delores’s—cottage by the sea.
What greets Erin when she arrives sends her tumbling down a bewildering path to a different kind of happiest day. Her journey tosses her through highs and lows of hurt and healing, betrayal and renewal, wrong assumptions righted, and the brightest future one could ever hope for. All just around the corner, at the cottage by the sea.
My Comments: Well, by the title and the cover picture I was expecting an easy beach read. This book is not an easy beach read, but the story was excellent. I LOVE the way Robin Jones Gunn writes. I read ALL of the Sisterchick books she wrote, and because the description was so vivid, they caused me to want to travel. This book is the same way. Now, I want to go rent a cottage by the Oregon coast. However, I don’t want the situations that caused the main character, Erin to go there.
Erin just started a wedding planning business in Southern California with her new bff Sharlene when she found out her father (who she hadn’t seen in 1-1/2 years) had a stroke. She immediately went to be with him. There wasn’t any love lost between Erin and her father’s second wife, Delores. In fact they were barely civil to one another. Erin felt her step-mother was less than honest with her and she stayed a very short time in Oregon. Erin then planned to either go back soon, or have her dad and Delores out to visit them. In the meantime, her son gets married and Erin forgets about her plans with her dad and gets all caught up in the wedding as the mother of the groom. Then it all broke loose! The story unravels slowly, Erin goes back, cares for her father after her step-mother just packs up and leaves. The story twists and turns. Erin’s choices could cause her to lose everything.
This is not a feel good, warm, and fuzzy book (although some sections are). This is a story that needs to be told because many people live this. Maybe not exactly the way this story unfolds, but similar circumstances, and I think they can find hope through Erin’s experiences. This is a true slice of life story. I will always recommend Robin Jones Gunn’s books, this one included!
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