"Abbie Williams is an author who excels at the romance genre. Her Shore Leave Cafe Romance series is a showcase for her ability to weave a contemporary tapestry, complete with rich characters, vivid settings and seductive moods."—Dean Mayes, Author of: The Hambledown Dream, Gifts of the Peramangk, The Recipient, The Artisan Heart
Joelle Gordon is leaving Chicago and her cheating husband to head for her hometown of Landon, Minnesota. There, she returns to the Shore Leave Cafe, the lakeside diner the Davis women have run for decades. Joelle's family, including her three teenaged daughters, Camille, Tish, and Ruthann, is made up of strong women who have long believed in a curse upon them - a curse that robs them of the men they love.
This summer has plenty in store for Joelle. Finding herself confronted with the reality of single motherhood, the last thing she expects is gorgeous, passionate Blythe Tilson, a summer employee at Shore Leave, with an uncertain past. Can Joelle resist the temptation of a younger man, and does she dare to consider loving someone again, or will the Davis family curse prove all too true?
A story about heartbreak, blame, family, destiny, and the difficulties of returning home, Summer at the Shore Leave Cafe is the first book in A Shore Leave Cafe Romance series.
A Shore Leave Cafe Romance series:
1. Summer at the Shore Leave Cafe
2. Second Chances
3. A Notion of Love
4. Winter at the White Oaks Lodge
5. Wild Flower
6. The First Law of Love
7. Until Tomorrow
8. The Way Back
9. Return to Yesterday
The story continues in her most recent novel, A Place to Belong.
Also from Abbie Williams, The Dove Saga
1. Heart of a Dove
2. Soul of a Crow
3. Grace of a Hawk
When Joelle Gordon discovers her husband has been cheating, she packs up her three girls and heads back home to Landon, Minnesota and her family's restaurant. There, with the support of her mother, aunt and sister, she hopes to figure out what she is going to do with her life now that what she had in Chicago is gone.
I really liked Joelle. She was a woman who had followed her high school sweetheart to the big city and put his needs first while she stayed at home raising their girls. But even though her marriage feel apart, mostly because of Jackson's betrayal, she also knew that she played a big role in why he started looking outside the marriage for satisfaction. It didn't make the betrayal any easier, but she could see why he did it.
She was a great mom. She wanted her daughters to be happy and not find themselves in the same spot she's in. Even when she discovered her oldest daughter starting down a path that was not going to end well, she didn't scream and order her around, but instead listened with a sympathetic ear making sure her daughter knew everything was going to be OK.
And Joelle was a woman who just wanted to be loved for who she was. A single mom with three teenage daughters and a high school education. She found that with handsome, younger Blythe. But even though she found happiness in the stolen moments with Blythe, like most of us she questioned whether what she felt for a man thirteen years younger than he was right. She really struggled with her feelings and as a reader you were right there with her, hoping she would make the choice that would keep Blythe right by her side.
I really enjoy the story and the characters in SUMMER AT THE SHORE LEAVE CAFE, but I hated the ending. Why? Because it was a total cliffhanger and I didn't like the way things were left with Blythe and Joelle. For that matter, what was going to happen with Camille and would Jackson finally get off his high horse. I'm hoping (my fingers are really crossed here) that there will be a sequel soon and I Joelle and Blythe can get their HEA.
Definitely a great book to pick up, especially if you are longing for something that will remind you of summer.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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7 March, 2013:
Finished reading
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7 March, 2013:
Reviewed