A Light at Winter's End

by Julia London

[Ing Cruz]

This book is the story of Wyatt Clark who was left heartbroken at the ending of Summer of Two Wishes. I have not read Summer of Two Wishes but I thought this book read fine without having read the previous book. Julia does a good job of giving enough background information on Wyatt, that allows the readers to understand Wyatt's character.

I really adored Wyatt very much. He's a bit standoffish and a loner. He is gruff, tough and still hurting. The explanation of what happened with his previous marriage and how much it hurt when he lost his wife allowed me to understand why he was the way he was. Let me clarify, his previous wife, did not die. She is still very much alive in this book. She had to make the hard decision between her first husband and her second husband (Wyatt). Everyone thought that the first husband had died overseas while serving his country but he had been a POW and escaped. When her first love came back from the dead she chose to be with him leaving Wyatt devastated and lost. The only one Wyatt really cares about now a days is his baby daughter Grace. She's all he has left from his previous marriage.

Wyatt has been living on his ranch for a year now away from town. He doesn't have much interaction with people and that's they way he likes it. He hasn't made any kind of commitment or settled in one place too long since his world fell apart.

Holly Fisher is a songwriter. Songwriting is her passion. She's been living off her passion while juggling one part time job after another. She has always felt like the black sheep in the family when compared to her older sister Hannah. Hannah with her beautiful family and perfect career has always been the daughter that their mother would compare Holly to. Holly and Hannah use to be close. The constant comparison between the sisters by their mother which often put Hannah in the limelight while Holly was left feeling less has left a gap between the sisters. During their mother's illness Hannah took care of everything while Holly went about her life.

The one emotion I felt when reading about Holly at the beginning was annoyance. Her character came off as whiny, selfish and flighty. When their mother was sick Holly really didn't make much of an effort to help take care of her. Her excuses were flimsy and weak. It was all about when things were convenient for Holly. I get that she didn't have the best relationship with her mother but really? The middle half of the book I started liking Holly. Holly didn't annoy me as much when she bucked up and took care of her nephew. All the emotions Holly felt when she was suddenly thrust into being the sole caretaker of Mason was genuine and real. Her character grew in leaps and bounds and I cheered her on.

The middle part of this book was great. When Holly heads back to the homestead to raise Mason she runs into her neighbor, Wyatt. When they meet Holly is instantly drawn to Wyatt. The development of this relationship was sweet. That's the best way to describe it. Every moment they spent getting to know one another made me sigh! Holly begins to grow and become someone less self absorbed during this time. With Wyatt's love and her baby nephew depending on her you see Holly in a new light. Wyatt is wonderful. He's understanding and supports Holly at every moment. After what he'd been through before I wanted to see him happy. Holly made him happy.

When Hannah comes back into the picture after going through rehab for her addiction with meds my emotion went back to being annoyed again. I get that Hannah put Holly in a bad situation by just dropping off Mason without any explanation of where she was going and for how long. I get that Holly now loves Mason so much and can't imagine him not being in her life. But when Hannah tries to talk and explain things to Holly of how she became addicted to pain meds I thought Holly came off annoying again. Neither sisters are perfect and Hannah has her faults but the whole interaction between the sisters especially Holly's reaction annoyed me. Then Holly goes and hurts Wyatt and annoys me even more! By the end I just wished Wyatt would go off and meet someone else.

Wyatt, Mason, and Grace saved this book for me. Julia's writing is wonderful and she tackles a whole a lot of complicated issues in this book. I just wish Holly hadn't annoyed me so much. LOL! Notice ANNOYED is the word today folks. Anyway I enjoyed all the parts with Wyatt and the kids. This book didn't entirely work for me mainly because of the heroine but I think many would still enjoy this well written book that deals with family issues, addiction, love and second chances.