I really enjoyed Summer at Orchard House, the first book in the Blue Hills series, so I was excited to see this one. This time, we get Stella’s story.
From the beginning, I was engaged in her story. I liked that she was a small-town girl who had a hunky Italian boyfriend (Paolo). At first, I thought that it would be a typical “he’s a cad and she sees the person in town she’s meant for” type of story. But the author surprised me, and quite pleasantly so.
Instead of what I mentioned, what I got was a true romance between two seemingly disparate people who knew they fit together in spite of their differences. They weren’t so much “opposites attract” as much as they just complimented each other.
Unfortunately for Stella, however, Paolo’s mother has other ideas.
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I’m not going to give anything away, but the battle of wills between Stella and Rosalia was very entertaining. Each woman had insights that the other didn’t, even though they both thought they had Paolo’s best interests at heart. Italian moms do that to the extreme, though, and Rosalia was no exception.
There was humor in all of the right places as well. I laughed out loud at several scenes. Izzy’s over-reaction to an accident during a haircut was particularly amusing, as was a mad dash to the airport.
We got some swoon-worthy scenes as well, particularly toward the end. I also liked that we got an update on Carmen and Evan. That was a fantastic touch.
For an easy, pleasant read with likable characters and realistic events, you should check out this series. I look forward to more stories about Chelan and its citizens.
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Author Bio:
Ellyn Oaksmith is the USA Today and Kindle bestselling author of the Blue Hills Series, featuring the Alvarez family.
After graduating from Smith College and attaining her MFA from The American Film Institute, Ellyn began her writing career as an award-winning screenwriter in Hollywood. Her books explore the same themes as her screenplays: grit, humor, family and love.
Ellyn lives on one of Seattle’s many hills with her husband and spends as much time as possible on the water as part of a competitive rowing team.
