"Caroline's life is turned upside down the moment her ex-husband, Jack, strides through the door of her coffee shop. He seems changed--stronger, steadier, and determined to make amends with Caroline and their daughter, Daisy. Is he really different, or is he the same irresistibly charming but irresponsible man he was when he left Butternut Lake eighteen years ago? Caroline, whose life is stuck on pause as her finances are going down the tubes, is tempted to let him back into her life ... but would it be wise? For Caroline's daughter, Daisy, the summer is filled with surprises. Home from college, she's reunited with the father she adores--but hardly knows--and swept away by her first true love. But Will isn't what her mother wants for her--all Caroline can see is that he's the kind of sexy "bad boy" Daisy should stay away from. As the long, lazy days of summer pass, Daisy and Caroline come to realize that even if Butternut Lake doesn't change, life does"--back cover.
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3.5 stars rounded up to 4. I actually liked this book better than the first entry in the trilogy, Up at Butternut Lake. The male characters, Will and Jack, make this book special, as McNear tells two different but equally powerful stories about second chances and the potential we all have to change and grow. There may be a little too much emphasis on “the love of a good woman” as Daisy and Caroline inspire Will and Jack to become better men, but it's fascinating to watch Will, especially, realize that there may be something more to life than a dead-end job and a meaningless affair with a married woman.
Warning: one of the subplots ends on an open-ended up but hopeful note. The third book in the trilogy deals with a different couple, so I'm not sure if McNear plans to go beyond the trilogy and go back to this story. Frankly, it's refreshing to read women's fiction that doesn't tie everything up neatly in a big red bow.
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