The Lily Garden

Caroline works in Chicago for her aunt Risa at a world-renowned textile company and her teenage daughter Lee is on the path to earn a business degree and eventually take over the family business. All that changes when Caroline learns her deceased mother's beloved Lily Garden, located in the small New England town of Lake Summers, is set to be destroyed in the next few weeks to make room for an expansion to the community's library. Caroline impulsively decides to save her mother's legacy and proceeds to turn her planned mother-daughter summer trip to tour colleges into a longer sojourn in the quaint idyllic spot she left at age twelve after her parents died.

This sets the stage for a touching reunion with her mother's best friend and her own surrogate mother figure Maxine and her boys Jackie and Ben, and also with a potential love interest, Aaron, a new history professor at the nearby college who is carrying secrets of his own and looking for a fresh start.

As in her two previous books, Josselsohn weaves a seamless tale of family drama with just a hint of romance, placing her squarely in the women's fiction genre with its themes of second chances, new beginnings, character growth, and family secrets. She weaves it all together in an uplifting, heartfelt way, leaving the reader longing to find a Lake Summers of their own with its concerts on the square, ice cream parlors, and historical sites. This is an idyllic summer story sure to melt the heart of the most cynical urban dweller.

If you're looking for a summer read that not only delivers a well-paced story but also deeper reflections on what constitutes a good life, the forks in the road we all encounter, and the unbreakable bonds between mothers and daughters, this is the book for you.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.