Fantastic, emotive family drama – When We Were Sisters by Cynthia Ellingsen

My Review:

Thanks to the Bookouture and NetGalley, too,
For my copy of this book for which this is my honest review.

An unexpected legacy, with a detailed request from their Gran
Has sisters Jayne and Charlotte deciding whether to follow her plan.
If they work to renovate her old beach house together
It will belong to them forever and ever.

Sounds great, but of course there’s a catch for these dears
They haven’t met or spoken for twenty years!
Can they break down the barriers that kept them apart
Will doing so heal or break both their hearts?

This is a story of Grandmother who
Wants to reunite her grand-daughters, too.
She’s specified the order in which things should be fixed
And ensured that order cannot be mixed.

There’s hidden messages that the sisters discover,
Boxes of photos, great memories to recover.
But will this work bring them love or pain
Can anything bring them together again?

Such an emotional read full of family history,
With Gran working to help solve the mystery
Of why the sisters were kept apart for so long
Hoping to reunite them where they belong.

Synopsis:

Two sisters who haven’t spoken for twenty years. One summer to bring a family back together.

Jayne Winters hasn’t seen her sister Charlotte since that last childhood holiday at their grandmother’s North Carolina beach house. Separated after that summer by their parents in a bitter divorce, Charlotte has never forgiven Jayne for not fighting to stay together.

So when Jayne discovers that they have both inherited the beach house, and that their grandmother’s last wish was for them to renovate it together, it feels like a miracle: one last chance to win her sister back.

At first Charlotte will barely speak to her. But slowly the memories of swimming races and storytelling in their attic bedroom looking over the sea start to break down the wall between them. With the help of photographs and letters left by their grandmother for them to find, the two women begin to restore not just the creaking mahogany staircase and the faded antique wallpaper, but their own relationship.

But then Jayne discovers that Charlotte has kept a heart-stopping secret from their past from her. Can she find it in her heart to forgive her sister and keep their grandmother’s dream of reuniting them alive—or are some wounds too big to heal?

An emotional and uplifting read about sisters, secrets and the family bonds that hold us together no matter how complicated they are, from the bestselling author of The Lighthouse Keeper. Fans of Mary Ellen Taylor, Elin Hilderbrand and Mary Alice Monroe will love this.

Buy LInks:

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3jiYOqh

Apple: https://apple.co/3whZSzg

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3hz3KrH

Google: https://bit.ly/3lqt6Kl

Author Bio:

Cynthia Ellingsen is an Amazon Charts bestselling author of contemporary women’s fiction. Her books feature heartwarming characters and strong family connections, often with a touch of mystery. The Starlight Cove series, her best-known work, is available on audio and has been translated into several languages.

Cynthia began her writing career as a screenwriter in Los Angeles and now lives in Kentucky with her family.

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