A Sweethaven Summer + Giveaway

Random Retro Read

Campbell Carter has come to Sweethaven in search of answers about her mother’s history. Just before losing a battle with cancer, Suzanne Carter sent letters to childhood friends from her hometown of Sweethaven, Michigan. Suzanne’s three friends — Lila, Jane, and Meghan — haven’t spoken in years, yet each has pieces of a scrapbook they made together as girls. Suzanne’s letters have lured them all back to the idyllic lakeside town, where they meet Campbell and begin to remember what was so special about their long Sweethaven summers. As the scrapbook reveals secrets from the past, old wounds are mended, lives are changed, and friendships are restored — just as Suzanne intended.

My Review:

published in 2012

Somehow I completely missed an entire Courtney Walsh series! (Hanging my head in bibliophile shame.) I discovered this book on audible and just had to dive in. Excellent narration by Vaness Daniels – she delivers all the emotion and angst in perfect detail. And, since this is a Courtney Walsh book, you know there’s gotta be some angst!

Told from multiple points of view — we get both the past and present in compelling snippets that lead to redemption and hope. Largely through twenty-four year old Campbell’s POV as she comes to grips with the death of her mother and the quest to discover who her father is. But we hear from the women, now in their early forties, who summered together in Sweethaven all through their teens. And everyone has secrets! I’d classify it as Women’s Fiction with romantic elements.

This is a great introduction to the town of Sweethaven and the series. From reading the synopses of the next three books, I get the feeling that each story builds on the previous one. There is some wonderful closure in the lives of some of these characters, but there’s also a cliffhanger ending for one plot thread. Not enough to discourage a reader who likes her endings all wrapped up with a bow. More like an enticing teaser for the next book. 🙂

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

ebook available to anyone, anywhere who has a .com Kindle account

US — paperback or ebook — winner’s choice

Canada — paperback or ebook (via a gift card to Canadian Amazon)

If you would like a chance to win a copy of A Sweethaven Summer, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday July 22 , 2023.

34 thoughts on “A Sweethaven Summer + Giveaway”

  3. I have this on my Kindle & haven’t read it yet! As a matter of fact, this die-hard Courtney Walsh fan forgot she even had it. 😮 Now THAT’S shameful. Mine has a different cover, tho. Shows the back of 4 friends with arms around one another’s waists on a card, another card of the beach, & another card of the friends sitting together on the beach facing forward. Can’t decide which cover I like best. 🤔

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    1. I had to run over to GoodReads to check out the different covers! Funny, because they are so similar. I think I like this one best because the colours are more vibrant. The other one looks washed out. Makes for some good summer reading when you get to it. Happy Reading, Diane!

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      1. Thanks for the recommendation, Kav. I think I like the new cover better, too, but would’ve preferred the friends closer up & not so much in the distance.

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  4. Still on my TBR list. I know – hanging head in book shame. Still sounds fabulous and would still love the opportunity to read it. Now would be so much better than later, but then again it’s already later. LOL

    Thank you for the chance to win a copy!
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  7. I’ve got her newest Isadora Bentley book in my to TBR stack, and I’ve read a few of her books here and there (most recently book one of the Nantucket series) but I don’t think I’ve read any of this series.

    pattymh2000(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  10. I did not know about this series either! But then again, I’m a fairly “new” reader to contemporary Christian fiction having started with Becky Wade’s Bradford sister series in 2019. So it’s not surprising I’m behind on that genre!

    Anyway, I do really like Courtney Walsh and I know I’d enjoy this emotional sounding book (and series). Thanks for the warning about the cliffhanger, and that it’s more to entice a reader to seek out the other books rather than leave you hanging in the lurch 😊 Those types I do not like at all!

    teamob4 (at) gmail (dot) com

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    1. Hmmm, wonder if a cliffteaser is a thing? 🙂 I’m thinking this is an indie published series and maybe that’s why it didn’t get a lot of press? Or I didn’t take notice of it because back in the day Indies were mostly ebooks only. Thankfully that’s not the case these days. You’re a Contemporary young’un, aren’t you? Bet that means you haven’t read Varina Denman. Emotional, angst and lots of faith. Don’t know why her name popped up, but I think her books are a Trixi kind of read. 🙂 Good luck!

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      1. I’ve seen those books by Varina, but haven’t read them. Sounds like I need to add them to my never-ending want-to-read list 😊😂

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  11. I was going to say I missed this one as well…until I went to Goodreads and found it on my list as “kindle own to read.” Hangs head in shame…yeah, the stuff on the Kindle is forgotten and languishing…gah!! cilydav at hotmail dot com

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  14. I’ve only read one book by Courtney Walsh, but I loved it. Would love to try another. Thank you!

    Jolene – iwant2save34 at gmail dot com

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