"On a Summer Tide" by Suzanne Woods Fisher

On a Summer Tide (Apr. 30, 2019) by Suzanne Woods Fisher.*

Is their father showing early signs of dementia or finally having a mid-life crisis at 59? Neither, actually, but Paul Grayson’s three daughters have no other explanation as to why their father would buy 51% of a small island off Maine’s coast, near Mount Desert Island. It is called Niswi Nummissis, but not even the locals pronounce it the same. It translates from the Algonquian as Three Sisters, which is why Paul’s rechristening it Three Sisters Island. He wants all daughters to help him restore it, especially Camp Kicking Moose, a camp he’d attended and where he met their mother, Corinna, passed these last three years. They’ve drifted since their mom died. Camden (Cam), age 28, is a highly successful businesswoman. Her personality is very Type A; she’s a go-getter and a micromanager. She’s been a mother to her late best friend’s son, Cooper, now 7 ½. Between work and a son, she has no time for romance. Madison (Maddie), 24, has just completed graduate work for her master’s degree in marriage and family therapy. She’s something of an over-educated, know-it-all hypochondriac who’s recently engaged to a mama’s boy. Blaine, 19, hasn’t declared a major and has been essentially kicked out of the college she was attending for her indecision. She feels underappreciated and ignored. So the island surprises her, when it (more like Peg Legg) brings out her joy and talent for baking. And “not-the-boyfriend” Artie Lotosky is a good friend, but she doesn’t think he’s serious when he says he wants to visit the island.

            Someone already on the island is Seth Walker, 28. He’s a master degree-holding schoolteacher who currently has nine students (10, if you include Cooper). He’s handsome with a rugged, outdoorsy appearance not unlike Paul Bunyan. Instead of a blue ox, he’s got a yellow Labrador named Dory and a rehabilitating goshawk named Lola. Cam is the one who catches his attention, and he seems to have captured her interest. But will something from his past and her hyperactive work ethic keep them apart?

            I did not expect to like this book, the first in the author’s Three Sisters Island series, as much as I did. Yes, each of the sisters grates on my nerves to some degree, but we all get on each other’s nerves from time to time, so I don’t hold that against the characters. The story is refreshing and revitalizing for the family and the fictitious island. It’s a major life change, so chaos ensues, but it’s a productive chaos; it also rouses the dwindling community. Throughout the story, the characters start bringing faith back into their present-day lives and pick up clarity toward their future. This quiet story features a cast of characters that I want to root for who are, despite their flaws, charming and determined.

* Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions are expressly my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”