Summary
LUCIE
From the moment I first saw Caleb, I knew he belonged to me. And I knew I’d have to save him—because how else does the girl nobody wants win over the boy beloved by all?
Nothing about his life or mine has gone to plan. He’s isolated and miserable. I’ve got a vindictive ex, two young kids, and more problems than I can count.
But what hasn’t changed is this: it still feels like he’s mine.
And it sure looks like he’s in need of saving.
CALEB
My life is a prison sentence. I came to the lake to serve it alone…but Lucie’s throwing a wrench in my plans.
Lucie—the little kid shut away each summer in the house next door. Now she’s grown—and God, did she ever grow up—and I can’t seem to escape her.
Everywhere I look, she’s there. Reminding me of all the things I used to want, used to dream about…
And making me want every last one of them again.
Excerpt
My great-aunt wasn’t happy.
I’d only met her once before, this woman who’d raised my father, but as she waited on her front porch, watching me tug a beat-up suitcase behind me, she looked no more impressed than she had the first time.
I wasn’t all that happy either. I’d seen my father before, in magazines and on TV, sitting on a yacht with other famous tech guys or showing off his mansion—his model wife and kids beside him. I’d had high hopes for his aunt Ruth’s lakeside cottage, but her house was barely any better than ours. And Elliott Springs, which sounded like the name of a resort to me, had turned out to be a crappy town far to the south of San Francisco. There weren’t even stoplights.
“Didn’t even shut the engine off,” Ruth muttered as my mother drove away. “Work emergency, my ass.”
My mom doesn’t even have a job. She’s going to Disney with her boyfriend. Somehow, I held the words in. It helped that my mother had promised to take me with them next year if I kept it to myself.
My aunt sighed, grabbing my suitcase. “Well, come on, then,” she said, walking into the house and leading me up a flight of stairs, explaining things I already knew: that it would be very dull here for a six-year-old, that I’d need to stay inside.
“No one can know you’re here,” she warned. “Having a kid around is not what I need right now.” I nodded. I was used to both things—keeping secrets and not being wanted. My father had refused to ever meet me. My mother’s boyfriends complained about me all the time, and when they weren’t complaining, my mother was. It was a bruise I’d become so used to I barely noticed when it got poked.
Ruth led me into a room that faced the neighbor’s house, but I could see the lake to the left, with a dock jutting out onto it and a bunch of boys who looked a few years older than me standing on its edge. I walked to the window, drawn to them, barely listening as Ruth told me she had to get back to work.
They were flipping into the water, one after the other, howling and yelling and so…free. They were all tan and happy and handsome, but for some reason my gaze landed on just one of them and refused to stray.
The sight of him called to me. As if he was saying, “Lucie, find me, you belong here,” though he had no clue I existed.
I decided to watch him carefully, whenever I could. If he was drowning, I’d go save him, like Ariel saved Prince Eric.
I was weirdly certain that one day he’d need me to do it.
Review
(audiobook) It was a gripping story, but not for the faint of heart. Let’s just say, you’ll feel a lot, and not always good emotions.
On one hand, there’s Lucie. She grew up basically rejected by everybody around her, settled for the first man that showed a bit of interest in her and had two kids with him, and finally decided to find her own path when he cheated on her. Now she’s struggling with her very different children and their own problems, her soon-to-be-ex husband who’s harrassing her, and her neighbor slash boss slash childhood crush. Between all that, she needs to find her inner strengths.
On the other hand, Caleb, to whom life has dealt shitty cards. He’s taken upon himself to keep his father’s company alive, sacrificing his personal life in the process. That makes him a grumpy man with little free time. Which in turn destroyed his marriage–it’s a bit more complicated, but no spoiler here. When Lucie comes back in his life, it makes him reconsider his choices.
This book deals with what it means to be a parent and a life partner. What one’s ready to sacrifice for their children, or not at all. What brings a couple together, and what breaks them. How one’s parents’ example influences their own take at what a family should be. What love means, in a sense. In that way, it was a thorough book. There are as many answers as there are characters. But Lucie and Caleb–after many obstacles–show us the perfect answer.
If, like me, you react strongly to unfairness, let me warn you that you may grit your teeth many times with this book. Between the casual gossips and Lucie’s ex, there are a lot of characters to hate. But especially Lucie’s ex. Really.
The female narrator from the previous book comes back, and she delivers perfection as usual. Though this time, due to the fact that Caleb has his own journey, we get his point of view too, and the male narrator who plays him does a great job. A great listen for sure.
Quickie
- Series: The summer #2 (can be read as a standalone)
- Hashtags: #small town romance #workplace romance #single mother #angst
- Triggers: cheating (by side character, and technically by both main characters), psychological abuse, neurodivergent, mention of death, grief, and substance addiction
- Main couple: Lucie Monroe & Caleb Lowell
- Hotness: 3/5
- Romance: 4/5
- + Lucie’s final declaration about her son was LOVE
- – not really a minus, but I wanted to strangle Jeremy
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