What do you think?
Rate this book
Shipwreck Key #2
The Runaway
When a woman needs to flee a bad marriage, it doesn’t matter that she’s the wife of the former Vice President, it only matters that she escapes...
Sunday Bond longs for a life far from Washington D.C., and far from the husband who has kept her in a gilded cage for too long, locked up there with only his dark secrets to keep her company. When Sunday’s best friend, the former First Lady, moves south to Shipwreck Key, Sunday goes for a visit and decides to stay.
The remote island off the coast of Florida is the perfect place to avoid the world’s prying eyes and to forget about her husband’s many indiscretions. The warm ocean breeze and the vibrant colors of the tropical flora embrace Sunday, and the island holds the promise of endless possibilities for a woman who is finally free.
As Sunday settles into her new life on Shipwreck Key, she can’t help but feel a flutter in her heart whenever she encounters a Secret Service agent named Henry Banks. It seems like every time she’s washing dishes at her sink, he’s running shirtless down the beach where she can see him, and every time she ends up in a compromising position, Banks is there to save the day. Before long, Sunday isn’t just daydreaming about Banks—she’s actively seeking out his company and blurring the lines between his job and her desires.
But as Sunday begins to explore her own feelings and to enjoy her freedom, she’s hit with the weight of her soon-to-be ex-husband’s Peter Bond wants to run for office again, but in order to do that, he needs to bury his own secrets under the wreckage of Sunday’s life, and he’s determined to throw her under any bus he can find in order to save face politically. This leaves Sunday in a go back to the tiny fishing village of her youth and face her own demons before Peter shares them with the world, or ignore his threats and accept the possibility that her children will find out things about her that she never wanted them to know?
Caught in a whirlwind of emotions and experiences, trapped under the weight of her previous life and the choices she made, Sunday’s past begins to bear down on her. She doesn’t know whether coming clean will bring her the happiness she’s wanted for so long, but she does know that until she returns to her hometown and confronts her own past, she won’t ever truly be free…free to live without Peter and his dark secrets, free to love again, and free to share her full self with her two daughters.
The Shipwreck Key Series
The women of Shipwreck Key are strong and resilient, and they all want the same happiness, friendship, and love. They bond through their book club meetings and their shared love of sisterhood, supporting one another through thick and thin, and honoring each other’s unique stories and personalities.
The Shipwreck Key series will be eight books long and will have intertwining stories and characters, both sad and hopeful moments, beautiful friendships, romances involving women of all ages, and plenty of laughter.
The series launches in June of 2023, and all books will be available in both digital and paperback formats.
Book The Castaway--out June 30, 2023
Book The Runaway--out July 31, 2023
Book The Throwaway--out August 31, 2023
Book The Hideaway--out October 27, 2023
Book The Breakaway--out December 19, 2023
Book The Takeaway--out February 23, 2024
Sunday Bond longs for a life far from Washington D.C., and far from the husband who has kept her in a gilded cage for too long, locked up there with only his dark secrets to keep her company. When Sunday’s best friend, the former First Lady, moves south to Shipwreck Key, Sunday goes for a visit and decides to stay.
The remote island off the coast of Florida is the perfect place to avoid the world’s prying eyes and to forget about her husband’s many indiscretions. The warm ocean breeze and the vibrant colors of the tropical flora embrace Sunday, and the island holds the promise of endless possibilities for a woman who is finally free.
As Sunday settles into her new life on Shipwreck Key, she can’t help but feel a flutter in her heart whenever she encounters a Secret Service agent named Henry Banks. It seems like every time she’s washing dishes at her sink, he’s running shirtless down the beach where she can see him, and every time she ends up in a compromising position, Banks is there to save the day. Before long, Sunday isn’t just daydreaming about Banks—she’s actively seeking out his company and blurring the lines between his job and her desires.
But as Sunday begins to explore her own feelings and to enjoy her freedom, she’s hit with the weight of her soon-to-be ex-husband’s Peter Bond wants to run for office again, but in order to do that, he needs to bury his own secrets under the wreckage of Sunday’s life, and he’s determined to throw her under any bus he can find in order to save face politically. This leaves Sunday in a go back to the tiny fishing village of her youth and face her own demons before Peter shares them with the world, or ignore his threats and accept the possibility that her children will find out things about her that she never wanted them to know?
Caught in a whirlwind of emotions and experiences, trapped under the weight of her previous life and the choices she made, Sunday’s past begins to bear down on her. She doesn’t know whether coming clean will bring her the happiness she’s wanted for so long, but she does know that until she returns to her hometown and confronts her own past, she won’t ever truly be free…free to live without Peter and his dark secrets, free to love again, and free to share her full self with her two daughters.
The Shipwreck Key Series
The women of Shipwreck Key are strong and resilient, and they all want the same happiness, friendship, and love. They bond through their book club meetings and their shared love of sisterhood, supporting one another through thick and thin, and honoring each other’s unique stories and personalities.
The Shipwreck Key series will be eight books long and will have intertwining stories and characters, both sad and hopeful moments, beautiful friendships, romances involving women of all ages, and plenty of laughter.
The series launches in June of 2023, and all books will be available in both digital and paperback formats.
Book The Castaway--out June 30, 2023
Book The Runaway--out July 31, 2023
Book The Throwaway--out August 31, 2023
Book The Hideaway--out October 27, 2023
Book The Breakaway--out December 19, 2023
Book The Takeaway--out February 23, 2024
- GenresContemporary
188 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 31, 2023
About the author
Stephanie Taylor
43 books120 followersStephanie Taylor writes a romantic comedy series about a fictional island called "Christmas Key," as well as several other standalone romance, YA, and middle grade titles.
You can check out her website at: www.redbirdsandrabbits.com
You can check out her website at: www.redbirdsandrabbits.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
December 22, 2023
Great story.
August 11, 2023
Another fun summer read. I looked to see if book 3 was out yet but alas, I have to wait. Loving these characters and this series.
February 26, 2024
life is hard
I absolutely fell in love with Sunday. She has this incredible zest for life. Her story wasn’t good and she had stalled in her life because of Peter but in all honesty she didn’t let it stop her from living it. She has friends to lean on.
Then there was Ruby in this and her messed up relationship with Dexter. I seriously don’t know what to expect. I hope then can both be impartial. I hope that Ruby can set her feelings aside and do the right thing by the child Julien.
I absolutely fell in love with Sunday. She has this incredible zest for life. Her story wasn’t good and she had stalled in her life because of Peter but in all honesty she didn’t let it stop her from living it. She has friends to lean on.
Then there was Ruby in this and her messed up relationship with Dexter. I seriously don’t know what to expect. I hope then can both be impartial. I hope that Ruby can set her feelings aside and do the right thing by the child Julien.
November 13, 2025
This is book 2 in a series that really needs to be read in order to fully enjoy them. The book is well-written and has wonderful characters who have depth from their life experiences and loss and hurt in those experiences. The books have a lot of angst which make them hard for me to read sometimes. The story flows nicely. I had some trouble with the "facts" because when the President died, the VP would have taken over. And now he's running for President with no mention of him serving now. The whole timing didn't work for me. But it's the characters who make the story.
March 3, 2026
This book followed Sunday as she fled a controlling marriage and rebuilt her life on Shipwreck Key, blending small-town charm, female friendship, and a slow-burn romance. Like Nicholas Sparks’ Safe Haven, it centered on a woman escaping a dangerous past and finding love in a coastal town, but The Runaway leaned more into sisterhood and personal reinvention rather than high-stakes suspense.
If you liked Safe Haven for its themes of starting over and healing romance, you’d likely enjoy this breezy, women-focused take on a similar premise! ❤️
If you liked Safe Haven for its themes of starting over and healing romance, you’d likely enjoy this breezy, women-focused take on a similar premise! ❤️
April 21, 2026
Honesty
The theme here is honesty, with yourself and others, how freeing it is. Yet, the real gift is how honesty connects us to others.
While this plot was less complex, less of a mystery, it was a delight to see Sunny turn a corner and see all the possibilities for her own restored life. There's even a couple of fun twists right at the end.
We also get to see what's happening with everyone else, making this series more like a full size novel.
Content: clean
Have a good read!
The theme here is honesty, with yourself and others, how freeing it is. Yet, the real gift is how honesty connects us to others.
While this plot was less complex, less of a mystery, it was a delight to see Sunny turn a corner and see all the possibilities for her own restored life. There's even a couple of fun twists right at the end.
We also get to see what's happening with everyone else, making this series more like a full size novel.
Content: clean
Have a good read!
August 25, 2023
Sometimes authors get hung up on using the same phrases in their stories. Not Stephanie. She writes like her reader thinks. It flows and somewhere between laughing and feeling for her characters you’re finished reading and waiting for the next one. The whole idea of the past presidents wife and the past vice presidents wife moving to an island off the Florida coast and rebuilding their lives gives this story a real charm.
June 28, 2026
This is a wonderful second book in the Shipwreck Key Series. It centers mostly on the former Second Lady who is in the process of divorcing the former Vice President and also moves to the island - while updating us on the continuing life of the former First Lady and the adult daughters of both of them. This is my first time reading Stephanie Taylor books and I am thoroughly enjoying her writing style. I am looking forward to reading the third book in this series.
February 27, 2024
Am enjoying the circle of female characters in this series and also how they look at different ideas of what women of a certain age should be like/act like/dress like, etc. Definitely slow burn romance hints along the way too (glances across a room, handholding…), which may not be for you if you like spice. Ideas of found family, new chances at life, nods to 80s music and fashion. All good!
July 15, 2024
Good story!
This is interesting and could be the way things are. The thing I found really annoying is there was very little proof reading and pure carelessness as using a name by mistake that isn't even in the book and sometimes rereading something because the incorrect word was used.
This is interesting and could be the way things are. The thing I found really annoying is there was very little proof reading and pure carelessness as using a name by mistake that isn't even in the book and sometimes rereading something because the incorrect word was used.
December 2, 2023
I’m loving this series
What a treat it’s been for me to discover the Shipwreck Key series. It’s great that as soon as I’ve finished one book the next is available. No waiting!
Strong women forming a community of friendship.
I highly recommend these books.
What a treat it’s been for me to discover the Shipwreck Key series. It’s great that as soon as I’ve finished one book the next is available. No waiting!
Strong women forming a community of friendship.
I highly recommend these books.
July 7, 2024
God 2nd book in series
story of 2nd lady. How she had a story for her daughters and her life. Dealing with her husband, and his story. Also there's the ladies in the book club. Ready for the next book!
story of 2nd lady. How she had a story for her daughters and her life. Dealing with her husband, and his story. Also there's the ladies in the book club. Ready for the next book!
August 9, 2025
Sunday
Everything goes smoothly until Peter Bond decides to push Sunday into a corner. Ruby becomes more than an independent woman as her girls help her. The girls need her as much as she needs them and her new found friends from the island and book store. Loved it!
Everything goes smoothly until Peter Bond decides to push Sunday into a corner. Ruby becomes more than an independent woman as her girls help her. The girls need her as much as she needs them and her new found friends from the island and book store. Loved it!
June 14, 2026
These are very sweet, nice and short stories. Events in this book answer questions I had leftover from Book 1, The Castaway.
I’m hooked on these.
Taking a quick break for Tom Clancy, but I will return.
I’m hooked on these.
Taking a quick break for Tom Clancy, but I will return.
January 8, 2024
Great book and I loved the story, but the book really needs a good editor.
March 19, 2024
Perfect
Well not really. But enough good stuff to make a go read. Lots of character and strength in the WOMEN this book is about.
Well not really. But enough good stuff to make a go read. Lots of character and strength in the WOMEN this book is about.
March 24, 2024
Fantastic reading
Simple words used but captivating. Readers can feel the ebb, flow, emotions and reality of the story line. Well done.
Simple words used but captivating. Readers can feel the ebb, flow, emotions and reality of the story line. Well done.
April 1, 2024
Good read
Book 2 of Shipwreck Key gives us more
insight into the characters and builds out Sunny Bonds story in ways I hadn't even thought of. It makes for a very good read.
Book 2 of Shipwreck Key gives us more
insight into the characters and builds out Sunny Bonds story in ways I hadn't even thought of. It makes for a very good read.
June 29, 2024
Perfect beach read! So easy to follow all the characters and story lines
October 17, 2024
Fun easy beach read book.
November 30, 2024
Captivating
A true page turner! It touched my heart, and grabbed my attention from page one. The plot was definitely captivating and emotional. Ready for book three.
A true page turner! It touched my heart, and grabbed my attention from page one. The plot was definitely captivating and emotional. Ready for book three.
December 3, 2025
This is the second in a 3-book box set. This one alternates focus between the former First Lady and the former Second Lady. Outstanding!
December 11, 2025
shipwreck key book two
Love the development of the characters through the series. You can imagine life on an island with the descriptions. Nice easy read.
Love the development of the characters through the series. You can imagine life on an island with the descriptions. Nice easy read.
February 27, 2026
Great book. I have found 2 typos. Where Ruby was used and should have been Sunday.
March 29, 2026
Very much enjoying the series so far! 3 ⭐️ (B)
April 9, 2026
Second Lady's Second life
Sun is moving on. This is her journey to her new life.
Just read this book! It's a good read.
Sun is moving on. This is her journey to her new life.
Just read this book! It's a good read.
April 18, 2026
Wonderful next story
I love this development of the female characters. Ready for the next installment of these ladies lives. Strong female characters rock.
I love this development of the female characters. Ready for the next installment of these ladies lives. Strong female characters rock.
September 11, 2023
It ended too soon! Thank goodness there are more books in the series. I love living at the beach.
July 24, 2024
This is just such a easy, nice and cute read! I am enjoying this series, it's a good palette cleanser to what I am used too. I also like the powerhouse women who are the leads and that each member of the friendship group/book club is the star of each book but all the stories are intertwined.
May 13, 2024
It's a great second book in the series! More character development and the writing makes it easy to care about these women. I like how it leaves you wanting more!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews