What do you think?
Rate this book
Salt Sisters #3
Unspoken Sunsets
It's summer on Nantucket Island, and Stella's just learned the the people who raised her aren't her real parents. And nobody alive knows why.
Stella grew up on the other side of the tracks. The middle daughter of Hannah and Billy Turnbilt, she never knew what it was like to have money until she started her own art gallery a decade ago. She fought hard for what she has. She gave everything.
But now Stella learns her real mother is Vivienne Van Tress -- Nantucket royalty from a very wealthy family. Stella went to school with Vivienne's "real" daughters, Juniper and Isla, who always had better clothes and took beautiful vacations and lived on a cloud of happiness.
Why wasn't Stella allowed to grow up that way, too?
On her quest to discover the truth, Stella plunges into an era of self-discovery. She meets her real sisters, uncovers past trauma that both invigorates and startles her, and even meets a few handsome strangers along the way.
It's an unforgettable summer with the Salt Sisters. It's one that changes Stella's life forever.
Unspoken Sunsets is book three of the Salt Sisters series, a heart-wrenching yet hopeful family drama that unfolds on the glittering shores of Nantucket Island.
Stella grew up on the other side of the tracks. The middle daughter of Hannah and Billy Turnbilt, she never knew what it was like to have money until she started her own art gallery a decade ago. She fought hard for what she has. She gave everything.
But now Stella learns her real mother is Vivienne Van Tress -- Nantucket royalty from a very wealthy family. Stella went to school with Vivienne's "real" daughters, Juniper and Isla, who always had better clothes and took beautiful vacations and lived on a cloud of happiness.
Why wasn't Stella allowed to grow up that way, too?
On her quest to discover the truth, Stella plunges into an era of self-discovery. She meets her real sisters, uncovers past trauma that both invigorates and startles her, and even meets a few handsome strangers along the way.
It's an unforgettable summer with the Salt Sisters. It's one that changes Stella's life forever.
Unspoken Sunsets is book three of the Salt Sisters series, a heart-wrenching yet hopeful family drama that unfolds on the glittering shores of Nantucket Island.
- GenresWomens Fiction
208 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 23, 2024
About the author
Katie Winters
145 books449 followersKatie writes women's fiction and clean, wholesome contemporary romance. She looks to everyday, real-life family issues to weave stories of heartfelt emotions, love and loss, and everything in between.
Come transport yourself to Martha's Vineyard: an island of vivid blue ocean, white sand, and a lively community of locals, who celebrate everything from the bright New England summers to the cold, yet cozy, snowcapped winters.
Join my newsletter for updates: https://bit.ly/30cqGnI
Come transport yourself to Martha's Vineyard: an island of vivid blue ocean, white sand, and a lively community of locals, who celebrate everything from the bright New England summers to the cold, yet cozy, snowcapped winters.
Join my newsletter for updates: https://bit.ly/30cqGnI
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
Read
August 9, 2025Rose had a wonderful idea for the Salt Sisters to do for fun. They should all send in for their DNA. She had even brought the kits for the DNA tests. Stella objected that she was 100% Nantucket and didn't need to know anything else. However, to please Rose, she spit into the test tube as she said this. She had no interest in the test results, she was more interested in getting a goldendoodle puppy to finally replace Jasper. She promptly forgot the test.
However, she remembered the test when the results came back in on July 4. Her test was wrong, it had to be. It showed she was only 25% Irish when she had always known she was 50% Irish. So, she had blond hair when everyone else in the family had red hair. She knew who her family was. In the section, On Recent Deaths, it said, "Mother, Vivienne Van Tress, March 2, 2004, Nantucket Island." She knew the lady's daughters, Juniper and Isla. They had gone to school together. Both girls had long blond hair. No, it wasn't possible.
That morning, she had gone to get her puppy and had met a man who had gotten one of the other puppies. He had no wedding ring on and was very handsome. They talked a few minutes and Rose felt drawn to him. Maybe they would run into each other again. She had other things to think about rather than the test.
Juniper and Isla were getting together for the first time since their Mother's death in March. They had some words at that time and hadn't spoken to each other since. Now they had a meeting with their mother's lawyer. He informed them that they had inherited their mother's property together. They denied their mother had any property. He told them about their grandparent's property that their mother had inherited. It was a rundown old hotel. It needed work but was at least valuable property. Juniper immediately thought of selling while Isla wanted to fix it up first. Isla wanted to at least go see it before making a decision, so they left the lawyer's and headed out to the hotel. While they were gone, Stella had decided to call the lawyers to clarify that she wasn't Vivienne's daughter. He took her number and told her he would get in touch with the sisters and let them know she had called. They needed to get this clarified because if she was indeed Vivienne's daughter, she was entitled to 1/3 of the inheritance. Stella was certain everyone was going mad; but what if they weren't? Who was her family and what happened?
However, she remembered the test when the results came back in on July 4. Her test was wrong, it had to be. It showed she was only 25% Irish when she had always known she was 50% Irish. So, she had blond hair when everyone else in the family had red hair. She knew who her family was. In the section, On Recent Deaths, it said, "Mother, Vivienne Van Tress, March 2, 2004, Nantucket Island." She knew the lady's daughters, Juniper and Isla. They had gone to school together. Both girls had long blond hair. No, it wasn't possible.
That morning, she had gone to get her puppy and had met a man who had gotten one of the other puppies. He had no wedding ring on and was very handsome. They talked a few minutes and Rose felt drawn to him. Maybe they would run into each other again. She had other things to think about rather than the test.
Juniper and Isla were getting together for the first time since their Mother's death in March. They had some words at that time and hadn't spoken to each other since. Now they had a meeting with their mother's lawyer. He informed them that they had inherited their mother's property together. They denied their mother had any property. He told them about their grandparent's property that their mother had inherited. It was a rundown old hotel. It needed work but was at least valuable property. Juniper immediately thought of selling while Isla wanted to fix it up first. Isla wanted to at least go see it before making a decision, so they left the lawyer's and headed out to the hotel. While they were gone, Stella had decided to call the lawyers to clarify that she wasn't Vivienne's daughter. He took her number and told her he would get in touch with the sisters and let them know she had called. They needed to get this clarified because if she was indeed Vivienne's daughter, she was entitled to 1/3 of the inheritance. Stella was certain everyone was going mad; but what if they weren't? Who was her family and what happened?
July 20, 2024
The third Salt Sisters book centers on Stella Turnbilt, who learns she is the daughter of late Nantucket socialite Vivienne Westwood. Shocked by this turn of events, she also connects with her two sisters, Juniper and Isla. This unexpected news forces Stella to learn more about the circumstances of her birth and deal with her new family. She becomes stronger and decides to follow her heart and become freer and more daring in her life choices. As usual, Katie Winters introduces us to captivating characters and a fascinating plot line. This was simply a great book.
November 9, 2024
Amazingly Good, but Too Short
In book 3 of her Salt Sisters series, Katie Winters takes a brief detour to tell Stella's story. (Stella, a widow with a secret, is Hilary's first Nantucket friend and a founding member of the Salt Sisters. Stella was playing with her beloved dog on the beach then; after the dog's death Stella mourned but recently decided she's ready for a new dog. On her way out of the breeder's house, Stella runs into a mysterious, handsome stranger with another puppy in his arms. They talk about loving dogs but part without exchanging names.) Stella was raised in an Irish family, the only slender blonde in a family of sturdy redheads, but a DNA test Rose has all the Salt Sisters take for fun shows that she's not Irish but Dutch, and her recently deceased mother was Vivienne Van Tress, of Nantucket royalty. Her acknowledged daughters, three and six years younger than Stella, hint that Stella was born when Vivienne was 16. That could explain why Stella ended up in an Irish family, but her sisters (who got DNA tests proving Stella's place in the family) need more evidence. They find it in the local records office: a yearbook with photos of Vivienne with a red-haired boy, who's probably Stella's father, and an obituary for him, dead at 17, which lists his daughter Stella as a survivor. He looks so much like Stella's "mother", and the obituary lists the "mother" as a surviving sister, they think Vivienne's parents arranged a private adoption to her cousins with no need for formal documents. Stella finds it overwhelming; practical middle sister Juniper is suspicious; youngest sister and incurable optimist Isla thinks it's the best news ever!
After a few more accidental encounters, Stella asks the dog lover his name. It's Calvin. But Calvin is the name of Juniper's husband! This Calvin isn't wearing a ring. Could it be the same man?
Later, Stella has two visitors to her art gallery on the same day. In the morning, Ivan, a handsome broker, asks her to consider selling the gallery and splitting the proceeds with his anonymous client, who wants her to continue managing the gallery; he would simply be the silent owner. In the afternoon, an elderly man brandishing a cane limps in and demands that Stella sell him the gallery; he'll pay twice as much as the other buyer. Stella is uneasy dealing with the second, more threatening man, but she thinks the money will help the Van Tress sisters restore the family mansion as a hotel, so she tells Ivan she's interested in selling the gallery IF she can learn his client's name. Ivan won't reveal that, but he does reveal (in his eyes, not words) that he's interested in Stella.
When Stella arrives at the hotel site, she discovers that Isla and the architect have fallen in love--and Calvin is Juniper's husband! Juniper realizes her marriage has been dying for years, so she moves out with her teen sons, and Calvin doesn't fight the divorce. She doesn't blame Stella, either; Stella's "sister" Gwen the boyfriend stealer eventually began stealing husbands--starting with Stella's! (She found out about the affair when they both died in a car crash. She went to her husband's funeral but not Gwen's.) Despite Calvin's truthful insistence that nothing happened between them, Juniper leaves him. He drove her away from Isla after Vivienne's death, convincing her that she did too much for her needy little sister; she won't let him drive her away from Stella, too.
The book ends with Stella tracking down Ivan's client through another female art dealer's New York contacts, the client admitting his role in her buying the gallery in the first place and his fondness for troubled Vivienne, who spent lots of time in mental hospitals and lots more in NYC, depending on the kindness of obsessed men! It's apparent the threatening man was another conquest. Ivan arrives for a scheduled meeting, and his expression at seeing Stella says it all. The new owner is tickled by the romance unfolding in his quarters, and Stella and Ivan are too wrapped up in each other to care! When Ivan meets the Salt Sisters, he bonds with Hilary's boyfriend, cinematographer Max. And at Vivienne's modest house--descending from rich to middle class helped send her to the mental hospital and to Manhattan for a sugar daddy--the three Van Tress sisters bond on the edge of the ocean.
That's where it stops! I thought there'd be more of the story, but when I tapped the final page there was no next chapter. I was so disappointed I docked it a star! But that's a small flaw in an otherwise flawless book, which features marriages, affairs, divorces, Goldendoodle puppies, and the irreplaceable Salt Sisters! Highly recommended.
In book 3 of her Salt Sisters series, Katie Winters takes a brief detour to tell Stella's story. (Stella, a widow with a secret, is Hilary's first Nantucket friend and a founding member of the Salt Sisters. Stella was playing with her beloved dog on the beach then; after the dog's death Stella mourned but recently decided she's ready for a new dog. On her way out of the breeder's house, Stella runs into a mysterious, handsome stranger with another puppy in his arms. They talk about loving dogs but part without exchanging names.) Stella was raised in an Irish family, the only slender blonde in a family of sturdy redheads, but a DNA test Rose has all the Salt Sisters take for fun shows that she's not Irish but Dutch, and her recently deceased mother was Vivienne Van Tress, of Nantucket royalty. Her acknowledged daughters, three and six years younger than Stella, hint that Stella was born when Vivienne was 16. That could explain why Stella ended up in an Irish family, but her sisters (who got DNA tests proving Stella's place in the family) need more evidence. They find it in the local records office: a yearbook with photos of Vivienne with a red-haired boy, who's probably Stella's father, and an obituary for him, dead at 17, which lists his daughter Stella as a survivor. He looks so much like Stella's "mother", and the obituary lists the "mother" as a surviving sister, they think Vivienne's parents arranged a private adoption to her cousins with no need for formal documents. Stella finds it overwhelming; practical middle sister Juniper is suspicious; youngest sister and incurable optimist Isla thinks it's the best news ever!
After a few more accidental encounters, Stella asks the dog lover his name. It's Calvin. But Calvin is the name of Juniper's husband! This Calvin isn't wearing a ring. Could it be the same man?
Later, Stella has two visitors to her art gallery on the same day. In the morning, Ivan, a handsome broker, asks her to consider selling the gallery and splitting the proceeds with his anonymous client, who wants her to continue managing the gallery; he would simply be the silent owner. In the afternoon, an elderly man brandishing a cane limps in and demands that Stella sell him the gallery; he'll pay twice as much as the other buyer. Stella is uneasy dealing with the second, more threatening man, but she thinks the money will help the Van Tress sisters restore the family mansion as a hotel, so she tells Ivan she's interested in selling the gallery IF she can learn his client's name. Ivan won't reveal that, but he does reveal (in his eyes, not words) that he's interested in Stella.
When Stella arrives at the hotel site, she discovers that Isla and the architect have fallen in love--and Calvin is Juniper's husband! Juniper realizes her marriage has been dying for years, so she moves out with her teen sons, and Calvin doesn't fight the divorce. She doesn't blame Stella, either; Stella's "sister" Gwen the boyfriend stealer eventually began stealing husbands--starting with Stella's! (She found out about the affair when they both died in a car crash. She went to her husband's funeral but not Gwen's.) Despite Calvin's truthful insistence that nothing happened between them, Juniper leaves him. He drove her away from Isla after Vivienne's death, convincing her that she did too much for her needy little sister; she won't let him drive her away from Stella, too.
The book ends with Stella tracking down Ivan's client through another female art dealer's New York contacts, the client admitting his role in her buying the gallery in the first place and his fondness for troubled Vivienne, who spent lots of time in mental hospitals and lots more in NYC, depending on the kindness of obsessed men! It's apparent the threatening man was another conquest. Ivan arrives for a scheduled meeting, and his expression at seeing Stella says it all. The new owner is tickled by the romance unfolding in his quarters, and Stella and Ivan are too wrapped up in each other to care! When Ivan meets the Salt Sisters, he bonds with Hilary's boyfriend, cinematographer Max. And at Vivienne's modest house--descending from rich to middle class helped send her to the mental hospital and to Manhattan for a sugar daddy--the three Van Tress sisters bond on the edge of the ocean.
That's where it stops! I thought there'd be more of the story, but when I tapped the final page there was no next chapter. I was so disappointed I docked it a star! But that's a small flaw in an otherwise flawless book, which features marriages, affairs, divorces, Goldendoodle puppies, and the irreplaceable Salt Sisters! Highly recommended.
July 20, 2024
Stella’s friends talk her into participating when the group does a DNA test. Little does she know the results will totally change everything g she believes about her life. How will life continue when she confronts the Van Tres sisters, Isla and Juniper.
Will Stella learn the truth about her family. Can the sisters support and depend on each other in times of need? Is
love in the future for both Isla and Stella? What is going on g on between Juniper and her husband?
Thank you to the author for this ARC. This review is my honest opinion
Will Stella learn the truth about her family. Can the sisters support and depend on each other in times of need? Is
love in the future for both Isla and Stella? What is going on g on between Juniper and her husband?
Thank you to the author for this ARC. This review is my honest opinion
July 24, 2024
This book focuses on Stella - and her unknown past. Right as she adopts a new puppy - she finds out that her parents weren't her parents and she has 2 unknown sisters in Nantucket where they all grew up. This book is about finding oneself and reconnecting with family. I really loved the way the characters interact with each other and how Juniper and Isla and Stella come together and support each other - like sisters do.
July 22, 2024
Unspoken Sunsets is book 3 in the Salt Sisters series by Katie Winters and up next is Stella’s story. 4.5 stars
What happens when you learn your past isn’t what you thought..finding you have half sisters that you thought were just classmates, past trauma, family drama, self discovery, learning the circumstances of why and more…
I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy (ARC) of this book from the author. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
What happens when you learn your past isn’t what you thought..finding you have half sisters that you thought were just classmates, past trauma, family drama, self discovery, learning the circumstances of why and more…
I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy (ARC) of this book from the author. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
August 4, 2024
Another story with twists and turns
We learn more about Stella and being a salt sister. She found out she was adopted and set out to find out her true larents. We learning Opera and Juniper were not talking
We learn more about Stella and being a salt sister. She found out she was adopted and set out to find out her true larents. We learning Opera and Juniper were not talking
August 6, 2024
Just when you think what else can Katie Winters write about the Salt Sisters we are presented with a wonderful story about wealth, tragedy, betrayal, family, reunion, growth and, above all, love! Definitely a favorite of mine! Thank you for the great and rewarding entertainment!
November 7, 2025
Renewal
It was good to follow another if the original Salt Sisters. Stella's story was sad,intriguing, mysterious n uplifting. Having her find new loves romantic, sisterly, and furry too was great ending to this book.
It was good to follow another if the original Salt Sisters. Stella's story was sad,intriguing, mysterious n uplifting. Having her find new loves romantic, sisterly, and furry too was great ending to this book.
June 15, 2025
This one was really good, I related to it!
August 24, 2025
Time
What was it really like? Do you have complete trust with the one you spend your time with day in and day out? So many secrets.
What was it really like? Do you have complete trust with the one you spend your time with day in and day out? So many secrets.
September 20, 2025
craving more
Love her books, but they just..end! Leaves you wondering what in world came next. The hotel? The 3 sisters? I want more!
Love her books, but they just..end! Leaves you wondering what in world came next. The hotel? The 3 sisters? I want more!
September 21, 2025
Awesome
Again this novel did not dissappoint. The plot had just enough surprises and of course the happy ending I do so enjoy. Starting #4...
Again this novel did not dissappoint. The plot had just enough surprises and of course the happy ending I do so enjoy. Starting #4...
January 22, 2026
Unspoken Sunsets
I wasn’t ready for this story to end yet. There is so much more to say so that’s why the next book is so important. Ready to keep reading.
I wasn’t ready for this story to end yet. There is so much more to say so that’s why the next book is so important. Ready to keep reading.
February 11, 2026
Good book!
Such a good book and series! Love the characters and the story! can't wait to read the next boom in this good series!1
Such a good book and series! Love the characters and the story! can't wait to read the next boom in this good series!1
June 28, 2026
Unspoken Sunsets
This was a beautiful story. Sometimes sad and searching, but then hopeful and encouraging! I loved every word,and am reading all of the books in this series!
This was a beautiful story. Sometimes sad and searching, but then hopeful and encouraging! I loved every word,and am reading all of the books in this series!
July 18, 2024
How on earth does Katie Winters keep gifting us with such incredible books?? Unspoken Sunsets is just another phenomenal read among a plethora of incredible reads. You’ll definitely need tissues for this one!
The storyline was absolutely incredible; the characters were amazing—whether you loved them or hated them; the plot twists and turns were really something; and the HEAs were definitely off the charts. You literally cannot put this book down! It definitely belongs on your TBR list, I couldn’t put this one down…it was just so freakin! You’ll definitely want to grab your copy today! (I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book and absolutely loved it!) ❤️❤️
The storyline was absolutely incredible; the characters were amazing—whether you loved them or hated them; the plot twists and turns were really something; and the HEAs were definitely off the charts. You literally cannot put this book down! It definitely belongs on your TBR list, I couldn’t put this one down…it was just so freakin! You’ll definitely want to grab your copy today! (I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book and absolutely loved it!) ❤️❤️
July 19, 2024
WOW! What a page turner. Finished in one day. Enjoyed the ups and downs of this story. Great mysteries, twists and turns. Great writing, Katie.❤️
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews