This second book in the Wyndham Beach series brings us Liddy's story. You don't have to read the first book to enjoy this one, but the story of these three friends; Lydia, Maggie and Emma, starts in An Invincible Summer and continues with this book. Liddy is still dealing with the suicide of her daughter and her husband leaving her within the same year, but trying to start a new life. She buys the local bookstore that was closed, renovates it and opens to wonderful fanfair. Mariah Stewart creates wonderful family and friends, so is not just content to tell Liddy's story. Maggie's family are also an integral part of the story. Maggie's daughters are both dealing with changes in their own lives, with Grace moving to Wyndham Beach to figure out what she wants in life. Natalie's life has revolved around her daughter Daisy, but when Emma's son, Chris comes back into her life, she suddenly finds herself involved with someone for the first time since Daisy's father walked out. There is more as well. Romance, family drama, secrets revealed and decisions to make all bring us on another wonderful visit to Wyndham Beach.
I can't say enough about this cast of characters. They all have issues, situations and tough decisions to make that are extremely realistic and relatable. Almost all of them are wonderful, likable characters. The story flows so well, and all the various situations and storylines mesh into a great story. There are some serious themes in this story including teen pregnancy, adoption, grooming, sexual assault (not described but a court case is ongoing), suicide, infidelity, addiction and more. Having said that, this is not a depressing story. The characters lift each other up, support and care for one another, are extremely generous and empathetic and love one another. I think I enjoyed this book more than the first one. Once again, I loved the set up for Emma's story and look forward to meeting up with these characters in the next Wyndham Beach book. I did a read/listen with this book narrated by Amanda Collins. I find it interesting that as the POV changed from the first book, so did the narrator. I enjoyed Amanda Collins' narration with her voices, expression, tone, accents and pacing. I definitely recommend this story in whatever format you enjoy.