ABG Tours: Stardust Summer by Lauren Clark

Title: Stardust Summer
Author: Lauren Clark
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Camellia Press
Publish Date: February 14, 2013
Source: ABG Reads Book Tours

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You're a romance fan.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Single mom Grace Mason doesn’t believe in miracles, magic, or love at first sight. She likes the quiet life, complete with her eight-year-old son, their tiny house, and her teaching job. For Grace, happiness means that nothing much ever changes in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

Then, one thousand miles away, tragedy strikes. A massive heart attack leaves Grace’s estranged father comatose in an Upstate New York hospital. While a team of doctors fight to keep Henry Mason alive, Grace and Evan rush to his bedside to say their final goodbyes.

Henry’s passing brings little closure for Grace, but she finds herself inexplicably drawn to her new surroundings. What begins as a short trip results in an entire summer spent with Henry’s second wife, Kathleen, and her next-door neighbor, Ryan Gordon, the town doctor. When a series of unlikely events lead to Evan’s disappearance, Grace must face her worst fears to find her son and bring him back home.

Stardust Summer explores the complexities of forgiveness, what it means to be a family, and the fabulous possibility of falling in love—again."

My Two Cents:

"Stardust Summer" is a story about redemption, dealing with grief, and family. There is also a little pinch of romance. Clark brings together some great characters in order to illustrate these things. I really liked the characters. Grace was probably my favorite character in the book. Her relationship with her father was fraught with issues after she loses her mother at a very young age. Grace can't really forgive her father and she doesn't have a real relationship with him. It was interesting to see how she deals with this relationship. I felt bad that she couldn't put the past behind her a little more so that her son, Evan, could have a real relationship with his grandfather. Luckily, Grace eventually realizes that sometimes it is much better to make peace with the past instead of holding on to old, unhealthy feelings.

I also really liked the morphing of the relationship between Grace and Kathleen, her step-mother. They have a really interesting back story and it is easy to see why they do not really have a good relationship at the beginning of the book. I liked watching their relationship transform from something pretty bad to something deeper and more real and loving. I really wanted the relationship between Grace and Ryan to be explored a little bit more. I wanted to know more about their attraction to each other.

Overall, the writing is fairly engaging. I did think that there was some details in the book that could have been tightened up a little. There was also a lot of telling rather than telling and reiteration where the reader could have definitely come to their own conclusions without more statements or words.

Bottom line: A good family story!