Rating: 4/5 glasses of the good bait shop wine.
Coming soon: June 14, 2016!
First let me start of by thanking the kind people of HarperCollins and Edelweiss for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book! I very much enjoyed it and plan to read more from Mrs. McNear in the future.
"The Space Between Sisters" tells the story of sisters Win and Poppy who have always been close until events in Poppy's life make her distance herself from most people including her loving sister and Win's love and loss that do much the same to her. These two sisters are so very different and yet so very similar at the same time. Win is the younger, very clean, organized, seemingly perfect sister, while Poppy is the older, messy, chaotic, and jumbled sister. The two had a different type of family life and upbringing that has jaded both of the sisters and helped lead them on two different paths in life. For Poppy a horrible and unforgettable event in her teen years forces her to shut off negative emotions and close connections. For Win, becoming the 'grown up' sister, going to college, finding love, getting married, and then losing her husband. These two have had there fair share of tough times, but they both have the beautiful and grounding Lake Butternut to return to and recharge. Amongst all the learning about themselves and each other the sisters' endure so many good things come their way. While the backdrop of Butternut Lake is breathtaking and charming in one, the people that come into the sisters' lives make everything that much better all around.
The story as a whole was really charming and pulled me in from the get go. I could almost see Butternut Lake in the descriptions provided by Mrs. McNear and the longing to go and enjoy a summer or two there were strong during this read. Win and Poppy's ways of coping in hard times made them seem so similar in my eyes while they each still held their own personalities and differences. I hope to read more by Mrs. McNear in the future including the rest of the Butternut Lake series.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Synopsis:
Two sisters couldn’t be more different. Win organized and responsible; Poppy impulsive and undependable. Win treads cautiously and plans her life with care; Poppy bounces from job to job and apartment to apartment, leaving others to pick up the pieces. But despite their differences, they share memories of the idyllic childhood summers they spent together on the shores of Butternut Lake. Now, 13 years later, Win, recovering from a personal tragedy, has returned to Butternut Lake, settling into a predictable and quiet life. Then, one night, Poppy unexpectedly shows up on Win’s doorstep with all her worldly possessions and a mysterious man in tow. And although Win loves her beautiful sister, she wasn’t expecting her to move in for the summer. Still, at first, they relive the joys of Butternut Lake. But their blissful nostalgia soon gives way to conflict, and painful memories and buried secrets threaten to tear the sisters apart. As the waning days of summer get shorter, past secrets are revealed, new love is found, and the ties between the sisters are tested like never before…all on the serene shores of Butternut Lake.