I loved The Glass Ocean, co-author of this book, but this one was kind of confusing, going back and forth in three time periods. I found it boring and draggy and didn't connect with the characters. I just skimmed through.
I really liked the descriptions of the ocean and the island and the use of Shakespeare in the book. I really didn't like all the soap opera elements that I won't enumerate because they are spoilers. Closed communities where real communication doesn't happen aren't healthy places. Maybe that's the point the author was trying to make, but I didn't enjoy spending my reading time there. There is a lot of jumping between character voices and time periods so pay attention to the chapter headers.
An advance copy was sent to me by the publisher,probably from a contest I clicked on Facebook. Anything with the word summer or beach in the title-and I'm on it! This was a great story about two girls who ended up sisters when their parents wed, and the story of their parents and grandparents goes way back. It was confusing a bit,because it did keep going back and forth from 30's through the 60's to the 70's. But there was so much history of the families of Winthrop Island, and how the locals and the summer folks didn't mix-or did they? I loved all the characters and rooted for the underdogs all the way through!
